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May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
Sept. 1, 2005
/27 Menachem-Av, 5765
First Chasidic Jew to head major American law school
By
Steve Lipman
Hofstra picks scion of 30 generations of rabbis and brother of JWR contributor
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The best advice young Aaron Twerski, a Chasidic Jew and scion of 30 generations of rabbis, received, came while he was in pharmacy school. A native of Milwaukee, he had finished his days of full-time yeshiva learning, and thought he would have a career in the sciences. "Aaron, take a picture of yourself 10 years from today and go there," a cousin from Israel said one day.
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Rabbi Dr. -- and now, Dean -- Twerski, with students |
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In other words, figure out what you want to do with your life, and do it.
Twerski was not happy with what he saw. "I pictured myself as doing something very pedestrian." He was miserable in pharmacy school, "a disaster in the laboratory."
He decided to return to his first professional interest — law. "It was a career where I would be able to serve people."
Four decades after he went to law school and embarked on a career that established him as a leading expert in tort law, Rabbi and Doctor Twerski — he prefers the title professor — received another sign of recognition this week. He was installed on Tuesday as dean of the Hofstra University School of Law in Hempstead, L.I., where he had served as a faculty member for 14 years.
He became, according to the school, the first Chasidic Jew to head a major law school in the United States.
"He is a nationally and internationally renowned scholar and a revered teacher who possesses tremendous energy, leadership ability, enthusiasm and integrity," said Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz.
"I was chosen not because I am a Chasidic Jew but because I had a career that was suitable for the task," Rabbi Twerski told The Jewish Week. His appointment, at 66, symbolizes "that the time for discrimination against Chasidic Jews because of what they look like will start coming to an end."
Rabbi Twerski, with a Chasidic man's standard beard and long black coat, had encountered discrimination, he said. "It was very much an issue.
"I had great difficulty being hired at the beginning of my career," Rabbi Twerski said. In 1966 he served as a teaching fellow at Harvard Law School. "I was told that I was the star teaching fellow of that year." Then time for job offers arrived. "I got no offers."
A law school administrator called his student in for a talk. "You're not going to get a teaching job," the administrator said — no one would hire an obviously Chasidic Jew as a law teacher.
Another time, he said, "I was told directly, 'Do you have to be so religious?' "
"I remember coming home and crying," Rabbi Twerski said.
At the "last minute," he received an offer from Duquesne University, a Catholic institution in Pittsburgh where he spent four years. "It's not surprising," he said. "They took religion seriously."
From there he went to Hofstra, then Brooklyn Law School, then back to Hofstra this year, recruited by the university.
"My first answer was 'no,' " he said. "I was teaching and writing and being published in some of the very best journals." That, in addition to serving as a communal leader in Borough Park's Chasidic community and a de facto community spokesman.
Why did he change his mind?
"My wife still wants to know the answer to that," he said. His answer: "The challenge and an opportunity to put my vision on the law school."
Being law school dean means longer working days, often commuting to work in a car service and doing his day's Torah learning en route. "It's a strain," he conceded.
At the Hofstra convocation this week where he was inaugurated, Rabbi Twerski wore his long black coat, his standard garb, under his academic robe. People saw, he said, "the way Chasidim dress."
Rabbi Twerski asks prospective faculty members the question that changed his life some 40 years ago — how do they picture themselves in a decade?
Someone asked the rabbi, on the eve of his inauguration, to answer the question himself again.
His answer this time was more optimistic.
"I hope I can build a law school," he said. "I hope G-d will give me good health. I hope I have time to learn Torah in depth and have time to serve my community and enjoy my family."
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Steve Lipman is a staff writer for The New York Jewish Week. Comment on this column by clicking here.
© 2005, NY Jewish week
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