Background
Plaut, Wolf Gunther was born on November 1, 1912 in Muenster, Germany. Son of Jonas and Selma (Gumprich) Plaut. emigrated to the United States, 1935, arrived in Canada, 1961.
( More Unfinished Business is a companion to the first vo...)
More Unfinished Business is a companion to the first volume of Rabbi Plaut?s 1981 memoir, Unfinished Business, offering readers his reflections on the unfolding of his life and work, and of events that touched him, during the past two decades. In some of these events ? for instance, in the case of his report on refugee policy and his role in shaping the direction of the Reform movement in Judaism, his reach has touched the lives of many thousands of people. This is a book of doings and musings rather than a detailed analysis of events. Rabbi Plaut considers how the events and issues he was involved with forced him to confront and reassess his life?s work, his religious, institutional, and political commitments. To understand this process, the reader is invited to consider something of the private man behind the events. It is this effort to reveal himself as a person, rather than as an actor in history, that gives added meaning to his reminiscences and his discussion of his concerns, involvements, and disappointments ? wrestling with prayer, the future of Judaism, ageing and mortality, parting with material possessions, even his passion for tennis. Rabbi Plaut is an exceptional writer and story-teller. This is a remarkable book by a remarkable man.
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( This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s...)
This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s classic second volume on the history of the Jewish Reform Movement is a sourcebook of the original writings that shaped the second century of organized liberal Judaism. The Growth of Reform Judaism features a new introduction, a new epilogue, and important additional primary sources documenting the profound changes of the last fifty years. Although the emphasis in this volume is chiefly on the American scene, where the movement had its most notable advances, selections of representative liberal Jewish thought in Europe and to a lesser degree in Israel are included as well. These selections help us to understand the emergence and character, problems and tensions of Reform Judaism as it developed and grew in modern times. In addition to the primary texts new to this edition, David Ellenson’s epilogue considers the developments of the last fifty years that have continued to shape the course of Reform Judaism.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0827612176/?tag=2022091-20
(The Torah: A Modern Commentary that brilliantly summarize...)
The Torah: A Modern Commentary that brilliantly summarizes and synthesizes diverse scholarly opinions into an indispensable tool in understanding the Pentateuch as it's being read in the synagogue. Jewish tradition ascribes the authorship of the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, to Moses. Many contemporaries see in Plaut a man who made Moses' alleged words accessible to us today. He's by no means the only modern editor of the Pentateuch for synagogue use, but bearing in mind the 120,000 copies of his book in circulation, he's among the best known and the most appreciated. When portions of the Torah are read in synagogue, some of those present in the worshipping congregation are called to say blessings in front of the scroll. The Jewish Festival of Weeks commemorates God's gift of Scripture. If Rabbi Plaut was in the congregation on the day, I'd have the honour to call him up by saying something to the effect that not being able to invite Moses we were privileged to have his distinguished interpreter among us.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001P6DT1U/?tag=2022091-20
( This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s...)
This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s classic volume on the beginnings of the Jewish Reform Movement is updated with a new introduction by Howard A. Berman. The Rise of Reform Judaism covers the first one hundred years of the movement, from the time of the eighteenth-century Jewish Enlightenment leader Moses Mendelssohn to the conclusion of the Augsburg synod in 1871. In these pages the founders who established liberal Judaism speak for themselves through their journals and pamphlets, books and sermons, petitions and resolutions, and public arguments and disputations. Each selection includes Plaut’s brief introduction and sketch of the reformer. Important topics within Judaism are addressed in these writings: philosophy and theology, religious practice, synagogue services, and personal life, as well as controversies on the permissibility of organ music, the introduction of the sermon, the nature of circumcision, the observance of the Sabbath, the rights of women, and the authenticity of the Bible.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0827612168/?tag=2022091-20
(The research for this book is based on manuscripts and pe...)
The research for this book is based on manuscripts and personal papers, particularly those of Hiram D. Frankel, in the Minnesota Historical Society, on records of Jewish organizations, census schedules and other primary sources, newspapers, and interviews with descendants of Jewish leaders. Forty-one chapters portray mainly the history of Jews in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and Duluth from Minnesota's territorial years to the early 1920's. The first decades are described by means of biographical sketches of the early arrivals. The organization of Mount Zion congregation at St. Paul in 1856 introduces a pattern which is hard to avoid and at times awkward. The author, who generally follows a chronological sequence, must alternate between communities and personalities. The striking difference between the integration of Jews in the St. Paul community, on the one side, and their isolation in Minneapolis, where outright anti-Semitism developed during and after World War I, on the other, is partly treated in a chapter titled "The Curious Twins." After initial German Jewish immigration, most influential in St. Paul, Eastern European immigration after the Civil War led to social, religious, and even geographical stratification among Jewish groups and greatly increased welfare problems. These problems have always been met magnificently by Jews in all three cities, and particularly in St. Paul. The development of social stratification in Jewish congregations is again largely portrayed through the work of leaders, particularly rabbis, such as Wechsler and Rypin, of Mount Zion in St. Paul, and Deinard, of Shaarai Tov in Minneapolis. The emergence of Reform, Conservatism, and Zionism is thoroughly treated in well-annotated chapters. The work of the lodges, the immediate and ultimate service of the Minnesota Jews in World War I, anti-defamation measures and anti-Semitism in Minneapolis, and comparative presentation of minority problems are treated in the last chapters.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FSEOX6/?tag=2022091-20
Plaut, Wolf Gunther was born on November 1, 1912 in Muenster, Germany. Son of Jonas and Selma (Gumprich) Plaut. emigrated to the United States, 1935, arrived in Canada, 1961.
Bachelor of Laws, U. Berlin, 1933; Juris Doctor, U. Berlin, 1934; MHL, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 1939; Doctor of Divinity, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, 1964; Doctor of Laws, U. Toronto, 1978; Doctor of Letters, Cleveland College Jewish Studies, 1979; Doctor of Laws, York University, 1987; Doctor of Laws, McMaster U., 1998.
Rabbi, B'nai Abraham Zion, Chicago, 1939-1948; rabbi, Mount Zion Temple, St. Paul, 1948-1961; senior rabbi, Holy Blossom Temple, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1961-1977; senior scholar, Holy Blossom Temple, since 1978. Adjunct Professor York University, since 1991.
( More Unfinished Business is a companion to the first vo...)
(The Torah: A Modern Commentary that brilliantly summarize...)
(The research for this book is based on manuscripts and pe...)
(This book is for the non-Jew and Jew, one of the first of...)
(A monumental new work of modern Jewish scholarship.)
(One of the outstanding works of Reform Judaism.)
(Jewish Studies, Hebrew Studies, Education)
( This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s...)
( This fiftieth anniversary edition of W. Gunther Plaut’s...)
(A collection of ten short stories.)
(Will be shipped from US. Brand new copy.)
(Book by Plaut, W. Gunther)
(Book by Plaut, W. Gunther)
Chairman Minnesota Governor's Commision on Ethics in Government, 1958-1961. President St. Paul Gallery and School Art (name changed to Minnesota Museum), 1953-1959, World Federalists Canada, 1966-1968. National president Canada Jewish Congress, 1977-1980.
Vice chairman Ontario Human Rights Commission, 1978-1985. Board of Governors World Union for Progressive Judaism, 1970- president Central Conference American Rabbis, 1983-1985,board inquiry human rights cases, 1987-1998. Captain Army of the United States, 1943-1946.
Married Elizabeth Strauss, November 10, 1938. Children: Jonathan, Judith.