Rabbi David Hartman z”l

Rabbi David Hartman, 81 years old at his death, was a formative voice in the Jewish religious community in Israel. He was a philosopher and theologian, promoted diversity within Judaism and was actively involved in dialogue with Christian theologians.

The Institute he founded in 1976 became an important center of religious research into the questions of modernity, pluralism and Jewish identity in Israel and the Diaspora.

Born in 1931 in Brooklyn, New York, he received a traditional Jewish education, was ordained a rabbi after studies at Yeshiva University and went on to study philosophy at Fordham, a Catholic university run by the Jesuits.

After immigrating to Israel, he served as professor at Hebrew University and advisor to the Minister of Education. He was the author of numerous books on Jewish thought and Judaism.

The annual theology conferences he initiated were a time for Jews, Christians and Muslims to study their foundational texts together and grow in their self identity and self criticism.

He is survived by his wife and children, including Rabbi Donniel Hartman, present director of the Hartman Institute, and Tova Hartman, founder of a pluralist, Orthodox synagogue community, Shira Hadasha, in Jerusalem.

May his memory be a blessing!