Harold Samuel Kushner:
(Brooklyn (New York), 3 April 1935 – Canton (Massachusetts), 28 April 2023). American rabbi.
Within the Conservative Jewish direction of Masorti Judaism, he belonged to the progressive wing. He spent 24 years as rabbi at Temple Israel synagogue in the town of Natick.
Kushner became very well known both inside and outside Judaism through a number of books he wrote. In particular, his book When Evil Affects Good People made a big impact. It was written for people dealing with grief and how it relates to the omnipotence and justice of God. Kushner knew what he was talking about, as his infant son died of the infrequent disease progeria, a very rapid ageing process. He also addressed what Jews had to endure during the Shoah (Holocaust).
Together with rabbi-writer Chaim Potok, Harold Kushner in 2001 gave birth to a work on the Torah that is considered the new official Torah commentary of the Conservative Jewish direction.
Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.
