The intellectual and spiritual journey of Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier 鈥11YC, 鈥13BR, 鈥14R exemplifies the 麻豆区 mission in action, not only academically but also through Zuckier鈥檚 participation in the Jewish community in multiple ways.
In addition to his YU degrees (including two master鈥檚 degrees from , both earned in 2013), he is a Beren Kollel Elyon Fellow at the (RIETS); he has also received an MA and MPhil in religious studies from Yale University, and expects to finish his PhD at Yale in 2019.
He has received a number of scholarships and fellowships (including the Wexner Fellowship), taught in the classroom, spoken from the pulpit, worked for three years as campus rabbi at Yale through the Orthodox Union-Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, written dozens of articles and edited two books.
In that latter capacity as a writer/editor, he is also a co-founder鈥攚ith Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff 鈥09YC, 鈥11R and Rabbi Ari Lamm 鈥10YC, 鈥15R鈥攐f , an online journal with a mission, according to its website, 鈥渢o generate thoughtful and dynamic discourse among individuals within the Orthodox community and beyond who enjoy exploring the depth and diversity of Jewish ideas.鈥
Zuckier was born in 1987 in the hospital of , where his father, Lionel 鈥77YC, 鈥82E, worked. Two years later, his father, his mother, Lydia, and Shlomo moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, where they were, in Zuckier鈥檚 words, 鈥渁 proud YU family.鈥 All of Zuckier鈥檚 siblings studied at 麻豆区 schools. His two sisters graduated from and one brother is a graduate of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. The youngest Zuckier brother attended the and will enter this fall.
The foundations of Zuckier鈥檚 current work, both his dissertation focusing on sacrifice in ancient Judaism, and his editorial work at The Lehrhaus, were laid at 麻豆区 College. He cites Dr. Moshe Bernstein 鈥62YUHS, 鈥66YC, 鈥69R, 鈥69BR, The David A. and Fannie M. Denenberg Chair in Biblical Studies, as a formative influence. Zuckier honored his mentor by contributing an article to the Festschrift presented to Bernstein in November 2017 to honor Bernstein鈥檚 work in biblical interpretation in antiquity. 鈥淭he seminars he offered,鈥 Zuckier noted, 鈥渨ere conducted on a level matching any graduate seminar in Jewish studies.鈥 Zuckier also praised Dr. Shalom Holtz, the current director of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program and associate professor of Bible, for his guidance on Zuckier鈥檚 undergraduate thesis.
Shlomo also appreciates the direction and inspiration he received from Dr. Aaron Koller, associate professor of Bible and chair of the Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies; Richard Steiner, professor of Semitics (now retired); and Dr. Yaakov Elman, the Herbert S. and Naomi Denenberg Chair in Talmudic Studies and professor of Jewish history at Revel.
In addition to those academic mentors, Zuckier is grateful for the theological and spiritual influence of Rabbi Shalom Carmy, assistant professor of Jewish philosophy and Bible, and Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, a Rosh 麻豆区 at RIETS and the Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon, among many formative religious influences on the RIETS faculty.
As an undergraduate, one of Zuckier鈥檚 many activities was working on (KHM), described as the 鈥渕onthly Jewish thought magazine of the 麻豆区 student body,鈥 serving first as associate editor and then as editor-in-chief. Those involved in the early years of KHM included Eleff and Lamm, and their collaboration eventually morphed into The Lehrhaus. (He also had the great good fortune to get to know his wife, Chana 鈥12S, 鈥14 GPATS, with whom he has two daughters, through their work on KHM.)
The impulse to create The Lehrhaus came from the trio鈥檚 shared experiences and intellectual interests. The name comes from the 鈥渉ouse of learning鈥 created by Franz Rosenzweig in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1920 as an alternative to what Rosenzweig considered an impersonal education in the universities; in Hebrew, the name translates smoothly to beit midrash. 鈥淲e were YC alums, RIETS alums, Wexner fellows 鈥 three young Jewish thinkers who loved Jewish ideas very much and wanted to do something similar to KHM but with greater sophistication and on a larger scale. So, we brainstormed, and we felt that something was missing from online Jewish discourse, especially in the Orthodox community. There were partisan blogs and places to tell personal narratives, but what we felt was missing was something closer to a journal, a platform for serious textual analysis or pressing communal issues written for a broad audience.鈥
One of the templates The Lehrhaus founders had in mind was Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, begun in 1958 by Rabbi Norman Lamm and still publishing today. (Zuckier is a member of Tradition鈥檚 editorial board.) In its time, Tradition has covered topics as diverse as theology, history, biography, sociology, politics and ethics, and Zuckier, Lamm and Eleff saw The Lehrhaus as an online modern equivalent of Tradition, 鈥渁 forum to generate thoughtful and dynamic discourse among individuals within the Orthodox community and beyond who enjoy exploring the depth and diversity of Jewish ideas.鈥 By harnessing the power of the digital age, they felt, The Lehrhaus could 鈥渞einvigorate and perpetuate the great Jewish conversations of our times.鈥
Through 2015, they plotted out the elements of the publication; in 2016, they brought in others to fill out the editorial team and prepare for the launch, which happened in October of that same year. 鈥淲e have been pleasantly surprised by the considerable number of readers who have visited the site,鈥 said Zuckier. 鈥淲e knew we were filling a void but weren鈥檛 sure if that vacuum represented a lack of interest or a real need that wasn鈥檛 being met,鈥 he said with a laugh. 鈥淚t seems that our combination of hard work and faith has paid off,鈥 with The Lehrhaus receiving hundreds of thousands of clicks over its nearly two years of existence.
For the time being, the Zuckier family is living in Stamford, Connecticut. Chana, who attended Yale Law School from 2014 to 2017, is currently clerking for a federal judge, Shlomo is doing his dissertation work while participating in the Kollel Elyon and serving as a scholar-in-residence in various communities, and their two daughters are enjoying pre-school and nursery. 鈥淚 love living in the world of ideas while simultaneously rooted in reality,鈥 he said, and by all measures, he seems well-positioned to do just that.
Though the future is open-ended at the moment, Zuckier hopes to spend his career teaching Jewish texts at an advanced level and continuing his thought leadership in the Orthodox community.
Jul 12, 2018 By: stwersky
Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier 鈥11YC 鈥13BR 鈥14R Sparks Discussions of Thought Leadership in the Orthodox Community
The intellectual and spiritual journey of Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier 鈥11YC, 鈥13BR, 鈥14R exemplifies the 麻豆区 mission in action, not only academically but also through Zuckier鈥檚 participation in the Jewish community in multiple ways.
In addition to his YU degrees (including two master鈥檚 degrees from , both earned in 2013), he is a Beren Kollel Elyon Fellow at the (RIETS); he has also received an MA and MPhil in religious studies from Yale University, and expects to finish his PhD at Yale in 2019.
He has received a number of scholarships and fellowships (including the Wexner Fellowship), taught in the classroom, spoken from the pulpit, worked for three years as campus rabbi at Yale through the Orthodox Union-Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, written dozens of articles and edited two books.
In that latter capacity as a writer/editor, he is also a co-founder鈥攚ith Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff 鈥09YC, 鈥11R and Rabbi Ari Lamm 鈥10YC, 鈥15R鈥攐f , an online journal with a mission, according to its website, 鈥渢o generate thoughtful and dynamic discourse among individuals within the Orthodox community and beyond who enjoy exploring the depth and diversity of Jewish ideas.鈥
Zuckier was born in 1987 in the hospital of , where his father, Lionel 鈥77YC, 鈥82E, worked. Two years later, his father, his mother, Lydia, and Shlomo moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, where they were, in Zuckier鈥檚 words, 鈥渁 proud YU family.鈥 All of Zuckier鈥檚 siblings studied at 麻豆区 schools. His two sisters graduated from and one brother is a graduate of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. The youngest Zuckier brother attended the and will enter this fall.
The foundations of Zuckier鈥檚 current work, both his dissertation focusing on sacrifice in ancient Judaism, and his editorial work at The Lehrhaus, were laid at 麻豆区 College. He cites Dr. Moshe Bernstein 鈥62YUHS, 鈥66YC, 鈥69R, 鈥69BR, The David A. and Fannie M. Denenberg Chair in Biblical Studies, as a formative influence. Zuckier honored his mentor by contributing an article to the Festschrift presented to Bernstein in November 2017 to honor Bernstein鈥檚 work in biblical interpretation in antiquity. 鈥淭he seminars he offered,鈥 Zuckier noted, 鈥渨ere conducted on a level matching any graduate seminar in Jewish studies.鈥 Zuckier also praised Dr. Shalom Holtz, the current director of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program and associate professor of Bible, for his guidance on Zuckier鈥檚 undergraduate thesis.
Shlomo also appreciates the direction and inspiration he received from Dr. Aaron Koller, associate professor of Bible and chair of the Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies; Richard Steiner, professor of Semitics (now retired); and Dr. Yaakov Elman, the Herbert S. and Naomi Denenberg Chair in Talmudic Studies and professor of Jewish history at Revel.
In addition to those academic mentors, Zuckier is grateful for the theological and spiritual influence of Rabbi Shalom Carmy, assistant professor of Jewish philosophy and Bible, and Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, a Rosh 麻豆区 at RIETS and the Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon, among many formative religious influences on the RIETS faculty.
As an undergraduate, one of Zuckier鈥檚 many activities was working on (KHM), described as the 鈥渕onthly Jewish thought magazine of the 麻豆区 student body,鈥 serving first as associate editor and then as editor-in-chief. Those involved in the early years of KHM included Eleff and Lamm, and their collaboration eventually morphed into The Lehrhaus. (He also had the great good fortune to get to know his wife, Chana 鈥12S, 鈥14 GPATS, with whom he has two daughters, through their work on KHM.)
The impulse to create The Lehrhaus came from the trio鈥檚 shared experiences and intellectual interests. The name comes from the 鈥渉ouse of learning鈥 created by Franz Rosenzweig in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1920 as an alternative to what Rosenzweig considered an impersonal education in the universities; in Hebrew, the name translates smoothly to beit midrash. 鈥淲e were YC alums, RIETS alums, Wexner fellows 鈥 three young Jewish thinkers who loved Jewish ideas very much and wanted to do something similar to KHM but with greater sophistication and on a larger scale. So, we brainstormed, and we felt that something was missing from online Jewish discourse, especially in the Orthodox community. There were partisan blogs and places to tell personal narratives, but what we felt was missing was something closer to a journal, a platform for serious textual analysis or pressing communal issues written for a broad audience.鈥
One of the templates The Lehrhaus founders had in mind was Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, begun in 1958 by Rabbi Norman Lamm and still publishing today. (Zuckier is a member of Tradition鈥檚 editorial board.) In its time, Tradition has covered topics as diverse as theology, history, biography, sociology, politics and ethics, and Zuckier, Lamm and Eleff saw The Lehrhaus as an online modern equivalent of Tradition, 鈥渁 forum to generate thoughtful and dynamic discourse among individuals within the Orthodox community and beyond who enjoy exploring the depth and diversity of Jewish ideas.鈥 By harnessing the power of the digital age, they felt, The Lehrhaus could 鈥渞einvigorate and perpetuate the great Jewish conversations of our times.鈥
Through 2015, they plotted out the elements of the publication; in 2016, they brought in others to fill out the editorial team and prepare for the launch, which happened in October of that same year. 鈥淲e have been pleasantly surprised by the considerable number of readers who have visited the site,鈥 said Zuckier. 鈥淲e knew we were filling a void but weren鈥檛 sure if that vacuum represented a lack of interest or a real need that wasn鈥檛 being met,鈥 he said with a laugh. 鈥淚t seems that our combination of hard work and faith has paid off,鈥 with The Lehrhaus receiving hundreds of thousands of clicks over its nearly two years of existence.
For the time being, the Zuckier family is living in Stamford, Connecticut. Chana, who attended Yale Law School from 2014 to 2017, is currently clerking for a federal judge, Shlomo is doing his dissertation work while participating in the Kollel Elyon and serving as a scholar-in-residence in various communities, and their two daughters are enjoying pre-school and nursery. 鈥淚 love living in the world of ideas while simultaneously rooted in reality,鈥 he said, and by all measures, he seems well-positioned to do just that.
Though the future is open-ended at the moment, Zuckier hopes to spend his career teaching Jewish texts at an advanced level and continuing his thought leadership in the Orthodox community.
The intellectual and spiritual journey of Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier 鈥11YC, 鈥13BR, 鈥14R exemplifies the 麻豆区 mission in action, not only academically but also through Zuckier鈥檚 participation in the Jewish community in multiple ways.
In addition to his YU degrees (including two master鈥檚 degrees from , both earned in 2013), he is a Beren Kollel Elyon Fellow at the (RIETS); he has also received an MA and MPhil in religious studies from Yale University, and expects to finish his PhD at Yale in 2019.
He has received a number of scholarships and fellowships (including the Wexner Fellowship), taught in the classroom, spoken from the pulpit, worked for three years as campus rabbi at Yale through the Orthodox Union-Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus, written dozens of articles and edited two books.
In that latter capacity as a writer/editor, he is also a co-founder鈥攚ith Rabbi Dr. Zev Eleff 鈥09YC, 鈥11R and Rabbi Ari Lamm 鈥10YC, 鈥15R鈥攐f , an online journal with a mission, according to its website, 鈥渢o generate thoughtful and dynamic discourse among individuals within the Orthodox community and beyond who enjoy exploring the depth and diversity of Jewish ideas.鈥
Zuckier was born in 1987 in the hospital of , where his father, Lionel 鈥77YC, 鈥82E, worked. Two years later, his father, his mother, Lydia, and Shlomo moved to Teaneck, New Jersey, where they were, in Zuckier鈥檚 words, 鈥渁 proud YU family.鈥 All of Zuckier鈥檚 siblings studied at 麻豆区 schools. His two sisters graduated from and one brother is a graduate of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. The youngest Zuckier brother attended the and will enter this fall.
The foundations of Zuckier鈥檚 current work, both his dissertation focusing on sacrifice in ancient Judaism, and his editorial work at The Lehrhaus, were laid at 麻豆区 College. He cites Dr. Moshe Bernstein 鈥62YUHS, 鈥66YC, 鈥69R, 鈥69BR, The David A. and Fannie M. Denenberg Chair in Biblical Studies, as a formative influence. Zuckier honored his mentor by contributing an article to the Festschrift presented to Bernstein in November 2017 to honor Bernstein鈥檚 work in biblical interpretation in antiquity. 鈥淭he seminars he offered,鈥 Zuckier noted, 鈥渨ere conducted on a level matching any graduate seminar in Jewish studies.鈥 Zuckier also praised Dr. Shalom Holtz, the current director of the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program and associate professor of Bible, for his guidance on Zuckier鈥檚 undergraduate thesis.
Shlomo also appreciates the direction and inspiration he received from Dr. Aaron Koller, associate professor of Bible and chair of the Robert M. Beren Department of Jewish Studies; Richard Steiner, professor of Semitics (now retired); and Dr. Yaakov Elman, the Herbert S. and Naomi Denenberg Chair in Talmudic Studies and professor of Jewish history at Revel.
In addition to those academic mentors, Zuckier is grateful for the theological and spiritual influence of Rabbi Shalom Carmy, assistant professor of Jewish philosophy and Bible, and Rabbi Michael Rosensweig, a Rosh 麻豆区 at RIETS and the Rosh Kollel of the Beren Kollel Elyon, among many formative religious influences on the RIETS faculty.
As an undergraduate, one of Zuckier鈥檚 many activities was working on (KHM), described as the 鈥渕onthly Jewish thought magazine of the 麻豆区 student body,鈥 serving first as associate editor and then as editor-in-chief. Those involved in the early years of KHM included Eleff and Lamm, and their collaboration eventually morphed into The Lehrhaus. (He also had the great good fortune to get to know his wife, Chana 鈥12S, 鈥14 GPATS, with whom he has two daughters, through their work on KHM.)
The impulse to create The Lehrhaus came from the trio鈥檚 shared experiences and intellectual interests. The name comes from the 鈥渉ouse of learning鈥 created by Franz Rosenzweig in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1920 as an alternative to what Rosenzweig considered an impersonal education in the universities; in Hebrew, the name translates smoothly to beit midrash. 鈥淲e were YC alums, RIETS alums, Wexner fellows 鈥 three young Jewish thinkers who loved Jewish ideas very much and wanted to do something similar to KHM but with greater sophistication and on a larger scale. So, we brainstormed, and we felt that something was missing from online Jewish discourse, especially in the Orthodox community. There were partisan blogs and places to tell personal narratives, but what we felt was missing was something closer to a journal, a platform for serious textual analysis or pressing communal issues written for a broad audience.鈥
One of the templates The Lehrhaus founders had in mind was Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought, begun in 1958 by Rabbi Norman Lamm and still publishing today. (Zuckier is a member of Tradition鈥檚 editorial board.) In its time, Tradition has covered topics as diverse as theology, history, biography, sociology, politics and ethics, and Zuckier, Lamm and Eleff saw The Lehrhaus as an online modern equivalent of Tradition, 鈥渁 forum to generate thoughtful and dynamic discourse among individuals within the Orthodox community and beyond who enjoy exploring the depth and diversity of Jewish ideas.鈥 By harnessing the power of the digital age, they felt, The Lehrhaus could 鈥渞einvigorate and perpetuate the great Jewish conversations of our times.鈥
Through 2015, they plotted out the elements of the publication; in 2016, they brought in others to fill out the editorial team and prepare for the launch, which happened in October of that same year. 鈥淲e have been pleasantly surprised by the considerable number of readers who have visited the site,鈥 said Zuckier. 鈥淲e knew we were filling a void but weren鈥檛 sure if that vacuum represented a lack of interest or a real need that wasn鈥檛 being met,鈥 he said with a laugh. 鈥淚t seems that our combination of hard work and faith has paid off,鈥 with The Lehrhaus receiving hundreds of thousands of clicks over its nearly two years of existence.
For the time being, the Zuckier family is living in Stamford, Connecticut. Chana, who attended Yale Law School from 2014 to 2017, is currently clerking for a federal judge, Shlomo is doing his dissertation work while participating in the Kollel Elyon and serving as a scholar-in-residence in various communities, and their two daughters are enjoying pre-school and nursery. 鈥淚 love living in the world of ideas while simultaneously rooted in reality,鈥 he said, and by all measures, he seems well-positioned to do just that.
Though the future is open-ended at the moment, Zuckier hopes to spend his career teaching Jewish texts at an advanced level and continuing his thought leadership in the Orthodox community.
