Joseph Lookstein
Encyclopedia
Joseph Hyman Lookstein was a Russia
n-born, American
rabbi who served as spiritual leader of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
on the Upper East Side
of Manhattan
and was a leader in Orthodox Judaism
, including his service as president of the Rabbinical Council of America
and of the cross-denominational Synagogue Council of America
and New York Board of Rabbis
.
Lookstein was born in 1902 in Mogilev
, Belarus
, then in the Russian Empire
, and after emigrating to the United States, attended City College of New York
and did graduate work at Columbia University
. He received his Jewish education at Rabbi Jacob Joseph School
and received his rabbinic ordination
in 1926 from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
at Yeshiva University
. He had already served as an assistant for three years at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
, assisting his grandfather-in-law Rabbi Moses S. Margolies
, and continued in that role after receiving his ordination, assuming the title of Senior rabbi after Morgolies's death in 1936.
In 1930, he established the Hebrew Teachers Training School for Girls, now part of Yeshiva University, and served as its principal for ten years. Shortly after the establishment of Bar-Ilan University
in Ramat Gan, Israel
, Rabbi Lookstein became the institution's acting president for nine years, before being name as the school's chancellor
in 1966. During his tenure, the school grew from a single building with 40 students into a school with an enrollment of thousands.
He was elected as head of the Synagogue Council of America
in 1979, was a past president of the Rabbinical Council of America
and the New York Board of Rabbis
.
He founded the Ramaz School
in 1937, which was named in honor of his grandfather-in-law. Lookstein's son, Rabbi Haskel Lookstein
, was a member of the school's inaugural first grade class. By the time of his death, the school had an enrollment of 800 students.
He died at age 76 on July 13, 1979 at Mount Sinai Hospital
in Miami Beach, Florida
. His son, Haskel Lookstein, had served as the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Kehillath Jeshurun starting in 1958, and assumed the title of Senior Rabbi upon his father's death.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born, American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rabbi who served as spiritual leader of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun is a Modern Orthodox synagogue, located on East 85th Street on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The synagogue was founded in 1872...
on the Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and was a leader in Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
, including his service as president of the Rabbinical Council of America
Rabbinical Council of America
The Rabbinical Council of America is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU...
and of the cross-denominational Synagogue Council of America
Synagogue Council of America
The Synagogue Council of America was an organization of American Jewish synagogue associations, founded in 1926, including :*The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America *The Rabbinical Council of America...
and New York Board of Rabbis
New York Board of Rabbis
The New York Board of Rabbis is an organization of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in New York State and the surrounding portions of Connecticut and New Jersey....
.
Lookstein was born in 1902 in Mogilev
Mogilev
Mogilev is a city in eastern Belarus, about 76 km from the border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and 105 km from the border with Russia's Bryansk Oblast. It has more than 367,788 inhabitants...
, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, then in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, and after emigrating to the United States, attended City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
and did graduate work at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He received his Jewish education at Rabbi Jacob Joseph School
Rabbi Jacob Joseph School
The Rabbi Jacob Joseph School is an Orthodox Jewish day school located in Staten Island, New York that serves students from nursery through twelfth grade. The school was founded in 1903 and named in honor of Rabbi Jacob Joseph, chief rabbi of New York City's Association of American Orthodox Hebrew...
and received his rabbinic ordination
Semicha
, also , or is derived from a Hebrew word which means to "rely on" or "to be authorized". It generally refers to the ordination of a rabbi within Judaism. In this sense it is the "transmission" of rabbinic authority to give advice or judgment in Jewish law...
in 1926 from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary
Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary , or Yeshivat Rabbeinu Yitzchak Elchanan, is the rabbinical seminary of Yeshiva University, located in Washington Heights, New York. It is named after Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, who died the year it was founded, 1896...
at Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University
Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a research university ranked as 45th in the US among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in 2012...
. He had already served as an assistant for three years at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun is a Modern Orthodox synagogue, located on East 85th Street on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The synagogue was founded in 1872...
, assisting his grandfather-in-law Rabbi Moses S. Margolies
Moses S. Margolies
Rabbi Moses Sebulun Margolies was a Russian-born American Orthodox rabbi, who served as senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
, and continued in that role after receiving his ordination, assuming the title of Senior rabbi after Morgolies's death in 1936.
In 1930, he established the Hebrew Teachers Training School for Girls, now part of Yeshiva University, and served as its principal for ten years. Shortly after the establishment of Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University
Bar-Ilan University is a university in Ramat Gan of the Tel Aviv District, Israel.Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is now Israel's second-largest academic institution. It has nearly 26,800 students and 1,350 faculty members...
in Ramat Gan, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Rabbi Lookstein became the institution's acting president for nine years, before being name as the school's chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
in 1966. During his tenure, the school grew from a single building with 40 students into a school with an enrollment of thousands.
He was elected as head of the Synagogue Council of America
Synagogue Council of America
The Synagogue Council of America was an organization of American Jewish synagogue associations, founded in 1926, including :*The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America *The Rabbinical Council of America...
in 1979, was a past president of the Rabbinical Council of America
Rabbinical Council of America
The Rabbinical Council of America is one of the world's largest organizations of Orthodox rabbis; it is affiliated with The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, more commonly known as the Orthodox Union, or OU...
and the New York Board of Rabbis
New York Board of Rabbis
The New York Board of Rabbis is an organization of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist rabbis in New York State and the surrounding portions of Connecticut and New Jersey....
.
He founded the Ramaz School
Ramaz School
The Ramaz School is a coeducational, private Modern Orthodox Jewish prep school located on the Upper East Side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It consists of a lower school , a middle school , and an upper school .The Ramaz Upper School is a college preparatory school...
in 1937, which was named in honor of his grandfather-in-law. Lookstein's son, Rabbi Haskel Lookstein
Haskel Lookstein
Rabbi Haskel Lookstein is an American Modern Orthodox Rabbi who serves as the spiritual leader of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and principal of the Ramaz School.-Early years:...
, was a member of the school's inaugural first grade class. By the time of his death, the school had an enrollment of 800 students.
He died at age 76 on July 13, 1979 at Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute
Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute is a hospital located at 4300 Alton Road in Miami Beach, Florida, and is the largest independent non-profit teaching hospital in the state. The institution was incorporated on March 11, 1946, and opened on its current location on Sunday, December...
in Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
. His son, Haskel Lookstein, had served as the Assistant Rabbi at Congregation Kehillath Jeshurun starting in 1958, and assumed the title of Senior Rabbi upon his father's death.