Insight
Remember
When • •
Former Detroiter Jonathan Rosenbaum takes over as president of Gratz College.
DIANA LIEBERMAN
Staff Writer
D
etroit native Jonathan
Rosenbaum approaches his
new appointment as presi-
dent of Gratz College with
a real sense of honor.
In its nearly 105-year history, this
esteemed center for Jewish studies in
suburban Philadelphia has had only
eight presidents. Rabbi Rosenbaum
will become its ninth at an inaugura-
tion Sunday, Oct. 17.
"Gratz is a very exciting place to
be, not only because of its very deep
commitment to
Judaic learning
and to the train-
ing of teachers
and communal
leaders, but also
because of the unique nature of the
institution itself," Rabbi Rosenbaum
said.
The college, which has about 450
graduate and undergraduate students,
bills itself as "the oldest independent,
non-denominationally affiliated col-
lege of Jewish studies in the Western
Hemisphere."
One of the things that's appealing
about Gratz," Rabbi Rosenbaum said,
"is that it serves as a common ground
at a time when there is a division
between people in different move-
ments within Judaism."
Instead of calling Gratz "non-
denominationally affiliated," he
prefers "transdenominational," a word
that just as easily describes himself.
Rabbi Rosenbaum has made his
reputation as a scholar, educator and
administrator. He's served as rabbi in
the Reform, Conservative and
Orthodox movements.
After graduating from the
University of Michigan, he spent
about six months studying at an
Orthodox yeshiva in Israel. He then
attended Hebrew Union College-
Jewish Institute of Religion in
Cincinnati, where he earned his mas-
ter's degree and was ordained as a
Reform rabbi.
While studying for his doctorate at
became rabbi in 1956. His mother,
Thelma Rosenbaum, is a retired Oak
Park High School English teacher.
"My folks provided me with an
intensive Jewish background," he said.
"My father is very learned — he came
from an Orthodox background him-
self, and he was always excited about
learning."
The younger Rosenbaum was presi-
dent of the Temple Emanu-El Youth
Group and active in the National
Federation of Temple Youth.
"Judaism was not an occasional
observance but something that was a
part of everyday life," he said. "We
thought in those
terms, socialized
in that context,
learned issues and
asked questions
relating to the
ethical debates of the day.
He was among the first in the
Reform community to graduate from
United Hebrew Schools' Central
Hebrew High School. This program
was unusual for a supplementary
school, he said, because nearly all the
instruction was in Hebrew.
The experience made Rabbi
Rosenbaum an enthusiastic propo-
nent of the verbal method of learn-
ing languages, which he advocated
in his later work as a teacher and
administrator.
It was also at Central Hebrew
High that Rabbi Rosenbaum met his
future wife, Susan Gordon
Rosenbaum, who is now a psychiatrist
at Albert Einstein Medical Center in
Rabbi Jonathan Rosenbaum
Philadelphia. They recently celebrated
their 30th wedding anniversary and
have three grown sons.
Another pivotal experience in Rabbi
ed to accept the position of president
Rosenbaum's life was the semester he
at Gratz was that I'm deeply commit-
spent as a senior studying in an Israeli
ted to respecting and strengthening all
high school — a time of total immer-
elements of Jewish life — Reform,
sion in Hebrew language and culture.
Conservative, Orthodox,
Rabbi Rosenbaum, whose doctoral
Reconstructionist and so on," he said.
studies
were in Near Eastern languages
One of his highest priorities as
and
civilization,
has taught and pub-
president, he said, is to expand the
lished in the areas of biblical studies,
school's undergraduate program.
the ancient Near East, rabbinics,
Rabbi Rosenbaum, 52, says
American Jewish history and Jewish
Detroit's vibrant and diverse Jewish
education. His most recent work is
community was an important influ-
Making
a Life, Building a Community:
ence on his development.
A
History
of the Jews of Hartford,
He grew up at Temple Emanu-El, a
which he co-authored with David G.
Reform congregation where his father,
Dalin. E
Rabbi Emeritus Milton Rosenbaum,
Harvard University, he served as assis-
tant rabbi at a Conservative congrega-
tion.
Rabbi Rosenbaum's experience with
the Orthodox movement came while
he was a professor and history depart-
ment chair at the University of
Hartford in Hartford, Conn. For six
years, he served as part-time rabbi at a
century-old synagogue in West
Hartford.
In his personal life, Rabbi
Rosenbaum said, he has a traditional
approach to Judaism and Jewish
observance.
"But one of the reasons I was invit-
Head Of The C S
Diana Lieberman can be reached at
(248) 354-6060, ext. 247, or by
e-mail, dlieberm@thejewishnews.com
10/15
1999
From the pages of the Jewish News
for this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.
1989
After 25 years, the sole remaining
synagogue in Lvov in the Ukraine
was reopened.
Two Jewish students were
injured in an anti-Semitic attack
outside Brooklyn College after
attending a party at the Hillel
House.
1979
The Jerusalem Hilton became the
first hotel in Israel where feature
films from the United States,
Israel and Europe were shown in
English and free of charge.
Israel suffered a total power
failure when a short circuit in a
Tel Aviv power plant blacked out
the country.
1969
A U.S. embassy spokesman
announced that Americans could
no longer lose their citizenship if
they become citizens of Israel or
serve in the Israeli armed forces.
Mrs. Leonard Weiner, presi-
dent of the National Council of
Jewish Women, flew to
Washington to host a luncheon
for first lady Pat Nixon.
mfa
Valft4A
NA
The Zionist Organization o
Detroit and Beth Abraham
Synagogue submitted resolutions
to the Jewish Community Center
to reconsider its decision to open
its facilities on Saturdays.
Abraham Borman was named a
recipient of the Louis Marshall
Award of the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America.
'
Mrs. Jean Seigel hosted a board
meeting-luncheon for the Eva
Prenzlauer Maternity Aid group.
Mayor Israel Rokach of Tel
Aviv protested the Israel Cabinet's
decision to unite the cities of Jaffa
and Tel Aviv under the name
Jaffa-Tel Aviv.
— Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant