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Harry Halpern (February 4, 1899 – June 10, 1981) was an American religious and community leader, a powerful orator, a respected religious educator, and a prominent Conservative rabbi who served for almost 49 years as the rabbi of the East Midwood Jewish Center (EMJC), in Brooklyn, New York. ==Life and works== Halpern was born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, attending Brooklyn's Public School (PS) 37 and Eastern District High School.〔"Brooklyn Eagle," April 4, 1954, pg. 7.〕 He received his bachelor's degree in philosophy from the City College of New York in 1919 and a master's degree from Columbia University in 1925.〔Waggoner, Walter H., ("Harry Halpern, 82, Jewish leader dies" ), ''New York Times'', June 12, 1981, retrieved March 1, 2011.〕 He also received both a bachelor and doctoral degree from Brooklyn Law School, studied at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, and earned ordination as a rabbi from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), in 1929. He later received a Doctor of Hebrew Literature degree from JTS in 1951.〔 Halpern served as the first "pupil rabbi" for the Talmud Torah "junior congregation" of Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom in Long Island, New York.〔Abelow, Samuel Philip, "History of Brooklyn Jewry," Scheba Publishing Company, 1937, as cited in the Wikipedia article, Congregation Beth Jacob Ohev Sholom.〕 He also served for a short time as the "student preacher and spiritual leader" of the Jewish Communal Center of Brooklyn,〔 before taking the position of rabbi for the East Midwood Jewish Center in 1929, where he served for almost 49 years.〔〔Alvin Kass, ("Brooklyn Is In!" ), Rabbi's viewpoint, East Midwood Jewish Center website. Accessed March 10, 2011.〕 At the EMJC, his sermons constantly educated, challenged and inspired the congregation both in terms of Jewish identity and larger social concerns such as the rights of minorities, and he "pleaded for intensive Jewish Education of the Day School-Yeshiva type long before private schools became fashionable.〔Silverstein, Baruch, "Harry Halpern," Proceedings of the 1982 Convention, Rabbinical Assembly Press, 1982, pages 155–157.〕 He retired from the EMJC in 1977 to live in Southbury, Connecticut until his death four years later, in 1981.〔 A leader in both the general Jewish community and numerous major rabbinic groups, he served as president of both the Rabbinical Assembly, the organization of conservative rabbis, and the New York Board of Rabbis, and Chairman of the JTS Rabbinic Cabinet, advising the seminary chancellor on issues important to the Jewish people. He was also Chairman of the Rabbinical Assembly Social Actions Commission, visiting professor of homiletics at JTS, and adjunct professor of pastoral psychiatry at JTS. In addition to his work at JTS, he served as chairman of the board of the Yeshiva of Flatbush.〔 During his tenure as president of the Rabbinical Assembly, a number of major changes and new institutions for the conservative movement were introduced, often in conjunction with the Jewish Theological Seminary, reaffirming those two organizations as the leadership groups for the movement.〔Dugan, George, (“New marital law to stem divorce adopted by conservative Judaism,” New York Times, November 14, 1954 ), retrieved March 2, 2011.〕 These included the Joint Bet Din(rabbinical court) of the Conservative Movement and the “Joint Conference on Jewish Law.”〔 Halpern was a leader in many organizations and philanthropic affairs, including service as a member of the New York City Human Rights Commission (1967–1978), and the Kings County Commission Against Discrimination, and on the executive committees of the Brooklyn Red Cross and the Brooklyn Cancer Society.〔 He also served on the executive committee of the New York Division of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.〔 He opposed the use of taxes to support private schools (including religious schools) during his chairmanship of the Social Actions Commission of Conservative Judaism,〔 also speaking out against the idea as President of the New York Board of Rabbis.〔Spiegel, Irving, (“City’s rabbis oppose allocation of public funds to private schools,” ) New York Times, January 26, 1961, retrieved March 2, 2011.〕 The Board of Rabbis resolution was especially opposed to the idea of public funding of private religious schools, calling such action a “violation of our understanding of the hallowed principle of church-state separation.”〔 As one of his colleagues wrote upon the occasion of Halpern's death, "There was hardly a National Jewish Conference where Harry Halpern had not delivered the keynote address or one of the major speeches."〔 Halpern's sermons, lectures, and addresses, in and out of the synagogue, were "challenging, demanding, and even disturbing ... Rabbi Halpern preached social justice and human rights when those values were still associated with Hosea, Amos, and Isaiah."〔 Halpern was well respected by civic leaders for his actions, and sought out for his advice. In 1968, when a Brooklyn Jewish School was attacked by youths with rocks and molotov cocktails on the night of Halloween, New York Mayor John Lindsay visited the site the next day, also visiting other Jewish schools, he stopped to pick up Halpern and have lunch with him in between the school visits.〔King, Seth S.,(“Damaged Yeshiva Visited by Mayor,” ) ''New York Times'', November 2, 1968, retrieved March 2, 2011.〕 Halpern was a frequent speaker for organizations whose causes he supported, such as the November 1960 benefit for Brooklyn’s “Pride of Judea Children’s Services,” an organization supporting the needs of orphaned, needy, and emotionally disturbed children.〔("Nov. 5 Dinner a Benefit For Children's Service" ), ''New York Times'', October 9, 1960, retrieved March 3, 2011.〕 He also saw his leadership positions in rabbinic organizations as opportunities to highlight needs and support ministry to those in need, as evidenced by the special conference he convened on prison ministry during his tenure as Chairman of the New York Board of Rabbis chaplaincy program.〔Dugan, George, (“Rabbis at prisons will confer here,” New York Times, June 19, 1965 ), retrieved March 3, 2011.〕 Halpern was an ardent Zionist, supporting the rights and needs of the Jewish community in pre-Israel Palestine, and later in the newly established State of Israel,〔Spiegel, Irving, (“Jewish religious leaders are exhorted by Rabbi Halpern to press Negro cause,” ) New York Times, April 24, 1956, retrieved March 1, 2011.〕 but was also a strong proponent of solving problems through peaceful means. For example, at the annual meeting of the Rabbinical Assembly, where he was re-elected president of the group, a resolution was passed under his leadership, praising President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s stand for peace.〔("Eisenhower Lauded On Stand For Peace" ), ''New York Times'', May 6, 1955, retrieved March 4, 2011.〕 The resolution read, “We commend the President for the restraining influence he has exercised upon those in our country who would resolve the present international impasse by a resort to arms. We pray that he may be granted wisdom from on High to lead our country into the path of a lasting peace.”〔 Well known as an orator, his sermons were often quoted in the press. A 1961 ''New York Times'' article〔("Jewish Observance of Shabuoth, Giving of Law, Opens Tomorrow" ) ''New York Times'', May 19, 1961, retrieved February 28, 2011.〕 quoted his explanation of the message of the festival of Shavuot for Jews, both in terms of their religion and their responsibilities as Americans: “Shavuot conveys two crucial messages to the world today. It stresses the role of the law in society and its binding validity on the conduct of our individual and national life, and it cautions us against yielding to discouragement because of initial failure.”〔 Similarly, his words about the meaning of Purim, linking it to the meaning of the right to be different within a democracy, were also quoted by the Times: “True religious freedom in a democratic society means not only the acceptance of the legitimacy of differences, but it regards the diversity of culture and religions as a source of enrichment and ennoblement.”〔(New York Times, February 28, 1961 ), retrieved March 4, 2011.〕 Halpern was married to the former Mollie Singer until her death, later marrying his second wife, Jean Rosenhaus. He had one daughter with Mollie, Debbie Halpern Silverman, and one granddaughter, Meredith Silverman Fontecchio. He had three brothers: Rabbi Peretz (Pete) Halpern of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Isadore (Izzy) Halpern, a trial lawyer of note in Brooklyn, New York, and Louis Halpern who worked in insurance in New York.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Harry Halpern」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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