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24-406: Opened and free to the public since 1987 from June 1 through September 15. It was founded by Rabbi Walter Jacob and his wife horticulturalist Irene Jacob. It now displays more than 100 plants once grown in ancient Israel , including cedars , dates , figs , olives , and pomegranates . All are labeled with biblical verses, or their biblical name. The garden also includes a waterfall, desert, and

48-596: A chaplain in the U.S. Air Force in the Philippines during the years 1955–57. In 1966, Jacob succeeded Freehof as senior rabbi, becoming emeritus in 1997. He served families over several generations. He continued the work of his grandfather, translating Benno Jacob's biblical commentaries. Jacob was chairman of the Responsa committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1967 to 1990. He

72-436: A body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars in historic religious law . Roman law recognised responsa prudentium , i.e., the responses and thoughts of jurists , as one of the sources of ius scriptum (written law), along with laws originating from magistrates , from

96-766: A book, Christianity Through Jewish Eyes in 1974, leading to interfaith dialogue. He founded the Solomon B. Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah in 1991, an international forum for Jewish law. In Germany, he co-founded the Abraham Geiger College , the first rabbinic seminary in Central Europe since the Holocaust, in 1999. Jacob was born in Augsburg , Germany, on March 13, 1930, into a family with rabbinic tradition for 17 generations. His father

120-624: A garden in the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Walter Jacob Walter Jacob (March 13, 1930 – October 20, 2024) was an American Reform rabbi . He was rabbi at the Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh from 1955 to 1997. He served as chairman of organizations such as the Central Conference of American Rabbis and World Union for Progressive Judaism . Jacob wrote

144-884: A high authority. Some responsa are given in Notitiae , the official journal of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW). The responsa given in Notitiae are, according to the CDW, to be considered only as private responses unless they are published in official legal records of the Holy See. In rabbinic literature , the responsa are known as She'elot u-Teshuvot ( Hebrew : שאלות ותשובות "questions and answers"), and comprise

168-507: A range of topics which include responsa, Jewish theology, biblical studies, interfaith dialogue, modern Jewish problems, and gardening. Jacob was married to Irene Gitta Loewenthal, a horticulturalist, from 1958. She was born in Hamburg , Germany and also had rabbis in her family. They had three children, Claire Helene, Kenneth Gabriel and Daniel Benjamin. They worked and published together, establishing Rodef Shalom Biblical Botanical Garden ,

192-633: A representation of the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea . It produces a new show on ancient Near Eastern horticulture each summer. The garden is on the grounds of the Rodef Shalom Congregation , which houses Western Pennsylvania 's oldest Jewish congregation , dating back to the 1840s. This Allegheny County, Pennsylvania state location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

216-666: A year later to the United States. They settled in Missouri in 1943. Jacob graduated with a B.A. from Drury College in Springfield, Missouri in 1950. He was ordained as a rabbi and received a Master of Hebrew Letters (M.H.L.) from the Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Cincinnati in 1955. He earned his D.H.L. in 1961 from HUC, which also granted him an honorary doctorate in 1975. Jacob was adjunct professor at

240-702: The Catholic Church , responsa are answers of the competent executive authority to specific questions (in Latin, dubia , literally "doubts") sent by Catholic bishops to the Holy See . Responsa given by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts which are promulgated as authentic interpretation have the force of law as per canon 16 §2 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law . Other responsa cannot have this binding force, but nevertheless possess

264-617: The Pittsburgh Theological Seminary from 1968 to 1974. He served as overseer of Jewish Institute of Religion at the Hebrew Union College and chairman of the publications committee of Hebrew Union College Press from 1976 to 1999. He received an honorary doctorate from Drury College in 1990. Following ordination, Jacob was named assistant rabbi at Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, under Rabbi Solomon Freehof . He served as

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288-510: The Senate , or from the emperor . A particularly well-known and highly influential example of such responsa was the Digesta (or Digests ), in 90 books, the principal work of the prominent second century jurist Salvius Julianus . This was a systematic treatise on civil and praetorian law, consisting of responsa on real and hypothetical cases, cited by many later Roman legal writers. In

312-695: The State of Brandenburg . Augsburg honored him with a special award in 2014, and he said then, in memory of the outbreak of the First World War: "We are realists — memories haunt us, just like the horrors of our time — but we will never be pessimists. Even on this day of dark memories, we look to a bright future." In 2021, the seat of the Abraham Geiger College was named after him, Walter Jacob Building. Jacob published 43 books and more than twelve hundred essays, sermons, and monographs on

336-417: The codes of law , and the responsa thus supplement the codes. They, therefore, function as a source of law, in a manner similar to legal precedent , in that they are consulted by later decisors ( poskim ) in their rulings; they are also, in turn, incorporated into subsequent codes . In addition to requests for halakhic rulings, many of the questions addressed were theoretical in character, particularly among

360-631: The Associated American Jewish Museums which he had co-founded, to organize free art exhibits in synagogues and Jewish centers. Jacob took a leading role in interfaith dialogue with his book Christianity Through Jewish Eyes , first published in 1974 and revised in 2007, which led to close friendship with Catholic bishops. Jacob was awarded the Order of St. Gregory the Great from Pope John Paul II in 2005. Jacob founded

384-655: The Solomon B. Freehof Institute for Progressive Halakhah in 1991, an international forum for Jewish law that he served as its first chairperson. It holds seminars on Jewish law annually in North America, Europe and Israel and has published books including War and Terrorism in Jewish Law , The Sexual Issues in Jewish Law , and The Internet Revolution and Jewish Law . Jacob and a few others worked towards rebuilding liberal Judaism in Germany from 1990. He served as

408-586: The body of written decisions and rulings given by poskim ("deciders of Jewish law"). A modern term, used mainly for questions on the internet , is " Ask the rabbi ". Judaism's responsa constitute a special class of rabbinic literature , to be distinguished from the commentaries ( meforshim )—devoted to the exegesis of the Hebrew Bible , the Mishnah , the Talmud —and from the codes of law which delineate

432-506: The earlier responsa. The responsa thus contain rulings on ethics , business ethics , the philosophy of religion , astronomy , mathematics , history , geography , as well as interpretations of passages in the Bible , the Mishnah , the Talmud , and the Midrash . Thus, while early Jewish literature has few historical works, many notes on the history of Judaism have been introduced into

456-666: The honorary rabbi of the liberal Beth Shalom congregation in Munich from 1996 for several years. He co-founded the Abraham Geiger College , the first rabbinic seminary in Central Europe since the Holocaust, as part of the University of Potsdam in 1998, serving as its president. Jacob was made a Knight Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1999. He received an honorary professorship from

480-564: The largest biblical botanical garden in North America in 1986 and publishing in that field. The couple were interested in classical music, art, theater, going outdoors and traveling. Irene died in 2012, and her husband took care of the Biblical garden as a living memorial. Walter Jacob died at home in Pittsburgh on October 20, 2024, at the age of 94. Responsa Responsa (plural of Latin responsum , 'answer') comprise

504-452: The responsa. Responsa thus contain valuable information about the culture of the Jews and the people among whom they lived. Information may also be gleaned about the moral and social relations of the times, occupations, the household, customs , expressions of joy and of sorrow, and recreations, and even games. Older responsa are also important for readings and emendations of the Mishnah and

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528-572: The rules for ordinary incidents of life. The responsa literature covers a period of 1,700 years—the mode, style, and subject matter have changed as a function of the travels of the Jewish people and of the development of other halakhic literature, particularly the codes. Responsa play a particularly important role in Jewish law . The questions forwarded are usually practical, and often concerned with new contingencies for which no provision has been made in

552-524: Was Ernest Israel Jacob, district rabbi in Augsburg, and his grandfather was Benno Jacob , who was regarded as a great liberal Jewish bible commentator. His mother was Annette Loewenberg Jacob, and he grew up with a brother, Herbert. His father was deported to the Dachau concentration camp in 1938 for several months. Helped by American relatives, the family managed to flee Germany in 1939, first to London, and

576-636: Was president of the Religious Education Association of America from 1981 to 1985. He served as vice president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism , and chairman of its International Responsa Committee from 1990 to 1994, and was president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1992 to 1994, emphasizing a broader Reform interpretation of the Jewish law (halakhah). He also served as chairman of

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