In 1952 at Morningside College in Sioux City he earned a B.A., and from there went to New York City to study in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; here he became ordained as a rabbi in 1959. He then became a member of the Rabbinical Assembly, the organized body of rabbis in Conservative Judaism.
He soon began work as a liturgist on the RA's prayerbook committee, working with Rabbi Gershon Hadas on new siddurim (Jewish prayerbooks) for use in Conservative congregations. Under the editorship of Rabbi Hadas, they succeeded in printing the widely used Weekday Prayer Book in 1961. He took a greater role in working on the movement's mahzor (prayerbook for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kipur) which was published in 1972. He soon became the chief liturgist for the Conservative movement, and was the editor in the groundbreaking Siddur Sim Shalom in 1985.
See also: Conservative Judaism