Walter Jacob

Walter Jacob(March 13, 1930 – October 20, 2024) was an AmericanReformrabbi.He was rabbi at theRodef Shalom CongregationinPittsburghfrom 1955 to 1997. He served as chairman of organizations such as theCentral Conference of American RabbisandWorld Union for Progressive Judaism.Jacob wrote a book,Christianity Through Jewish Eyesin 1974, leading to interfaith dialogue. He founded the Solomon B. Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah in 1991, an international forum for Jewish law. In Germany, he co-founded theAbraham Geiger College,the first rabbinic seminary in Central Europe since the Holocaust, in 1999.

Rabbi Walter Jacob
Walter Jacob,c.2000
Personal
Born	(1930-03-13)March 13, 1930 Augsburg,Bavaria,Germany
Died	October 20, 2024(2024-10-20)(aged 94) Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S.
Religion	Judaism
Spouse	Irene Loewenthal ​ ​ (m.1958; died 2012)​
Children	3
Denomination	Reform Judaism
Alma mater	Drury College
Position	Rabbi Emeritus
Synagogue	Rodef Shalom Congregation
Began	1955
Ended	1997
Semikhah	Hebrew Union College

Biography

Jacob was born inAugsburg,Germany, on March 13, 1930, into a family with rabbinic tradition for 17 generations. His father was Ernest Israel Jacob, district rabbi in Augsburg, and his grandfather wasBenno Jacob,who was regarded as a great liberal Jewish bible commentator. His mother was Annette Loewenberg Jacob, and he grew up with a brother, Herbert. His father was deported to theDachau concentration campin 1938 for several months. Helped by American relatives, the family managed to flee Germany in 1939, first to London, and a year later to the United States. They settled in Missouri in 1943.

Studies and academic career

Jacob graduated with a B.A. fromDrury CollegeinSpringfield, Missouriin 1950. He was ordained as a rabbi and received a Master of Hebrew Letters (M.H.L.) from theHebrew Union College(HUC) in Cincinnati in 1955.He earned his D.H.L. in 1961 from HUC, which also granted him an honorary doctorate in 1975.

Jacob was adjunct professor at thePittsburgh Theological Seminaryfrom 1968 to 1974.He served as overseer of Jewish Institute of Religion at the Hebrew Union College and chairman of the publications committee of Hebrew Union College Press from 1976 to 1999.

He received an honorary doctorate from Drury College in 1990.

Congregation

Rodef Shalom Temple

Following ordination, Jacob was named assistant rabbi atRodef Shalom CongregationinPittsburgh,Pennsylvania, underRabbi Solomon Freehof.He served as achaplain in the U.S. Air Forcein the Philippines during the years 1955–57. In 1966, Jacob succeeded Freehof as senior rabbi,becoming emeritus in 1997.He served families over several generations.He continued the work of his grandfather, translating Benno Jacob's biblical commentaries.

United States

Jacob was chairman of theResponsacommittee of theCentral Conference of American Rabbisfrom 1967 to 1990. He was president of the Religious Education Association of America from 1981 to 1985.He served as vice president of theWorld Union for Progressive Judaism,and chairman of its International Responsa Committee from 1990 to 1994,and was president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1992 to 1994,emphasizing a broader Reform interpretation of the Jewish law (halakhah).He also served as chairman of the Associated American Jewish Museumswhich he had co-founded, to organize free art exhibits in synagogues and Jewish centers.

Interfaith

Jacob took a leading role in interfaith dialogue with his bookChristianity Through Jewish Eyes,first published in 1974 and revised in 2007,which led to close friendship with Catholic bishops.Jacob was awarded theOrder of St. Gregory the GreatfromPope John Paul IIin 2005.

Jewish law

Jacob founded the Solomon B. Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah in 1991, an international forum for Jewish law that he served as its first chairperson.It holds seminars on Jewish law annually in North America, Europe and Israel and has published books includingWar and Terrorism in Jewish Law,The Sexual Issues in Jewish Law,andThe Internet Revolution and Jewish Law.

Germany

Jacob and a few others worked towards rebuilding liberal Judaism in Germany from 1990. He served as the honorary rabbi of the liberal Beth Shalom congregation in Munich from 1996 for several years.He co-founded theAbraham Geiger College,the first rabbinic seminary in Central Europe since the Holocaust, as part of theUniversity of Potsdamin 1998,serving as its president.

Jacob was made aKnight Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germanyin 1999.He received an honorary professorship from theState of Brandenburg.Augsburg honored him with a special award in 2014, and he said then, in memory of the outbreak of the First World War: "We are realists — memories haunt us, just like the horrors of our time — but we will never be pessimists. Even on this day of dark memories, we look to a bright future."In 2021, the seat of the Abraham Geiger College was named after him, Walter Jacob Building.

Publications

Jacob published 43 books and more than twelve hundred essays, sermons, and monographs on a range of topics which include responsa, Jewish theology, biblical studies, interfaith dialogue, modern Jewish problems, and gardening.

Personal life

Jacob was married to Irene Gitta Loewenthal, a horticulturalist, from 1958. She was born inHamburg,Germany and also had rabbis in her family. They had three children, Claire Helene, Kenneth Gabriel and Daniel Benjamin. They worked and published together, establishingRodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden,the largest biblical botanical garden in North America in 1986 and publishing in that field. The couple were interested in classical music, art, theater, going outdoors and traveling. Irene died in 2012, and her husband took care of the Biblical garden as a living memorial.

Walter Jacob died at home in Pittsburgh on October 20, 2024, at the age of 94.

Books

• Jacob, Walter,Christianity Through Jewish EyesNew York, 1974, 1982, 287 pp.ISBN978-0-87068-257-5
• ----The Changing World of Reform Judaism – The Pittsburgh Platform in Retrospect.1985ISBN978-0-915138-79-1
• ----Liberal Judaism and Halakhah, A Symposium,1988,ISBN978-0-929699-00-4
• ---- and Irène Jacob,The Healing Past, Pharmaceuticals in the Biblical and Rabbinic World,1993,ISBN978-90-04-09643-1
• ---- and Irène Jacob,Gardens of North America and Hawaii – A Traveller's Guide,1985,ISBN978-0-88192-017-8
• ---- and Benno Jacob,The Second Book of the Bible – Exodusinterpreted by B. Jacob, translated and introduced, 1992,ISBN978-0-88125-028-2
• ---- with Moshe Zemer,Death and Euthanasia in Jewish Law,1995,ISBN978-0-929699-06-6
• ---- with Moshe Zemer,Sexual issues in Jewish Law: essays and responsa,2006,ISBN978-0-929699-17-2
• ----Fetus and Fertility in Jewish Law,1995,ISBN978-0-929699-07-3
• ----Aging and the Aged in Jewish Law,1998,ISBN978-0-929699-08-0
• ----Israel and the Diaspora in Jewish Law,1997,ISBN978-0-929699-09-7
• ----Crime and Punishment in Jewish Law,1999,ISBN978-1-57181-197-4
• ----The Environment in Jewish Law,2003,ISBN978-1-57181-431-9
• ----Poverty and Tzedakah in Jewish Law,2006,ISBN978-0-929699-18-9
• ----War and Terrorism in Jewish Law,2010,ISBN978-0-929699-22-6
• ----The Internet Revolution in Jewish Law,2014,ISBN978-0-929699-25-7

Further reading

• An American Rabbinate: A Festschrift for Walter Jacob.Peter S. Nobel and Mark N. Staitman, editors, 2000. Pittsburgh.ISBN978-0-929699-11-0.
• Pursuing Peace Across the Alleghenies: The Rodef Shalom Congregation, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1865–2005.Walter Jacob, ed.ISBN978-0-929699-15-8.
• Rodef Shalom Congregation: 150 Years of Living by Jewish Values.2007, Pittsburgh, PA.
• Lidji, Eric:The Seventeenth Generation: The Lifework of Rabbi Walter Jacob(biography), 2018

External links

• Dr. Rabbi Walter JacobRodef Shalom Congregation
• Solomon B. Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah
• Walter Jacob / PresidentCCAR Convention 2018
• Rabbi Walter Jacobobituaries.post-gazette October 21, 2024