David E. Stern

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 2008[3] and the 30th most influential in 2009.[4] 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]

Rabbi Stern 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.[6] He has been a fierce advocate in leading Temple Emanu-El and the Jewish community on issues such as Darfur[7] including the creation of the Dolls for Darfur program and visiting Sudanese Refugees in Chad.[8][9] 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,[10] and the Rabbinic Association of Greater Dallas. Rabbi Stern serves on the boards of both CHAI (Community Homes for Adults, Inc.)[11] and the Dallas Jewish Coalition for the Homeless.[12] He is also associated with the National Interreligious Leadership Initiative for Peace in the Middle East,[13] 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.[14]

Rabbi Stern is also widely regarded for his sermons and adult education. He led at $17.5 million Endowment Campaign in 2002-2003.[15] 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.[6] (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,[16] and also chairs the Governance Task Force of the CCAR. He is on the prestigious HUC-JIR's President's Rabbinic Council.[12]

In March 2017, Rabbi Stern was installed as President of CCAR, the third generation of his family to hold that office.[17]

Rabbi Stern is the son of Rabbi Jack Stern, the longtime former rabbi of Westchester Reform Temple[18] and the poet Priscilla Rudin Stern[19] (who is the daughter of Rabbi Jacob Philip Rudin, the longtime Rabbi at Temple Beth-El in Great Neck, New York[20]). He is married to Rabbi Nancy Kasten and has three children.[12]

Rabbi Stern is the basis for the rabbinical sleuth, Rabbi Rudolf Steinmetz, in Jacob M. Appel's Jewish-themed satiric mystery, Wedding Wipeout.[21]