This page presents the names of recipients of the Keter Shem Tov Award, Doctor or Humane Letters and Presidential Recognition Award granted by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
The Keter Shem Tov Award recognizes distinction in scholarship or community service in the pursuit of Reconstructionist ideals, and is offered to an individual of the highest regard. The honor takes its name from Pirkei Avot 4:17: “Rabbi Shimon says there are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of priesthood and the crown of kingship, but the crown of a good name [keter shem tov] rises above them all.”
The Doctor of Humane Letters is awarded to a communal leader or scholar who is distinguished in the pursuit of Reconstructionist ideals, and has made an outstanding contribution to the Jewish community and/or to Jewish life in North America or Israel.
The Presidential Recognition Award is presented to an individual who has devoted his or her life to advancing Reconstructionist Judaism in both institution and practice, a person who has sown the seeds that nurture rabbinical training and movement leadership. This award honors an individual whose life’s work has been to advance Reconstructionist Judaism profoundly, making an inclusive, vibrant, open and thoughtful Jewish practice available to countless individuals, and thereby transforming the landscape of Judaism in our day.
| Year of Award | Keter Shem Tov Award | Doctor of Humane Letters | Presidential Recognition Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Sallie E. Gratch | Barbara Eve Breitman, D.Min. | Miriam Aaron Roland |
| 2022 | David Zinner | Rabbi Jacob Staub, Ph.D. | Donald Shapiro |
| 2020 | Rabbi Mordechai Liebling | Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer | Howard Blitman |
| 2019 | Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg | Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Ph.D. | Herbert Krasnow |
| 2018 | David Roberts | Rabbi David A. Teutsch, Ph.D. | Daniel Levin |
| 2017 | * | Rabbi Arthur Ocean Waskow | Willam H. Fern, Ph.D. |
| 2016 | Stephen Phillip Cohen, Ph.D. | John Ruskay, Ph.D. | Aaron Ziegelman |
| 2015 | Rabbi Jeffrey Eisenstat | Ruth Calderon, Ph.D. | |
| 2014 | Bert W. Linder | Rabbi David R. Blumenthal, Ph.D. | |
| 2013 | Joyce Galpern Norden, Ph.D. | Rabbi Shaye J.D. Cohen, Ph.D. | |
| 2012 | Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum | Lori Hope Lefkovitz, Ph.D. | |
| 2011 | * | Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman, Ph.D. | |
| 2010 | Rabbi Sid Schwarz, Ph.D. | Paul Mendes-Flohr, Ph.D. | |
| 2009 | Arik Ascherman | * | |
| 2008 | Ruth W. Messinger | Sylvia Boorstein, Ph.D. | |
| 2007 | * | Judith Plaskow, Ph.D. | |
| 2006 | * | Joel Rosenberg, Ph.D. | |
| 2005 | Daniel Levin | Dr. Rebecca T. Alpert | |
| 2004 | Rabbi Jacob Staub, Ph.D. | Rabbi Rachel B. Cowan | |
| 2003 | Marilyn L. Price | Gershon David Hundert | |
| 2002 | Patricia A. Barr | ||
| Arthur “Nick” Goldman | |||
| 2001 | * | Dr. Deborah Dash Moore | |
| 2000 | Rabbi Jack J. Cohen | Dr. Tikva Frymer-Kensky | |
| Jacques Pomeranz |
For more than 50 years, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College has bestowed the Keter Shem Tov Award. Below are additional Keter Shem Tov award recipients.
| Dr. Salo W. Baron | Dr. Dorothy G. Becker | Rabbi Lavy M. Becker |
| Mr. Sidney Becker | Mr. Samuel Blumenthal | Mrs. Ruth Brin |
| Dr. Rachel Davis Dubois | Ms. Shoshana Shoubin Cardin | Dr. Ira Eisenstein |
| Dr. Judith Eisenstein | Rabbi Arthur Gilbert | Dr. Nahum N. Glatzer |
| Dr. Solomon Grayzel | Dr. Arthur Green | Dr. Irving Greenberg |
| Mr. Irving Howe | Ms. Lillian Kaplan | Mr. Mendel Kaplan |
| Mr. Philip Klutznick | Rabbi Eugene Kohn | Dr. Bertram W. Korn |
| Ms. Dorothy Kripke | Mr. Daniel Levin | Dr. Franklin H. Littell |
| Mr. Theodore Mann | Rabbi Hershel J. Matt | Dr. Egon Mayer |
| Hon. Benjamin Wm. Mehlman | Cantor Moshe Nathanson | Mr. Lionel S. Reiss |
| Ms. Goldyne Savad | Dr. Albert P. Schoolman | Rabbi Harold Schulweis |
| Mr. Charles Silberman | Dr. Marie Syrkin | Dr. Marvin Wachman |
| Mr. Lou Wiener | Mrs. Myra Wiener | Rabbi Arthur J. Zuckerman |
