Rabbi Vernon Kurtz, a renowned spiritual leader and scholar, remembers Rabbi Ralph Simon (1906-1996) who was a mentor in Jewish communal leadership; he also offers appreciation for Dr. Andre LaCocque for his mentorship in interfaith dialogue and academic scholarship.
A full bio of Rabbi Vernon Kurtz appears here. He was born in Toronto, Canada, received his BA from York University (1971), his MA and Rabbinic Ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary (1976), and his Doctor of Ministry degree from the Chicago Theological Seminary (1981). He also received a Doctor of Divinity degree (Honoris Causa) from the Jewish Theological Seminary (2003).
From 1976 to 1988, Rabbi Kurtz served as Assistant Rabbi and Rabbi of Congregation Rodfei Zedek in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Rabbi Kurtz then served 31 years as Rabbi of North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park, IL, where he is now Rabbi Emeritus. He is an internationally recognized rabbi, scholar and Jewish communal leader. Rabbi Kurtz now lives in Jerusalem after he and his wife Bryna made aliyah (immigration) to Israel in 2019.
Publications:
Rabbi Ralph Simon (1906-1996) spent 44 years as Rabbi of Congregation Rodfei Zedek in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago, IL.
His Chicago Tribune obituary appears here.
Rabbi Simon’s granddaughter Susannah Hoffs of the band The Bangles paid tribute to her grandfather on Instagram in 2019 with a photo of Rabbi Simon with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on March 25, 1968 at the Rabbinical Assembly Convention at which Rabbi Simon presided as president of the RA. A transcript of Dr. King’s public dialogue at the RA Convention with Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Rabbi Everett Gendler was published in Conservative Judaism Journal, 22:3, 1968, pp. 1-19. This was one of Dr. King’s final major public appearances prior to his assassination ten days later on April 4.
André LaCocque is Professor Emeritus of Hebrew Bible at Chicago Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, and the founding Director of the Center for Jewish-Christian Studies at CTS. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including Ruth: A Continental Commentary (Augsburg Fortress), Esther Regina: A Bakhtinian Reading (Northwestern University Press), and the trilogy on innocence in the Hebrew Bible, The Trial of Innocence: Adam, Eve and the Yahwist (Wipf and Stock), Onslaught Against Innocence: Cain, Abel and the Yahwist, Jesus the Central Jew and The Captivity of Innocence: Babel and the Yahwist (both from Cascade). He also coauthored Thinking Biblically:Exegetical and Hermeneutical Studies with Paul Ricoeur.
Dr. LaCocque discusses his book Jesus the Central Jew in this 2015 symposium.
Here is Rabbi Kurtz’s review of Prof. Andre Lacocque's "Jesus, the Central Jew".
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