Dedicated to Rabbi Asher Bar-Zev, Ph.D. (1932-2021)
Rabbi Asher Bar-Zev, Ph.D. (1932-2021)
This reinaugural issue of Masorti: The New Journal of Conservative Judaism is lovingly dedicated in memory of Rabbi Dr. Asher Bar-Zev (Langenauer) z″l by his family. A 1958 graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary Rabbinical School, Rabbi Bar-Zev served for three years in Japan as a chaplain in the United States Air Force. His career continued as a congregational rabbi in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Florida and, while still a full-time rabbi, he earned a Ph.D. in molecular biology to further his understanding of science and religion. He later changed careers and used his counseling skills as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch for over twenty years. A true Renaissance man, Rabbi Bar-Zev was widely published, and he taught and lectured throughout the world on a variety of subjects: science and religion, genealogy, photography, Israel, and Jewish themes in Christian art, to name a few. Rabbi Bar-Zev was a man of enormous integrity, a pioneer, a leader, a brilliant thinker and powerful orator who left an unforgettable mark on all who had the honor of knowing him. Just as Rabbi Bar-Zev led his life, may the readers of this publication be inspired to lead lives of Torah, ‘avodah, and gemilut ḥasadim.