Welcome to the Harold M. Schulweis Institute
The Harold M. Schulweis Institute welcomes you to our website, and encourages you to explore the many paths to his writings, and to audio and video materials that you will find here. Our goal is to help you to discover his teachings, his moral vision, and the depth of his community activism that continue to inspire us and enrich our lives today.
Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis (z”l)
1925 – 2014“Harold Schulweis was a dominant figure in the renewal of Jewish life in the postwar generation of American Jewry. Widely regarded as the most successful and influential pulpit rabbi of his generation, he shaped an extraordinary career as pulpit rabbi, theologian, public intellectual, and communal leader….He offered a way for contemporary Jews to return to a belief in God in the shadow of the Holocaust. He demanded that conscience be reintroduced to the heart of Jewish religious life, that Jewish law and practice be aligned with the deepest moral insights of the Jewish tradition, and that Judaism speak with prophetic moral passion to an indifferent, oblivious world…”
From In Pursuit of Godliness and a Living Judaism—The Life and Thought of Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis
By Rabbi Edward Feinstein
CLICK HERE to learn about exhibits based on material in the Schulweis Library Collection
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Life and Times
This major new section of our website provides a guided introduction to the Rabbi’s Theology, his work in the community in the spirit of Tikkun Olam (“Healing the World”), and his creative work in reshaping the Rabbinate. It includes videos, links to material that describe his extraordinary life, his biography, a list of his publications, a summary of honors and awards presented to him, and videos recorded by his congregants describing how his teachings and his leadership transformed their lives.
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Search the Archive
This website houses an archive of almost 1000 files, consisting of the Rabbi’s written materials, audio recordings of selected sermons and talks, and videos of major events in the Rabbi’s life. To search the archive for a specific topic, CLICK HERE.
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Library
The Institute is responsible for managing Rabbi Schulweis’ personal collection of over 4000 books, and a large collection of files he maintained on hundreds of subjects. This section describes the activities now underway to catalog and manage this collection.
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Interviews with Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis & Rabbi Ed Feinstein
In 2008, Rabbi Ed Feinstein sat with Rabbi Schulweis and filmed 13 video conversations about the Rabbi’s life and theology. Rabbi Schulweis stated “he caused me to discover things about me that even I didn’t know.” This section provides access to these 13 different video recordings.
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Video recordings of memories shared about of the Rabbi’s career, and his impact on people he influenced along the way.
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In Pursuit of Godliness
Rabbi Edward Feinstein, Senior Rabbi of Valley Beth Shalom synagogue in Encino, CA, and one of the leading Conservative Rabbis in America, has written a wonderful book that chronicles the life of his predecessor and teacher, Rabbi Schulweis, who was a communal leader, author, post-Holocaust theologian and prolific innovator of synagogue life. CLICK HERE for more information on this remarkable book.
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Poetry
In recognition of the great interest in the Rabbi’s Poetry by many of our visitors, we provide this page that contains a listing of his poems, arranged by topic, making it easy to find poems for inspiration, and to select a poem to use as a part of the observation of a life cycle event.
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Community Programs
The Institute creates and supports programs in the community that affect Jewish scholarship, the arts, and social action. This section features information on the community programming currently being supported by the Institute—Jewish World Watch, and the Los Angeles Jewish Community Children’s Choir.
The Mission
The mission of the Harold M. Schulweis Institute is to share with generations to come, Rabbi Schulweis’ humanitarian and spiritual vision of Jewish life and learning that influenced the direction of all synagogue activities and the creation of innovative programs at Valley Beth Shalom during his tenure.
To enhance Jewish life and influence the broader community, the Institute will continue to collect and introduce Rabbi Schulweis’ teachings and moral vision by promoting public access to his sermons, lectures, and scholarly writing, and by creating and supporting legacy programs affecting Jewish scholarship, the arts, and social action.