Rabbi Lance J. Sussman Ph.D. 
PORTRAIT OF A REFORM RABBI: CONTINUITY AND CHANGE [EPUB ebook] 

Lance J. Sussman’s career as Senior Rabbi at Reform Congregation
Keneseth Israel in Elkins Park, PA, from 2001–2022, coincided with
the tumultuous first two decades of the twenty-first century. His work
at KI began shortly after 9-11 and ended in the wake of the coronavirus
pandemic. Between those two momentous bookends, numerous significant
developments occurred both in the United States and Israel. Now, as
an active Rabbi Emeritus, he continues to write, teach, and serve the
community at large.
Rabbi Sussman, Ph.D., has the distinction of being both a rabbi and
a scholar. A specialist in American Jewish History, Sussman is the author
of a number of books in his field, including the seminal biography Isaac
Leeser and the Making of American Judaism (1995). Along with Jonathan D.
Sarna and Paula S. Nadell, he served as an editor of New Essays in American
Jewish History (2010). A prolific writer, Sussman has published significant
articles on a variety of topics including modern Jewish life and Jewish art.
In addition to his pulpit work, Sussman has taught at Princeton
University, Binghamton (SUNY) University, and Hunter College, among
others, and he has also served as Chair of the Board of Governors of Gratz
College. A popular speaker, Sussman has been a scholar-in-residence,
given hundreds of community lectures, and participated in the creation of
television documentaries.
Sussman is a serious scholar with a sense of humor, and some lighthearted
lecture titles include “How Lox Became Jewish: A History of the
American Jewish Deli” and “Walk Softly and Carry a Big Schtick: Teddy
Roosevelt and the Jews.” He currently serves as the Memoirs Section
Editor of the Southern Jewish Historical Society’s Journal. Portrait of… is
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a proposed trilogy, with Portrait of an American Rabbi: In His Own Words
(2023), followed by Portrait of a Reform Rabbi: Continuity and Change, and
then Portrait of a Rabbi-Historian: How Did We Get Here?.
For decades, Sussman has been involved in communal and national
activities. He is currently serving as the Vice President of the North
American Board of Rabbis, Vice President of the Philadelphia Board
of Rabbis, and Senior Scholar of Roots of Reform Judaism. He was the
founding President of the Cheltenham Area Multifaith Council and has
also been involved in museum work in Philadelphia and Binghamton.
Lynda Barness has had a diverse career path. Most recently, she is the
founder of LB Literary Projects and is a publishing professional, advising
and editing for academic publications, which followed her earlier careers as
a real estate developer and homebuilder and also as the owner of a wedding
planning company. Barness is the author of four books. She has served on
the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and chaired the
MBA Advisory Board at Temple University. She holds a Certificate in
Copyediting, Proofreading, and Fact-Checking from New York University,
a Master’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in International
Relations, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Tufts University.