Rabbi Alexander Schindler; Innovative Leader in Reform Judaism

Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler, the outspoken leader of Reform Judaism who urged synagogues to embrace non-Jewish spouses and championed the ordination of gays and lesbians, died Wednesday. He was 75.

Schindler suffered a heart attack at his home in Westport, Conn.

For nearly a quarter-century, Schindler presided over the most liberal of Judaism’s three main branches, broadening its appeal to attract unaffiliated Jews on the margins.

He insisted that non-Jewish spouses be welcomed into synagogue life through programs that would encourage intermarried couples to embrace Judaism.

Schindler also broke with the ancient tradition that considered only the children of Jewish mothers to be Jews. Instead, he gave equal weight to the lineage of fathers, as long as their children were reared as Jews.

His stance on lineage was endorsed by the Central Conference of American Rabbis, a national group of Reform clergy, and has become the standard for the movement’s 1.5 million members.

“Alexander Schindler was a passionate advocate of liberal Judaism and in some ways a revolutionary, somebody who opened dramatic change,” said Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, who succeeded Schindler four years ago as president of the movement’s governing body, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

“He was a person ahead of his time,” Yoffie said.

Schindler’s ideas opened the doors of Jewish life to many who had once watched from the outside. He wrote what is believed to be the first commentary on the Torah from a Reform perspective. The work is titled “The Torah: A Modern Commentary.”

Colleagues credited him with uniting Jews from disparate backgrounds under an umbrella that was as inclusive as it was embracing.

“He was truly a prophetic man,” said Rabbi Denise L. Eger of Kol Ami, a West Hollywood synagogue that serves both gay and straight families. “This was a man of great courage and action. He understood the indignity that goes along with gay bashing. He understood the discrimination [against] people with AIDS. He provided the vision that we don’t have a Jew to waste. He wasn’t afraid to speak out, even when other voices wanted to maintain the status quo.”

Schindler’s positions often drew biting criticism from those outside the Reform movement. Leaders from the more tradition-bound branches of Judaism, particularly the Orthodox, argued that his ideas ventured outside the bounds of Jewish law and threatened the integrity of Jewish culture.

“Rabbi Schindler was a great man, a person to be admired. Our disagreements with him were based on theology and a different view of Judaism,” said Sarrae Crane, director of social action and public policy for United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, an umbrella organization for Conservative congregations.

The Conservative and Orthodox branches have policies against ordaining gays and lesbians. While the Conservative movement ordains women, the Orthodox branch does not.

Schindler was born in Munich, Germany, in 1925. He fled with his family after the Nazis rose to power, arriving in the United States at age 12.

He served as a corporal in the U.S. Army, earning a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and three combat ribbons for bravery in action as a member of a mountain division in Europe during World War II. After the war, Schindler graduated from City College of New York before earning his ordination, in 1953, from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati.

He spent six years as the rabbi of a congregation in Worcester, Mass., and then moved through various positions within the Reform movement hierarchy before assuming the presidency of the governing body in 1973. He held the position until 1996.

Schindler also served in several other high-profile positions, including vice president of the World Jewish Congress and chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

Those who knew Schindler remembered him in the most personal tones, recalling his sensitivity, his eloquence, his passion.

“Alex, as we called him, was a powerful spiritual influence on me,” said Rabbi Jerrold Goldstein, associate director of the Pacific Southwest Council of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

“Every time I listened to him speak, whether publicly or privately, I always felt moved to be a better Jew. He helped us understand how universal the message of Judaism could be.”

Schindler is survived by his wife of 44 years, Rhea, their five children and nine grandchildren.