Sad news:

The founder of Humanistic Judaism, Rabbi Sherwin Wine (79) has been killed in a car crash in Morocco.

Wine, a native of Detroit who was raised by Conservative parents, attended Reform rabbinical school before founding the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism in 1963. He helped establish the Society for Humanistic Judaism in 1969, gradually building it into a worldwide movement with some 40,000 members. He retired in 2003.

Wine was the author of several books, including "Humanistic Judaism," "Judaism Beyond God" and "Staying Sane in a Crazy World." According to The Associated Press, he was in Morocco this summer writing a book about living a meaningful, moral life without depending on faith for guidance.

He and his partner, Richard McMains, were near Essaouira, Morocco, when the taxi in which they were riding was struck by another driver. Wine was killed instantly. McMains remains hospitalised in a stable condition, according to the society's Web site.

See also: Rabbi shook faith with courage <http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?aid=/20070724/opinion02/707240336/1070>

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Tags: humanism, judaism, mortality, obituary, rabbi sherwin wine, secularisation