Rabbi Arthur Waskow, a longtime social activist, Jewish scholar, founder of the Shalom Center for public prophetic action in Philadelphia, and former religion teacher in greater Glenside, passed away on Monday, October 20, of chronic respiratory failure at his home in Mount Airy. He was 92.

Rabbi Waskow taught at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote (Cheltenham Township) from 1982 to 1989, among other colleges and universities. He also wrote articles and op-eds for The Inquirer, the Daily News, and other publications, and authored more than 25 books on all kinds of topics, according to his obituary.

“For more than five decades, starting in Washington and then in Philadelphia, he connected contemporary social issues with Jewish traditions and championed prophetic justice regarding peace, nuclear disarmament, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, same-sex marriage, environmental sustainability, and interfaith collaboration,” his obituary said.

Services were held on Wednesday, October 22.

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