Peter Knobel (January 13, 1943 – August 20, 2019) was an American Reform

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

, educator and editor. He was the rabbi of Beth Emet The Free Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois, for three decades.

Biography

Knobel was ordained at the

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, and he earned a PhD from Yale University. He graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, NY. He was the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El in Groton, Connecticut, from 1969 to 1980, followed by Beth Emet The Free Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois, from 1980 to 2010. After he became rabbi emeritus at Beth Emet, he was the interim senior rabbi at Temple Sholom in Chicago, Temple Judea in Coral Gables, Florida, and finally at the

Temple Israel of Hollywood Temple Israel of Hollywood is a Reform Jewish synagogue in Hollywood, California founded in 1926. Services were originally held in the Hayakawa Mansion before the first Temple Israel building was established on Ivar Street under the leadership ...

in Los Angeles in July–August 2019. Knobel taught at the University of New Haven, the University of Connecticut, and the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership. He edited several books, including one about Rabbi Walter Jacob, and wrote many articles. He was the past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Chicago Board of Rabbis, and the Chicago Association of Reform Rabbis. He served on the boards of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

;

Association of Reform Zionists of America The Association of Reform Zionists of America (ARZA) is the Zionist organization of the Reform movement in the United States. It was founded in 1978. History ARZA was founded in 1978 after a resolution at the 1977 UAHC 54th General Assembly bien ...

; the Union for Reform Judaism;

Jewish United Fund The Jewish United Fund of Chicago (JUF) is the central philanthropic address of Chicago's Jewish community and one of the largest not-for-profit social welfare institutions in Illinois. JUF provides critical resources that bring food, refuge, hea ...

of Metropolitan Chicago; and on the council of the Parliament of the World's Religions. With his wife, Elaine, Knobel had two sons and six grandchildren. He died of a heart attack on August 20, 2019, in Los Angeles, and was buried at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois, on August 26, 2019.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knobel, Peter 1943 births 2019 deaths Clergy from Newark, New Jersey Writers from Newark, New Jersey Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni Yale University alumni American book editors American Reform rabbis Rabbis from Illinois Rabbis from New Jersey 20th-century American rabbis 21st-century American rabbis