DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Rabbi Sidney A. Wolf, right there in Nueces County. Now settle in, because this one's got music in it from the very first note.
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 8th, 1906, young Sidney Wolf grew up with his fingers on piano keys — and somewhere in the middle of high school, he got an idea. What if those two things, the music and the calling, didn't have to be separate? What if a rabbi could walk to the pulpit the same way a musician walks to the stage?
That notion set him on a path. He studied music at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, German at the University of Cincinnati, and in 1932 received his ordination from Cincinnati's Hebrew Union College. Same year — same year — he accepted a three-month trial as rabbi for the brand new Temple Beth El down in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Three months. That's all it was supposed to be. Well.
That three-month trial turned into a forty-year career. Forty years at that pulpit, before Rabbi Wolf retired in 1972. Now here's where the story gets bigger than one congregation, bigger than one faith, bigger than any single Sunday morning.
This was the era of Jim Crow segregation — laws and customs that told people where they could and couldn't go, who could sit where, who could worship where. Rabbi Wolf pushed back. He advocated for integration of public facilities, including the public golf course, and he opened the doors of Temple Beth El wide.
Beginning in 1950, with Pastor Sidney Smith, he regularly invited African American pastors and choirs to worship, to preach, and to sing at the temple. He wasn't just tolerating difference — he was celebrating it. And with Episcopal Reverend William Munds, Rabbi Wolf organized what the marker calls some of the country's earliest interfaith services.
The two men preached from each other's pulpits on alternate Thanksgivings. Think on that image for a moment — a rabbi in an Episcopal pulpit, a reverend in a Jewish temple, trading the holy weight of the spoken word back and forth like a song passed between two musicians who already know all the same hymns. There was heartbreak in his personal life too.
Shortly after the birth of their son in 1936, his wife, Sarah Phillips, died. Rabbi Wolf remarried in 1938 — to Bertha, known as Bebe, Rosenthal, herself an accomplished musician. A daughter was added to their family in 1940.
And the music never stopped. After years of effort, in 1945, Rabbi Wolf helped organize the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, and then promoted it tirelessly, because that's what you do when music is woven into who you are. Before his death in 1983, Rabbi Wolf received numerous local and national honors for his humanitarian work.
And I'll tell you what — the honors almost feel beside the point. The man showed up in 1932 for three months and stayed for forty years, building something that looked an awful lot like the world he believed ought to exist. That's not a trial period.
That's a life's work.
What the marker says
Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 8, 1906, Sidney Wolf spent his childhood developing his skills as a pianist. In high school, he conceived the idea of using his musical talent to enhance a career as a rabbi. He studied Music at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and German at the University of Cincinnati, and received his ordination from Cincinnati's Hebrew Union College in 1932. That same year, he accepted a three month trial as rabbi for the new Temple Beth El in Corpus Christi. The trial turned into a forty-year career for Rabbi Wolf, who retired from the pulpit in 1972. During his tenure at Temple Beth El, Rabbi Wolf became known for his interfaith work and, in the era of Jim Crow segregation, for his support of integration of public facilities, such as the public golf course and at Temple Beth El. Beginning with Pastor Sidney Smith in 1950, the rabbi regularly invited African American pastors and choirs to worship, preach and sing at the temple. With Episcopal Rev. William Munds, he organized the country's earliest interfaith services; they preached from each other's pulpits on alternate Thanksgivings. In addition to serving his congregation and on many charitable boards, Rabbi Wolf shared his love of music with his community. In 1945, after years of effort, he helped organize the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, which he promoted tirelessly. Shortly after their son's birth in 1936, his wife, Sarah Phillips, died. Rabbi Wolf remarried in 1938 to Bertha "Bebe" Rosenthal, also an accomplished musician. A daughter was added to their family in 1940. Before his death in 1983, Rabbi Wolf received numerous local and national honors for his humanitarian work. (2014)