Harold Kushner

Rabbi Harold Samuel Kushner is a prominent American rabbi aligned with the progressive wing of Conservative Judaism, and a popular author.

Education

Born in Brooklyn, Kushner was educated at Columbia University and later obtained his rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in 1960. The same institution awarded him a doctoral degree in Bible in 1972. Kushner has also studied at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, taught at Clark University and the Rabbinical School of the JTS, and received six honorary doctorates.

Congregational Rabbi

He served as the congregational rabbi of Temple Israel of Natick, in Natick, Massachusetts for 24 years and belongs to the Rabbinical Assembly.

Author

He is the author of a best selling book on the problem of evil, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. Written following the death of his son, Aaron, from the premature aging disease progeria, the book deals with questions about human suffering, God, omnipotence and theodicy. Aaron was born in 1963 and died in 1977; the book was published in 1981.

Kushner has written a number of other popular theological books, such as How Good Do We Have to Be? (Dedicated to his grandson, Carl), To Life! and many others. In collaboration with the late Chaim Potok, Kushner co-edited Etz Hayim: A Torah Commentary, the new official Torah commentary of the Conservative movement, which was jointly published in 2001 by the Rabbinical Assembly and the Jewish Publication Society. His Living a Life That Matters became a best seller in the fall of 2001. Kushner's book, The Lord Is My Shepherd, was a meditation on the Twenty-Third Psalm released in 2003. Kushner also wrote a response to Simon Wiesenthal's question of forgiveness in the book The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness.

List of publications

• Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World Published in 2009, is a theological piece that addresses fears of terrorism, natural disasters, rejection, growing old and offer suggestions on how best to cope, ultimately living with purpose and differentiating between God and nature.
• Faith & Family: Favorite Sermons of Rabbi Harold S. Kushner published in October 2007
• Practice Random Acts of Kindness: Bring More Peace, Love, And Compassion published in 2007
• Overcoming Life's Disappointments published in 2006
• The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm published in 2003
• Who Needs God published in 1989
• Living a Life That Matters: Resolving the Conflict Between Conscience and Success published in 2001
• How Good Do We Have to Be? A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness published in 1997
• When Children ask about God: A Guide for Parents Who Don't Always Have All the Answers published in 1995
• To Life: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking published in 1994
• When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough: The Search for a Life That Matters published in 1986
• When Bad Things Happen to Good People published in 1978

Miscellaneous

• Kushner offered a reading from the Bible at the State Funeral of Ronald Reagan in the Washington National Cathedral on June 11, 2004.
• In 2007 Rabbi Kushner was given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Jewish Book Council.

External links

• Rabbi Kushner's bio at Temple Israel
• Rabbi Harold Kushner talks and gives stories in relation to his latest book Overcoming Life's Disappointments (video)