TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Finding Aid to the Eugene B. Borowitz Papers. 1945-1999.
Manuscript Collection No. 875
Collection Overview |
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| Repository: | The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives |
| Creator: | Borowitz, Eugene B., 1924- |
| Title: | Eugene B. Borowitz Papers |
| Dates: | 1945-1999 |
| Quantity: | 16.0 linear feet (16 record cartons) |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, sermons and addresses, writings, publications, subject files, and education materials. Education materials include syllabi and readings for courses taught at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. |
| Collection Number: | MS-875 |
| Language: | Collection material in English |
Biographical Sketch
Eugene B. Borowitz is one of the foremost Jewish thinkers of our time. Born in 1924, he grew up in Columbus, Ohio and attended Ohio State University. After graduation, he went to Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where he was ordained as a rabbi in 1948 and received a D.H.L. in 1950. He became the founding rabbi of the Community Synagogue in Port Washington, New York, while at the same time pursuing a Ph.D. in religion from the joint program sponsored by Columbia University and Union Theological Seminary. In 1957, he was appointed as director of the Religious Education Department of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Because of this, he switched to Columbia's doctoral program in education and received the Ed.D. in 1958. Since 1962, he has been a faculty member at the New York campus of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he is Sigmund L. Falk Distinguished Professor of Jewish Education and Religious Thought.
Borowitz is best known for his development of "covenant theology," a term he first introduced in a 1961 article in Commentary. His work has concerned itself with the dilemma of the postmodern Jew: committed to individual autonomy, but nevertheless involved with God, Torah, and Israel. His interest in redefining covenant has led him to significant work in normative ethics, some of which was collected in his book Exploring Jewish Ethics, and his teaching on the subject led to the volume, Reform Jewish Ethics and the Halakhah. Borowitz's work in covenant theology found its mature expression in his 1991 book, Renewing the Covenant.
One of Borowitz's most significant accomplishments was his founding of Sh'ma, a Journal of Jewish Responsibility in 1970. He was its publisher and editor for twenty-three years, and he served as Senior Editor from 1993 to 1997. Sh'ma provided a forum where voices from all segments of the Jewish community could be heard on a wide range of controversial topics. Borowitz wrote numerous short book reviews for Sh'ma.
--Adapted from Helfman, Amy W. "Biographical Essay,"A Life in Covenant: the Complete Works of Eugene B. Borowitz, 1944-1999. (http://huc.edu/faculty/faculty/borowitz/ebbessay.html). Accessed September 13, 2012.
Scope and Content Note
Consists of correspondence, sermons and addresses, writings, publications, subject files, and education materials. Education materials include syllabi and readings for courses taught at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Research materials on a variety of topics related to Borowitz’s writings and publications are scattered throughout. Also included are 5 boxes (boxes 12 through 16) of audiovisual materials. These include tape recordings, cassette tapes, VHS tapes, and phonograph records of interviews, addresses, and sermons.
Arrangement Note
This collection is arranged in a single series.
Conditions of Access and Use
Terms of Access
The collection is open for use; no restrictions apply.
Terms of Reproduction and Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce, with exceptions for fair use, may be obtained through the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio. Please address queries to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information, see the American Jewish Archives Upper Midwest Jewish Archives Finding Aid for the Rabbi Moses B. Sachs Papers. .
Related Material
Related Collections
Sh’ma. Records. 1970-1984. MS-245.
Borowitz, Eugene B. Interview. February 19, 2004. SC-15353.
Borowitz, Eugene B. Meet the author with Eugene Borowitz. [videorecording].1999. VT-604.
Borowitz, Eugene B. Jewish Moral Values. [videorecording]. May, 1999. VT-724.
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Eugene B. Borowitz Papers and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:
[Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-875. Eugene B. Borowitz Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Provenance
The Eugene B. Borowitz were received from Eugene B. Borowitz, Stamford, Connecticut in various installments from 1991-2002.
Processing Information
Processed by Michelle Wirth Detroit, September, 2012.
This collection was arranged and described according to minimal-processing standards. Funding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Box Folder Listing
Search Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the AJA Online Catalog.