Sherwin Wine

Sherwin Theodore Wine (Hebrew name שמעון בן צבי, Shimon ben Tzvi; January 25, 1928 – July 21, 2007) was an American rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism, a movement that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as sources of Jewish identity rather than belief in any gods. He was originally ordained as a Reform rabbi but later founded the Birmingham Temple, the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism, in 1963.

In 1969, Wine founded the Society for Humanistic Judaism (SHJ). He was later a founder of several other Humanistic Jewish organizations, and was the founder of several humanist organizations that are not specifically Jewish (such as the Humanist Institute and the International Association of Humanist Educators, Counselors, and Leaders) as well as the co-founder of Americans for Religious Liberty, which promotes separation of church and state. He was the provost of the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism at the time of his death.

Wine lectured on a wide array of topics after 1976 under the auspices of the Center for New Thinking, which he also founded. The American Humanist Association awarded him the Humanist Pioneer Award in 1991 and named him Humanist of the Year for 2003 .

Early life Wine was born in Detroit Wine served in the U.S. Army, becoming a First Lieutenant and later volunteering as a chaplain, after his ordination as a rabbi and served as associate rabbi at the Reform Temple Beth El in Detroit for six months while awaiting induction. Wine began his service as an Army chaplain in January 1957 and was stationed in Korea.

Wine's last work, A Provocative People: The Secular History of the Jews, was published after his death. It was edited by his student Rabbi Adam Chalom.

As the outlook and practices of the Birmingham Temple attracted people in other locations, Wine assumed the responsibility for founding several organizations designed to link these adherents together.

First, in 1969, the Society for Humanistic Judaism was formed by Wine's Birmingham Temple; a previously Reform congregation in Illinois headed by Rabbi Daniel Friedman, who had led the congregation from Reform to Humanistic Judaism after learning about Wine's work in Michigan; and a congregation in Westport, Connecticut, which had been organized by a member of the Birmingham Temple who had moved to Connecticut. The Society for Humanistic Judaism now has over 30 constituent congregations in the United States and Canada, as well as individual members unaffiliated with any of these congregations.

To fulfill the need of the Humanistic Judaism movement for trained leaders, Wine founded the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in 1985.

Wine supported the Zionist movement and Jewish peoplehood, writing that "Zionism is the most effective expression, in modern times, that we Jews are more than a religion. We are a people and an ethnic culture."

Works

Judaism Beyond God (1985, 2017)

A Provocative People: A Secular History of the Jews (2012)

A Life of Courage: Sherwin Wine and Humanistic Judaism (2003)

Staying Sane in a Crazy World (1995)

Celebration: A Ceremonial and Philosophic Guide for Humanists and Humanistic Jews (1988)

High Holidays for Humanists (1979)

Humanistic Judaism (1978)

The Humanist Haggadah (1976)

Meditation Services for Humanistic Judaism (1976)

Death On July 21, 2007, Wine and his partner of more than 25 years Richard McMains were in a taxi headed to a hotel after dinner in Essaouira, Morocco, when their taxi was hit by another vehicle. Wine, aged 79, and the taxi driver were both killed instantly; McMains survived with serious injuries.