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Jacob Reiner was born in Tarnow, Poland, in
July 1932, the only child of Yocheved and Seinwel Reiner. In 1937,
Seinwel Reiner, already victimized by anti-Semitism, left Mielec,
Poland, where the family lived for the past five years, to resettle
alone in America. In August, 1939, Yocheved and Jacob sailed to
America on the Polish liner, "Pilsudski" from Gdansk (Gdynia) to
reunite the family. This was the last voyage of the "Pilsudski"
which was blown up on the way back to Poland.
The family settled in Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, where Jacob had his
elementary and high school education at the Yeshiva and Mesifta
Torah Vodaath. In 1950, he was enrolled at Yeshiva College and he
graduated in 1954. In 1956 he received Semicha from the Rabbi Isaac
Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) of Yeshiva University.
During 1955-1956 Jacob was sent by the Community Service Division of
Yeshiva University to Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, where he served as
student Rabbi in the formative year of the Lower Merion Synagogue.
Upon receiving Semicha, he served as the Rabbi of Congregation Chevra
Tehillim in Montreal, Canada, for one year. He then moved to
Holyoke, Massachusetts, where he was the Rabbi of Congregation Rodphey Sholom for eleven years. In the course of these years, he
organized a most active youth group from which more than fifty young
men and women enrolled in the schools of Yeshiva University, many of
them serving in Orthodox communities as Rabbis, teachers and
community center directors. To this day the Reiners have a close
contact with them.
In August, 1968, Rabbi Reiner came to Belle Harbor as the Associate
Rabbi with Rabbi Alexander Budin, of blessed memory. On Sunday
night, May 10, 1970, at a Yom Atzmaut service, he was installed as
the Rabbi of Congregation Ohab Zedek at a special convocation. In
2003, he retired from the Rabbinate to become Rabbi Emeritus of
Congregation Ohab Zedek.
After receiving a B.A. degree from Yeshiva College in 1954, Rabbi
Reiner earned a Master of Arts degree in Psychology from Colombia
University. He holds a Master of Arts degree and a Doctor of Hebrew
Literature degree in Jewish History from the Bernard Revel Graduate
School of Yeshiva University. He subsequently earned a Ph.D. in
Jewish History at Dropsie University in Philadelphia.
For a number of years, Rabbi Reiner was an adjunct instructor at
C.W. Post College and at Kingsborough Community College, teaching
Biblical Jewish History. For more than three decades he was on the
faculties of the Bernard Revel Graduate School, Yeshiva College and
Stern College for Women, teaching Jewish History. He is
currently on the full-time faculty of Stern College for Women, as
Professor of Jewish History.
In 1956, Rabbi Reiner married Judy Goldman of Bayonne, New Jersey.
They have three children-Barry, Kenny and Tova. They are blessed
with seven grandchildren-Ben, Yair, Yocheved, Elie, Eitan, Talia and
Ariel.
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