David Novak

David Novak, (born August 19, 1941, in Chicago, Illinois) is a Jewish theologian, ethicist, and scholar of Jewish philosophy and law (Halakha). He is an ordained Conservative rabbi and holds the J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies as Professor of the Study of Religion and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto since 1997. His areas of interest are Jewish theology, Jewish ethics and biomedical ethics, political theory (with a special emphasis on natural law), and Jewish-Christian relations. Novak has authored 16 books and more than 200 articles in scholarly journals. His book Covenantal Rights: A Study in Jewish Political Theory (Princeton University Press, 2000) won the American Academy of Religion Award for "best book in constructive religious thought" in 2000. He is a regular contributor to the ABC News' Religion and Ethics portal. He frequently addresses interfaith conferences and contributes to books and journals published by Christian theologians. Early life and education Novak was born in 1941 in Chicago, Illinois. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1961 and his master's degree in Hebrew literature in 1964. He earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at Georgetown University in 1971. (Later he remarked that he chose Georgetown in part because it was a Catholic university). He received rabbinical ordination in 1966 from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he studied under Abraham Joshua Heschel. He is married to Melva Ziman since 1963; they have two children and five grandchildren. Rabbinic career Novak was a pulpit rabbi in several American Jewish communities from 1966 to 1989. He also served as a Jewish chaplain at St. Elizabeth's Hospital, National Institute of Mental Health, Washington, D.C., from 1966 to 1969.