Mordecai Waxman

Who was Mordecai Waxman?

Mordecai Waxman, KCSG, was a prominent rabbi in the Conservative Jewish movement for nearly 60 years. He served as rabbi of Temple Israel in Great Neck, New York for 55 years from 1947 through his death in 2002. He is most notable for his interactions with Pope John Paul II in the 1980s as chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations.

Waxman was the author of Tradition and Change: The Development of Conservative Judaism, published in 1958. He also served as editor of the journal, Conservative Judaism for five years, from 1969 to 1974.

Waxman received his bachelor's degree at the University of Chicago and was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. He was an Army chaplain during World War II, serving in Fort Dix, New Jersey and served from 1941 to 1942 as rabbi of Temple Beth Israel, and also in Chicago, Illinois.