Rabbi Byron Lee Sherwin, a Jewish scholar and ethicist who served on the faculty of Chicago’s Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership for more than 40 years, died in May, following a long illness. He was 69.

Sherwin served as Distinguished Service Professor and Director of Doctoral Programs at the Spertus Institute, and had been on its faculty since 1970. From 1984-2001, he was dean and vice president of the Institute.

At Spertus, Sherwin studied and taught Jewish philosophy, mysticism, and Jewish ethics. He was the author or editor of more than 28 books and 150 articles and monographs. His writings have been translated into Polish, Spanish, Italian, German, Czech, and Chinese. He and his works were often featured in national and international print media and on radio and television.

A native of New York, Sherwin graduated from Columbia University. He then earned his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago’s prestigious Committee on the History of Culture. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTSA), where he studied under Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. In 1996, Sherwin also received an honorary Doctor of Hebrew Letters from JTSA, and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Spertus Institute.

Long involved in inter-religious dialogue, Sherwin was awarded a presidential medal- the Officer’s Order of Merit- in 1995 by the Republic of Poland and its president Lech Walesa, for his work in improving Polish-Jewish and Catholic-Jewish relations in Poland and the US.

“It is difficult to imagine Spertus Institute without Byron Sherwin. Long before he became my colleague at Spertus, Byron was my teacher,” Spertus President and CEO Hal Lewis said. “He challenged his students to traverse the bridge between theory and practice, demanding that they bring scholarly sensibilities to their communal work, and realpolitik to their scholarship. But even more important than the particulars of any given lecture, Byron taught me how to think about solving Jewish problems. His impact on the lives and work of his students will be long remembered.”

Sherwin is survived by his wife, Judith Sherwin, esq. (nee Schwartz), his son Jason Sherwin, Ph.D., his mother, Jean (the late Sidney) Sherwin, esq. He also is survived by his brother Elliott (Sharon) Sherwin, nieces Beth (Michael B., Ph.D.) and Hope Sherwin, and nephew David Sherwin.

Funeral services were held in New York, at the Park Avenue Synagogue. They were officiated by Sherwin’s student, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, Ph.D., formerly with Chicago’s Anshe Emet Synagogue. Another memorial was held at Spertus in June. Internment was in Glendale, N.Y. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals- Skokie Chapel.

~JTA/Spertus.edu