Wilfred Shuchat Explained

Wilfred G. Shuchat
Synagogue:Congregation Shaar Hashomayim
Synagogueposition:Rabbi Emeritus
Birth Date:9 June 1920
Birth Place:Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation:Scholar and Rabbi
Alma Mater:McGill University

Wilfred G. Shuchat (9 June 1920 – 27 December 2018) was a Canadian scholar and rabbi.[1]

Biography

Shuchat was born in Montreal, Canada, and studied at McGill University, receiving his BA in 1941. He was ordained at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1945, which institution also awarded him an honorary D.D. in 1971. He served as rabbi in Albany, New York, at the Congregation Sons of Israel and after that in Buffalo at Temple Beth El. He then moved to Montreal and served as rabbi at the Congregation Shaar Hashomayim, and later became rabbi emeritus.[2]

One of his career highlights was conceiving and consulting on the Pavilion of Judaism at 1967 International and Universal Exposition in Montreal, known as Expo 67.[3]

He has published a number of influential books; among them The Gate of Heaven: The Story of Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal (2000) and The Creation According to Midrash Rabbah (2002). He is one of the founders of the Union for Traditional Judaism, an organization that promotes traditional Jewish observance within the framework of Conservative Judaism.[2]

Shuchat's son, Rabbi Dr. Raphael Shuchat, is a writer and lecturer in Jewish philosophy and mysticism at Bar-Ilan and Hebrew universities in Israel.[4] Shuchat died in December 2018 at the age of 98.[5]

Works

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Jewish Year Book. 1980. Jewish Chronicle Publications. 295.
  2. Web site: Shuchat, Wilfred G.. Jewish Virtual Library. March 8, 2016.
  3. Web site: The Jewish History of Montreal's Expo 67 You Probably Didn't Know . Canadian Jewish News. November 23, 2017. 2017-05-11.
  4. Web site: Rabbis Shuchat, father and son, launch new books. CJNews. September 4, 2012. March 8, 2016.
  5. Web site: Wilfred SHUCHAT obituary . Montreal Gazette . December 29, 2018 . June 23, 2022.