Michael A. Meyer, PhD, is the author of Above All, We Are Jews: A Biography of Rabbi Alexander Schindler from CCAR Press. Rabbi Schindler (1925–2000) was an extraordinarily influential leader in the history of Reform Judaism. From 1973 to 1996, he served as president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (today’s Union for Reform Judaism), where his charisma and vision raised the Reform Movement to unprecedented influence. Never afraid to be controversial, he argued for recognizing patrilineal descent, institutionalized outreach to interfaith families and non-Jews, and championed LGBTQ rights and racial equality. He was a tireless advocate for Israel while maintaining diaspora Jews’ right to speak out independently on the Jewish state. In this interview, Professor Meyer discusses what inspired him to write a biography of this Jewish leader and what readers can learn from Rabbi Schindler today.
What inspired you to write a biography of Rabbi Alexander Schindler?
I was inspired to write this biography because Rabbi Schindler was such a significant figure in the Reform Movement and in the history of American Judaism as a whole. I was also motivated by the fact that there was no previous biography and that his papers were readily available in the American Jewish Archives.
The title of your book is a quotation from Rabbi Schindler, Above All, We Are Jews. What does this quote reveal about his vision of Jewish identity?
I chose Above All, We Are Jews as the title because it represents Rabbi Schindler’s belief that Jewishness is—or should be—more basic than other identities that Jews hold. He was an American Jew, not a Jewish American.
How did Rabbi Schindler shape the direction of Reform Judaism?
Rabbi Schindler made Reform Judaism more open to those who were looking in from the outside. He also turned it toward a greater appreciation of the emotional element within the Jewish religion.
What lessons can Rabbi Schindler teach us as we think about the future of Judaism?
From Rabbi Schindler we can learn that love of the Jewish people is as much a part of Jewish identity as is love of God. We can also learn that love of Israel does not exclude critique of its moral shortcomings.
Michael A. Meyer holds a doctorate in Jewish history from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where he served as professor of Jewish history for fifty years. He is the author of Above All, We Are Jews: A Biography of Rabbi Alexander Schindler from CCAR Press.
One reply on “Jewishness as a Core Identity: Michael A. Meyer on Writing Rabbi Alexander Schindler’s Biography”
Words cannot express the depth of my gratitude to Michael Meyer for bringing to a new generation of American Jews the story of Alex Schindler’s transformative leadership.
Writing on the eve of Yom HaShoah I find special meaning in the fact that these two great teachers of mine, both born in Germany who emigrated to America in the 1930”s have had such a profound impact upon the Second century of American Reform Judaism