Shubow, Leo

Leo Shubow (1904-1981)

Rabbi Leo Shubow was born in 1904 and graduated from the Boston Latin School in 1920. After graduating from Harvard University in 1924 and New York University in 1927, he attended Boston Hebrew College and was ordained at the Jewish Institute of Religion. He received his Master of Hebrew Literature in 1932.

In addition to serving for 32 years as Rabbi of B'nai B'rith in Somerville, Massachusetts, Shubow founded Temple Emanuel in Newton, Massachusetts. He also served as chaplain for the Norfolk State Prison, as well as on the service board of the Boston Police Department and the Henry Price Lodge of Masons in Boston.

Shubow was the author of two books, "Israel Lives Again" and "Iceberg Dead Ahead." Shubow had a personal interest in the Titanic disaster and was also a Yeoman in the International Ice Patrol in 1925. He wrote often for the Boston Globe on the Titanic and about his experiences on the Ice Patrol.

He was a supporter of the State of Israel and a member of the National Executive Board of the Zionist Organization of America.

He married Pauline Kniznick of Waltham, Massachusetts, and they had three children, Dorothy (Nelson), Morris and Charles. His brother, Joseph Shubow, was also a Rabbi.

1 Biographical information from materials in the collection as well as "rabbi Leo Shubow, Served Somerville; 77; from the Boston Globe, Boston, Mass.: February 21, 1981. pg. 1.

From the guide to the Leo Shubow papers, undated, 1933-1961, (American Jewish Historical Society)