Perry Rank

Perry Raphael Rank (also known as, as a derivative of his Hebrew name רפאל פרץ רנק [Refa'el Peretz Rank], Rafi Rank) is a Conservative rabbi serving Midway Jewish Center in Syosset, New York. He was President of the Conservative movement's international Rabbinical Assembly from 2004 until 2006.

Biography

Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 16, 1954, Rank attended the University of Minnesota for his undergraduate degree and earned his MA and rabbinic ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1981. Rank served, from his ordination until 1987, as the spiritual leader at Congregation Shomrei Emunah in Montclair, New Jersey, followed by twelve years as the Rabbi of Temple Beth Ahm (now merged and renamed as Temple Beth Ahm Yisrael) in Springfield, New Jersey. In 1998, the Rabbinical Assembly published Rank's edited volume, Moreh Derekh, a guide to rabbinic officiation at life cycle events in accordance with contemporary Conservative Jewish practice and thought,[1] replacing Conservative clergy's theretofore most recent life cycle manual (which was, at the time, 33 years old).[2] Moreh Derekh remains in use today, even among rabbis of multiple denominations outside Conservative Judaism itself.[3] Rank began to serve Midway Jewish Center in 1999 and continues to serve there at this time.

Rank served as President of the international Rabbinical Assembly from 2004 until 2006. During this time, he assisted in the RA's work in creating a centralized framework for conversion within Conservative Judaism,[4] an effort not dissimilar from his prior work in New Jersey in working with other regional Conservative rabbis in education towards conversion.[5] As President of the RA, Rank sat as an ex-officio member of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS), during a time when halakhic questions surrounding homosexuality were contentiously debated and the CJLS adopted the practice of requiring 20 of its 25 members to vote in favor of a teshuvah deemed a takkanah, a procedure that Rank was assigned to explain to the membership of the RA.[6] In his position as a defender of Jewish law as understood within Conservative Jewish framework, Rank spoke at the 2004 March for Women's Lives about the halakhic understanding of when abortion becomes necessary.[7] A letter penned by Rank early in his tenure as President of the RA addressed the fashion in which halakhah demands ethical treatment of animals in slaughterhouses--a letter cited both among bloggers[8] and in such widely accessed venues as Jonathan Safran Foer's book Eating Animals.[9]

Rank is married to Ellen Rank, a Jewish educator, and is a father of three, including Rabbi Jonah Rank.[10]

A Full-Figured Faith

In 2019, Rank completed and saw the release in paperback and electronic editions of his first book in his role as sole author, A Full-Figured Faith: The Expanding Effects of Doubt and Skepticism on an Evolving Jewish Faith.[11]

References
  1. Silverstein, Alan (2001). Lenderhendler (ed.). Who Owns Judaism? Public Religion and Private Faith in America and Israel: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XVII. The Avraham Harman Institute of Contemporary Jewry at Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Oxford University Press). p. 36.
  2. "New Guide For Conservative Rabbis Embraces More Life-Cycle Moments". Detroit Jewish News. November 6, 1998. p. 32.
  3. "Ritual Skills Handbook" (PDF). Academy for Jewish Religion. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  4. Lubliner, Jonathan (2011). At the Entrance of the Tent: A Rabbinic Guide to Conversion. New York: Rabbinical Assembly. p. iv.
  5. "Jewish conversion program set by rabbis". Cranford Chronicle. September 11, 1997. p. A-6.
  6. Siegel, Jennifer (March 17, 2006). "Rabbis In Advance Of Parley". The Forward. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  7. Nussbaum Cohen, Debra (April 23, 2004). "All Aboard For Choice". The Jewish Week. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  8. Berger, Zackary Sholem (December 12, 2004). "Killing them softly". Zackary Sholem Berger. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  9. Safran Foer, Jonathan (2009). Eating Animals (First eBook ed.). New York: Little, Brown and Company. p. 156.
  10. "Our clergy". Midway Jewish Center. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  11. Wolkin, Joseph (November 21, 2019). "Midway Jewish Center's Rabbi Pens New Book". Syosset Jericho Tribune. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
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