Who is nelson glueck

In , Glueck was named president of Hebrew Union College. Glueck was married to Dr. Helen Iglauer Glueck, and they had one son, Charles. Glueck died on February 12, in Cincinnati. Collection contains correspondence, including letters from Glueck to his family relating to his travels in Palestine and Trans-Jordan with archaeological notes and diagrams, newsletters of the American School of Oriental Research, addresses, sermons, newsclippings, interviews, memorabilia, and photographs.

The Nelson Glueck Papers are open to all users. Literary rights are retained by Nelson Glueck and his heirs. In the early s, he began mapping the Negev desert, discovering hundreds of pre-Byzantine sites. Glueck conducted extremely important archaeological work in what is now Israel and Jordan at a time when the vast majority of American archaeologists came from Protestant backgrounds, and when Jewish archaeologists in British Palestine were just beginning to excavate.

While Glueck researched the ancient peoples of the Middle East, he also actively engaged with the people and politics of the day.

Among his friends, he counted archaeological luminaries such as William F. In popular culture, Glueck is remembered as the turban-ed, T. Lawrence-type explorer who graced the cover of Time magazine in December of , and as the rabbi who gave the benediction at the presidential inauguration of John F. The Glueck Collections simultaneously document the life of a man, and the life of a region.

This online exhibit was made possible by the generosity of the David Berg Foundation, the W. The study of archaeology raises difficult questions about the biblical text and about Jewish origins; Judaism encourages a healthy skepticism. We believe that a people that question its origins, as it questions its behavior and its faith, will, in the end, be a stronger people—one that is not threatened by intellectual challenges to its legitimacy and one whose adherents and potential adherents will be enthralled by its questioning, its intellectual honesty and its spiritual resilience.

In this way, the study of archaeology is part of an ongoing Jewish renaissance based on Torah study and spiritual renewal. Ideas were born in particular times and places, in real houses and temples, containing real people, pots and frescoes. Material culture reflects these ideas. The seal impressions from the City of David in Jerusalem include those belonging to scribes mentioned in the Bible; perhaps some of whom inked the first versions of Deuteronomy and the Book of Kings on parchment or papyrus.

The tiled synagogues of Tzipori overlooking the luxuriant Beit Netofa valley were the locus of rabbinical debates described in the Talmud.

We differ from more ritually observant Jews because we recognize that our sacred heritage has evolved and adapted over the centuries and that it must continue to do so. Archaeology is capable of documenting the evolution of our heritage by means of material culture.

It demonstrates the human ability to fail and suffer catastrophe but also to adapt and improve. Judaism has never demanded uniformity of belief or practice. But we must never forget that whether we are Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, or Orthodox, we are all an essential part of Klal Yisrael — the worldwide community of Jewry.

Archaeological research demonstrates, in no uncertain terms, that Israel and Judaism have always been heterogeneous and pluralistic. The Talmudic period synagogues of Israel were designed to accommodate the demands of the community. Some communities, such as those at Baram or Rehov for example, proscribed human images orthodox? Beit Alpha and En Gedi include exuberant portrayals of the human figure.

In the same spirit, archaeology shows that people of different traditions and beliefs have coexisted in the Land of Israel and can still do so. Our research does not demonstrate Jewish exclusiveness or prior claims on the Land of Israel.

It demonstrates Jewish roots but does not discount the claims of Palestinians, Moslems, Christians and others to roots of their own.

Rather than reject these claims we should embrace them and discuss them. A Reform Jew has the right to decide whether to subscribe to particular beliefs or practices. The Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology has adopted a platform that requires that investigators be reflexively aware of their own background and motivations. While we are interested in societies and social systems, in the environment and its restrictions, we are also keenly aware of human individuality, symbolic behavior and cognitive factors that impact on human behavior and the resulting material culture.

Our new community archaeology projects are carried out in this spirit. We at the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology feel that archaeology can make a difference to people and society, here and now.

People excavating with their neighbors, in their own backyards, develop a sense of rootedness and common destiny—a sense of community. For an explanation of the tenets of Reform Judaism see the web pages of the Union for Reformed Judaism. Born in Cincinnatti, Ohio in , Nelson Glueck was one of the foremost leaders in the field of biblical archaeology and Reform Judaism. He read the benediction at the swearing-in ceremony of President John F.

At the age of 23, Glueck was ordained as a Reform rabbi by the Hebrew Union College and four years later was awarded his Ph. Glueck was a prolific scholar, excavator and surveyor. His early work centered on the exploration of Transjordan, where he identified over ancient sites, and the Negev, where he found another His excavation of the Nabatean temple at Khirbet et-Tannur did much to forward knowledge of Nabatean religion and cult, and his books Exploration in Eastern Palestine I-IV, , The Other Side of the Jordan , Rivers in the Desert , and Deities and Dolphins established him as the foremost expert on the deserts of Palestine and their ancient inhabitants.

Glueck believed that the Hebrew Bible contains historical memory, but one that cannot be proven. He felt that the spirit of the Israelites was still alive in modern Israel, instilling that belief in both his students and his colleagues. Exploration in Eastern Palestine IV , Hesed in the Bible , Ohio, Further reading about Nelson Glueck: Brown, J. Walberg, G. Fierman F. Biblical Archaeology Review 12 5 , pp. Baron A.

Ann Arbor. Vogel E. Negev Survey of Nelson Glueck: Summary. Eretz-Israel 12, pp. Gordon W. Nelson Glueck: A Bibliography.