Rabbi Barry Cytron

He formerly taught one course each semester in the department and also served as the campus Jewish Chaplain in the Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. Previously he served for twenty five years as a congregational rabbi, first in Des Moines, Iowa and then in Minneapolis. From 1996-2009, he was the director of the Jay Phillips Center, a venture devoted to fostering sustained interfaith education, based at St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

He graduated from Columbia University in New York, from which he also received an M.A., was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America [Conservative Judaism] and received a Ph.D. from Iowa State University. With colleague Earl Schwartz of Hamline University, he has written two texts exploring Jewish ethical teachings: When Life is in the Balance and Who Renews Creation. He was a regular contributor to the Minneapolis Star Tribune for many years, and remains active in national interfaith activities and publications.