By Alan H. Feiler
Baltimore Jewish Times
August 11, 2011
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/local_news/rabbi_jacob_max_dies_leaves_mixed_legacy/26216
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Rabbi Jacob Aaron Max—the spiritual leader of Liberty Jewish Center for more than five decades, a man known for officiating at seemingly countless weddings and funerals, and whose legacy was tarnished by his 2009 molestation conviction – died Tuesday morning, Aug. 9, at Sinai Hospital.
An Upper Park Heights resident, he was 87. Rabbi Max’s funeral is scheduled to be held Thursday, Aug. 11, at 3 p.m. at Sol Levinson & Bros. funeral home.
A friendly, effusive man given to displays of affection and words of encouragement, Rabbi Max will likely have his supporters and detractors in the local Jewish community for years to come, and his legacy promises to be a mixed bag.
“Jack was a very loyal friend, but he was also an enigma wrapped in a mystery,” says Rabbi Mitchell S. Ackerson, director of pastoral care and chaplaincy at Sinai Hospital.
“In many ways he was a simple guy, and in many ways he was a complicated guy. But his goal in life was to keep people in general Jewish. That’s why he was so flexible. He felt he did what he had to do, and people either loved him or hated him. But all of my dealings with Jack were positive. We got along well, even when we disagreed.”
A Vienna native, Rabbi Max moved to Baltimore at age 3 with his family. His parents, Yehoshua and Clara, were Orthodox, and his father was a shochet, or ritual slaughterer.
Rabbi Max attended the Talmudical Academy, then in East Baltimore. (He later became T.A.’s vice principal.) In 1949, he was ordained at Ner Israel Rabbinical College. Two years earlier, he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, and in 1973 he received a master’s degree in liberal arts from JHU.
In a BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES Dec. 1, 2000, cover story, Rabbi Max said he originally planned to become an accountant. But conversations with unaffiliated Jewish students at Hopkins convinced him to pursue the rabbinate. “I wanted to explain and teach mainly what to me the concept of Judaism really is – the modern Orthodox concept,” he said.
In the early 1950s, Rabbi Max aligned with Jewish residents in the Howard Park community to create Liberty Jewish Center, now Moses Montefiore Anshe Emunah (MMAE) Hebrew Congregation. The shul originally held services in congregants’ homes and at Community Hall, at Liberty Heights and Gwynn Oak avenues.
In 1955, LJC built its own facility at Liberty Heights and Marmon avenues. In 1968, after establishing a strong presence in the local Jewish community with his non-judgmental style, folksiness and sense of humor, Rabbi Max led LJC in its relocation to Randallstown, where the synagogue remained for 21 years.
During its heyday in Randallstown, LJC drew more than 1,000 worshippers for High Holiday services and enjoyed a thriving religious school.
In his sermons, Rabbi Max said he always tried to “apply the strength of our faith to modern Judaism and modern topics, to see that Torah is a Torat Chaim [a living Torah], it’s not just an ancient message.”
In 1989, the congregation sold its Randallstown property and purchased the former Mercantile Country Club in Pikesville’s Greengate community. Because of myriad financial difficulties regarding the deal, LJC had to file for Chapter 11 but continued to operate and eventually emerged out of bankruptcy. Rabbi Max retained his pulpit at LJC and retired in 2002, becoming the congregation’s rabbi emeritus.
Over the years, Rabbi Max was well-known for officiating at local wedding ceremonies, for congregants and others in the community. He estimated he conducted thousands of weddings. “I like the ceremony to be formal,” he told the JEWISH TIMES, “but it doesn’t hurt if there’s a smile or laughter here or there – they still realize the seriousness of the situation.”
In addition, Rabbi Max hosted a local Jewish radio program for three decades, led adult education classes, offered private counseling, oversaw kashrut supervision at a number of institutions, regularly visited patients in nursing homes, and worked with hospitals on providing kosher meals. He also visited Jewish inmates in Maryland’s correctional system, including convicted murderer Steven H. Oken, who was executed in 2004.
“I enjoy most of all the fact that I’ve been able to help … many people get a greater appreciation and awareness that Judaism can be an integral part of their lives,” Rabbi Max told the JEWISH TIMES in 2000.
But in December 2008, Rabbi Max was accused of molestation by a female Sol Levinson ex-employee. The following April, he was convicted in Baltimore County District Court of sexual offense in the fourth degree and second-degree assault. A month later, the rabbi decided not to appeal the sentence of one year of suspended incarceration and a year of unsupervised probation.
That June, MMAE’s board of directors voted to discontinue the synagogue’s longtime relationship with Rabbi Max.
In the wake of Rabbi Max’s passing, Rabbi Ackerson recommended a spirit of non-judgmentalism. “Yes, he’ll have a mixed legacy. There’s no way around that,” he says. “Time will tell who’s right. But in many ways, he will be missed. He was always a gracious, friendly, warm person. He tried his best, and was a devoted husband and a wonderful uncle. It was always fun to talk to him, and he did a lot of good in the work he did.”
Rabbi Max is survived by his wife, Eileen Max (nee Fried); his sister, Regina Starr of North Bergen, N.J.; and many nieces and nephews. Contributions in his memory may be sent to Ahavas Yisrael, c/o Eli Schlossberg, 3207 Fallstaff Road, Baltimore, Md. 21215.
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