The “Chosen People” Reconsidered: 1984 Symposium
November 3, 2025
First published in The Reconstructionist, September 1984, pp. 8-27
Arnold M. Eisen, one of the world’s foremost authorities on American Judaism, is chancellor emeritus of The Jewish Theological Seminary and professor of Jewish Thought. Professor Eisen became chancellor in 2007 and stepped down in spring 2020 to return to teaching and scholarship as a full-time member of the JTS faculty. During his tenure as chancellor, he transformed the education of religious, pedagogical, professional, and lay leaders for North American Jewry, with a focus on graduating highly skilled, innovative leaders who bring Judaism alive in ways that speak authentically to Jews at a time of rapid and far-reaching change.
Professor Eisen is the author, most recently, of Seeking the Hiding God: A Personal Theological Essay. Among his other works are: Galut: Modern Jewish Reflection on Homelessness and Homecoming, and Rethinking Modern Judaism: Ritual, Commandment, Community, and, with Steven M. Cohen, The Jew Within: Self, Family and Community in America.
In 2015, Professor Eisen announced that JTS would undertake a major project to re-imagine its Morningside Heights campus. The 21st Century Campus, opening in Fall 2020, is designed to foster innovation, learning and teaching, and a deep sense of community, while advancing JTS’s mission to be a center of inquiry, conversation, and inspiration for the Jewish community of North America.
As chancellor, Professor Eisen placed significant emphasis on strengthening Jewish learning in our communities, creating programs that extend the reach of JTS’s scholarship and resources beyond the campus to Jewish learners around the world. These programs included expanded access to the treasures of The JTS Library through increased digitization, new online and on-campus courses for the public, a new JTS Fellows program to increase opportunities for adult learning, and the development of JTS Torah Online, a rich menu of videos, podcasts, and Torah commentary.
Professor Eisen’s initiatives also included the Block / Kolker Center for Spiritual Arts; the interfaith Center for Pastoral Education; the Hendel Center for Ethics and Justice; and the Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue. Other initiatives strengthened early childhood, experiential, and Israel education.
Before coming to JTS, Professor Eisen served on the faculties of Stanford, Tel Aviv, and Columbia universities. He has contributed regularly to print and online media, including the Wall Street Journal, The Jewish Week, Huffington Post, Tablet, and Fortune, and he discussed Jewish education, philosophy, and values on his blog, On My Mind: Arnie Eisen. He is a lifelong and devoted Conservative Jew.
Professor Eisen sits on the advisory boards of the Tanenbaum Center, the Covenant Foundation, and the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life and Culture.
First published in The Reconstructionist, September 1984, pp. 8-27
Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement
Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
