'Inspired all of us': Longtime Hebrew Union College President David Ellenson dies at 76

Longtime president of Cincinnati's Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Rabbi David Ellenson, died suddenly Thursday morning. He was 76.

Ellenson was president of Hebrew Union for roughly 12 years, serving from 2001 to 2013. He returned to lead the college as interim president in 2018 and 2019, following the death of Rabbi Aaron Panken, who was killed in a small plane crash in New York state.

In addition to his position as president, Ellenson held the title of chancellor emeritus and was director of the Jerome H. Louchheim School of Judaic Studies at Hebrew Union's campus in Los Angeles.

"It is impossible to overstate David’s importance to the Jewish people, Reform Judaism and to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in particular," current President Andrew Rehfeld said in a statement. “His scholarship and depth of knowledge were world-renowned, and his humility, warmth, generosity of spirit, and deep concern for each individual inspired all of us who had the privilege to know him. I feel blessed to have had him as a friend and mentor and will miss him dearly.”

Hebrew Union has campuses in New York City, Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Jerusalem. Cincinnati is where the first Reform Judaism rabbinical school was founded in North America in 1875.

Reform Judaism is a progressive sect of the faith which is the predominant denomination in the U.S., as compared to Orthodox Judaism, which is dominant in Israel.

Ellenson was born in Brookline, Massachusetts in 1947, but raised in Newport News, Virginia.

He had been a member of the college's faculty since 1979 and was ordained as a rabbi at Hebrew Union's New York campus in 1977 before receiving a doctorate from Columbia University four years later.

While Ellenson primarily resided in New York, at least at the time he became president, he had an office and residence near all four Hebrew Union campuses, according to a 2002 Enquirer article.

"Widely respected for his scholarship, integrity, and menschlichkeit, Rabbi Ellenson’s collaborative leadership reflected his commitment to advancing Jewish unity," reads a statement from Hebrew Union announcing his death.

Under Ellenson's tenure as president, he strengthened the college's faculty by adding leading emerging scholars and supported faculty research and publication, leading to "scores of new books and scholarly articles each year," Hebrew Union officials said.

He also spearheaded the renovation of the Klau Library and the dedication of its Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Pavilion, along with the construction of the Malloy Education Building and its Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati Electronic Classroom at the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

"The role of an institution like the Hebrew Union College in helping to forge a progressive, open, liberal religious voice is genuinely more crucial than ever precisely because we have seen in recent years what some of the ill effects are of religious fundamentalism: the lack of openness, the lack of tolerance, the lack of an appreciation of pluralism," Ellenson told The Enquirer in 2002.

Ellenson wrote prolifically on trends emerging in American Jewish life, according to Hebrew Union, and was outspoken on issues including LGBTQIA+ rights, marriage equality, and abortion ban laws.

In 2004, Ellenson authored an opinion piece in The Enquirer advocating for social acceptance of embryonic stem cell research, believing it to be a form of medicine that could one day cure some of the world's most formidable genetic diseases.

"Through all of these efforts, he demonstrated a passionate commitment to the people and State of Israel and the central role that Israel plays in the Reform Movement," the college's statement reads.

Ellenson is survived by his wife, Rabbi Jacqueline Koch Ellenson, his children Ruth Andrew Ellenson (Lorne), Rabbi Micah Ellenson (Sara), Hannah Miram Ellenson (Rebecca), Nomi Ellenson May (Spencer), and Rafi Ellenson, and his four grandchildren Lily, Rose, Shai and Yonah.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in New York City. It will be live streamed via the synagogue's website.

Memorial donations can be made to Hebrew Union's Year in Israel Program, as well as the Israeli Rabbinic Program.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: David Ellenson, longtime Hebrew Union College president, dies at 76