Reform Movement mourns passing of Gunther Plaut

Rabbi passes away at the age of 99 and is laid to rest in Toronto.

Rabbi Gunther Plaut 390 (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Rabbi Gunther Plaut 390
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Reform Judaism on Friday mourned the death of Rabbi Gunther Plaut, the author of commentaries on the Torah and Haftarah that became standards in the religious movement.
The rabbi passed away last Wednesday at the age of 99 and was laid to rest in Toronto.
“Rabbi Plaut was an incredible teacher and rabbi far beyond the flocks he led at his congregations,” said Union for Reform Judaism president- elect Rabbi Rick Jacobs. “Millions of Jews have come to learn our sacred stories under his guiding hands. His legacy will continue on for generations of Jews around the world.”
Plaut's best known work is The Torah: A Modern Commentary, which was first printed in 1981 and is now in its 13th edition. The book has sold nearly 120,000 copies to date and is used in most Reform Jewish congregations in North America.