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514 TIIK

America, Judaism in

l)nili

in

New

York, the fomiiT

JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

in 1876, the latter in

Szold (born in Hungary, 1830: officiated at Baltimore 1860); anil Marcus 51. Jastrow (born at Ro-

movement thus

gaseii.

1878.

But

nlllioiijrh

the Chnrleston

sub-

interval, the opportunity had offered meanwhile for the interweaving on a larger seale of the third strand in the fahrie of American .hulaism, that of the more radical, more rationalistic, scholarly German Reform. In lH4:i til'teen gentlemen in

sided for

iin

New

York, of German extraction, having constituted a "C'ultus Verein." organized the Emanu-KI Society, "to introduce an improved form of divine service." They were in the main the same wlio w<Me influential in founding the Order of 15'ne IVrith. By 1845 their numbers had increased to '.V3; holding service in a private dwelling at the corner of Grand and Clinton streets, with Leo Merzbacher (born at Fiirth, ISO!); died, New York. 18.-)(i) as

Foreign-

Born

and G. .M. Cohen as liazan. same time, or ]ios.sibly a little before, the liar Sinai Kcform congregation was formed in lialtimore, their rabbi

About

Rabbis,

llie

with the ado|)tion of the IIaml)urg Ti-m|)le ritual ("Sinai," i. 19!)); and was incorporated Nov. 1, 1843.

But for a headway.

con.siderable period

Beform made

little

The

representative leaders of the Orthostreiuiously ojiposed all imiovations, were, in the order of their arrival in America. I.saac Leeser, ciiMS])icucius for his literary activity (born in do.

wing,

who

merchant and teacher in Uichministerin I'hiladelphia, IKIiO; died there IS(iS); Samuel 51. Isaacs (born in Holland, 1^^(14: installeilat New York, 18;i9: died there, 1878): 51orris .1. liaphall (born at Stockholm, 1797; inWestphalia,

mond, Va.,

If^lKi;

ls-24:

New

stalled at Birmingham. England. 1841, York 1849; died, 18H),"the latter'two both active in

New

York: Abraham de

514

(born at London, 1825; installed at Montreal, 1S47; died there, 1882); and Sabato Moniis (born at Leghorn, 1823; installed at Philadelphia. IS.Jl died there. 1897). On the other side, in addition to Dr. Merzbachcr, the lepresentativcs of the more strenuous and, speaking generally, more scholarly German Reform movement were: 5Iax Lilienthal (born in Bavaria, 181."); installed at New York 1844, at Cincinnati Hnr>. died there, 1882); Isaac 51. Wise (born in Bohemia. 1819; installed at Albanv 1.S4B. Cincinnati ls,-)4: died there, 1900); Isidore Kalish (born in Prussia, IHlfJ; installed at Cleveland 18."i, at Newark 1870; died there, 188G): .lames K. Gutheim (born in Prussia, 1817; installed at Cincinnati 184.5, at New York 1866, at New Orleans 1868; died there, 1.886); David Einliorn (born in Bavaiia,lsi9; installed at Pesth 1.848, at Baltim<]re IS."),-,, at New York 1866; died there. 1879): Samuel Adier (born at Worms, 1810; installed at Alzey 1844, at New York 18.56; died there. 1891); B. Felsenthal (born in Bavaria, 1822; installed at Chicago 18.54); and Liebman AiUer, of a more conservative cast 0>orn at Weimar, 1812 installed at Detroit 18.55, at Cliicago 1861 died there, 1892). These leaders avowedly belonged to the radical German Beform seliool. which, not content with such minor innovations in public worship as the Charleston congregation had inaugurated, demanded an adjustment to modern times and circumstances of the professed principles of Judaism, not of its forms merely. The movement was of slow growth; for opposition to it was active, and feeling ran high. Before tracing the history of its final development, the successive arrivals in America of many destined to take part in the formative process must be noted. In the .Sola







sixties came Samuel Hirsch (bom in Rhenish-Prussia, 1815, officiated in Birkenfeld 1842. in Budapest 1852, in Philadelphia 1866; died, 1889); Benjamin

1S2!(:

olliciated

Warsiiw 1S57.

at

at

Worms

Philadellihia 1866), both belonging to the more conservative wing of the Reform imrty, as ilid also 18(i3,

Adolf HUbsch (born in Hungarv, 1830; officiated at Prague 1861, at New York 1806; died there in Ne.xt in order of arrival in America wirv K. 1884). Kohler (born in Bavaria. 1S43: <illiciated at Detroit 1869. at Chicago ls71. at New York 1H79): Guslav Goltheil (born in Piime. 1S27: olliciated at 5Ianchester,

New York ls7;i): and Hungary, 1.S37; olliciated at Grosswardein 1875, and

England. ISOO. and at

.le.anilir

KohiH (born

in

at .Stuhlweis,senberg isni, at New York 1884; died 1894), editor of the "Aruch Completum." To the.se must be addeil, as an exiionent of the most radical features of Reform, such as the worship on .Smiday in lieu of Saturday, Emil G. Hirsch (born in Luxemburg, 1851 officiated at Baltimore, Louisville and Chicago): and possibly as initiating a movement akin to certain siiles of the

Reform Judaism may be mentioned sity,

New

A

Fi'lix

Adler

professor of Hebrew at Cornell Univerand founder of the Society for Ethical Culture,

(born

18.50),

York.

drawback to the usefulness of the older school

of Reform, profound scholars though many of its members were, was felt to exist in the Native impossibility forthoseof German birth Preachers, toacipiire such comidete mastery over the spoken English tongue as the pulpit demands. 5Iany of them, indeed, continued to preach in German; but the use of English in the ])ulpit was much advanced by the foiuidation. through the indefatigable organizing i)owerof I. M.Wise, first of the L'nion of American Hebrew Congregations in 1873. and next of the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati (< )ctober. 1875) as the chief aim and purpose of that organization. The union began to make itself felt at once in American Judaism by the gnuluation aniuially since 1.8.'^3 of native Euglish-sjieaking rabbis, all of whom so great was the dearth of native preachers at once found positions. Up to the present (1901) over seventy have been graduated, the most primiinent of whom are too conspicuous in the public eye to need individual mention here. Previous attem])ts at a theological seminary had been made, unsuecessfidly, with " Zion College " at Cincinnati in 1855, and with "5Iaimonides College"

—

—

at Philadelphia in 1867.

Such coherent shape as this German Refonn Judaism of America possesses was given to it only slowly, and mainly through the a.gency of certain conferences of rabbis, which, in emulation of those held in Germany in the forties (Brunswick, 1844; Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1845), were directed to this task. At a conference held at Cleveland, O., in October, 1855, Wise, Lilienthal, Lee.ser, Cohn. and others were the dominant spirits; and a platform was promulgated so sweeping in its conservatism as to arouse the vigorous protest of the reformers. After stating that all Israelites agreed upon the divine origin of the Bible, it proceeded to declare the Talmud to be the sole legal and obligatory commentary on the Bible. Against this corollary (see " Sinai," 18.55, i. 29) Einhorn protested Kabbinical most vigorously, as did also the New Conferences. York Emanu-El congregation ("Sinai." ?.'•.); and their dis.sent was applauded by Leopold Stein and Ludwig Philipson in

Germany. Nothing tan.gible was done, however, until 1869, when, in an appeal to their "theologically equipped colleagues " (published in the New York "Jewish Times," June 1, 1869), Einhorn and