Gunther Plaut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Wolf Gunther Plaut | |
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| Born | November 1, 1912 Münster, Germany |
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| Known for | Rabbi, author |
Wolf Gunther Plaut, C.C., O.Ont., J.D.S., LL.D. (born November 1, 1912) is a Reform rabbi and author. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and is currently its Rabbi Emeritus.
He was born in Münster, Germany. His father's name was Jonas and his mother's name was Selma. Gunther had a younger brother, Walter. Gunther received his Doctor of Laws degree and in 1935 fled the Nazis and went to the United States. In 1939, he received his ordination as a Rabbi from Hebrew Union College. After receiving his U.S. citizenship on March 31, 1943, he enlisted as a chaplain in the U.S. Army. He was eventually assigned to the 104th Infantry "Timberwolf" Division and served as a frontline chaplain with the 104th in Belgium and Germany. He had pulpits in Chicago, Illinois (1939-1948) and St. Paul, Minnesota (1948-1961). He joined the Holy Blossom Temple in 1961.
He published a volume of commentary on the Torah and Haftarah, which has become the standard Humash used by the Reform movement. He was a long-time columnist for the Canadian Jewish News as well as a contributor of opinion pieces to various Canadian newspapers such as the Toronto Star. He started the W. Gunther Plaut Humanitarian Award. A number of years ago, Plaut was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and has since largely withdrawn from public activities.
He is a former president of the Canadian Jewish Congress and was also vice-chair of the Ontario Human Rights Commission.
In 1978 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and was promoted to Companion in 1999. In 1993, he was awarded the Order of Ontario. In 1999, he received the Commander's Cross (Komturkreuz) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
[edit] Selected works
- The Torah: a Modern Commentary, ISBN 0-8074-0055-6
- The Price and Privilege of Growing Old, ISBN 0-88123-081-2
- The Rise of Reform Judaism: A Sourcebook of Its European Origins (1963)
- Asylum: A Moral Dilemma (1995), ISBN 0-275-95196-0
- Unfinished business: an Autobiography (1981), ISBN 0-919630-41-3
- More Unfinished Business (1997), ISBN 0-8020-0888-7
- The letter (1986), ISBN 0-7710-7164-7
- The Man in the Blue Vest and Other Stories (1978), ISBN 0-8008-5093-9
- Hanging Threads: Stories Real and Surreal (1978), 0919630995
- The Man Who Would Be Messiah: A Biographical Novel (1990), ISBN 0-88962-400-3
- The Jews in Minnesota; the first seventy-five years (1959)
- Your neighbour is a Jew (1968)
- The Sabbath as Protest: Thoughts on Work and Leisure in the Automated Society (1970)
- The Torah: A Modern Commentary, Revised Edition, ISBN 0-8074-0883-2
[edit] References
- Canadian Who's Who 1997 entry. Retrieved on February 16, 2006.
- AWARDS TO CANADIANS. Canada Gazette.
