TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement Note

Conditions of Access and Use

Related Material

Administrative Information

Search Terms

Box and Folder Listing

Series A. Correspondence, 1955-1982

Series B. Writings, 1942-1986

Series C. Nearprint, 1951-1979

Series D. Audio recordings, 1961-1980

A Finding Aid to the Jakob J. Petuchowki Papers. 1942-1986.

Manuscript Collection No. 653


Introduction

Repository: The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
Creator: Petuchowski, Jakob J., 1925-1991.
Title: Jakob J. Petuchowki Papers.
Dates: 1942-1986
Quantity: 2.0 linear feet (5 Hollinger boxes and 14 audiocassettes)
Abstract: The Jakob J. Petuchowski papers describe the rabbinic and professional activities of Jakob Petuchowski who served both as a congregational rabbi and on the faculty at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Petuchowski wrote extensively on prayer and halakah and was involved in interfaith activities.
Collection Number: MS-653
Language: Collection material in English and German.

Biographical Sketch

Jakob J. Petuchowki

Jakob Josef Petuchowski was born on July 30, 1925 in Berlin, Germany. He was brought from Germany to London in a children's transport prior to the outbreak of World War II. After receiving a B.A. with honors in psychology from the University of London in 1947, Petuchowski moved to the United States in 1948 and earned his rabbinic ordination, masters and Ph.D. from Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Petuchowski served in the congregational rabbinate in Welch, West Virginia and Washington, Pennsylvania. He was also the High Holiday rabbi of Temple B'nai Israel, Laredo, Texas from 1956 through 1991.

As a Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion faculty member, Jakob Petuchowski held many different titles. Hired as a professor of rabbinics in 1956, he became the first Director of Jewish Studies at HUC-JIR's Jerusalem campus. Petuchowski then became a professor of Theology and Liturgy, a title he held until 1981. Finally, he was the professor of Judeo-Christian studies.

Petuchowski published and edited over 36 books and numerous articles on theology and poetry including: Ever Since Sinai (1961), Prayerbook Reform in Europe (1968), Understanding Jewish Prayer (1972), Theology and Poetry (1978) , Es lehrten unsere Meister (1979) and When Jews and Christians Meet (1986).

Petuchowski married Dr. Elizabeth Mayer in 1946 in London. They had three children: Samuel Judah, Aaron Mark (who also became a rabbi) and Jonathan Mayer.

Jakob J. Petuchowski died in 1991.


Scope and Content Note

The Jakob J. Petuchowski papers (1942-1986) describe the rabbinic and professional activities of Jakob Petuchowski who served as both a congregational rabbi and on the faculty at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion. Petuchowski wrote extensively on prayerbooks and halakhah and was involved in interfaith activities.


Arrangement Note

This collection is arranged in four (4) series:

Series A. Correspondence.
Series B. Writings.
Series C. Nearprint.
Series D. Audiovisual Recordings.

Conditions of Access and Use

Terms of Access

The collection is open for use; no restrictions apply.

Terms of Reproduction and Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. Authorization to publish, quote, or reproduce, with exceptions for fair use, may be obtained through the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio. Please address queries to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information, see the American Jewish Archives copyright information webpage.


Related Material

Related Collections

Central Conference of American Rabbis Records. MS-34

HUC-JIR Faculty- Picture Collection.

Petuchowski, Jakob- Nearprint Biographies.

Petuchowski, Jakob- Picture Collection.

Laredo, Texas- Temple B'nai B'rith. Small Collections.

World Union for Progressive Judaism. MS-16.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Jakob J. Petuchowki Papers and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:

[Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-653. Jakob J. Petuchowki Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Provenance

The Jakob J. Petuchowki Papers were received from Jakob J. Petuchowki, Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1980 and 1991.

Processing Information

Processed by Melinda McMartin, March 2001.


Box and Folder Listing

Series A. Correspondence, 1955-1982
Series A. consists of one and one-half Hollinger boxes. Each correspondent having more than five items has been placed in a separate folder. Much of the correspondence relates to Petuchowski's publishing career and his research on Jewish prayerbooks. Correspondence is in both English and Hebrew.
The series is arranged alphabetically by name.
Box Folder
1 1 A-F, General
1 2 Agus, Jacob B.
1 3 Altman, Alexander
1 4 Baeck, Leo
1 5 Baerwald, Leo
1 6 Bardin, Shlomo
1 7 Berlin, Donald O.
1 8 Blank, Sheldon H.
1 9 Braude, William G.
1 10 Brichto, Herbert C.
1 11 Burrows, D. Pete
1 12 Cambridge University Press
1 13 Central Conference of American Rabbis
1 14 Cohen, Gerson D.
1 15 Cohon, Samuel S. Cohon, A. Irma
1 16 Daube, David
1 17 Eckert, W.P.
1 18 Ehrlich, Kenneth E.
1 19 Frankel, Max
1 20 Freehof, Solomon B.
1 21 Friedland, Eric
1 22 Fromm, Eric
1 23 G-J, General
1 24 Glueck, Nelson
1 25 Gottschalk, Alfred
1 26 Gradison, Bill
1 27 Guttmann, Alexander
1 28 Hain, Kenneth
1 29 Herder-Dorneich, T.
1 30 Herscher, Uri
1 31 Heschel, Abraham J.
1 32 Hurwitz, Henry
1 33 Jacobs, Louis
1 34 Jakobovitz, Immanuel
Box Folder
2 1 K-M, General
2 2 Klein, Joseph
2 3 Kung, Hans
2 4 Leuner, H.D.
2 5 Levey, Samson
2 6 Levinson, Stephen
2 7 Marcus, Jacob Rader
2 8 Maurer, Tom B.
2 9 McCoy, Lowell G.
2 10 Merkel, Gottfried G.
2 11 Mihaly, Eugene
2 12 Montefiore, Leonard G.
2 13 N-R, General
2 14 Neusner, Jacob
2 15 Oesterreicher, John M.
2 16 Plaut, W. Gunther
2 17 Rackman, Emmanuel
2 18 Rayner, John D.
2 19 Regner, Sidney L.
2 20 Rosenthal, Erwin
2 21 S-V, General
2 22 Schaalman, Herman E.
2 23 Schneerson, Menachem M.
2 24 Solins, Samuel
2 25 Union of American Hebrew Congregations
2 26 Van der Zyl, W.
Box Folder
3 1 W-Z, General
3 2 Wagner, Richard
3 3 Walter, Rudolf
3 4 Werner, Eric
3 5 Wiesel, Elie
3 6 Wilhelm, Kurt
3 7 Unidentified correspondence
Series B. Writings, 1942-1986
Series B. consists of one and one-half Hollinger boxes of sermons and publications. Some manuscripts are in German. Correspondence relating to the publications may also be included in the series.
The series is arranged alphabetically by title.
Box Folder
3 8 Addresses, meditations, sermons 1967-1979
3 9 Beten in Judentum German undated
3 10 Bibliographies 1942-1981
3 11 Das Buch im Volk des Buches German 1982
3 12 Die Stimme von Sinai German 1981
3 13 Es Lehrten Unsere Meister German 1979
3 Es Lehrten Unsere Meister - Part II. German 1980
3 15 John F. Kennedy Memorial 1963
Box Folder
4 1 Manuscripts 1965-1978
4 2 Our Masters Taught 1981
4 3 The Lord's Prayer and Jewish Liturgy 1978
4 4 The Lord's Prayer and Jewish Liturgy - Part II 1978
4 5 Theology and Poetry 1975
4 6 When Jews and Christians Meet 1986
4 7 When Jews and Christians Meet - Part II 1986
Box Folder
5 1 Wie unsere Meister di Schrift Erklären German 1982
Series C. Nearprint, 1951-1979
Series C. consists of one Hollinger box. It includes several honorary degrees and articles/clippings relating to various subjects such as education or tours. The series also contains material from two congregations: Temple Emanuel of Welch, W.Va. and Temple Beth Israel of Washington, D.C.
The series is arranged alphabetically by topic.
Box Folder
5 2 Brown University. Honorary doctorate 1979
5 3 Curriculum vitae undated
5 4 Education 1942-1955
5 5 Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion 1956-1977
5 6 Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Jerusalem campus 1963-1964
5 7 Honors 1977
5 8 Laredo, Texas 1956-1964
5 9 Learned societies undated
5 10 Lectures, tours 1978, undated
5 11 Maimonides College. Honorary degree 1959
5 12 Personal material undated
5 13 Travel records undated
5 14 University of Cologne Honorary doctorate 1978
5 15 Temple Beth Israel (Washington, D.C.) 1955
5 16 Temple Emanuel (Welch, W.Va.) 1951-1954
Series D. Audio recordings, 1961-1980
Series D. consists of 14 recordings. Lectures are identified by title (if available) and information about the event. Many of the events occurred at HUC-JIR, Cincinnati.
These recordings were donated individually by either Jakob Petuchowski or the College-Institute between 1962-1990. They are also cataloged and listed separately in the AJA reading room catalog.
The recordings are arranged chronologically.
(TR-105 - TR-105a) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Incoming student welcome. September 1961 (2 audiocassettes)
(TR-184 - TR-195) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Founder's Day Program March 1962 (11 audiocassettes)
(TR-231) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of ReligionChapel - Its Uses, Present and Future September 1964 (1 audiocassette)
(TR-272 - TR-273) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Reactions to proposed curriculum. Interview. January 1965 (2 audiocassettes)
(TR-769) Message of Israel Radio speech January 1969 (1 audiocassette)
(TR-1073) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Symposium on halakhah. December 1974 (1 audiocassette)
(TR-1172 - TR-1174) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Symposium Whither Liberal Religion? October 1975 (3 audiocassettes)
(TR-1124 - TR-1126) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Faculty centennial academic lecture October-November 1975 (3 audiocassettes)
(TR-1141) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Symposium on prayer April 1976 (1 audiocassette)
(C-66 - C-69) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Colloquia on Passover and the Haggadah March 1979 (4 audiocassettes)
(C-348) Interview October 1980 (1 audiocassette)
(C-447 - C-448) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Speech to students undated (2 audiocassettes)
(C-1522 - C-1528) Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of ReligionAn Episcopal-Jewish Colloquium undated (7 audiocassettes)

Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the AJA's online catalog.

Persons and Families

Petuchowski, Jakob J. -- 1925-1991

Institutions

Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion

Subjects

Theologians