Born Stary, February 20, 1925. Died Beverly Hills, California, December 15, 2008, aged 83.
January 29, 2009 14:29Editor of a controversial Torah commentary, university president Rabbi David Lieber deeply influenced American Conservative Judaism, writes Tom Tugend.
His parents left Poland when he was two. He was ordained as a Conservative rabbi at New York’s Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he gained a doctorate in Hebrew literature.
He joined the University of Judaism in Los Angeles (now the American Jewish University) as dean. He was its president from 1964 until retiring in 1993.
He expanded its remit to include graduate and adult studies, business courses for charity administrators and the first West Coast training course for Conservative rabbis.
In retirement he resumed full-time teaching and was elected president of the Rabbinical Assembly, whose Conservative congregations represent 1.5 million Jews in North America.
He crowned his scholarly career by editing Etz Hayim (Tree of Life). Intended as a modern Torah interpretation for Conservative synagogues, the 2002 publication replaced the standard version produced by British Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz in 1937.
Etz Hayim contains the Hebrew text with a facing English translation but also has essays by 41 scholars, which drew immediate objections from Conservative as well as Orthodox rabbis.
Based on recent archaeological and philological findings, some scholars questioned whether Abraham and Moses existed, David was a mighty king or provincial leader, Joshua actually conquered Canaan, and Jericho had any walls to come tumbling down.
Rabbi Lieber is survived by Esther, his wife of 63 years; two sons; two daughters and 11 grandchildren.