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Book review
‘Rabbi’ is a life study
that reads like a novel
reviewed by
Joseph Glazer, D.D.S.
MILTON STEINBERG:
PORTRAIT OF A RABBI by
Simon Noveck. 267 pp ♦ notes,
bibliography and index. Ktav
(New York) $15.00.
Milton Steinberg’s presence in
American-Jewish life is still felt
today, 29 years after his untimely
death.
His books, “The Making of the
Modern Jew" and “Basic
Judaism,” among others, are
constantly discussed and studied,
and his novel, “As A Driven Leaf,"
has been reissued recently and
continues to attract many readers.
Rabbi Steinberg was # one of the
first super-stars in the rabbinate
and is remembered for his elegant
sermons, for his dedicated
involvement in Zionism, for his
work in rehabilitating refugees
from the Nazi maelstorm, for his
charter membership in the
Reconstructionist movement, for
his brilliant and reasoned writing
and unsurpassed eloquence, and,
above all, for his unswerving
Jewishness and traditional faith.
If there ever has been a
monumental figure in the
Conservative Jewish wing in
America it was Milton Steinberg.
Dr. Simon Noveck, his former
associate rabbi and successor at
the Park Avenue Synagogue, has
now given us a full-length
biography which is worthy of the
man portrayed. It deserves to be
read by all. It is a life-study that
reads like an exciting novel.
Dr. Noveck’s prose is clear and
swift. The many cameo “shots" of
his subject liven up what otherwise
might have been another
“account.” Here is an experienced
writer who brings to his work a
style that both informs and
delights. Those of us who have
followed Simon in his former
work—the “Great Jewish
Personalities” series in
particular will be happy to see his
talent re-affirmed. This book
could very well serve as a model for
a questioning Youth that tends to
consider the rabbinate narrow and
non-relating. It will remind all of
us again what a great practicing
MILTON
STEIN B ERG-'
Portrait of a Rabbi
religious leader can really achieve.
Milton Steinberg was a brilliant
student, and exceptional mind
capable of tussling with the most
difficult philosophic and theological
questions, of translating current
troubling problems into
understandable language with a
feeling of hope. As a traditionalist,
Rabbi Steinberg insisted that
Judaism was more than hist a
heritage of literature or esthetics,
but, mainly, a dedication to Jewish
Faith.
He decried the fact that his alma
mater, the Jewish Theological
Seminary, could not muster up
enough energy to issue a program
for tHe modern American Jew. He
foresaw a drifting to a tepid “Neo-
Orthodoxy” which, in spite of all
its noisy proponents, does not
meet the religious practicalities of
American Jewish life. He was
prophetic in his fears of a growing
materialism which would tend to
lead to unrepresentativeness,'
divisiveness, ultimately to apathy
and self-hate.
In the brief span of his life
Milton Steinberg attracted a host
of devoted and dedicated people
throughout the United States He
was that rare scholar who didn’t
hold himself aloof from humanity.
His kindness and personal
participation in the lives of his
congregants and wide acquain
tances are remembered by many
today. He was sincere and unique,
and is still capable of reaching
many hearts everywhere.
Editor's note: Simon Noveck.
the author of the book reviewed
here, is a former Atlantan. He is
the son of Mrs. Helen Noveck and
the late Sam Noveck. to whom this
book is dedicated. Dr. Simon
Noveck is now teaching a(
Brooklyn College. He formerly
served as Rabbi at the Park
Avenue Synagogue in New York
and Emanuel Synagogue in
Hartford. Conn. Noveck attended
the Ahavath Achim religious
school and is remembered fondly
by his manyi friends here. The
Novecks are Telated to the H.
Mendel family and to the
Wenders, and his grandfather, H.
Matzkil, is respectfully
remembered as a Talmudist and
teacher in the old Atlanta religious
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