Knobel, Rabbi Peter S.

Rabbi Peter S. Knobel was rabbi emeritus at Beth Emet The Free Synagogue in Evanston, Illinois where he had served since 1980, following 11 years at Temple Emanuel in Groton, Connecticut. He served as the Interim Senior Rabbi at Temple Israel in West Hollywood, CA, Temple Sholom of Chicago and Temple Judea in Coral Gables. He also served as Interim Rabbi at North West Surrey Synagogue in Weybridge, England and Beth Shalom in Auckland, New Zealand. He served on the board of many local and national institutions including Association of Reform Zionists of America, Union for Reform Judaism, American Jewish Committee, Jewish United Fund of Metropolitan Chicago, and the Council for the Parliament of the World Religions. He was a Past President of the Chicago Board of Rabbis, the Chicago Association of Reform Rabbis as well as the Central Conference of American Rabbis [CCAR]. He co-chaired the CCAR Project, Lay Involvement in the Development of Liturgy, sponsored by the Lilly Endowment and the Nathan Cummings Foundation and he chaired the CCAR’s Ad Hoc Siddur Editorial Committee which produced Mishkan T’filah, the Reform Movement’s new prayer book. He was Director of the Resource Center for the Jewish Health Care Ethics and has participated as a member of the Illinois State Attorney’s Task Force “Foregoing of Life-Sustaining Treatment” while putting special emphasis on health, healing, death, and dying. He was a member of the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies faculty and taught courses at HUC-JIR, Yale University and Connecticut College. His articles, books and thought pieces were published internationally. Rabbi Knobel spoke about nuclear proliferation at the United Nations. He received a BHL, MAHL, and rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College, and his Ph.D. from Yale University. He was the son of the late Lothar and the late Lotta Knobel. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Elaine (nee Goodman) “Goodie” Knobel, his sons Seth Knobel and Jeremy Knobel and daughter-in-law Alyssa (nee Feinberg) Knobel. He is also survived by his six grandchildren; Leah, Alana, Heather, Stephen, Lily, and Oliver. He was brother-in-law to Judy and Tom Varga and Howard and Janet Goodman; nieces and nephews, Lauren Yanoff, Michele Yanoff, Scott Goodman and Dana Goodman. Service Monday 10am at Beth Emet The Free Synagogue, 1224 Dempster Street, Evanston, IL 60202. Interment Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Beth Emet The Free Synagogue, www.bethemet.org Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com

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