On My Mind

Chancellor Arnold Eisen Says L’Chaim! to Conservative Judaism in the Jewish Week

Nov 22, 2013

“I’ve spent the better part of my adult life as a scholar of American Judaism, with a special focus on figures at the center of Conservative Judaism, and I’ve spent most of those years enjoying the benefits of Conservative Jewish institutions, conversations, and communities.”

Conservative Judaism: Observations and Expectations

Oct 30, 2013

As JTS graduates continue to take their place in the professional world and put Torah into action, the conversation that has been Judaism for millennia expands exponentially.

Bridging the Secular/Religious Divide in Ourselves and the World

Sep 18, 2013

The Yom Kippur liturgy holds out a special welcome, which I want to reinforce, to the tens of thousands of Jews who will attend High Holiday services this year, and perhaps fast all or part of the day despite complex and ambivalent feelings about religion and uncertainty or outright skepticism about belief in God.

Belfast and Jerusalem: “Something There Is That Doesn’t Love a Wall”

Aug 14, 2013

On the day a couple weeks ago that Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Washington DC to resume the long-stalled peace process, my wife and I toured Belfast, site of another intractable conflict that long seemed beyond resolution.

Jews of the Wall

Jun 26, 2013

When I met with Natan Sharansky in May to discuss the compromise solution he was proposing for prayer at the Western Wall, I thought the plan he laid before me was ingenious and well worth supporting.

A Tribute to David Hartman

Feb 11, 2013

The Jewish world, both in Israel and the Diaspora, lost a great teacher, thinker, and institution builder yesterday when Rabbi David Hartman (z”l) passed away in Jerusalem after a long illness. Many of us also lost a good friend.

Lights Against the Darkness

Dec 20, 2012

The news about the school shootings in Connecticut reached me just before Shabbat, the seventh day of Hanukkah. Candle-lighting seemed more needed than usual that evening.

Chancellor Arnold Eisen Reports from Jerusalem: A Week in Israel at War

Nov 20, 2012

I am leaving Israel for America in a few hours, along with JTS Executive Vice Chancellor Marc Gary.

Leadership

Jun 14, 2012

Children of Israel have not always been kind to their leaders. In last week’s parashah, Aaron and Miriam complain about Moses’s marriage and his unique relationship to God.

At the White House

May 30, 2012

Today, I had the honor of sitting across the table from the President of the United States in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. President Barack Obama and his Chief of Staff, Jacob Lew, wanted to meet with Conservative Jewish leaders from around the country. Our group—which numbered about 20—wanted to hear them speak directly, and perhaps more candidly than is the case in public, about key issues on our minds.

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