Gordon Tucker
Encyclopedia
Gordon Tucker is a prominent rabbi
, with a reputation as both a political and a theological liberal in Conservative Judaism
. He currently has a position as senior rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains
, New York
.
, Tucker holds the A.B. degree from Harvard College
and a PhD
. (in Philosophy) from Princeton University
. He was ordained a Rabbi in 1975 by The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA). He has served on the faculty of JTS since 1976, currently serving as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Jewish
philosophy
, in addition to his duties as a congregational rabbi. From 1984 to 1992 he served as dean of the Rabbinical School at JTSA. He recruited some students who did not have a strong background in rabbinic texts but were instead interested in political activism. As Dean, he revamped the curriculum, significantly deemphasizing the focus on Talmud
. He subsequently became rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, New York.
Tucker has served as Chairman of the Board of the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism
in Israel
, and as a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards
of the Rabbinical Assembly.
In 2006, his name was listed as one of the frontrunners for the Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
, to
replace Chancellor Ismar Schorsch
upon his retirement. Arnold Eisen
was ultimately chosen for the position.
in articulating a position between the traditional view that the Torah is of divine origin, and a secular view, in which the Torah is seen entirely as a work of human creation. He writes, "It is the particular characteristic of Conservative Judaism to insist that religious authority is a partnership, that it comes from the reality of a revealing God and the equally inescapable reality of a seeking, evolving community through which God's words get expressed over time." The Torah, according to Tucker, "is not a
record of commanding utterances from God, but rather a record of the religious quests of a people, and of their understanding of how
God’s will commands them."
Tucker's liberalism and interest in philosophy reflect his role in Conservative Judaism as a leading scholar and interpreter of the works of Abraham Joshua Heschel
(1907–1972). Heschel, a rabbi who escaped the Holocaust in Europe through the help of Hebrew Union College and ultimately joined the faculty of Jewish Theological Seminary, became famous not only for his many religious and philosophical commentaries, but also for his social activism and support of the Civil Rights
movement.
In the 1950s and 60s, the two most famous scholars at Jewish Theological Seminary
were Heschel and Mordechai Kaplan (1881–1983). Gordon Tucker began his studies at Jewish Theological Seminary at a time when both Kaplan and Heschel were living. Both Kaplan and Heschel confronted more traditional elements within Conservative Judaism, but each of them sought to redefine Judaism in different ways. While Kaplan favored a positivist, rationalist, and scientific approach to Judaism, Heschel's approach was philosophical, mystical, and spiritual. In effect, Heschel and Kaplan offered competing approaches to the liberalization of Jewish theology.
Gordon Tucker's liberalism could be said to reflect Heschel's own political activism. According to Neil Gillman
, a historian of Conservative Judaism, "Heschel insisted that his turn to political activism was prompted by his experience of living in Europe in the decades before World War II. He had been a personal witness to political oppression and was painfully aware that many otherwise good people stood on the sidelines and did not intervene. He was not going to repeat that pattern in America." Heschel's mystical spirituality lead him to become a champion within American Jewry of liberal causes and political activism.
But Tucker is not a follower of Heschel, in the same sense that Kaplan had followers within Conservative Judaism. Rather, he is a follower of what he understands to be Heschel's tradition. For Tucker, Jewish law cannot be expressed solely through a positivist legal framework. It is motivated by an underlying and evolving sense of God's will through a process in which human beings play a critical role. To find precedent for changing Jewish law, Tucker analyzes evolving Jewish moral and legal traditions. Just as Heschel did, he turns to aggadah
, the non-legalistic writings that are part of the oral and written tradition of Torah scholarship. He writes that Judaism has developed a precedent over time that rejects "the practice of punishing people, and causing them undue suffering, for things they are not responsible for." Ultimately, his proposal for a new halakhic response to homosexuality was based on this precedent.
(CJLS), he authored a proposed teshuvah (responsa) arguing that the biblical prohibition on male homosexuality should be overturned. In doing so, he proposed that the Conservative movement should accept a new, more liberal approach to halakhah (Jewish law). (Tucker originally offered his paper as a responsa, but the committee voted instead to consider it as a takkanah, requiring 13 votes for adoption.)
An important difference between Conservative and Orthodox Judaism is that Conservative Judaism empowers modern rabbis to issue takkanot
(decrees) modifying Biblical prohibitions, when perceived to be necessary. However, such decrees must be rooted in halakhic process and precedent. Conservative Judaism has adopted takkanot only for a few exceptional matters, such as the abolition of the biblical category of mamzer
(a child whose mother is married to a someone other than the biological father or is the product of an incestuous relationship). Orthodox Judaism takes a more limited view as to how law can be changed.
Both Conservative and Orthodox Judaism address most questions of Jewish law through responsa
, through a written, rabbinical interpretation of Jewish law, analogous to a court decision. In Orthodox Judaism, responsa are the product of individual rabbis, and their authority derives from the recognition of the author within the larger Orthodox community as a posek
or decisor. In Conservative Judaism, both responsa and takkanot are products of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, whose voting members are ordained rabbis within the Conservative movement.
On December 6, 2006, The CJLS adopted three different responsa, somewhat contradictory, on issues that address the participation of male homosexuals in Conservative Judaism:
The Committee rejected Gordon Tucker's takkanah. Details of this issue are discussed in Conservative Halakha
. Tucker's proposed takhanah became, in effect, a dissenting opinion.
. Tucker translated Heschel's Torah min HaShamayim BeAspaklariah shel HaDorot (Heavenly Torah as Refracted through the Generations) from the original Hebrew into English, and provided many notes, essays, and commentaries.
In her forward to Heavenly Torah, Heschel's daughter Susannah Heschel
describes the scope and magnitude of this translation. "Gordon Tucker (and Rabbi Leonard Levin) have done a superb job of assembling, editing, abridging, and translating a huge, not-quite-finished manuscript. Others literally died trying to translate this sprawling masterpiece. There may be some dissent from the inevitable omissions, some few typos, some doubts about Tucker's interpretations. But on the whole, the introductions to each chapter, the explanatory notes on almost every page (including identifying Heschel's often obscure sources) are wonderful aids in working through this massive work."
Heschel differed with the more legalistic approach to Torah of the Lithuanian rabbis who dominated the interpretation of halacha and the exegesis of Torah in the 20th century. He emphasized aggadah
and midrash
, the often speculative writings of the rabbinical sages that were outside the Torah's legal framework. Because these writings were not as heavily edited or redacted as the Mishna and Gemara
, Heschel's Hebrew manuscript reflects a variety of difficult Hebrew prose styles. Or N. Rose, a reviewer of Heavenly Torah, praised Tucker and Levin for capturing the qualities of Heschel's original manuscript in their translation. "Not only is this English version a lucid and thoughtful reworking of the original text, but Tucker and Levin even manage to introduce into their translation a measure of the poeticism readers have come to expect of Heschel."
, with whom he has a son, Rabbi Ethan Tucker, a rosh yeshiva
at Yeshivat Hadar. His first wife later married Senator Joseph Lieberman, who become the first Jewish candidate for national office with a major political party.
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
, with a reputation as both a political and a theological liberal in Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
. He currently has a position as senior rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains
White Plains, New York
White Plains is a city and the county seat of Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in south-central Westchester, about east of the Hudson River and northwest of Long Island Sound...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Education and career
A 1967 graduate of the Bronx High School of ScienceBronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a specialized New York City public high school often considered the premier science magnet school in the United States. Founded in 1938, it is now located in the Bedford Park section of the Bronx...
, Tucker holds the A.B. degree from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
and a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
. (in Philosophy) from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
. He was ordained a Rabbi in 1975 by The Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA). He has served on the faculty of JTS since 1976, currently serving as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, in addition to his duties as a congregational rabbi. From 1984 to 1992 he served as dean of the Rabbinical School at JTSA. He recruited some students who did not have a strong background in rabbinic texts but were instead interested in political activism. As Dean, he revamped the curriculum, significantly deemphasizing the focus on Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. He subsequently became rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, New York.
Tucker has served as Chairman of the Board of the Masorti Foundation for Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and as a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards
Committee on Jewish Law and Standards
The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards is the central authority on halakha within Conservative Judaism; it is one of the most active and widely known committees on the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly. Within the movement it is known as the CJLS...
of the Rabbinical Assembly.
In 2006, his name was listed as one of the frontrunners for the Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
, to
replace Chancellor Ismar Schorsch
Ismar Schorsch
Ismar Schorsch had been the son of hanoveranian Rabbi Emil Schorsch. They both experienced the so called "Reichskristallnacht" in a different manner. Dr. Ismar Schorsch became the sixth Chancellor of The Jewish Theological Seminary and is the Rabbi Herman Abramovitz Professor of Jewish history...
upon his retirement. Arnold Eisen
Arnold Eisen
Arnold M. Eisen, Ph.D. is Chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary. Prior to this appointment, he served as the Koshland Professor of Jewish Culture and Religion and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University...
was ultimately chosen for the position.
Tucker's philosophy of Conservative Judaism
Tucker, in his writings about the Torah and the nature of divine revelation, is a leader within Conservative JudaismConservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
in articulating a position between the traditional view that the Torah is of divine origin, and a secular view, in which the Torah is seen entirely as a work of human creation. He writes, "It is the particular characteristic of Conservative Judaism to insist that religious authority is a partnership, that it comes from the reality of a revealing God and the equally inescapable reality of a seeking, evolving community through which God's words get expressed over time." The Torah, according to Tucker, "is not a
record of commanding utterances from God, but rather a record of the religious quests of a people, and of their understanding of how
God’s will commands them."
Tucker's liberalism and interest in philosophy reflect his role in Conservative Judaism as a leading scholar and interpreter of the works of Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
(1907–1972). Heschel, a rabbi who escaped the Holocaust in Europe through the help of Hebrew Union College and ultimately joined the faculty of Jewish Theological Seminary, became famous not only for his many religious and philosophical commentaries, but also for his social activism and support of the Civil Rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement.
In the 1950s and 60s, the two most famous scholars at Jewish Theological Seminary
Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...
were Heschel and Mordechai Kaplan (1881–1983). Gordon Tucker began his studies at Jewish Theological Seminary at a time when both Kaplan and Heschel were living. Both Kaplan and Heschel confronted more traditional elements within Conservative Judaism, but each of them sought to redefine Judaism in different ways. While Kaplan favored a positivist, rationalist, and scientific approach to Judaism, Heschel's approach was philosophical, mystical, and spiritual. In effect, Heschel and Kaplan offered competing approaches to the liberalization of Jewish theology.
Gordon Tucker's liberalism could be said to reflect Heschel's own political activism. According to Neil Gillman
Neil Gillman
Neil Gillman is an American rabbi and philosopher, affiliated with Conservative Judaism.-Biography:Gillman was born in Quebec City, Canada. He graduated from McGill University in 1954. He was ordained as a rabbi at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1960. He received his Ph.D...
, a historian of Conservative Judaism, "Heschel insisted that his turn to political activism was prompted by his experience of living in Europe in the decades before World War II. He had been a personal witness to political oppression and was painfully aware that many otherwise good people stood on the sidelines and did not intervene. He was not going to repeat that pattern in America." Heschel's mystical spirituality lead him to become a champion within American Jewry of liberal causes and political activism.
But Tucker is not a follower of Heschel, in the same sense that Kaplan had followers within Conservative Judaism. Rather, he is a follower of what he understands to be Heschel's tradition. For Tucker, Jewish law cannot be expressed solely through a positivist legal framework. It is motivated by an underlying and evolving sense of God's will through a process in which human beings play a critical role. To find precedent for changing Jewish law, Tucker analyzes evolving Jewish moral and legal traditions. Just as Heschel did, he turns to aggadah
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
, the non-legalistic writings that are part of the oral and written tradition of Torah scholarship. He writes that Judaism has developed a precedent over time that rejects "the practice of punishing people, and causing them undue suffering, for things they are not responsible for." Ultimately, his proposal for a new halakhic response to homosexuality was based on this precedent.
Tucker's proposed takkanah on homosexuality
Tucker's prominence as both a political and theological liberal within Conservative Judaism is reflected in the role he played in the movement's recent debates on the issue of homosexuality. As a member of the Committee on Jewish Law and StandardsCommittee on Jewish Law and Standards
The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards is the central authority on halakha within Conservative Judaism; it is one of the most active and widely known committees on the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly. Within the movement it is known as the CJLS...
(CJLS), he authored a proposed teshuvah (responsa) arguing that the biblical prohibition on male homosexuality should be overturned. In doing so, he proposed that the Conservative movement should accept a new, more liberal approach to halakhah (Jewish law). (Tucker originally offered his paper as a responsa, but the committee voted instead to consider it as a takkanah, requiring 13 votes for adoption.)
An important difference between Conservative and Orthodox Judaism is that Conservative Judaism empowers modern rabbis to issue takkanot
Takkanah
A takkanah is a major legislative enactment within halakha , the normative system of Judaism's laws.A takkanah is an enactment which revises an ordinance that no longer satisfies the requirements of the times or circumstances, or which , being deduced from a Biblical passage, may be regarded as new...
(decrees) modifying Biblical prohibitions, when perceived to be necessary. However, such decrees must be rooted in halakhic process and precedent. Conservative Judaism has adopted takkanot only for a few exceptional matters, such as the abolition of the biblical category of mamzer
Mamzer
The Hebrew noun mamzer in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish religious law, is a person born from certain forbidden relationships, or the descendant of such a person. A mamzer is someone who is either born of adultery by a married woman, or born of incest , or someone who has a mamzer as a parent...
(a child whose mother is married to a someone other than the biological father or is the product of an incestuous relationship). Orthodox Judaism takes a more limited view as to how law can be changed.
Both Conservative and Orthodox Judaism address most questions of Jewish law through responsa
Responsa
Responsa comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them.-In the Roman Empire:Roman law recognised responsa prudentium, i.e...
, through a written, rabbinical interpretation of Jewish law, analogous to a court decision. In Orthodox Judaism, responsa are the product of individual rabbis, and their authority derives from the recognition of the author within the larger Orthodox community as a posek
Posek
Posek is the term in Jewish law for "decider"—a legal scholar who decides the Halakha in cases of law where previous authorities are inconclusive or in those situations where no halakhic precedent exists....
or decisor. In Conservative Judaism, both responsa and takkanot are products of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, whose voting members are ordained rabbis within the Conservative movement.
On December 6, 2006, The CJLS adopted three different responsa, somewhat contradictory, on issues that address the participation of male homosexuals in Conservative Judaism:
- By 13 of 25 votes, the minimum majority, the CJLS adopted a responsum authored by Rabbi Elliot N. DorffElliot N. DorffElliot N. Dorff is a Conservative rabbi. He is a professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University in California , author and a bio-ethicist....
, Daniel Nevins, and Avram Reisner, lifting most restrictions on homosexual conduct and opening the way to the ordination of openly gay and lesbian rabbis and acceptance of homosexual unions, but stopping short of religiously recognizing gay marriage. The responsum maintained the Biblical prohibition on male-male anal sex. - Also by 13 of 25 votes, the committee adopted a traditionalist responsum, by Rabbi Joel Roth, reaffirming a general prohibition on homosexual conduct.
- By six votes, the minimum for adoption as a minority position, the committee approved another responsum by Rabbi Leonard Levy, maintaining that homosexuality is potentially curable and encouraging people with homosexual inclinations interested in living as religious Jews to seek treatment.
The Committee rejected Gordon Tucker's takkanah. Details of this issue are discussed in Conservative Halakha
Conservative Halakha
Conservative Judaism views Halakha as normative and binding. The Conservative movement applies Jewish law to the full range of Jewish belief and practice, including thrice-daily prayer, Shabbat and holidays, marital relations and family purity, conversion, dietary laws , and Jewish medical ethics...
. Tucker's proposed takhanah became, in effect, a dissenting opinion.
Translation and commentary on Heschel
Rabbi Tucker's most widely known scholarly work is his translation with notes and commentaries of writings of Abraham Joshua HeschelAbraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
. Tucker translated Heschel's Torah min HaShamayim BeAspaklariah shel HaDorot (Heavenly Torah as Refracted through the Generations) from the original Hebrew into English, and provided many notes, essays, and commentaries.
In her forward to Heavenly Torah, Heschel's daughter Susannah Heschel
Susannah Heschel
Susannah Heschel is Dartmouth College's Eli Black associate professor of Jewish Studies, an award-winning author, and the daughter of Abraham Joshua Heschel....
describes the scope and magnitude of this translation. "Gordon Tucker (and Rabbi Leonard Levin) have done a superb job of assembling, editing, abridging, and translating a huge, not-quite-finished manuscript. Others literally died trying to translate this sprawling masterpiece. There may be some dissent from the inevitable omissions, some few typos, some doubts about Tucker's interpretations. But on the whole, the introductions to each chapter, the explanatory notes on almost every page (including identifying Heschel's often obscure sources) are wonderful aids in working through this massive work."
Heschel differed with the more legalistic approach to Torah of the Lithuanian rabbis who dominated the interpretation of halacha and the exegesis of Torah in the 20th century. He emphasized aggadah
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
and midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
, the often speculative writings of the rabbinical sages that were outside the Torah's legal framework. Because these writings were not as heavily edited or redacted as the Mishna and Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
, Heschel's Hebrew manuscript reflects a variety of difficult Hebrew prose styles. Or N. Rose, a reviewer of Heavenly Torah, praised Tucker and Levin for capturing the qualities of Heschel's original manuscript in their translation. "Not only is this English version a lucid and thoughtful reworking of the original text, but Tucker and Levin even manage to introduce into their translation a measure of the poeticism readers have come to expect of Heschel."
Family life
Tucker is currently married to Dr. Amy Cohn, with whom he has a son and daughter, Micah and Becky. He was previously married to Hadassah Freilich (now Lieberman)Hadassah Lieberman
Hadassah Lieberman is the wife of United States Senator Joseph Lieberman .-Biography:She was born Hadassah Freilich in a refugee camp in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Her parents were both Holocaust survivors. Her father was Samuel Freilich, a lawyer and rabbi from Munkács, in the Carpathian Ruthenia...
, with whom he has a son, Rabbi Ethan Tucker, a rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
at Yeshivat Hadar. His first wife later married Senator Joseph Lieberman, who become the first Jewish candidate for national office with a major political party.
Sources
- All Eyes On Rabbi Tucker At Panel, The Jewish WeekThe Jewish WeekThe Jewish Week is an independent weekly newspaper serving the Jewish community of the metropolitan New York City area. The Jewish Week covers news relating to the Jewish community in NYC and has world-wide distribution.-Editorial staff:...
- Hazon Bio
- Temple Israel of White Plains bio (official)
- Forward article
- Heschel, Abraham Joshua. Heavenly Torah: As Refracted through the Generations. Edited and Translated with Commentary by Gordon Tucker with Leonard Levin. (New York, London: Continuum, 2004)
- Rose, Or N. Heavenly Torah in Human Hands JBooks.com, the Online Jewish Book Community.
- Tucker, Gordon. Halakhic and Metahalakhic Arguments Concerning Judaism and Homosexuality
- Tucker, Gordon. "The Importance of Orientation: Etz Hayyim and the Conservative Jewish Perspective." United Synagogue Review. Spring 2003