Abraham Cronbach
| Rabbi Abraham Cronbach | |
|---|---|
Rabbi Abraham Cronbach
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| Born |
February 16, 1882 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Died | April 2, 1965 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Occupation | Rabbi and Professor |
| Spouse(s) | Rose Hentil |
| Children | Marion Cronbach |
| Parent(s) | Marcus and Hannah (Itzig) Cronbach |
Abraham Cronbach (February 15, 1882 – April 2, 1965) was an American Rabbi and teacher, known as a pacifist. He served as a rabbi for congregations in Indiana and Ohio. Cronbach was one of the founders of the Peace Heroes Memorial Society.
Rabbi Abraham Cronbach was born to German immigrants Marcus and Hannah (Itzig) Cronbach. Marcus Cronbach was a notions store retailer in Indianapolis, Indiana where Abraham Cronbach grew up. "Abraham was an introspective boy, with a precocious and mystic conception of both God and the devil (he thought the devil was responsible for the smoke from the manhole in the street)." He grew up in a Christian neighborhood where anti-Semitism and extreme poverty were common. He played violin as a boy as well as read a lot on religion and science. In high school Cronbach decided he would become a rabbi despite his parents' opposition.
Cronbach entered the Hebrew Union College (HUC) in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1898 where, in conjunction with the University of Cincinnati he studied for his bachelor's degree and trained for the rabbinate. He graduated in 1902 from the University of Cincinnati and, in 1906 was valedictorian of his HUC class and was ordained as a rabbi.
On October 7, 1917 Cronbach married Rose Hentel, a teacher at the Free Synagogue in New York City whom he met during his time there. In 1923 the Cronbachs adopted a daughter, Marion. Later Rabbi Cronbach would become the teacher of rabbinic student, Maurice Davis who would become a leader in the anti-cult movement and Rabbi Cronbach's son-in-law. Their two children have followed in the footsteps of their father and grandfather. Cronbach's grandsons gave him six great-grandchildren. While Cronbach did not live to meet his great-grandchildren, his wife Rose lived to see the first of them, Talia Davis, the daughter of Rabbi JayR (Bahir) Davis.
Abraham Cronbach first served as rabbi at the reform congregation of Temple Beth El in South Bend, Indiana. In 1911 he spent a year studying at the University of Cambridge in England and the Hochschule fur die Wissenschaft des Judentums in Berlin. In 1915 he received the Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College.
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