Jakob Josef Petuchowski (1925 – 1991) was an American research professor of Jewish Theology and Liturgy and the Sol and Arlene Bronstein Professor of Judeo-Christian Studies at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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. He was born on July 25, 1925 in

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and died November 12, 1991 in Cincinnati.

Education

Petuchowski was brought up as an Orthodox Jew in

and left Germany in May 1939 for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on the

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children from Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, total ...

. His father, Samuel Meir Sigmund Petuchowski, died in 1928 and his mother was murdered in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Aged just 16, and having had only a year's instruction in English before leaving Berlin, he became a rabbinical student at the Glasgow Rabbinical College. While studying for a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(Honours) degree in psychology, which he received from the

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in 1947, he continued Jewish studies privately, receiving tuition from Rabbis Leo Baeck and Arthur Löwenstamm among others. In 1948 he became a rabbinical student at Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati. He received a master's degree in 1952 and a PhD in 1956.

Professional career

He served as part-time rabbi in

Welch, West Virginia Welch is a city in and the county seat of McDowell County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 3,590 at the 2020 census. Welch was incorporated as a city in 1893. History Welch was incorporated in 1893 and named after Isaiah A. W ...

, between 1949 and 1955 and was full-time rabbi in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington, also known as Little Washington to distinguish it from the District of Columbia, is a city in Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, from 1955 to 1956. He returned to teach at Hebrew Union College in 1956. During the academic year 1963-64 he was rabbi and founding director of Judaic Studies at the college's newly established branch in Jerusalem.

Personal life

He married Elizabeth Mayer from

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on November 28, 1946, and they had three sons: Samuel, Aaron and Jonathan.Henrix, p.11

Publications

His works include ''Ever Since Sinai'' (1961), ''Zion Reconsidered'' (1966), ''Prayerbook Reform in Europe'' (1968), ''Understanding Jewish Prayer'' (1972), ''Theology and Poetry'' (1978), ''Es lehrten unsere Meister'' (1979) and ''When Jews and Christians Meet'' (1986). His story as a child leaving his mother and home town Berlin on the Kindertransport can be found in the book ''I came Alone'' pp. 242–244. The story is available also on the web with a translation to Hebrew on the sit
I Came alone
Petuchowski's article,
The Theological Significance of the Parable in Rabbinic Literature and the New Testament
" can be read at ''JerusalemPerspective''.com.

References

Sources

* Henrix, Hans Herman, "Jakob J Petuchowski (1925–1991): Rabbi, Scholar, Ecumenist" in: Gerhards, Albert and Leonhard, Clemens (editors), ''Jewish and Christian Liturgy and Worship: New Insights Into Its History and Interaction'' (2007), Brill,

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;

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, * Leverton, Bertha, and Shmuel Lowensohn. ''I Came Alone: The Stories of the Kindertransports''. Sussex, England: Book Guild, 1990, pp. 242–244. {{DEFAULTSORT:Petuchowski, Jakob Josef 1925 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American rabbis Alumni of the University of London American Jewish theologians American Reform rabbis Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion faculty Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Kindertransport refugees People from Welch, West Virginia Rabbis from Berlin Rabbis from West Virginia