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Hakarat Hatov—The First in a Series of Exhibits based on the Signature Teachings of Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis (z’l)

Currently exhibited is a display on Rabbi Schulweis’ lifelong teaching, Hakarat Hatov:The Recognition of Goodness, on the importance of honoring the brave actions of Righteous Gentiles during the Holocaust.

We are very happy to announce the opening of the newly completed Schulweis Chapel and Ellie and Mark Lainer Beit Midrash at Valley Beth Shalom. The shelves are lined with selected books from  the Schulweis Library Collection, personal books that include classic texts that informed Rabbi Schulweis’ (z”l) thought in addition to treasured memorabilia.

One area of the Beit Midrash will be devoted to a series of exhibits that will be focussed on one area of the Rabbi’s teachings, his theology, and his engagement in the Jewish community during his lifetime.  You are invited to stop by to worship, to visit, to meet, and to study, while savoring the legacy that is Rabbi Schulweis.

Click Here for Audio Tour of the display.

*Access Rabbi Schulweis’ sermons, articles, lectures and poems on Hakarat Hatov and other resources CLICK HERE

Hakarat Hatov Exhibit

Detailing the Rabbi’s multi-decade mission to honor the courage and bravery of thousands of Righteous Christians in saving Jews during the Holocaust, the exhibit recounts the deeds of many “agents of Godliness”.  You will learn their names, and see their faces, the faces of those who chose not to comply with evil. 

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 More About the Exhibit

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.

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