Jacob Pressman
Jacob Pressman | |
---|---|
Born | October 26, 1919 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Residence | Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
Education | University of Pennsylvania Jewish Theological Seminary of America |
Occupation | Rabbi, columnist |
Spouse(s) | Marjorie Steinberg |
Children | Daniel Pressman Joel Pressman (deceased) Judith Pressman |
Parent(s) | Solomon Pressman Dora (Levin) Pressman |
Jacob "Jack" Pressman (October 26, 1919 – October 1, 2015) was an American Conservative rabbi. He served as the rabbi of Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, California from 1950 to 1985. He was a co-founder of the American Jewish University in Bel Air. He penned a weekly column in The Beverly Hills Courier from 2004 to 2015.
Early life
Jacob Pressman was born on October 26, 1919 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1][2] His father was Solomon Pressman and his mother, Dora (Levin) Pressman.[1] Raised in the Jewish faith, he attended Temple Beth Am in Philadelphia.[2]
Pressman graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1940, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree.[3][4] He attended the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and was ordained as a conservative rabbi in 1945.[1][2][3]
Career
Pressman served as rabbi at Forest Hills Jewish Center in Queens, New York City, from 1944 to 1946.[1][2][3] In 1946, he moved to Los Angeles, California, where he first served as associate rabbi at Sinai Temple until 1950.[1][2] At the time, the senior rabbi was Jacob Kohn (or Cohen).[1][2]
In 1950, he became rabbi of the Olympic Jewish Center.[1][2][5] It was renamed Temple Beth Am in 1957.[1][2] Pressman established Beth Am Manor, a low-rent residence for senior citizens as well as the Rabbi Jacob Pressman Academy, a combination of nursery, elementary and secondary schools connected to the synagogue.[1]
Pressman spearheaded the 'Save Soviet Jewry' campaign in 1964, leading to greater awareness of the plight of the Jews in the Soviet Union.[2][4] This in turn led to more immigration of Soviet Jews to Israel.[2] Moreover, he joined Martin Luther King, Jr. in his protest march in Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.[3][4]
Pressman served as President of the Western Region of the Rabbanical Assembly and Chairman of its convention in 1979.[1] Additionally, he served as President of the Board of Rabbis of Los Angeles.[1] He served on the Executive Council of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles.[1] He was also Chair of the Los Angeles campaign for Israel Bonds.[1] Moreover, he was involved with the United Jewish Appeal.[1]
Pressman spearheaded the establishment of Camp Ramah in California, a summer camp in Ojai.[1][5][6] He was a co-founder of the Brandeis-Bardin Camp Institute.[1][6] He served as Chairman of the Los Angeles Zionist Youth Commission.[1] He played a critical role in the founding of the Los Angeles Hebrew High School.[1][6] He was a co-founder of the University of Judaism, later known as the American Jewish University (AJU), located in Bel Air.[1][5][6] He was a recipient of the 2004 Rabbi Simon Greenberg Award from AJU.[3]
Pressman was the founding President of the Maple Counseling Centre, a non-profit organization which offers free counseling sessions, based in Beverly Hills, California.[1] He has written a weekly column in The Beverly Hills Courier since 2004.[5] He has written two books.[3]
Personal life
Pressman was married to Marjorie Steinberg.[1][7] They resided in Beverly Hills, California.[7] One of their sons, Joel, who worked as a Performing Arts teacher at the Beverly Hills High School, died in 2013.[8] Their second son, Daniel, is a rabbi.[5] They also had a daughter, Judith.[5]
Death
Pressman died in Los Angeles on October 1, 2015.[9][10] He was ninety-five years old.[10] His funeral was held at Temple Beth Am, and he was buried at the Eden Memorial Park Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles.[9][10]
Bibliography
- This Wild and Crazy World as Seen From Beverly Hills by Rabbi Jack (1999).
- Dear Friends: A Prophetic Journey Through Great Events of the 20th Century (Hoboken, New Jersey: KTAV Publishing House, 2002).
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- 1919 births
- 2015 deaths
- People from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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- University of Pennsylvania alumni
- Jewish Theological Seminary of America alumni
- American Conservative rabbis
- American Jewish University
- American columnists