Editing Harold Kushner (section)

== Rabbinical career ==
Following his rabbinic ordination, Kushner went to court to request the [[waiver]] of his military exemption. He served for two years as a first lieutenant in the Army's [[Chaplain Corps (United States Army)|Chaplain Corps]] at [[Fort Sill]] in [[Oklahoma]].<ref name=":02" /> After his discharge from the military, Kushner returned to New York and served as an assistant rabbi at Temple Israel in [[Great Neck, New York|Great Neck]] from 1962 to 1966.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Gary Scott |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_8UOEAAAQBAJ&dq=harold+kushner+lifetime+achievement+award&pg=RA2-PA205 |title=American Religious History: Belief and Society through Time [3 volumes] |date=2020-12-07 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-4408-6161-1 |pages=205 |language=en}}</ref> 

In 1966, Kushner assumed the position of rabbi at the 450-family congregation<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=Diane |date=2010-06-29 |title=Kushner And Gillman: Still Wrestling With Uncertainty |url=https://www.jta.org/2010/06/29/ny/kushner-and-gillman-still-wrestling-with-uncertainty |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=[[Jewish Telegraphic Agency]] |language=en-US}}</ref> Temple Israel in [[Natick, Massachusetts]]. He fulfilled the role of congregational rabbi there for 24 years while also being a member of the [[Rabbinical Assembly]],<ref name=":02" /> the "clerical arm" of the Conservative movement.<ref name=":2" /> From 1972 to 1974, he served as the president of the New England Region of the Rabbinical Assembly.<ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Pamela Nadell |last=Nadell |first=Pamela S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_r3XAAAAMAAJ&q=%22rabbinical+assembly%22+%22harold+kushner%22 |title=Conservative Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook |date=1988-09-16 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0-313-24205-2 |pages=170 |language=en}}</ref> Initially serving as Temple Israel's full-time rabbi, he shifted to part-time in 1983 to allocate more time for writing and in 1990, he transitioned to full-time writing and lecturing.<ref name=":1" /> The synagogue deemed Kushner, who was 55 years old at the time, too young to be appointed as rabbi [[Emeritus#Other uses|emeritus]], so he was bestowed the title of rabbi laureate in 1983.<ref name=":5" /> The title,<ref name=":1" /> held by only a few American rabbis, underlined his commitment to maintaining an enduring connection with both his congregants and the rabbinate. He attended the synagogue until his death.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bolton-Fasman |first=Judy |date=May 2, 2023 |title=Rabbi Harold Kushner asked God tough questions and shared the answers with all of us |url=https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2023/05/03/remembering-rabbi-harold-kushner-of-natick-massachusetts-judy-bolton-fasman |access-date=2023-08-18 |website=[[WBUR]] |language=en}}</ref>

Kushner's presence in the Conservative movement was described as "inescapable".<ref name=":7" /> In 2001, he co-authored ''[[Etz Hayim Humash|Etz Hayim: A Torah Commentary]]'', the new official [[Torah]] commentary of the [[Conservative Judaism|Conservative movement]], in collaboration with [[Chaim Potok]].<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":23">{{Cite web |last=Weingarten |first=Abby |date=February 3, 2005 |title=Rabbi's loss leads to writing career |url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2005/02/03/rabbis-loss-leads-to-writing-career/28833580007/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=[[Sarasota Herald-Tribune]] |language=en-US}}</ref> The comprehensive work comprises four layers of [[Exegesis|commentary]], encompassing insights on Conservative observance of [[Halakha|Jewish law]] and traditional and contemporary interpretations of scripture (''[[midrash]]''), curated by Kushner.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ostling |first=Richard N. |date=November 10, 2001 |title=Revising the Rules of Faith |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/11/10/revising-the-rules-of-faith/f96ebd43-96ac-45da-bb48-7f4dd62a6eb8/ |access-date=2023-08-18 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

Kushner spoke at the interfaith prayer service for the [[second inauguration of Bill Clinton]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Marquard |first=Bryan |title=Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of 'When Bad Things Happen to Good People,' dies at 88 |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/04/29/metro/rabbi-harold-kushner-author-when-bad-things-happen-good-people-dies-88/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=[[The Boston Globe]] |language=en-US}}</ref> He was also a [[eulogist]] at the [[Death and State Funeral of Ronald Reagan|state funeral of Ronald Reagan]] in the [[Washington National Cathedral]] in 2004, where offered a reading from the [[Book of Isaiah]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last1=Harris |first1=Ben |last2=Cramer |first2=Philissa |date=April 29, 2023 |title=Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of 'When Bad Things Happen to Good People,' dies at 88 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/rabbi-harold-kushner-author-of-when-bad-things-happen-to-good-people-dies-at-88/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=[[Times of Israel]] |language=en-US}}</ref>