1932 – 2015
After many years as IFFP’s Jewish Spiritual Advisor, Rabbi Harold S. White (z”l) became our Spiritual Advisor Emeritus. In this role, Rabbi White remained deeply involved with the IFFP community. He continued to share his experience and wisdom with us.
Rabbi White was a native of Hartford, CT. He completed his undergraduate degree at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, and received Rabbinical Ordination at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York City. He served as a U.S. Navy Chaplain at Parris Island, SC and with the 7th Fleet in the Pacific.
He served as a congregational rabbi at the Dublin Jewish Progressive Congregation in Dublin, Ireland, and at Beth Israel Congregation in Ann Arbor, MI. He was the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation Director at the American University in Washington, DC, for nine years prior to his being appointed Jewish Chaplain of Georgetown University. Rabbi White also was the associate rabbi of Temple Sinai in Washington, DC from 1980 -1985. He lectured extensively nationwide.
Rabbi White was the first rabbi to be appointed to a full-time Campus Ministry position at a Catholic university. He taught in the Theology Department of Georgetown and was very active in creating a milieu for Jewish-Christian theological dialogue in the greater Washington, DC area. He also served as scholar-in-residence at Holy Cross Abbey in Berryville, VA, and at Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, PA. Rabbi White’s academic interests centered on Kabbalistic Studies and the Judaic Roots of Christian scripture. He was deeply involved in ecological issues and the protection of animal rights.
Read Susan Katz Miller’s “Elegy for Rabbi Harold White, Interfaith Families Pioneer” from The Huffington Post, 2015.