Jacob Bosniak (December 1, 1887August 25, 1963) was a Russian-born American rabbi from Brooklyn, New York City.

Life

Bosniak was born on December 1, 1887, in Gorodetz, Russia, the son of Abraham L. Bosniak and Bessie Golub. He immigrated to America in 1905. Bosniak attended the Yeshivas of Maltz and Krinik. He then went to the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary in New York City, where he received '' semikhah'' in 1906. He received a B.S. from New York University in 1914 and an M.A. from Columbia University in 1916. He was ordained a rabbi at the

Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...

in 1917. He was president of the Morais-Blumenthal Society at the Seminary from 1915 to 1916. He served as rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel in Dallas, Texas, from 1916 to 1920 and as camp rabbi of Love Field and Camp Dick in Dallas from 1918 to 1919. While in Dallas, he was president of the B'nai B'rith Dallas lodge in 1919, vice-president of the International Club in 1918, an executive committee member of the Dallas chapter of the Red Cross Home Service in 1917, and a member of the first

American Jewish Congress The American Jewish Congress (AJCongress or AJC) is an association of American Jews organized to defend Jewish interests at home and abroad through public policy advocacy, using diplomacy, legislation, and the courts. History The AJCongress was ...

in 1919. In 1921, Bosniak became rabbi of

Ocean Parkway Jewish Center The Ocean Parkway Jewish Center is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue located at 550 Ocean Parkway, in Kensington, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. The synagogue was built between 1924 and 1926 and is a three-story plus basement ...

in Brooklyn, New York. He served as rabbi there for the next 28 years. He also served as president of the Brooklyn Board of Rabbis from 1938 to 1940, chairman of the Rabbinical Assembly's Rabbinic Ethics Committee from 1945 to 1948, and a '' dayan'' and director of the Jewish Conciliation Board of America. Seeing a need for a uniform '' siddur'' with modern English translations, he published several prayer books that gained wide acceptance in the

Conservative Jewish Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...

community and edited ''Prayers of Israel'' in 1925 and ''Anthology of Prayer'' in 1958. He also published ''Interpreting Jewish Life: The Sermons and Addresses of Jacob Bosniak'' in 1944 and a critical edition ''The Commentary of David Kimhi on the Fifth Book of Psalms'' in 1954. He retired as rabbi in 1949, after which he was elected rabbi emeritus and devoted himself to Jewish scholarship. Bosniak was a member of the

Synagogue Council of America The Synagogue Council of America was an American Jewish organization of synagogue and rabbinical associations, founded in 1926. The Council was the umbrella body bridging the three primary religious movements within Judaism in the United States. It ...

, an auxiliary chaplain of the Ellis Island Coast Guard Station, a board member of Israel Zion Hospital, president of the Zionist Organization of America, District 42, a member of the New York Board of Rabbis, principal of the Hebrew Sunday Schools of the Ocean Parkway Jewish Center, chaplain of the U.S. Marine Hospital, and a member of the New York Board of Jewish Ministers, the

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, and the Academy of Jewish Studies for Adults. In 1919, he married Suzanne Halpin. Their children were Betty Lucille and Naomi Eve. Bosniak died in

Maimonides Hospital Maimonides Medical Center is a non-profit, non-sectarian hospital located in Borough Park, in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. Maimonides is both a treatment facility and academic medical center with 711 beds ...

on August 25, 1963. He was buried in Mount Lebanon Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosniak, Jacob 1887 births 1963 deaths New York University alumni Columbia University alumni Jews from the Russian Empire Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 20th-century American rabbis Jewish Theological Seminary of America semikhah recipients Rabbis from Texas Rabbis from New York City Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary semikhah recipients Clergy from Dallas Religious leaders from Brooklyn Burials in New York (state) People from Gorodetsky District