Chava Weissler papers

Chava Weissler was born in 1947 in Washington, D.C. Weissler attended Brandeis University, where she majored in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, graduating summa cum laude with departmental honors in 1967. After this she became a secretary. She worked at the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C., in the administrative, press, and agricultural offices.

In the late 1960s, Weissler attended the School of Library Service at Columbia University. While in graduate school, she worked at the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary. In 1970, after receiving an M.S., Weissler worked at the Library of Congress, primarily in the Miscellaneous Languages section, cataloging Hebrew, Yiddish, and Albanian books.

In 1975, she began the doctoral program in Folklore and Folklife at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in Jewish Folklore. Weissler completed her dissertation, entitled “Making Judaism Meaningful: Ambivalence and Tradition in a Havurah Community,” in 1982. Upon completion of her degree in 1982, Weissler accepted the position of Mellon Preceptor of Modern Judaism in the Religion Department at Princeton University. In 1988, Weissler accepted a position at Lehigh University as an Associate Professor in the Department of Religion Studies, and as occupant of the Philip and Muriel Berman Chair of Jewish Civilization.

Weissler studies the "Jewish Renewal Movement," especially the organization called "ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal." During 2003, with a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Weissler observed Renewal congregations and retreat centers in Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, California, and Washington State, and interviewed rabbis, teachers and ordinary members. In May of 2003, she delivered the Stroum Lectures at the University of Washington, sharing her insights on Jewish Renewal, and for the fall semester 2003, she was a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.