Albert Axelrad, Brandeis Hillel rabbi who championed pluralism and social justice, dies at 87

Rabbi Albert S. Axelrad, who led Brandeis University's Hillel Foundation for 34 years and championed pluralism, egalitarian prayer, and social justice, died on September 18 at age 87. A Reform rabbi, he cofounded Havurat Shalom, advocated for Soviet Jews, opposed the Vietnam War, and created adult bar- and bat-mitzvah programs.

Rabbi Albert S. Axelrad, a Reform rabbi who led Brandeis University's Hillel Foundation for 34 years and was a prominent advocate for Jewish pluralism, egalitarian prayer, and social justice, died on September 18 at age 87. Starting in 1965, Axelrad worked to ensure students from all Jewish streams could practice fully at Brandeis, the only nonsectarian Jewish-sponsored university in the US. He cofounded the non-denominational Havurat Shalom in Somerville, Massachusetts, a model for the havurah movement. Although dedicated to egalitarian prayer, he regularly attended Orthodox services. Axelrad was an early supporter of the two-state solution through Breira, advocated for Soviet Jews, traveled to the USSR twice, and wrote "Refusenik: Voices of Struggle and Hope" in 1985. He created the first adult bar- and bat-mitzvah training programs in the 1970s, which became a mainstay in American synagogues. After retiring from Brandeis in 1999, he became founding director of the Center for Spiritual Life at Emerson College. Hundreds of former students recalled his pluralistic leadership. He is survived by four children and several grandchildren; his wife Berta died in 2024.