Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 8, 2026

David E. Stern

Rabbi David Eli Stern is the senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, the largest synagogue in the South/Southwest United States and the third-largest in the Union for Reform Judaism. He was selected as the 26th most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine in 2008 and the 30th most influential in 2009.

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Rabbi David Eli Stern (born August 1961) is the senior rabbi at Temple Emanu-El of Dallas, the largest synagogue in the South/Southwest United States and the third-largest in the Union for Reform Judaism.1 2 He was selected as the 26th most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine in 20083 and the 30th most influential in 2009.4

Education

Rabbi Stern graduated with high honors from Dartmouth College, earned his M. A. in Jewish education from the Rhea Hirsch School of Education at HUC-JIR Los Angeles, California in 1988, and was ordained from HUC in 1989.5

Career

Rabbi Stern was the 2017-2019 President of CCAR,6 the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and is known for his efforts on social justice. He is the vice-chair of the Union for Reform Judaism's Joint Commission on Social Action and Chair of the Commission's Task Force on Economic Justice.7 He has been a fierce advocate in leading Temple Emanu-El and the Jewish community on issues such as Darfur8 including the creation of the Dolls for Darfur program and visiting Sudanese Refugees in Chad.910 He is also the past chair of both the Dallas Faith Communities Coalition, the Children's Advisory Board of the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center,11 and the Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas. Rabbi Stern serves on the boards of both CHAI (Community Homes for Adults, Inc.)12 and the Dallas Jewish Coalition for the Homeless.13 He is also associated with the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East,14 and was a signatory on the group's February 28, 2006 National Interreligious Leadership Delegation for Peace in the Middle East Appeal to the President [George W. Bush] to Make Israeli-Palestinian Peace a Priority of U.S. Policy.15

Rabbi Stern is also widely regarded for his sermons and adult education. He led at $17.5 million Endowment Campaign in 2002-2003.16 Temple Emanu-El established the Rabbi David E. Stern Endowed Scholarship in April 2007 in honor of his 18th year as a rabbi and 18th year at Temple Emanu-El.7 (The number 18 holds significant value in Judaism).

Rabbi Stern is on the editorial board for the CCAR Journal, the journal for the Central Conference of American Rabbis,17 and also chairs the Governance Task Force of the CCAR. He is on the prestigious HUC-JIR's President's Rabbinic Council.13

In March 2017, Rabbi Stern was installed as President of CCAR, the third generation of his family to hold that office.18

Personal life

Rabbi Stern is the son of Rabbi Jack Stern, the longtime former rabbi of Westchester Reform Temple19 and the poet Priscilla Rudin Stern20 (who is the daughter of Rabbi Jacob Philip Rudin, the longtime Rabbi at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck, New York21). He is married to Rabbi Nancy Kasten and has three children.13

See also

See also

Notes

Notes

  1. Temple Emanu-El picks Rabbi Stern, 35, to lead 3rd-largest Reform synagogue in U.S. Dallas Morning News, August 23, 1996
  2. [1] Book Review of A Light in the Prairie
  3. [2] Newsweek Top 50 Influential Rabbis in America, April 11, 2008
  4. [3] Newsweek Top 50 influential Rabbis in America, April 4, 2009
  5. Rabbi David E. Stern Endowed Scholarship Established at HUC-JIR Archived 2007-11-10 at the Wayback Machine Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion
  6. "Past Presidents Council". Central Conference of American Rabbis. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 10, 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) HUC-JIR Article on Rabbi Stern
  8. [4] Archived 2008-05-15 at the Wayback Machine Stern column on Darfur
  9. "Reform Judaism Magazine - on the Edge of Life". Archived from the original on 2007-10-05. Retrieved 2008-01-26. On the Edge of Life
  10. [5] Velveteen Rabbi's Blog
  11. [6] Archived 2008-07-23 at the Wayback Machine Dallas Children's Advocacy Center Advisory Board
  12. [7] Archived 2008-07-04 at the Wayback Machine CHAI Board
  13. [8] Archived 2006-11-14 at the Wayback Machine Temple Emanu-El Biography
  14. [9] National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East website contains the Appeal listing Rabbi Stern.
  15. [10] National Interreligious Leadership Delegation for Peace in the Middle East Appeal to the President [George W. Bush] to Make Israeli-Palestinian Peace a Priority of U.S. Policy.
  16. [11] URJ Inside Leadership article
  17. [12] Archived 2008-05-03 at the Wayback Machine CCAR Journal masthead
  18. "David Stern becomes third-generation president of Reform rabbinical group". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-26.
  19. [13] Deprecated link archived 2007-08-17 at archive.today Rabbi Jack Stern Bio at Westchester Reform Temple
  20. [14] The New York Times paid obituary for Priscilla Rudin Stern
  21. [15] Archived 2007-12-09 at the Wayback Machine Temple Beth El website biography
References

References