Judea B. Miller Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 686

1947 - 1995. 4.4 Linear ft.

ACCESS AND PROVENANCE
The Judea B. Miller Papers were received from Judea Miller, Rochester, New York in several segments between 1962-1993 and by Temple B'rith Kodesh, Rochester, New York in 1998. Judea Miller and Temple B'rith Kodesh, by the act of donating the Judea B. Miller Papers to the American Jewish Archives, assigned all property rights to the American Jewish Archives. All literary rights to material authored by Judea B. Miller are retained by the Miller heirs. Literary rights to material authored by others are retained by the individuals and their heirs. Questions concerning rights should by addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives.

The Judea B. Miller Papers are open to all researchers. The original manuscript collection is available in the reading room of the Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top

Judea B. Miller was born in New York City in 1930. His father, David, although an immigrant, was a highly educated and cultured businessman, and his mother was born in New York to immigrant parents. He did undergraduate work at New York University, graduating with a B.A. in three years and the first annual Bible Award in 1952. Miller’s parents were not religious per se, but his grandparents were orthodox Jews. Miller turned to Reform Judaism in college as a more fitting expression of his personal religious tenets. In 1954, he earned a Bachelor of Hebrew Literature from the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. He went on to receive his M.A., M.H.L. and ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Ohio by 1957.

Miller’s first rabbinic assignment from 1957-1959 was as an Assistant Post Chaplain at the army post in Ft. Riley, Kansas. While at the post he specialized in marital and draft counseling. In 1959, Miller assumed a post at Temple Emanu-El, in Wichita, Kansas. Miller was not only a popular rabbi who increased his congregation in Kansas and built a new temple building- he was an also active supporter of black rights. Miller served on a Fair Housing Commission and was active in local politics. During this time, Miller served in the Delta Ministry in Mississippi and was active in the integration of the first Mississippi restaurant- a Woolworth’s counter in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Miller said that one of his reasons for going to Mississippi to aid the desegregation movement was the haunting sense of guilt over the Holocaust and the loss of his two cousins in a workers camp outside Maidenek, Poland. These cousins were adopted by his parents and were preparing to come to the United States when they were engulfed in the Shoah.

Miller was next named the rabbi at Temple Tifereth Israel in Malden, Massachusetts in 1965. He was active in the local Jewish Community Council, interfaith community activities and the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. Miller was also a chaplain at the local Veterans Administration neuropsychiatric hospital. As a result of his opposition to the Vietnam War, Miller resigned his commission in the United States Army Reserves.

From 1973 until his retirement, Miller was the senior rabbi at Temple B’rith Kodesh in Rochester, New York. He became active there with the local Jewish Federation, interfaith councils and the New York Board of Rabbis. His involvement in national Jewish organizations included the American Zionist Federation, the Board of Overseers for Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Rabbinic Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal and the World Zionist Congress. Miller was also active in support of an orphanage in Israel.

Miller died in 1995. Miller married his wife Anita in 1952 in New York City. They had two children: Jonathan (also a rabbinic graduate of Hebrew Union College-Jewish

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE top

The JUDEA B. MILLER PAPERS detail the career and political activities of Judea Miller, rabbi and social activist. Miller was a Reform rabbi who retained his ties with colleagues in the Orthodox and Conservative movements as well as interfaith councils that played an active role in the social and political issues of the times. Whether it was the housing crisis of the 1950s, civil rights and desegregation in the 1960s, Soviet refuseniks in the 1970s and 1980s or Bosnian refugees in the 1990s, Miller was active in voicing his views and urging his congregants to take a stand.

Miller hoped to move to the Negev desert in Israel, following his graduation from New York University in 1952. While that was not possible, Miller and his wife Anita did go on a tour of Israel in 1961, sponsored by the Jewish Agency. He chronicled this trip in a series of letters found in the correspondence series. Miller was a strong Zionist as seen by his participation in the World Zionist Congress and in a series of articles written throughout the years on Israelis and Palestinians such as Ariel Sharon and Yasser Arafat.

In the mid-1970s, Miller’s aunt was robbed and brutally killed in her apartment in New York City. At this point, Miller began a lifelong crusade against the death penalty- following his aunt’s own beliefs. He formulated groups of rabbis with similar beliefs from the Central Conference of American Rabbis and also the local interfaith clergy councils. Miller wrote numerous articles and letters to the editors espousing his beliefs.   He wrote hundreds of letters to politicians urging them to oppose the death penalty and fought bitterly against its reinstatement in New York in 1989. Letters on this subject are found in nearly every folder of the correspondence series and also in the subject files. Of particular interest is a series of letters from physicians who wrote to Miller responding to his inquiry about the role of physicians in lethal injection cases.

Also scattered throughout the correspondence series are letters to politicians and colleagues such as David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center concerning important social issues including: civil rights, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, Soviet Jewry, sanctuary congregations and mental health care. The Temple B’rith Kodesh folders in the Subject Files contain programs, scripts and memorabilia from events that often relate to the social conscience of Rabbi Miller. His sermons, found in the writings series, also parallel the social issues of the times. Of some interest is material relating to Miller’s observation of a grape worker’s strike in Delano, California in 1968.

Portions of the correspondence in this collection were originally located in AJA Box No. 1024. The span dates of the collection are 1947-1995. [Some materials in the collection include notations that identify individuals and subjects. These notes are thought to have been written by Stanley F. Chyet.]

SERIES DESCIPTION top

The Judea B. Miller Papers are arranged into 3 series as follows:

SERIES A: CORRESPONDENCE
SERIES B: WRITINGS
SERIES C: SUBJECT/RESEARCH FILES

SERIES A. CORRESPONDENCE. The correspondence series consists of six Hollinger boxes of correspondence that detail Miller’s rabbinical career and political activities. Topics include civil rights, the death penalty, sanctuary congregations and Soviet Jewry. When a correspondent has five or more items, it has been given a separate folder.   The series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically within folders. Span dates are 1955-1994.

SERIES B. WRITINGS. The writings series consists of three Hollinger boxes of writings including sermons given in the pulpit and articles about Miller’s political beliefs including farm worker’s rights, the death penalty and Israel. The series is arranged alphabetically by title. There is one folder of shorter newspaper articles and untitled sermons. Span dates are 1960-1995.

SERIES C. SUBJECT/RESEARCH FILES. This series consists of two Hollinger boxes of material primarily relating to the death penalty and events at Temple B’rith Kodesh in Rochester, New York. It includes reports, programs, correspondence and research files.   The series is arranged alphabetically by topic. Span dates are 1947-1990.

BOX AND FOLDER LISTING top
Box     Folder          Contents

        SERIES A: CORRESPONDENCE

1	1	A, General.
	2	Agah, Ali A. Embassy of Iran. 1979-1980.
	3	Alcoholics Anonymous. 1980-1981.
	4	Alinsky, Saul. Industrial Arts Foundation. 1966.
	5	Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. 1972-1974; 1980.
	6	American Jewish Archives. 1978-1990.
	7	Anonymous student. Pro-Arab and anti-Israel remarks. 1963.
	8	Association for Retarded Children. Rochester, New York. 1983-
					1985.
	9	B, General.
	10	Baumgard, Herbert M. 1979-1980.
	11	Bernstein, Phillip S. 1955-1986.
	12	Bogage, Lewis. 1979.
	13	Boyar, Michael. Jewish Family Service. Rochester, New York.
					1976-1980.
	14	Brennan, Joseph. 1973-1985.
	15	Brickner, Balfour. 1971-1979.
	16	Brin, Louis. Jewish Advocate. 1972-1976.
	17	Bush, George Herbert Walker. 1983-1989.
	18	C, General.
	19	California grape workers strike. Delano, California. 1968-1969.
	20	Carey, Hugh L. 1974-1982.
	21	Carroll, Mark K. 1966-1979.
	22	Carter, Jimmy. 1977-1980.
	23	Chyet, Stanley F. 1962-1983.
	24	Civil rights. 1964-1971.
	
2	1	Clark, Matthew H. 1980-1986.
	2	Clergyman Consultation Services. 1969-1973.
	3	Conable, Barber B. 1973-1984.
	4	Cooke, Pinny. 1978-1990.
	5	Cuomo, Mario. 1982-1991.
	6	D, General.
	7	D’Amato, Alfonse. 1981-1992.
	8	Death penalty. Physician involvement survey. 1983.
	9	Democrat and Chronicle. 1979-1994.
	10	E, General.
	11	F, General.
	12	Fair Housing Committee. Wichita, Kansas. 1964.
	13	Falk, Randall M. 1981-1985.
	14	Fein, Leonard J. 1971-1982.
	15	Freehof, Solomon B. Re: suicide responsa. 1983.
	16	Frey, Thomas R. 1973-1991.
	17	Ga-Gn, General.
	18	Gitelsohn, Roland B. 1966-1992.
	19	Glaser, Joseph. 1970-1987.
	20	Go-Gz, General.
	
3	1	Goldman, Harvey. 1973-1980.
	2	Goldrich, Stephen S. 1974-1980.
	3	Gottschalk, Alfred. 1970-1988.
	4	Gryn, Hugo G. 1982-1991.
	5	H, General.
	6	Hait, Paul L. New York Board of Rabbis. 1977-1987.
	7	Horton, Frank. 1974-1991.
	8	I-J, General.
	9	Israel trip. 1971.
	10	Jacob, Walter. 1983.
	11	Javits, Jacob K. 1974-1979.
	12	Jewish Advocate. 1969-1973.
	13	Jewish Community Council. Boston, Massachusetts. 1967-1974.
	14	Jewish Community Federation. Rochester, New York. 
					1978-1985.
	15	K, General.
	16	Kaplan, Kivie. 1966-1973.
	17	Kiliminick, Shaya. Rochester Board of Rabbis. 1979-1992.
	18	King, Robert L. 1989-1992.
	19	Korff, Samuel I. 1968-1972.
	20	Kraut, Grace. 1979-1981.
	21	Kravitz, Leonard S. 1979-1991.
	22	Kurlander, Lawrence T. 1976-1986.
 
4	1	L, General.
	2	LaFalce, John J. 1984-1991.
	3	Lampert, Richard G. 1976-1977.
	4	Levin, Meyer. re: Diary of Anne Frank. 1971-1976.
	5	Liebert, Arthur E. Rochester General Hospital. Rochester,
					New York. 1980.
	6	Lookstein, Haskel. 1985-1988.
	7	Louis, Elmer. 1975.
	8	Lozansky, Edward. 1978-1983.
	9	M, General.
	10	Macdonald, Torbert H. 1967-1971.
	11	Malino, Jerome R.  Central Conference of American Rabbis.
					1976-1979.
	12	Mandelbaum, Bernard. 1979-1980.
	13	Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. 1972.
	14	More, Lee Krenis. Democrat and Chronicle. 1980-1986.
	25	Moshowitz, Israel. 1983-1991.
	26	Moynihan, Daniel Patrick. 1977-1991.
	27	Mulligan, Charles F.  1979-1984.
	28	N, General.
	29	Nan Freeman Memorial Fund. (re: farm worker’s strike) 1972.
	30	O-Q, General.

5	1	Office of the Chaplain. Ft. Riley, Kansas. 1958.
	2	Paxon, Bill. 1990-1993.
	3	R, General.
	4	Rabbi. 1969-1979.
	5	Rosenbaum, Henry. 1979.
	6	Ryan, Thomas P., Jr. 1975-1986.
	7	Sa-Si, General.
	8	Sally, Tim. dignity-integrity rochester. 1982.
	9	Sanctuary congregations. 1983-1989.
	10	Saperstein, David. Religious Action Center. 1975-1992; n.d.
	11	Schindler, Alexander M. 1973-1989.
	12	Seltzer, Sanford. 1970-1979.
	13	Siegman, Henry. Synagogue Council of America. 1975-1985.
	
6	1	Sk-Sz, General.
	2	Slaughter, Louise M. 1988-1993.
	3	Stern, Malcolm H. 1964-1984.
	4	Sundheim, Frank N. 1979-1993.
	5	T, General.
	6	Temple B’rith Kodesh. Rochester, New York.  Contract
						negotiations. 1973-1980.
	7	Temple B’rith Kodesh. Rochester, New York. Installation. 1973.
	8	U-V, General.
	9	Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Re: rabbis 
					discretionary funds. 1976.
	10	Vorspan, Albert. Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
					1968-1986.
	11	W, General.
	12	Walker, John S. 1980-1984.
	13	Weil, Edward. Mid-Kansas Jewish Welfare Federation. 1963.
	14	Weizenbaum, Joseph. 1975-1986.
	15	Wiesel, Elie. 1978-1985.
	16	Witmer, Lawrence. 1979-1987.
	17	X-Z. General.
	18	Young, Frank. 1980-1985.
	19	Unidentified correspondence. N.d.

	SERIES B:WRITINGS

6	20	About Martyrdom. 1980.
	21	Absence of Malice: Sharon v. Time. 1985.
	22	Alzheimers memorial service. 1995.
	23	And Moses Stuttered. 1993.
	24	Anti-Defamation League testimonial dinner. 1994.
	25	Anti-Nazi rally. 1978.
	26	Armageddon- final battle of the world. 1984
	27	Arms and the man: a Jewish view of Gandhi. 1983..
	28	Because of being sheep. 1966.
	29	Biletkiy, Roman- A righteous Gentile. 1994.

7	1	Book reviews. 1979-1993; n.d.
	2	Bucknell University. Bacclaureate address. 1991.
	3	By the mouth of two witnesses: a retrospect. California grape
					workers strike. n.d.
	4	Can God really save us? n.d.
	5	[A] Closet: another religious view of gay liberation. n.d.
	6	Confessions of a middle-aged Beatles fan. 1981.
	7	Current trends in modern Jewish thought. 1966.
	8	Death and dying in Jewish religious thinking. n.d.
	9	Death of Righteous Man. Lubberts, Taeke. n.d.
	10	Delano Diary. Delano, California. Grape workers strike. 1968.
	11	Deputy. n.d.
	12	Doing an Ungrudging Kindness: Notes on Martyrdom. 1979.
	13	Eternal Life: Eric Roth Scholarship award. 1975.
	14	First Amendment: Separation of Church and State. 1991.
	15	Further notes from the Zionist Congress. 1978.
	16	Ghost of the struma and the Haitians. n.d.
	17	Hanukah services. 1991-1992; n.d.
	18	Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Chapel
					sermon. January 1987.
	19	Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Ordination
					sermon. 1992.
	20	Hitler diaries. 1983.
	21	Hostages in Iran. 1980-1981.
	22	How a Jew reads scripture. n.d.
	23	How normal should a Jewish state be? 1988.
	24	How precious is a good deed done in time. n.d.
	25	How shall we remember Martin Luther King? 1992.
	26	I met Andrei Sakharov. 1990.
	27	Installation services. 1962.
	28	Intermarriage lecture. 1974.
	29	Jewish community at the bicentennial. 1975.	

8	1	Jewish concept of the Messiah. n.d.
	2	Jewish interests in supporting civil rights issues. n.d.
	3	Jewish response to Arafat. n.d.
	4	Jewish tribute to Columbus. 1985.
	5	Jewish victims and German indifference. 1988.
	6	Jewish vote. 1981.
	7	Judaism and the death penalty. 1992.
	8	Judaism since the Bible. 1976.
	9	Kol Nidre services. n.d.
	10	Levantine religion. 1978.
	11	Little House on the West Bank. 1988.
	12	Martin Luther King and the Jews. n.d.
	13	Martin Luther King Day and the McCuller Case. 1984.
	14	Meditations at memorial service for victims of violence. 1993.
	15	Mississippi Winter. 1989.
	16	More on martyrdom. n.d.
	17	Murder of a social conscience. 1973.
	18	New Anti-Semitism. 1990.
	19	Newspaper articles. 1960-1993.
	20	Not for thee to complete: Mississippi, 1962. n.d.
	21	Operation Solomon: the rescue is complete. n.d.
	22	Panorama of Judaism. 1985.
	23	Parliament of the Jewish people or who needs a minyan? 
					1978.
	24	Passover services. n.d.
	25	Poland revisited. n.d.

	26	Racism lecture. 1969.
	27	Remarks about the separation of powers. 1991.
	28	Right of Choice: Abortion and the Jewish views. 1990.

9	1	Rosh Hashonah sermons. n.d.
	2	Sacred code of slum landlords. 1988.
	3	Scapegoat. n.d.
	4	Sedra. “Emor.” n.d.
	5	Sermons. Untitled.
	6	Some comparative religious views of medical ethics. n.d.
	7	Sharon verdict. 1985.
	8	Solomon, Aaron. Eulogy. 1986.
	9	Stephen Wise Temple. Los Angeles, California. Installation. 1982.
	10	Story of the Real Columbus. 1973.
	11	Strong enough to be honest. n.d.
	12	Tel Aviv memorial service. 1972.
	13	Terrorism. Lectures. n.d.
	14	Three Jewish views of Jesus. 1975.
	15	United Nations Zionism Resolution: Removal of Slander. n.d.
	16	Unlocking the Code: Ferreting the Scoundrel. n.d.
	17	Until liberation comes. 1988.
	18	Urban league. 1993.
	19	Vatican Council. 1963.
	20	Veterans Day. 1965.
	21	Waldheim and the Carnival. 1986.
	22	War veterans service. 1974.
	23	What is Zionism? n.d.
	24	Who is a Holocaust victim? n.d.
	25	Woody Allen: a clown for God. 1987.
	26	Yom Kippur sermons. n.d.

	SERIES C: SUBJECT FILES

10	1	Death penalty. 1977-1978.	
	2	Death penalty. 1977-1981.
	3	Death penalty. 1982-1985.
	4	Death penalty. 1986-1989.
	5	Death penalty. 1990-1994.

11	1	Death penalty. Survey. 1987.
	2	Denmark and the Jews. Donde, Leif. 1993.
	3	Draft counseling. 1967-1974.
	4	Draft counseling. Lefor, John. Case. 1972.
	5	FIGHT. Newsclippings. 1975.
	6	Krystallnacht. 1988.
	7	Massachusetts Board of Rabbis. Civil disobedience rally.
					1972.
	8	Miscellaneous. n.d.
	9	S.S. Exodus. Histories; photographs.
	10	Soviet Jewry. n.d.
	11	Temple B’rith Kodesh. Rochester, New York. Contract
					negotiations. 1979-1980.
	12	Temple B’rith Kodesh. Rochester, New York. Brochures;
					programs. 1975-1990.
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