Mayer Schiller
Encyclopedia
Mayer Schiller is an American
Hasid
based in Monsey, New York
, who identifies himself as a member of Skver and Rachmastrivka groups and serves as spokesperson for the Skver community in New Square. Schiller also maintains active ties to the Modern Orthodox
community and has advocated for a symbiosis between the best of traditional Orthodoxy and broader culture. He teaches advanced Talmud at Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy
of Yeshiva University,http://yuhsb.org/contact_faculty.html where he has been a teacher since 1987. Prior to that, from 1977–1981, Rabbi Schiller taught at YHSQ and from 1981-1987 he taught at Mesivta Ohr Torah (both in Queens, NY). From 1979 to 1981, he served as the first hockey
coach at the Ramaz School and later in the same capacity at MTA from 1985–1988 and again from 1990–1995. In his final 6 years as coach his teams won 6 consecutive championships. He is a Baal teshuva
, having begun practicing Orthodoxy in the spring of 1964 at age 12. Rabbi Schiller and his wife have 2 children.
In the arena of political thought, the Rabbi is most noted for his advocation of non-violent separatism ensuing most significantly from principles of religious, cultural, ethnic, and racial identity and social anti-universalism. He is an outspoken critic of liberal notions of race and the bias against traditional religion in today's media and popular culture. Along those lines, he was a featured speaker at the American Renaissance conference in 1994. He has been associated with various groups including the Third Way (UK)
and the Ulster Third Way
. However, Schiller has also advocated a universalist morality and embrace of the Other, provided that is pursued without loss to group identity. He is involved with the group Toward Tradition
, which seeks to advance cooperation between Jews and conservative Christians, and is an expert on the thought of C. S. Lewis
.
Schiller is also the author of two books, The Road Back: A Discovery of Judaism Without Embellishments, The (Guilty) Conscience of a Conservative (under the name Craig Schiller), and a monograph in defense of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's Torah Im Derech Eretz philosophy, titled "And They Shall Judge the People With True Righteousness".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Hasid
Hasidic Judaism
Hasidic Judaism or Hasidism, from the Hebrew —Ḥasidut in Sephardi, Chasidus in Ashkenazi, meaning "piety" , is a branch of Orthodox Judaism that promotes spirituality and joy through the popularisation and internalisation of Jewish mysticism as the fundamental aspects of the Jewish faith...
based in Monsey, New York
Monsey, New York
Monsey is a hamlet , in the Town of Ramapo, Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the state of New Jersey; east of Suffern; south of Airmont and west of Nanuet...
, who identifies himself as a member of Skver and Rachmastrivka groups and serves as spokesperson for the Skver community in New Square. Schiller also maintains active ties to the Modern Orthodox
Modern Orthodox Judaism
Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law, with the secular, modern world....
community and has advocated for a symbiosis between the best of traditional Orthodoxy and broader culture. He teaches advanced Talmud at Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy
Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy
The Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy, also known as Yeshiva University High School for Boys , MTA or TMSTA , is an Orthodox Jewish day school , the boys' high school of Yeshiva University in the Washington Heights neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan.-History:The Talmudical...
of Yeshiva University,http://yuhsb.org/contact_faculty.html where he has been a teacher since 1987. Prior to that, from 1977–1981, Rabbi Schiller taught at YHSQ and from 1981-1987 he taught at Mesivta Ohr Torah (both in Queens, NY). From 1979 to 1981, he served as the first hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
coach at the Ramaz School and later in the same capacity at MTA from 1985–1988 and again from 1990–1995. In his final 6 years as coach his teams won 6 consecutive championships. He is a Baal teshuva
Baal teshuva
Baal teshuva or ba'al teshuvah , sometimes abbreviated to BT, is a term referring to a Jew who turns to embrace Orthodox Judaism. Baal teshuva literally means, "repentant", i.e., one who has repented or "returned" to God...
, having begun practicing Orthodoxy in the spring of 1964 at age 12. Rabbi Schiller and his wife have 2 children.
In the arena of political thought, the Rabbi is most noted for his advocation of non-violent separatism ensuing most significantly from principles of religious, cultural, ethnic, and racial identity and social anti-universalism. He is an outspoken critic of liberal notions of race and the bias against traditional religion in today's media and popular culture. Along those lines, he was a featured speaker at the American Renaissance conference in 1994. He has been associated with various groups including the Third Way (UK)
Third Way (UK)
The National Liberal Party – The Third Way is a United Kingdom political party that was formed on 17 March 1990 as The Third Way. In 2006, the Third Way registered the name National Liberal Party – The Third Way with the Electoral Commission....
and the Ulster Third Way
Ulster Third Way
The Ulster Third Way is the Northern Ireland branch of the Third Way and is organised by David Kerr, who had previously campaigned as an 'independent Unionist' as well as for the British National Front.As well as sharing the Third Way's aims U3W is committed to securing independence...
. However, Schiller has also advocated a universalist morality and embrace of the Other, provided that is pursued without loss to group identity. He is involved with the group Toward Tradition
Toward Tradition
Toward Tradition is a politically conservative non-profit organization founded by Rabbi Daniel Lapin based in Mercer Island, Washington, United States...
, which seeks to advance cooperation between Jews and conservative Christians, and is an expert on the thought of C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
.
Schiller is also the author of two books, The Road Back: A Discovery of Judaism Without Embellishments, The (Guilty) Conscience of a Conservative (under the name Craig Schiller), and a monograph in defense of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch's Torah Im Derech Eretz philosophy, titled "And They Shall Judge the People With True Righteousness".
Works
- Rabbi Mayer Schiller, "Piety, Banality, Scholarship, and Superficiality" Jewish Action (Fall 1982) p. 16-17. Vol. 43, No. 1
- — "Symposium: The Future of American Orthodoxy" Jewish Action (Fall 5759/1998) p. 56-59. Vol. 59, No. 1
- — "The New Judaism" American Council for JudaismAmerican Council for JudaismThe American Council for Judaism is an organization of American Jews committed to the proposition that Jews are not a nationality but merely a religious group, adhering to the original stated principles of Reform Judaism, as articulated in the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform.The ACJ was founded in June...
Issues (Summer 1998) p. 5-12. - — "A Symposium in Divided and Distinguished Worlds" Tradition Vol. 26 No. 2, (Winter 1992) pp. 5, 58-62 http://www.traditiononline.org/news/article.cfm?id=104530
- — "Reflections on the Sixth Day War After Half a Century " Tradition Vol. 26 No. 4, (Summer 1992) p. 6, 15-19 http://www.traditiononline.org/news/article.cfm?id=104557
- — "The Sea Change in Orthodox Judaism: A Symposium" Tradition Vol. 32 No. 4 (Summer 1998) p. 19, 101-105 http://www.traditiononline.org/archives/index.cfm?fuseaction=SpecificEdition&EditionID=520
- — "Hirschians and Kookians in America: Report on an Endangered Species" Jewish Action (Winter 5747/1986-1987) p. 9-15. Vol. 47, No. 1
- — "The Forgotten Humanism of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch" Jewish Action (Summer 5759/1981) pp. 21–26. Vol.49, No. 3
- — "The Academic and/or Man of Faith" Jewish Action (Spring 1990) p. 28-32. Vol. 50, No. 2
- — "Fun and Relaxation Reexamined" Jewish Action (Spring 5751/1991) Vol. 51, No. 2
- — "Realities, Possibilities, and Dreams: Reaching Modern Orthodox Youth" Ten Da'at (Adar 5749) p. 23-26. Vol. 111, No. 2
- — "Torah Ummada and The Jewish Observer Critique: Towards a Clarification of the Issues" The Torah u-Madda Journal 6 (1995–1996) p. 58-90
- — "Exchange with Rabbi Shlomo Danziger" Jewish Action (Winter 5760/1999) pp. 30,32,81, Vol. 60, No. 2
- — "Are We Still a Holy Nation? An All-Embracing Kedushah" Jewish Action (Fall 5762/2001) pp. 32–34 Vol. 62, No.1 http://www.ou.org/publications/ja/5762fall/
- — "Can the Death of Ideology Spell the Rebirth of Hasidism?" Jewish Action (Summer/Fall 1986) p. 48-51. Vol. 45, No. 3
- — "The Unique Village of New Square" Jewish Action (Spring 5752/1992) pp. 35–39. Vol. 52, No. 2
- — "A Portrait of Moshe 'Gabbai'" Jewish Action (Fall 5760/1999) p. 39-43. Vol. 60, No. 1 http://www.ou.org/publications/ja/5760fall/chaddisus%202nd%20article.pdf
- — "A Personal God and the Rebbe Who Taught Him: Rabbi Aharon Roth (Reb Arele)" Great Minds of the Twentieth Century in Jewish Action (Fall 5757/1996) p. 38-41. Vol. 57, No. 1
- — "First Toward Tradition Conference : The Arduous Calling of Religious Conservatives" October 6, 1994
- — "Second Toward Tradition Conference : Conservatism's Death and the West's Hope" September 11, 2000
- — "Third Toward Tradition Conference : The Politics of Kiddush Hashem" September 11, 2000