Walter Zanger

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Rabbi Dr.

Walter Zanger
Beit Shean Walter Zanger.jpg
Zanger in Beit She'an
Born25 September 1935
Brooklyn, New York
Died28 August 2015
Jerusalem, Israel
CitizenshipIsraeli, American
EducationAmherst College, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
Spouse(s)Paula
ChildrenHanan, Mikhal, Yoel, Jenia
Websitehttp://www.walterzanger.net/

Walter Zanger (Hebrew: וולטר זנגר), was an American-born Israeli author, tour guide and television personality. He was a contributor to newspapers, encyclopedias and magazines, and served as a member of the editorial board of the Jewish Bible Society.

Biography[]

Walter Zanger was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1935. He moved with his family to Jerusalem, Israel in 1966 and resided in the city's Ein Karem neighborhood[1] until his death in 2015.[2]

Education[]

Zanger graduated from Amherst College with a Bachelor of Arts cum laude in 1956.[3][4][5]

He then studied at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, graduating with a Bachelor of Hebrew Letters in 1958. Zanger was also a student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received a Masters of Arts from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion and was ordained as a Reform rabbi in 1962.[6]

Rabbinical career[]

Zanger served as the rabbi of the Harford County Jewish Center in Aberdeen, Maryland from 1959–61 and as the rabbi of Temple Sinai in Massapequa, New York from 1961-62. Afterwards, he served as a chaplain (with the rank of captain) in the U.S. Air Force in Southeast Asia from 1962-64.[7]

In 2000 he officiated the second bar mitzvah of Rabbi Morrison David Bial. Rabbi Bial had officiated Zanger's own bar mitzvah 52 years earlier.[8]

Publications[]

Zanger was an assistant to the publisher and contributor to the Encyclopaedia Judaica from 1966-72[9] and wrote for the Biblical Archaeology Society[10] and the Jewish Bible Quarterly[11][12] He authored several books, including Jerusalem: Holy City to the World's Religions (Great Cities Library)[13] Zanger wrote FROM JERUSALEM, a personal, non-partisan newsletter addressing current events in Israel.[14]

Zanger lectured at the University of South Florida,[15] Amherst College,[16] and at the Jewish Bible Association's Dr. Louis Katzoff Memorial Lecture.[17]

Tour guide[]

Zanger was a licensed Israeli Master Guide.[18][19] He was an expert at taking Christians and Jews to their sacred places.[20] His expertise as a tour guide led him to become a television personality. He was featured on 11 episodes (1994-1996) of A&E's Mysteries of the Bible as one of Israel's leading guides.[21]

Awards and recognition[]

Zanger was a recipient of the Ministry of Tourism "Distinguished Tourism Employee" award. He received an honorary doctor of divinity from the Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion in Jerusalem in 2007.[22] He served in an anti-aircraft battalion in the Israel Defense Forces, and, after his discharge was an active volunteer in the Tourism Unit of the Israel Police.

Legacy[]

At his Amherst College 50th class reunion Zanger wrote "I always just did whatever seemed the right thing at the time, and it always worked out. My life has been -- by far! -- more luck than brains, and I feel fine about that." Walter Zanger died on August 28, 2015.[23]

References[]

  1. ^ Zohar, Gil (August 27, 2010). "There's something about Mary's Spring". Jerusalem Post.
  2. ^ "Saba Walty". From Jerusalem: A Newsletter from Walter Zanger. Summer 2015.
  3. ^ "Alumni of the Department". Philosophy Department. Amherst College. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  4. ^ Zanger, Walter. "Amherst should not reward Jennings' anti-Israeli bias". The Amherst Student. Amherst College.
  5. ^ "CURRICULUM VITAE". Walter Zanger. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  6. ^ Kohn, Rachael. "The Ark Goes to Israel - Masada". RN. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  7. ^ Cashman, Greer Fay (September 2, 2014). "Grapevine: A local version of 'Annie Get Your Gun'". Jerusalem Post. Reform Rabbi Walter Zanger, who had been a US Army chaplain in Vietnam and is currently a political analyst, spoke of the time he had worked with Sivan at Encyclopedia Judaica.
  8. ^ "Morrison David Bial Papers, 1970-1980". The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.
  9. ^ Walter Zanger; Shimon Gibson (2nd ed.). "Encyclopaedia Judaica: EIN KEREM". Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise.
  10. ^ Walter Zanger (August 24, 2014). "What's NewBrowse TopicsScholar's StudyMediaReviews Jewish Worship, Pagan Symbols". Bible History Daily.
  11. ^ Zanger, Walter (2001). "ARMAGEDDON: RAGING BATTLE FOR BIBLE HISTORY" (PDF). Jewish Bible Association. 29 (4).
  12. ^ "Author Index". Jewish Bible Association. ZANGER, WALTER Armageddon: Raging Battle for Bible History XXIX (4) 226 Moses, Elisha and Transferred Spirit: The Height of Biblical Prophecy? Part 2 XXX (3) 171 Violence and Holiness in Biblical Dan XXXI (1) 27
  13. ^ Zanger, Walter (1991). Jerusalem: Holy City to the World's Religions (Great Cities Library). Blackbirch Press. ISBN 1567110223.
  14. ^ Zanger, Walter. "FROM JERUSALEM". Walter Zanger.
  15. ^ "Gaza, Jericho, Hebron, and Then What?". USF Netcast Streaming Video. University of South Florida. October 28, 1994.
  16. ^ "Video of Walter Zanger's political lecture, Amherst College, Spring 2001". Vimeo. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
  17. ^ Zanger, Walter. "VIOLENCE AND HOLINESS IN BIBLICAL DAN" (PDF). Jewish Bible Quarterly. Jewish Bible Association.
  18. ^ Hurvitz, Mark. "Come to Israel". Davka.
  19. ^ Sleig, Abe (June 6, 2010). "Haredi students have seized control of Hurva synagogue". Jerusalem Post.
  20. ^ Kohn, Rachael (August 17, 2008). "The Spirit of Things". RN. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  21. ^ "Walter Zanger Biography". IMDb.com.
  22. ^ "PROFESSOR ELIEZER SCHWEID AND RABBI PAUL (SHAUL) R. FEINBERG AWARDED HONORARY DOCTOR OF HUMANE LETTERS BY HUC-JIR; HONORARY DEGREES BESTOWED UPON RABBI WALTER J. ZANGER AND DAVID KURZ; HONORARY MEDALLIONS PRESENTED TO RABBI HENRY F. SKIRBALL AND DR. JONAT". Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. November 1, 2007. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  23. ^ "Walter Zanger '56". AMHERST MAGAZINE. Amherst College.
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