Harold Kushner

For the mathematician, see Harold J. Kushner.

Harold Samuel Kushner
Born	(1935-04-03)April 3, 1935 New York City, U.S.
Died	April 28, 2023(2023-04-28) (aged 88) Canton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma mater	Columbia University
Occupations	Rabbi author
Notable work	When Bad Things Happen to Good People When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough

Harold Samuel Kushner (April 3, 1935 – April 28, 2023) was an American rabbi, author, and lecturer. He was a member of the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism and served as the congregational rabbi of Temple Israel of Natick, in Natick, Massachusetts, for 24 years.

Kushner gained widespread recognition for his many popular books that simplify complex theological ideas for both Jewish and non-Jewish readers. He received numerous awards, including the Christopher Award in 1987 and the Jewish Book Council's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. His most prominent works include When Bad Things Happen to Good People, delving into human suffering, divine kindness, and theodicy following his son's death, and When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough, exploring existential themes of life's purpose and the pursuit of fulfillment.

Kushner was known for his Reconstructionist views and for his ideological progressiveness within the Conservative movement. He argued against the notion of an omnipotent, interventionist God, and instead focused on God's role in offering comfort and solace to those who suffer.

Early life and education

Harold Samuel Kushner was born to Conservative Jewish parents Julius and Sarah (née Hartman) Kushner in Brooklyn, New York City. His family moved to the Crown Heights section when he started elementary school. Kushner was an avid fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers in his early years. While his mother was a homemaker, his father owned Playmore Publishing, a shop at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street that specialized in selling children's books and toys, primarily Bible stories. Julius had hoped that his son would take over the business someday, but Harold did not believe he possessed the same level of business acumen as his father.

After graduating from Erasmus Hall High School, he attended Columbia University, where he initially intended to major in psychology but later switched to literature after being taught by Mark Van Doren, a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. At Columbia, Kushner's extracurricular positions included working for Jester of Columbia and WKCR, where he eventually became the director of sports broadcasting, and serving as the president of the student Zionist organization.

Despite having a strong religious upbringing, Kushner had no plans to become a rabbi until he enrolled in an evening program at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. He became certain about his calling to be a rabbi during his junior year at Columbia. He completed his bachelor's degree in religious education in 1955, and after completing his master's degree in the social and philosophical foundations of education in 1960, he enrolled full-time at the seminary, where he was ordained that same year. He received his doctorate in Hebrew literature in 1972. Kushner also completed a year of graduate work at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and taught at Clark University and the Rabbinical School of the JTS.

Rabbinical career

Following his rabbinic ordination, Kushner went to court to request the waiver of his military exemption. He served for two years as a first lieutenant in the Army's Chaplain Corps at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.

After his discharge from the Army's Chaplain Corps, Kushner returned to New York and served as an assistant rabbi at Temple Israel in Great Neck from 1962 to 1966. He led the New England Region of the Rabbinical Assembly from 1972 to 1974.

Kushner served as the congregational rabbi of Temple Israel, Natick, Massachusetts, for 24 years and belonged to the Rabbinical Assembly. He served as the full-time rabbi of the synagogue until 1983, at which point he transitioned to part-time service in order to dedicate more time to writing. In 1990, he started to write and lecture full time. The synagogue deemed Kushner, who was 55 years old at the time, too young to be appointed as rabbi emeritus, so he was bestowed the title of rabbi laureate in 1983, a distinction held by only a few American rabbis.

Kushner was a eulogist at the state funeral of Ronald Reagan in the Washington National Cathedral on June 11, 2004. He offered a reading from the Bible.

Writing

With the backing of Rabbi Ira Eisenstein, the founder of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, Kushner released his inaugural book in 1971 under the title When Children Ask About God: A Guide for Parents Who Don't Always Have All the Answers. Rather than reinforcing the notion of God as an all-knowing and all-powerful creator, he aimed to foster a healthy skepticism and encourage questioning as a means of developing a meaningful religious faith. The book primarily targeted parents and aimed to address the concerns of people who were seeking a new Jewish belief system more in line with their broader worldview.

Kushner is best known for his international best-selling book on the problem of evil, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, published in 1981. Written following the death of his son, Aaron, from the premature aging disease progeria, the book deals with questions about human suffering, God, omnipotence, and theodicy. Kushner aimed to assist individuals in maintaining their belief in God's benevolence despite experiencing personal tragedies. His book offers a fresh interpretation of the Book of Job, suggesting that while God may not have the power to prevent suffering, God provides solace to those who are afflicted. The book resonated with readers across religions and was translated into at least 12 languages. Its success propelled it to the top of The New York Times Best Seller list, and established Kushner as a well-known author and commentator. In 1991, it tied for the ninth position with four other books in the Book of the Month Club's list of the top ten books that had the most significant impact on American lives, based on a nationwide survey. The book's popularity was partly attributed to Protestant clergy members promoting it in their sermons and distributing copies to their congregations. Four million copies had been sold by the book's 20th anniversary.

In 1986, Kushner published When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough: The Search for a Life That Matters, a book addressing matters of existentialism, particularly the meaning of life and the individual pursuit of happiness. Kushner expained that he aimed to explore why individuals who achieve success may not feel fulfilled with their lives. The book won a Christopher Award in 1987.

Who Needs God?, published in 1989, argued for the ongoing relevance of God in a world characterized by unprecedented human achievements. As with Kushner's previous works, Reconstructionist views were apparent in his attempt to make room for religious life and the notion of God without the belief in an all-powerful creator. He aimed to bridge the gap between religious fundamentalism and atheism, highlighting that organized religion's greatest offering is not theology but rather the comfort and support of a spiritual community. Kushner also asserted that the existence of God endows individuals with the ability to perceive holiness in the world and attain a greater sense of purpose.

Kushner wrote a number of other popular theological books, such as How Good Do We Have to Be? and To Life!. Works such as When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough, Who Needs God? and How Good Do We Have to Be? reached a wide readership of millions. Carolyn Hessel, director of the Jewish Book Council, attributed Kushner's success to his ability to appeal to everyone regardless of their background. In 2007, Kushner received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jewish Book Council.

In the fall of 2001, Kushner achieved his sixth best-seller with Living a Life That Matters, a book that centered around the character of Jacob from the Old Testament.

Kushner's response to Simon Wiesenthal's question of forgiveness was included in a revised 1997 edition of the book The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness, alongside those of 45 other leading intellectuals and commentators. Wiesenthal's inquiry emerged from a real-life scenario during the Holocaust, when he confronted a dying Nazi soldier who sought absolution for his heinous deeds, prompting the question: Can such profound wrongdoing be forgiven? Kushner conveyed the essence of forgiveness as follows:

Forgiving is not something we do for another person. . . . Forgiving happens inside us. It represents a letting go of the sense of grievance, and perhaps most importantly a letting go of the role of victim. For a Jew to forgive the Nazis would not mean, God forbid, saying to them "What you did was understandable, I can understand what led you to it and I don't hate you for it." It would mean saying "What you did was thoroughly despicable and puts you outside the category of decent human beings. But I refuse to give you the power to define me as a victim. I refuse to let your blind hatred define the shape and content of my Jewishness. I don't hate you; I reject you." And then the Nazi would remained chained to his past and to his conscience, but the Jew would be free.

Kushner was an editor of the journal Conservative Judaism from 1980 to 1984. In 2001, he co-authored Etz Hayim: A Torah Commentary, the new official Torah commentary of the Conservative movement, in collaboration with Chaim Potok.

Kushner frequently used examples from TV shows and movies in his teachings and writings to connect with his audience, as he believed many people are more familiar with these cultural references than with the Bible, although he expressed concern over the semi-literacy of the Bible and found it surprising when people were not familiar with biblical stories.

Views

Kushner, affiliated with Conservative Judaism, championed progressive concepts within the movement while deeply influenced by Mordecai Kaplan, his teacher and the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism, whom he regarded as the most influential thinker in American Jewish history. In a 1980 speech to the Rabbinical Assembly, he maintained that the objective of Conservative rabbis was to showcase that leading a religious life in the modern era could be enriching, rather than imposing strict observance on less practicing Jews. Paraphrasing Jewish theologian Martin Buber, he also once stated that "people want less theology and more religion."

Informed by the teachings of Kaplan, Kushner proposed that God lacks complete dominion over the universe and isn't culpable for evil. Within this framework, he identified two core life forces: the randomness of nature and God's purposeful actions. He challenged the notion of God causing suffering as punishment, advocating instead for a God who shares in human pain, as evidenced by God's name "I am with you" in the Book of Exodus. Kushner viewed God as an omnipotent "wellspring of empathy and love," and once recalled being concerned that during Yom Kippur, his synagogue's congregants concentrated too much on guilt and did not give themselves the chance to experience God's forgiveness. His aphorism "forgiveness benefits us more than the person we forgive" was one of many adopted by religious leaders of various faiths.

Kushner's writing and ideas were popular among Christians, but traditional Jews held mixed opinions. He once expressed, "I always thought Judaism was at its best when it not only looked at text, but when it looked at people." Kushner's approach, rooted in a focus on human needs, occasionally led him to reinterpret Jewish theology for emotional solace. This resulted in some Orthodox Jews feeling defensive of traditional Jewish teachings and accusing him of promoting un-Jewish ideas. In When Bad Things Happen to Good People, Kushner reconciled the Jewish beliefs in God's omnipotence and benevolence with human suffering by limiting God's ability to control random hazards in life. This view contradicts traditional Jewish teaching and led to criticism from Orthodox Jews, although Kushner himself acknowledged that he may have been wrong about God. Literary critic and journalist Ron Rosenbaum was not convinced by Rabbi Kushner's argument in the book, describing Kushner's position as "diminishing God to something less than an Omnipotent Being – to something more like an eager cheerleader for good, but one decidedly on the sidelines in the struggle against evil."

In line with Kaplan's influence, Kushner perceived the Torah as a fully human creation that, while acknowledging its human origins, serves to commemorate significant religious experiences in life. He sometimes expressed doubt about the reliability of individuals who claim to have heard divine messages, and cited the Binding of Isaac as a problematic narrative that contradicts fundamental religious tenets. The story tells of Abraham going to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as an offering to God in obedience to a divine directive. Although Kushner believed that Abraham heard the message, he was skeptical that God actually said it.

In September 2005, Kushner openly voiced his disappointment and distress concerning the stances adopted by certain liberal Protestant churches, notably the United Church of Christ, in support of divestment from Israel amid the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. He expressed a perception of imbalance in these positions, even if they condemned actions from both sides. Kushner compared it to passing a law that prohibits federal funds from being spent on providing weapons to both law enforcement and criminals, with the aim of curbing urban homicide.

Personal life

In 1960, Harold Kushner married Suzette Estrada and moved to Massachusetts. Estrada died in 2022. The couple had a son named Aharon Zev, who died of progeria, a daughter named Ariel, and two grandchildren. Kushner's brother Paul was a rabbi in Bellmore and Merrick on Long Island, and died in 2019.

In 1995, Christian inspirational group The Christophers included Kushner in their list of "50 individuals who have made a positive impact on the world over the past 50 years." He was the recipient of six honorary doctorates.

Kushner was a congregant of Temple Israel of Natick until he moved into a senior living residence in Canton, Massachusetts, in 2017.

Kushner died in Canton on April 28, 2023, at age 88.

Bibliography

• When Children Ask About God, 1971, ISBN 978-0805208795
• When Bad Things Happen to Good People, 1981, ISBN 978-1400034727
• When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough: The Search for a Life That Matters, 1986, ISBN 978-0446670029
• Who Needs God, 1989, ISBN 978-0743234771
• To Life: A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking, 1993, ISBN 978-0446670029
• When Children Ask About God: A Guide for Parents Who Don't Always Have All the Answers, 1995, ISBN 978-0805210330
• How Good Do We Have to Be? A New Understanding of Guilt and Forgiveness, 1997, ISBN 978-0316507417
• Living a Life That Matters: Resolving the Conflict Between Conscience and Success, 1996, ISBN 978-1447206392
• The Lord Is My Shepherd: Healing Wisdom of the 23rd Psalm, 2003, ISBN 978-1400033355
• Overcoming Life's Disappointments, 2006, ISBN 978-0739326503
• Practice Random Acts of Kindness: Bring More Peace, Love, And Compassion, contributor, 2007, ISBN 978-1573242721
• Faith & Family: Favorite Sermons of Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, October 2007, ISBN 978-0979884306
• Conquering Fear: Living Boldly in an Uncertain World, 2009, ISBN 978-0307385895
• The Book of Job: When Bad Things Happened to a Good Person, October 2012, ISBN 978-0805243079
• Nine Essential Things I've Learned about Life, 2015, ISBN 978-0804173452
• Echoes of Sinai, 2018, ISBN 978-1944377298

External links

• Rabbi Kushner's bio at Temple Israel
• Rabbi Harold Kushner talks and gives stories in relation to his latest book Overcoming Life's Disappointments (video)
• "Rabbi Kushner on Life Pains". YouTube. JBS. October 18, 2011.
• "Harold Kushner with Phil Miller: Book of Psalms". YouTube. The 92nd Street Y, New. June 21, 2013.
• "Harold Kushner on "Nine Essential Things I've Learned About Life" at the 2015 Miami Book Fair". YouTube. PBS Books. November 23, 2015.