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WHEREAS, Dr. Walter Jacob has served almost his entire rabbinical career at Rodef Shalom Congregation and is the synagogue's 2016 Pursuer of Peace award winner; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Jacob was born in Germany and fled the Holocaust with his family, immigrating to England and eventually to Springfield, Missouri. Dr. Jacob attended Drury College, where he received his BA in 1950, and Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, where he was ordained in 1955, making him part of his family's rabbinic tradition that stretches back 400 years and 16 generations; and,
WHEREAS, in 1957, after service as an Air Force Chaplain stationed in the Philippines, Dr. Jacob became rabbi at Rodef Shalom, leading the congregation until his retirement in 1996; and,
WHEREAS, the academic career of Dr. Jacob includes significant writings on Jewish law and literature, the history of Rodef Shalom, and international Progressive Judaism. Dr. Jacob taught at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, University of Pittsburgh, Chatham University, and Duquesne University, and he established Abraham Geiger College in Germany, the first liberal rabbinical seminary in continental Europe opened after the Holocaust; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Jacob served as President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and as Vice-President of World Union for Progressive Judaism, became a knight Commander of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1999 and later, became Commander of the Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great in 2004; and,
WHEREAS, in addition to academic and professional achievements, Dr. Jacob developed a strong sense of civic pride and became deeply involved in the greater Pittsburgh community. He and his wife Irene established the Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Gardens, and after being unable to find appropriate care for their daughter who was born with disabilities, the couple opened Horizon Homes which later became Mainstay Life Services, an organization that provides services to 350 individ...
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