Rabbi Balfour Brickner, a leader of the Reform movement, died Monday at age 78. Brickner was the former spiritual leader of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York City and a long-serving member of the professional staff of the Union for Reform Judaism. He fought for equality and social justice across the globe, from the segregated American South in the 1960s, to Vietnam in the early 1970s, to Nicaragua in the 1980s. Most notably, he advocated on behalf of Israel throughout his long career, and he was among the first American Jews to travel to Israel at the outbreak of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

In addition to carrying out social justice work, Brickner was the founding rabbi of Temple Sinai in Washington, D.C., director of the Reform movement’s Commission on Interreligious Affairs and a member of the executive staff of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (now the Union for Reform Judaism).

“The silencing of his strong, unwavering voice in these struggles is a loss for our movement, for the Jewish people and for all who strive to repair our broken world,” said Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount