Walter Wurzburger, 82; Leader of Rabbinical Council of America
Walter Wurzburger, 82, a rabbi and philosopher who led the Rabbinical Council of America, died Tuesday in New York City.
Wurzburger taught philosophy at Yeshiva University for 35 years until his retirement last month. He also was the editor of Tradition, a quarterly Orthodox intellectual journal, from 1962 to 1988.
He was elected spiritual leader of America’s Orthodox Jews in 1976. The Rabbinical Council of America is the country’s largest and most influential Orthodox rabbinic body.
He was the author of “Ethics of Responsibility: Pluralistic Approaches to Covenantal Ethics,” which was well-received in Jewish and mainstream arenas when it was published in 1994.
The book explored whether Jewish law, or Halakhah, leaves room for individuals to make decisions according to other ethical systems. He said that while Halakhah was the highest authority, it “makes space for the input of individuality and subjectivity on religiously significant issues.”
The German-born Wurzburger also served as president of the now-defunct Synagogue Council of America, a coordinating agency for Conservative, Orthodox and Reform Jewish organizations.
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