Randall M. Falk

Randall M. Falk has advanced Jewish-Christian relations and understanding as an author, professor, and rabbi of The Temple, Congregation Ohabai Sholom in Nashville. Born in Little Rock and educated at the University of Cincinnati and the Hebrew Union College, Falk began his rabbinic experience in 1947 in Erie, Pennsylvania, where his activities earned him the Man of the Year and the Community Brotherhood awards. After coming to Nashville in 1960, he confronted racial segregation and helped organize the first march of clergy in the country demanding integration of public accommodations. Falk's involvement in the community has continued through various activities and participation on organization boards, and he received the Human Relations Award from both the Metropolitan Nashville Human Relations Commission and the Nashville chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. On the national level, Falk has contributed to the Central Conference of American Rabbis as officer, chairman of its Committee on Justice and Peace, and vice-chairman of its Commission on Social Action. At the same time, Falk's spiritual leadership helped double The Temple's membership by the time he retired in 1986. He had previously earned a doctorate from Vanderbilt Divinity School and subsequently taught there and at the School of Theology at the University of the South. Since retiring, Falk has coauthored with Walter Harrelson the books Jews and Christians: A Troubled Family (1991) and Jews and Christians: In Pursuit of Social Justice (1996). He and his wife Edna have three children and three grandchildren.