Rabbi Max Ticktin z”l (1922-2016)
Esther Ticktin z”l (1925-2017)
Max and Esther Ticktin came to Washington, D.C. in 1972 when he was the associate national director of Hillel. In 1979 he joined the faculty of the George Washington University where he taught courses in Hebrew language and contemporary Israeli literature until his retirement in 2014. In 2016, the university announced the establishment of a newly endowed professorial chair named for him with a focus on Israel studies. They were the heart and soul of Fabrangen from when they joined in 1972, a year after Fabrangen started, until their deaths in 2016 and 2017.
Obituaries
- Rabbi Max Ticktin, leader in Hillel movement, dies aged 94 – Times of Israel
- He could teach as a companion – Washington Jewish Week – Washington Jewish Week
- The Torah of Max Ticktin Will Not Be Forgotten
Article by Arthur Waskow: – Forward, July 3, 2015 - Remembering Esther Ticktin: A Jewish Feminist Who Inspired Learners For Decades
Article by Arthur Waskow: – Forward, July 4, 2017
Funeral Service for Max Ticktin – Tifereth Israel – July 6, 2016
Tributes/memories:
- I remember Max being very supportive as I climbed through a window – Larry Goldsmith
- During My First Pregnancy – Rachel Braun
- Reflections on Max – Larry Garber
- To be in Max’s presence was to be in the presence of a loving sage – Rev David Shneyer
- Memories of Max Ticktin – John Spiegel
Videos from Shiva for Max – July 10, 2016
Esther’s Writings
- On her 80th Birthday, 2005 – D’var Torah on B’shalah
- D’var Torah on The Readings on Rosh Hashanah
- January 25, 2014 for her 89th birthday – How My Father Saved our Family
- “A Modest Beginning,” on “A Song Every Day” blog by Virginia Spatz.
Originally published in The Jewish Woman: An Anthology. Response: A Contemporary Jewish Review. Number 18. Jewish Student Press Service. Summer 1973.
Interviews
In August 2000 Rabbi Gilah Langner conducted an interview with Max and Esther:
Talking with the Ticktins, published in the 2001 issue of Kerem Magazine, Vol. 7.
Max Ticktin interviewed about Heschel:
In January 2013, Dr. Marsha Rozenblit, a noted historian and longtime Fabrangen member, sat down with Max at his home to discuss the legacy of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, a few weeks past Heschel’s 40th yahrtzeit. The video clips below were taken from the interview; the questions above each clip were asked by Dr. Rozenblit.
Produced by Susan Barocas. Videography by Gregory Walsh.
The production of this video was made possible by an anonymous gift to Fabrangen in honor of our teacher Rabbi Max Ticktin and the legacy of Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel.
Max Ticktin and activism:
- Aliza Becker interviewed Rabbi Max Ticktin (interview dates: 10/3/13, 9/10/14, and 10/10/15) – Peace Activism 1947 to 1978 / Breira / Brit Shalom. Full interview at this link:
http://ajpeacearchive.org/peace-pioneers1/max-ticktin - Max Ticktin’s activism in Chicago:
http://forward.com/news/longform/341133/we-did-what-we-had-to-my-teen-abortion-tale-1969/#ixzz49SyHDG8E