Baruch Jacob Placzek (1 October 1834 – 17 September 1922), also known by the
pen nameBenno Planek,[1] was a
Moravianrabbi, author, poet,
orator, and
naturalist. He was the last
Landesrabbiner of Moravia, which position he held from 1884 until his death.[2] As a writer, he published numerous
sermons, speeches, and
obituaries, as well as
scientific, lyrical, and narrative works.[3]
Placzek afterwards taught at a
Jewish school in Frankfurt, and founded a
Bürgerschule [
de] in
Hamburg in 1858. In 1861 he became
Chief Rabbi of
Brünn (Brno), a position he held for the next forty-four years.[6] He meanwhile succeeded his father as Landesrabbiner of Moravia in 1884, in which role he was an adherent of moderate religious reform.[7] He promoted the foundation of the
Israelitisch-Theologische Lehranstalt [
de;
he] seminary in
Vienna, for which he served as curator, and was a founder of a number of philanthropic societies.[8]
In part under the pseudonym Benno Planek, he besides published the collections of poetry Im Eruw (1867) and Stimmungsbilder (1872), the novel Der Takif (1895), and other works, several of which were translated into English, French, and
Hebrew.[8][9] As a
naturalist, he gave natural science lectures at the
Natural History Society of Brünn, and contributed to the journals Kosmos [
de] and The Popular Science Monthly. He was a close friend of
Gregor Mendel, and corresponded with
Charles Darwin, whose
theory of evolution he promoted.[10] In one article, Placzek attempted to show that the
rabbis in the Talmud put forward ideas akin to Darwinism.[11]
Placzek received an honorary doctorate from the University of Leipzig in 1907.[12] He was a knight of the
Order of Franz Joseph, and an honorary member of several political societies.[8]
Der Vogelgesang nach seiner Tendenz und Entwicklung. 1884.
Nachruf, gehalten an der Bahre des verewigten mährischen Landes-Rabbiners, Hrn. Abraham Placzek, in der Boskowitzer Synagoge, am 24. Kißlew 5645 (12. Dec. 1884). Brünn. 1885.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Das Geld. Kanzelrede, geh. am Schemini-Azereth 5657 (29.IX.1896). Vienna. 1896.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
Vogelschutz, oder Insektenschutz?. Brünn: W. Burkart. 1897.
Die Partein in Israel. Predigten, geh. am 1. u. letzten Pessachtage 5658 (7. u. 14. IV. 1898). Vienna. 1898.{{
cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link)
"Dichterblut". Jahrbuch für Jüdische Geschichte und Literatur. 1: 223–227. 1898.
^
abWilke, Carsten (2004).
"Placzek, Bernhard"(PDF). In Brocke, Michael; Carlebach, Julius (eds.). Die Rabbiner der Emanzipationszeit in den deutschen, böhmischen und großpolnischen Ländern 1781–1871. Biographisches Handbuch der Rabbiner. Vol. 1. Munich: K. G. Saur. pp. 711–712.
ISBN3-598-24871-7. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
^Spector, Shmuel, ed. (2001).
"Brno". The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust. Vol. 1. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem. p. 200.
ISBN978-0-8147-9376-3.