Rabbi Gustav Buchdahl never forgot the world of chaos, hatred and destruction that he came from, and he never stopped fighting for the rights of society’s disenfranchised and dispossessed.
“Ninety years ago, I was born in a fascist state. Its leader resembled the obscenity that now occupies the White House,” posted the German-born rabbi on social media last June after attending a “No Kings” rally. “The courage and foresight of my parents made it possible to come to the United States. It did not take long to learn the fate of friends, neighbors and relatives who were picked up off the streets and shipped to their death. …
“Participating in a demonstration, as [his wife] Sheila and I did this afternoon, is the very least we could do in these dire times.”
Rabbi Buchdahl, Emanuel Emeritus Rabbi of Baltimore Hebrew Congregation and a prominent figure in the local Jewish community for more than six decades, died on Sunday, June 7.
A Pikesville resident known for his friendly demeanor, candor and razor-sharp intellect, he was 91.
“Temple Emanuel Alumni express our condolences on the loss of our beloved rabbi,” posted Temple Emanuel Alumni on the website of Sol Levinson & Bros. “His outspoken leadership will be remembered always.”
Known by many congregants as Rabbi Gus or simply Gus, Rabbi Buchdahl — who had a penchant for wearing bowties — served as spiritual leader of Temple Emanuel of Baltimore from 1963 to 2000, and as that congregation’s rabbi emeritus from 2000 to 2016. (Founded in July of 1955, Temple Emanuel was absorbed by BHC in June of 2016.)
Shortly after his arrival at Temple Emanuel, Rabbi Buchdahl attended the March on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his historic “I Have a Dream” speech on Aug. 28, 1963.
“I came into an atmosphere where race relations were already a potent issue for the synagogue; I inherited that,” Rabbi Buchdahl said in a 2013 oral testimony. “It was perfectly natural to participate in the March on Washington. It was a ‘wow moment.’ We thought, ‘Did we just experience this? And more importantly, what will be the consequences of this day?’ I remember the feeling of fellowship and companionship that transcended race and religion and gender. It was one of the most exciting days of my life.”
The only child of Tessy and Max Buchdahl, Rabbi Buchdahl was born in the German city of Rheine and came to the United States with his family in 1938. He became a bar mitzvah at the Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation of Washington Heights, New York.
In 1957, Rabbi Buchdahl graduated from Hunter College in the Bronx, New York. In addition to his ordination from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati, Rabbi Buchdahl earned an master of liberal arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a doctor of ministry degree from HUC.
From 1972 to 1989, he was a professor of religious studies at Villa Julie College, now known as Stevenson University. Since 2000, he taught Judaic studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
For two decades, Rabbi Buchdahl served on the clinical review board at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, as well as on its ethics committee. He also served on the ethics committee of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
In addition, Rabbi Buchdahl served two terms as president of the Baltimore Board of Rabbis, and as president of the Baltimore branch of the American Jewish Congress.
A prolific writer and poet, Rabbi Buchdahl’s work was published in Aufbau, the CCAR’s journal, and in The New Kehilla Machzor. He also was a volunteer for 26 years for the Pathfinder program at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, and he made occasional trips to his native Germany.
At a Shabbat service last June honoring the 25-year rabbinate of Rabbi Debi Weschler at Pikesville’s Chizuk Amuno Congregation, Rabbi Buchdahl told worshippers that Judaism compels its followers to speak out on behalf of the disadvantaged and oppressed.
“Here in America, we Jews – referring to it as the goldene medina [golden land] — came to a place that welcomed the stranger and provided economic opportunities and protected its people and promised freedoms in the Constitution and Bill of Rights,” he said. “It’s the place where Jews thrived and contributed to the new culture. America had its blemishes. There were wars that shouldn’t have been fought.”
Citing current legislative gridlock, widespread public despair, scapegoating of immigrants, and a political culture of rampant blackmail, intimidation and retribution, Rabbi Buchdahl said Jews must recommit themselves to social justice and equality.
“We are now living in the wilderness,” he said, “not quite Egypt yet, but sure as hell not the Promised Land. We need to keep fighting for the restoration of civility and justice for all and live up to the words written on the base of the Statue of Liberty.”
Rabbi Buchdahl is survived by his wife of 64 years, Sheila Ida Smith Buchdahl; his children, Micah Buchdahl (Ivy Brown), Ezra Buchdahl (Shelley Manner), and Hannah Buchdahl; his grandchildren, Max Buchdahl (Mara Swift), Reeve Buchdahl (Emily Prins), Lily Buchdahl, and Ben Buchdahl; Ken Kay (Karen Christensen) and family; and Peter (Suzy) Grumbacher and family.
He was predeceased by his parents, Tessy and Max Buchdahl.
Services will be held on Tuesday, June 9, at 10:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson & Bros., 8900 Reisterstown Road in Pikesville. Interment will be at Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Cemetery, 318 Berrymans Lane in Reisterstown.
Contributions in his memory may be sent to Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, 7401 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21208; or the New Israel Fund, P.O. Box 70358, Philadelphia, Pa. 19176
The family will be in mourning at BHC, 7401 Park Heights Avenue. For shiva time information, visit sollevinson.com/memorials/gustav-buchdahl/5719215/#details.
“He was intelligent, wise, humorous, empathetic, and loved by so many, a true Renaissance man,” posted Barry Bach about Rabbi Buchdahl. “He was the apotheosis of a rabbi. May his memory be a blessing.”
Wrote Rabbi Amy R. Scheinerman: “Gus was a wonderful colleague and friend to so many of us. His compassion, humor, caring, and wisdom were a gift to us all. My condolences to his beloved family. Zichrono livrakha.”
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