Rabbi- Author & Speaker
Some religious leaders are glad to provide spiritual guidance with a local focus. Others take advantage of opportunities to serve different groups geographically and in different ways, including traditional rabbi duties plus writing books and public speaking. Neither alternative is better than the other; the path pursued is a function of interest and opportunity and may change from time to time.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
Simeon Maslin (SM), known as ‘Shim,’ short for Shimon, his Hebrew name, was born in Winthrop, Mass, near Boston, into an Orthodox Jewish family.
(Editor’s note: Orthodox Judaism advocates a strict observance of Jewish Law, or halakha, which is to be interpreted and determined only according to traditional methods and in adherence to the continuum of received precedent through the ages. These traditional practices are manifested in the dietary, purity, ethical and other laws of halakha. Practicing Orthodox Jews are easily distinguishable by their lifestyle, retraining from doing routine actions on the Sabbath and holidays, consuming only kosher food, praying thrice daily, studying the Torah often, donning head covering and tassels for men and modest clothing for women.)
EDUCATION
Following high school graduation, SM earned a Bachelor’s degree in modern European history from Harvard University, followed by a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
CHANGING CAREER DIRECTION
Originally interesting in working in government, SM was inspired at Penn to act on his religious inclinations and was ordained as a Rabbi at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He later earned a Doctorate of Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary.
RABBI – QUALIFICATIONS AND DUTIES
Within the Jewish religion (known as Judaism), a ‘Rabbi’ is a spiritual leader, somewhat similar to a Minister or Priest within other large, international religious groups.
A person qualifies to be a rabbi by academic studies of the Hebrew Bible and the Talmud to act as a spiritual leader and religious teacher of a Jewish community or congregation.
Whereas rabbis assist at all religious marriages, their presence at most other ceremonies is not required. Nonetheless, they generally conduct religious services, assist at bar mitzvahs and bat mitzvahs and are present at funerals and sometimes circumcisions. In questions of divorce, a rabbi’s role depends on an appointment to a special court of Jewish law.
A rabbi may preach on occasion and counsels and consoles as needs arise. A rabbi has responsibility for the total religious education of the young, but the extent of the rabbi’s participation, beyond the realm of general supervision, is dictated by local circumstances.
TRAVELING OPENS EYES TO LARGER WORLD VIEWS
Serving others as a rabbi provided an opportunity for SM to travel and learn about different cultures while adding to his larger world perspectives. Thus, SM worked for different periods in the Caribbean Island country of Curacao and volunteered as a chaplain on cruise ships so he could meet with Jewish communities at the ships’ ports of call around the world.
Despite language and cultural differences, rabbi SM was able to share with those he met, many common themes involving the daily practices of religious belief.
SPEAKER AND AUTHOR
A senior rabbi in the Philadelphia area for about 20 years, SM spoke often and wrote extensively about his faith and its collision with modern issues. A teacher and mentor to many in the U.S., Australia, South Africa, Latin America and elsewhere, he lectured about the importance of religious diversity in communities, the essential role for women in modern life, world peace, the separation of church and state and other significant issues for current times.
SM called himself a “religious naturalist,” described God as a “guiding friend,” and published, among other books, God for Grown-Ups: A Jewish Perspective (2019), Uncle Sol’s Women (2014) and Gates of Mitzvah: A Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle (2009).
On a podcast about God for Grown-Ups, SM said: “For a religion in a scientific age to have meaning, we have to strip it of its mythology.
He published opinion pieces in the Jewish Exponent, the Philadelphia Inquirer and elsewhere, once stating: “The function of a Jew is to be a co-creator, with God, of the world. The task of the human being is to perfect the world, using the tools God gives us.”
LEADERSHIP ROLES
Having earned the respect of many people both inside and outside the Jewish faith, specifically including his fellow rabbis, SM was elected President of the New York-based Central Conference of American Rabbis (1995-1997), active with the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and a member of the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, and other community-based groups.
CAREER SATISFACTION
“Rabbi Shim Maslin left his mark as a brilliant orator and thinker, an interfaith leader deeply committed to social issues and learning,” said a colleague professor of modern Jewish history at the University of Pennsylvania.
In an online tribute, current leaders of the Central Conference of American Rabbis recalled Rabbi Masline for his “extraordinary scholarship, his gorgeous singing voice, his cherubic smile with a gleam in his eye, and the way that he made each rabbi – indeed, any person with whom he was speaking – feel that they were the only person in the room.”
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This career story was based on an obituary written by Gary Miles, published by the Philadelphia Inquirer on March 2, 2022 plus internet research including Wikipedia and www.britannica.com
