Aryeh Cohen, an American rabbi from Minneapolis, lecturer, and social justice activist, obtained his education in philosophy and Jewish thought at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He received his rabbinic ordination from the Ziegler School of
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Rabbinic Studies and a Ph.D. from Brandeis University. Currently, he serves as a professor of Rabbinic literature at the American Jewish University, where he also chaired the Rabbinic Studies program from 2001-2005. Additionally, he has taught at Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion, Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and Brandeis University. Furthermore, Aryeh Cohen has held leadership positions in organizations such as the Jewish Progressive Alliance and Rabbis for Human Rights - North America, where he served as a past president and board member, respectively.
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen from Minneapolis held leadership positions at various academic institutions. He served as the Chair of Jewish Studies in the College of Arts and Science from 1995 to 2000 and as the Chair of Rabbinic Studies at the Ziegler School from 2001 to 2005. Additionally, he taught at other universities such as the Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, and Brandeis University.
Moreover, Rabbi Aryeh Cohen is the co-founder of Shtibl, a Hassidic egalitarian minyan that combines the fervor of ecstatic prayer with a commitment to egalitarianism and social justice.
In 2017, Jewish Veg issued a statement urging all Jews to adopt a vegan diet, and Rabbi Aryeh Cohen was among the rabbis who signed the statement.
Rabbi Aryeh Cohen is the author of two books: Rereading Talmud: Gender, Law and the Poetics of Sugyot and Justice in the City: An Argument from the Sources of Rabbinic Judaism. He has also co-edited the book Beginning/Again: Towards a Hermeneutics of Jewish Texts. Cohen's writings also delve into the works of Aharon Shmuel Tamares and Emmanuel Levinas, and he argues against the use of violence in all circumstances. In addition to his role as co-editor of Beginning/Again: Towards a Hermeneutics of Jewish Texts, he serves as a member of the Sh'ma advisory board and is an editor of the online journal Textual Reasoning.
Cohen's writing covers a broad range of topics including the contemporary Jewish scene, social justice, politics, and Talmud. His works have been featured in several publications, such as Conservative Judaism, Sh'ma, The Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy, The Association of Jewish Studies Review, Tikkun, The Reconstructionist, Kerem, The Jewish Spectator, The Jewish Journal, as well as on Jewschool.com and Jspot.org.