GENUTH, DAVID L.

GENUTH, DAVID L. (12 Apr. 1901-23 Feb. 1974), one of Cleveland's most influential Orthodox rabbis for 4 decades, was born in Marmoresh Sziget, Hungary, to Elka and Isaac Genuth. He received a traditional yeshiva education before coming to the U.S. in 1924 and continuing his studies at Yeshiva University in New York and Yale University Divinity School in New Haven, Conn. Genuth was ordained in 1926 and accepted a pulpit in South Norwalk, Conn. In 1931 he moved to Cleveland, where in 1933 a group of Marmoresher landsmen called him to serve as rabbi at the newly established KINSMAN JEWISH CTR. He combined a modern view of Orthodoxy with an ability to cope with the radical labor element at the KJC to forge the center into an important Orthodox congregation. In 1948, Genuth left KJC and with 8 families established Temple Beth El, the first congregation in SHAKER HTS. Beth El, a family-centered congregation, by 1966 had 500 families. An ardent Zionist, Genuth was a member of the Cleveland Zionist Society and an active supporter of the Jewish Natl. Fund and Bonds for Israel. He was also an organizer of the Jewish Community Council and a representative to its delegate assembly. Additionally, he was chaplain for Jewish patients at Highland View Hospital, gave monthly lectures at the MONTEFIORE HOME, and provided bar mitzvah lessons for the deaf and mentally retarded. Genuth married Anne Einhorn, daughter of Rabbi Henry Einhorn of New Haven, on 2 Feb. 1929. They had 3 children: Saul, Phyllis, and Esther.