Reform Movement mourns passing of Gunther Plaut
By GIL SHEFLER
LAST UPDATED: 02/12/2012 03:50
Rabbi passes away at the age of 99 and is laid to rest in Toronto.
Rabbi Gunther Plaut Photo: 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.