Tuesday, February 27, 2018
The Central Conference of American Rabbis mourns the death of a beloved Reform rabbi and giant for justice, Rabbi Lynne Landsberg, z”l.
Beginning with her rabbinical ordination in 1981, Rabbi Landsberg became a leader of the CCAR and our Movement as a whole — in the congregations she served, through the lives she touched, in her interfaith work, and in her social justice advocacy. As Associate Director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism and Director of the Union for Reform Judaism’s Mid-Atlantic Council, Rabbi Landsberg partnered with her colleagues and lay leaders to build a more vibrant future for our Movement and our nation.
After surviving a life-threatening car accident in 1999 and sustaining a traumatic brain injury, Rabbi Landsberg became a tireless and uniquely effective advocate for the civil and human rights of people with disabilities. She founded and co-chaired our own CCAR Committee on Disability Awareness and Inclusion, creating significant cultural change. She brought unity to an often fractious Jewish world when she co-founded and led Hineinu: Jewish Community for People of All Abilities — bringing together the Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist Movements along with Chabad — to assure that all would have a place in the Jewish world.
Reform Rabbis unite to honor Rabbi Landsberg’s memory. We extend our deepest condolences to her husband, Dennis Ward, and their son, Jesse. The memory of Rabbi Lynne Landsberg will ever be a blessing.
Rabbi David E. Stern Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President Chief Executive
Central Conference of American Rabbis