Rabbi Joachim Prinz was one of the foremost rabbis of the 20th century. He was born in Burkhardstdorf, Germany in 1902, earned his Ph.D. at age 21 and was ordained as a rabbi just two years later. He joined a synagogue in Berlin and soon became famous for his powerful and inspiring sermons. He also updated many of the traditional Jewish texts and customs in a successful bid to get younger Jews back to synagogues.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Prinz's rise in popularity coincided with Adolph Hitler's. Prinz was one of the first to warn about Hitler even before he became head of Germany. When Hitler became Fuhrer, Prinz urged that Jews leave Germany and was arrested many times by the Gestapo. However, Prinz continued to found numerous educational and cultural institutions, write books for adults and children and attend to his rabbinical duties until 1937 when he was expelled from his home country.
Prinz and his family emigrated to the United States, where he began to warn Jews across the country to what was happening in Germany. In 1939, he accepted an offer to become rabbi at Temple B'Nai Abraham in Newark, NJ. The temple had fallen on hard financial times, but Prinz's sermons reinvigorated the congregation and he inspired many new members to join. Soon the temple was vibrant and fiscally healthy. Prinz became very active in the American Jewish community and took leadership roles in the United Jewish Appeal, the World Jewish Congress and the World Conference of Jewish Organizations.
But Prinz is perhaps best known for his work in the African American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Drawing on his experience from Nazi Germany he said could not suffer the "disgrace of silence in the face of injustice." He marched and participated in hundreds of demonstrations across the country and befriended many leaders of the movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King asked him to both speak and march at the famous March on Washington in 1963, where he spoke to millions immediately before King did.
Prinz's later years were spent writing and attending to rabbinical duties at Temple B'Nai Abraham, including moving the temple to a new location in Livingston, NJ to accommodate its now huge congregation. After 38 years as rabbi, he retired in 1977 and became Rabbi Emeritus. He passed away in Brookside, NJ, in 1988 and is interred at B'Nai Abraham Memorial Park in Union, NJ.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Prinz's rise in popularity coincided with Adolph Hitler's. Prinz was one of the first to warn about Hitler even before he became head of Germany. When Hitler became Fuhrer, Prinz urged that Jews leave Germany and was arrested many times by the Gestapo. However, Prinz continued to found numerous educational and cultural institutions, write books for adults and children and attend to his rabbinical duties until 1937 when he was expelled from his home country.
Prinz and his family emigrated to the United States, where he began to warn Jews across the country to what was happening in Germany. In 1939, he accepted an offer to become rabbi at Temple B'Nai Abraham in Newark, NJ. The temple had fallen on hard financial times, but Prinz's sermons reinvigorated the congregation and he inspired many new members to join. Soon the temple was vibrant and fiscally healthy. Prinz became very active in the American Jewish community and took leadership roles in the United Jewish Appeal, the World Jewish Congress and the World Conference of Jewish Organizations.
But Prinz is perhaps best known for his work in the African American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Drawing on his experience from Nazi Germany he said could not suffer the "disgrace of silence in the face of injustice." He marched and participated in hundreds of demonstrations across the country and befriended many leaders of the movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King asked him to both speak and march at the famous March on Washington in 1963, where he spoke to millions immediately before King did.
Prinz's later years were spent writing and attending to rabbinical duties at Temple B'Nai Abraham, including moving the temple to a new location in Livingston, NJ to accommodate its now huge congregation. After 38 years as rabbi, he retired in 1977 and became Rabbi Emeritus. He passed away in Brookside, NJ, in 1988 and is interred at B'Nai Abraham Memorial Park in Union, NJ.
Rabbi Joachim Prinz was one of the foremost rabbis of the 20th century. He was born in Burkhardstdorf, Germany in 1902, earned his Ph.D. at age 21 and was ordained as a rabbi just two years later. He joined a synagogue in Berlin and soon became famous for his powerful and inspiring sermons. He also updated many of the traditional Jewish texts and customs in a successful bid to get younger Jews back to synagogues.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Prinz's rise in popularity coincided with Adolph Hitler's. Prinz was one of the first to warn about Hitler even before he became head of Germany. When Hitler became Fuhrer, Prinz urged that Jews leave Germany and was arrested many times by the Gestapo. However, Prinz continued to found numerous educational and cultural institutions, write books for adults and children and attend to his rabbinical duties until 1937 when he was expelled from his home country.
Prinz and his family emigrated to the United States, where he began to warn Jews across the country to what was happening in Germany. In 1939, he accepted an offer to become rabbi at Temple B'Nai Abraham in Newark, NJ. The temple had fallen on hard financial times, but Prinz's sermons reinvigorated the congregation and he inspired many new members to join. Soon the temple was vibrant and fiscally healthy. Prinz became very active in the American Jewish community and took leadership roles in the United Jewish Appeal, the World Jewish Congress and the World Conference of Jewish Organizations.
But Prinz is perhaps best known for his work in the African American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Drawing on his experience from Nazi Germany he said could not suffer the "disgrace of silence in the face of injustice." He marched and participated in hundreds of demonstrations across the country and befriended many leaders of the movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King asked him to both speak and march at the famous March on Washington in 1963, where he spoke to millions immediately before King did.
Prinz's later years were spent writing and attending to rabbinical duties at Temple B'Nai Abraham, including moving the temple to a new location in Livingston, NJ to accommodate its now huge congregation. After 38 years as rabbi, he retired in 1977 and became Rabbi Emeritus. He passed away in Brookside, NJ, in 1988 and is interred at B'Nai Abraham Memorial Park in Union, NJ.
Unfortunately, Rabbi Prinz's rise in popularity coincided with Adolph Hitler's. Prinz was one of the first to warn about Hitler even before he became head of Germany. When Hitler became Fuhrer, Prinz urged that Jews leave Germany and was arrested many times by the Gestapo. However, Prinz continued to found numerous educational and cultural institutions, write books for adults and children and attend to his rabbinical duties until 1937 when he was expelled from his home country.
Prinz and his family emigrated to the United States, where he began to warn Jews across the country to what was happening in Germany. In 1939, he accepted an offer to become rabbi at Temple B'Nai Abraham in Newark, NJ. The temple had fallen on hard financial times, but Prinz's sermons reinvigorated the congregation and he inspired many new members to join. Soon the temple was vibrant and fiscally healthy. Prinz became very active in the American Jewish community and took leadership roles in the United Jewish Appeal, the World Jewish Congress and the World Conference of Jewish Organizations.
But Prinz is perhaps best known for his work in the African American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Drawing on his experience from Nazi Germany he said could not suffer the "disgrace of silence in the face of injustice." He marched and participated in hundreds of demonstrations across the country and befriended many leaders of the movement, including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. King asked him to both speak and march at the famous March on Washington in 1963, where he spoke to millions immediately before King did.
Prinz's later years were spent writing and attending to rabbinical duties at Temple B'Nai Abraham, including moving the temple to a new location in Livingston, NJ to accommodate its now huge congregation. After 38 years as rabbi, he retired in 1977 and became Rabbi Emeritus. He passed away in Brookside, NJ, in 1988 and is interred at B'Nai Abraham Memorial Park in Union, NJ.
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