Samuel Dinin, 103; Educator Was a Driving Force in L.A. Jewish Schools

Samuel Dinin, who played a central role in shaping Jewish education in Los Angeles, including institutions such as the University of Judaism and Los Angeles Hebrew High School, died at his Westwood home Thursday of natural causes. He was 103.

Dinin, a native of Russia, came to Los Angeles after World War II, when fewer than 200,000 Jews lived here. By the early 1950s, that population had grown to 450,000, creating a demand for Jewish education that Dinin helped to fill.

“He professionalized Jewish teaching in this city,” David Lieber, president emeritus of the University of Judaism, said in an interview Friday. “He had enormous influence.”

Dinin arrived in Los Angeles in 1945 after taking a leave of absence from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he was registrar and taught education and history. Under the auspices of the seminary, he launched the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles to promote Jewish learning. He became the bureau’s first full-time executive director.

The growth of Jewish schools increased demand for teachers. In 1947, Dinin brought together resources of the bureau and the Jewish Theological Seminary to organize the University of Judaism, with the primary purpose of training teachers in Jewish education. Now in its 58th year, it is known nationally for its undergraduate, graduate and rabbinical programs.

Although he continued to work full time for the Bureau of Jewish Education, Dinin virtually ran the university in its early years, Lieber said. He left the bureau in 1956 and shortly thereafter joined the university full time, serving as academic dean and later as faculty chairman and vice president.

He retired in 1974 to become an emeritus professor of education and history.

Dinin helped found Los Angeles Hebrew High School, which started with 36 students in 1949 and now enrolls more than 500 in nine branches from West Los Angeles to Santa Clarita. The educator also helped establish a more informal learning center, Camp Ramah in Ojai.

He wrote widely on Jewish learning and was editor for many years of Jewish Education, a national professional journal.

Dinin earned a bachelor’s degree in 1922 from City College of New York. He received a master’s degree in 1923 and a doctorate in 1933, both from Columbia University.

Survivors include a daughter, Mimi Sisk of Rancho Palos Verdes; a son, Michael of West Hills; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Memorial donations may be sent to the Samuel Dinin Professional Development Fund, Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Los Angeles, 6505 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048.