Rabbi Laurence Edwards

Rabbi Laurence Edwards (Larry) grew up at Congregation Solel in Highland Park, where his parents were among the founders. He served as Hillel Director and Jewish Chaplain at Dartmouth College (1975-1981) and at Cornell University (1981-1997).

Larry studied in Jerusalem in 1970 and 1971 and has returned numerous times since. He has served on the faculty of the Bronfman Youth Fellows in Israel, based in Jerusalem.

Since his return to the Midwest, Larry has served as Rabbi of Congregation B’nai Abraham in Beloit, Wisconsin, and as Associate National Director for Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee. From 2003 to 2013, he served as Rabbi of Congregation Or Chadash, a congregation founded in 1976 with special outreach to the Jewish GLBT community.

Larry has published articles and reviews in Judaism, Cross Currents, and other publications, including Rodfei Zedek’s in-house journal, Lilmod Ul’lamed. He has taught at Loyola University Chicago, DePaul University, University of Illinois Chicago, and the Hebrew Seminary in Skokie. He was Book Review Editor for the CCAR Journal/Journal of Reform Judaism.

A graduate of New Trier High School, Larry received his A.B. degree in Humanities from the University of Chicago in 1970 and was ordained by Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 1975. He received his Ph.D. in Bible, Culture and Hermeneutics from the Chicago Theological Seminary in 2005, with a dissertation entitled “Resurrecting the Pharisees: Ideology and Identity Between Christians and Jews,” focusing on the constructions of the Pharisees in New Testament, rabbinic literature, and modern scholarship.

In retirement, Larry has returned to an early interest in numismatics and has published in that field as well. He and his wife, Susan Boone, live in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood and are members of Congregation Rodfei Zedek.