Struggle for legitimacy: The orthodox rabbinate in mid-nineteenth century America

Jewish History

Volumn 10, Issue 1, 1996, Pages 63-74

  Sherman, Moshe D ^a  

^a RUTGERS UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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EID: 53349128301     PISSN: 0334701X     EISSN: 15728579     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1007/BF01848253     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. The best article on the Orthodox rabbinate following the 1880s is Jeffrey Gurock, "Resisters and Accommodators: Varieties of Orthodox Rabbis in America, 1886-1983," American Jewish Archives 35,2 (November 1983): 100-87.
2. Historians have recognized the limitations of the term "Orthodox," since expressions of religious belief and practice are complex and difficult to describe. For a summary of the semantic dilemma, see Jacob Katz, "Orthodoxy in Historical Perspective," in Peter Y. Wedding, ed., Studies in Contemporary Jewry (Bloomington, 1986), 3-17.
3. For biographical information and references pertaining to Samuel Isaacs, Isaac Leeser and Morris Raphall, see my book, Orthodox Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook (Westport, 1996).
4. On Abraham Rice, see The Occident 20,9 (December 1862): 424-5;
5. Moshe Davis, "Igrot ha-Pekidim ve-ha-Amrachiim me-Amsterdam," in Salo W. Baron Jubilee Volume (Jerusalem, 1975), 95-103;
6. Isaac Fein, The Making of an American Jewish Community (Philadelphia, 1971), 54-61, 68-70, 116-21;
7. Israel Tabak, "Rabbi Abraham Rice of Baltimore," Tradition 1,1 (Summer 1965): 100 ff;
8. Shmuel Singer, "From Germany to Baltimore," in Nisson Wolpin, ed., The Torah Personality (New York, 1980), 247-53;
9. I. Harold Scharftnan, The First Rabbi: Origins of the Conflict between Orthodox and Reform, Jewish Polemic Warfare in pre-Civil War America (Malibu, 1988). An important collection of Rice's unpublished correspondence may be found in the Abraham Rice Collection, Jewish Theological Seminary Library, New York. See also Minute Books of the Trustees, Congregation Shearith Israel, New York, Book
10. August 25, 1834-June 29, 1849: 425, and February 21, 1847, Congregation Shearith Israel Archives, New York.
11. On Bernard Illowy, see Judah D. Eisenstein, Otzar Yisrael 1 (Berlin, 1924), 274-6; Hyman Grinstein, The Rise of the Jewish Community of New York 1654-1860 (Philadelphia, 1945), 315, 367, 543, 546 and 578; Shmuel Singer, "Rabbi of the Rebels: Rabbi Yissachar Dov Illowy: From Pressburg to New Orleans," Jewish Observer (May 1976): 18-21, reprinted in Nisson Wolpin, ed., The Torah Personality: A Treasury of Biographical Sketches (New York, 1980), 78-81; David Ellenson, "A Jewish Legal Decision by Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans and its Discussion in Nineteenth Century Europe," American Jewish History (December 1979): 174-95.
12. Abraham Ash was born in Semyavitch, Horodno province, Polish Russia, in 1813 and emigrated to America around 1852. After two unsuccessful attempts in business, first as a manufacturer of hoop-skirts and later as a wine merchant, Ash became rabbi of the Beth Hamidrash Hagadol, a congregation which seceded from the Beth Hamidrash in 1859. On May 6, 1888, Ash died in New York City at the age of seventy-five. See Judah D. Eisenstein, "The History of the First Russian-American Jewish Congregation," Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society 9 (1901): 63-74;
13. Ben Zion Eisenstadt, Dorot Aharonim 1 (New York, 1913), 43; Judah D. Eisenstein Otzar Zikhronolai (New York, 1929), 20, 24, 29, 52, 247;
14. Judah D. Eisenstein, ed., Otzar Yisrael (Berlin, 1924), 1:67, 2:246, 7:34;
15. Hyman Grinstein, The Rise of the Jewish Community of New York (Philadelphia, 1945), 93, 253, 486-8.
16. Born in Salant, Lithuania around 1805, Aaronsohn served as a maggid in several Eastern European cities, including Vishtenitz, Brotzki and Mir before emigrating to America around 1860. During his years in New York, Aaronsohn served in various synagogues, including Chevrat Vizhaner on East Broadway and the Alien Street Beth Hamidrash, a congregation which had separated from the Beth Hamidrash Hagadol. In 1864, he became rabbi of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in New York. Aaronsohn published his first book of sermons, Pardes ha-Hokhmah, in 1836. Several years later, he published Fardes ha-Binah, a work of sermons and responsa. During his years in America, Aaronsohn compiled Jewish legal material, primarily responsa of Eastern European rabbis on contemporary halakhic matters. Matta'ei Moshe, his work of American responsa, was published posthumously in Jerusalem in 1878. For additional information on Aaronsohn, see the approbations in Pardes ha-Binah (Amsterdam, 1842); Zvi Hirsch Bernstein, Yalkut Ma'aravi 1, (1904), 129-30;
17. Judah D. Eisenstein, Otzar Yisrael 1 (New York, 1907), 167;
18. Judah David Eisenstein, Otzar Zikhronotai (New York, 1929), 24.
19. Born in Lvov, Galicia, Judah Mittelman made his home in Warsaw before emigrating to America in the early 1850s. One of the founding members of New York's Beth Hamidrash Hagadol in 1852, Mittelman formed his own congregation, Anshei Kalvaria, following a halakhic dispute with Abraham Ash. See Judah D. Eisenstein, "The History of the First Russian American Jewish Congregation," in Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society 9 (1901): 63-74, and Judah D. Eisenstein, Otzar Zikhronotai (New York, 1929), 247.
20. See The Occident 2,7 (October 1944): 347-9; 2,8 (November 1844): 407-08; 2,9 (December 1844): 449-51; 2,11 (February 1845): 552-5. Rice's response to Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia, regarding the water supply and proper construction of a mikveh may be found in the Rice Homilies and Letters, Jewish Theological Seminary Archives, New York. See also Edward Davis, The History of Rodeph Shalom Congregation (Philadelphia, 1926), 57. Concerning the importation of olive oil diluted with lard by French suppliers, see Jonathan D. Sarna, Jacksonian Jew (New York, 1979), 141.
21. Regarding the kashrut of California wine, see Judah D. Eisenstein, Otzar Yisrael 1 (Berlin, 1924), 167. For a general discussion of wine-making in America, see Jonathan Sarna, "Passover Raisin Wine, The American Temperance Movement and Mordechai Noah: The
22. Origins, Meaning, and Wider Significance of a Nineteenth Century American Jewish Religious Practice," Hebrew Union College Annual 59 (1988): 269-88.
23. Bernard Illowy's responsa regarding the use of natural gas instead of oil for Hanukkah lamps, and subsequent correspondence between Illowy and Jonah Bondi on this matter, may be found in Henry Illoway, Sefer Milkhamot Elohim (Berlin, 1914), 209-27.
24. Henry Illoway, Sefer Milkhamot Elohim, 33.
25. Ibid., 32.
26. Aryeh Leibush Bolichover, She'elot u'teshuvot Shem Aryeh: Even ha-Ezer 2 (Vilna, 1874), no. 69.
27. See Moshe Aaronson, Matta'ei Moshe (Jerusalem, 1878), responsa 5 and 17. See also Judah Mittelman's correspondence with Joseph Shaul Nathanson, Chief Rabbi of Lemberg, regarding this matter in Joseph Shaul Nathanson, Shoel u 'meshiv 1 (Lemberg, 1879), responsa 49, 21b.
28. Correspondence of Chief Rabbi Nathan Adler, Letter Book no. 4, 1855-56, item 1059, Office of the Chief Rabbi, London, England.
29. Henry Illoway, Sefer Milkhamot Elohim, 162-5.
30. Correspondence of Chief Rabbi Nathan Adler, Letter Book no. 6,1957-58, Office of the Chief Rabbi, London, England.
31. See David Ellenson, "A Jewish Legal Decision by Rabbi Bernard Illowy of New Orleans and its Discussion in Nineteenth Century Europe," American Jewish History (December, 1979): 174-95.
32. See the letter dated Aug. 24, 1864, Congregation Gates of Mercy, Board of Officers, 1853-65, Microfilm 2455, Folio 160, American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio. See also Jewish Chronicle (London), July 22, 1864: 6.
33. Lamenting the prevailing situation in American Jewish life where, outside of moral suasion rabbis had little power to enforce their decisions, Isaac Leeser suggested that rather than prohibiting mohelim from circumcising Gentile children, they should inform parents that this act of circumcision is not a religious rite and will "not render a person a proselyte, it is merely an enobling act." See Jewish Messenger (November 11, 1864) and a letter signed by "H.I. Almony," presumably Henry Illoway, son of Bernard Illowy; reprinted in Henry Illoway,
34. Sefer Milkhamot Elohim, 189-92.
35. See also The Occident 11,1 (December 1864): 430-1;
36. Jewish Chronicle (London), December 16, 1864 and March 31, 1865.
37. Zvi Hirsch Kalischer read the essays which appeared in the German press and contemplated sending his own article to Der Israelit or ha-Magid. Instead, Kalischer wrote a personal letter to Rabbi Hildesheimer expressing disagreement with the conclusions of the eminent rabbis who opposed circumcising non-Jewish children. Kalischer maintained that it was not only permissible, but desirable to circumcise the children of mixed marriages, for circumcision would readily prepare them for possible conversion at a later date. Referring specifically to the New Orleans case, Kalischer criticized Illowy for preventing mohelim from circumcising non-Jewish children. See the correspondence prepared years later by Dr. Meir Hildesheimer entitled, "Auf dem Briefwechsel Israel Hildesheimers," in Moritz Stern, ed., festschrift zum Vierzigjahrigen Amstubilaum des Herrn Rabbiners Dr. Salomon Carlebach in Lubeck (Berlin, 1910), 264-92; subsequently reprinted in Ezriel Hildesheimer, She'elot u'teshuvot Rabbi Ezriel Hildesheimer, Orah Haim, Yoreh Deah (Tel Aviv, 1969), nos. 229-30, 267-83. For an earlier discussion of this halakhic issue, see the responsum of Rabbi Gavriel Adler, Chief Rabbi at Oberdorf in Shomer Zion ha-Ne 'eman 124 (Nissan 13, 1852).
38. Concerning the practice of bloodletting, see Jeremiah J. Berman, Shehita: A Study in the Cultural and Social Life of the Jewish People (New York, 1941), 289-90. For a responsum of Rabbi Moshe Sofer, where this matter was dealt with a generation earlier, see Hatam Safer Yoreh Deah, no. 21. See also Rod Glogower, "The Impact of the American Experience upon Responsa Literature," American Jewish History 69 (1969-70): 257-69.
39. Aaronsohn later recalled the circumstances of this incident. "When God directed me to come to New York... I found the people of the city eating calf meat where the calf had been blood let several hours before its slaughter or a day before its slaughter, so that the meat should be white and tender.... In the city of Baltimore there is an expert rabbi and scholar, Rabbi Abraham Rice, and he too prohibited bloodletting for anyone in his region who would listen, and also in the larger city of Cincinnati the rabbis of the city had prohibited bloodletting. But here in New York, the restriction has been breached by two people, a ritual slaughterer from Stavitzk... and second, Rabbi Mittelman, who looks for leniencies wherever there is a prohibition and for this reason he is well received in New York." See Moshe Aaronsohn, Matta 'el Moshe (Jerusalem, 1878), section 2, 9.
40. Born in Stavitzk, Poland, on March 22, 1822, Aaron Zvi Friedman worked as a shohet in several Eastern European towns before making his home in Germany. In 1848, he emigrated to New York, where he remained a shohet for nearly thirty years. Charges by the American Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals that Jewish slaughtering was cruel led Friedman to publish a defense of shehitah entitled Tuv ta'am. In his book, Friedman described the state of ritual slaughtering and various kashrut problems in New York at that time. Friedman died in New York City on May 17, 1876. For information on Friedman, see Aaron Zvi Friedman, Tuv ta'am (New York, 1875); an abridged English translation by Laemlein Buttenwieser appeared in 1876 and was later republished as Tub Taam; or A Vindication of the Jewish Mode of Slaughtering (New York, 1904). See also Harper's Monthly 57 (October 1878): 768-9; Bernard Drachman, "Neo Hebraic Literature in America," in Proceedings of the Seventh Biennial Convention of the Jewish Theological Seminary Association (New York, 1900), 65, 96. Friedman quotes several letters from Rabbi Joseph Shaul Nathanson, Chief Rabbi of Lemberg (Lvov) permitting bloodletting, see Tuv ta'am, 48-9. These letters were not included in Nathanson's eminent work, Shoel u'meishiv.
41. The Jerusalem beth din agreed with Aaronsohn that bloodletting would be permissible only if it was necessary for the health of the animal, not to tenderize its meat. Incidentally, Moshe Aaronsohn, a native of Salant, had a connection to Rabbi Israel Salanter and Rabbi Shmuel Salant, later head of a Jerusalem beth din. A text of the letter sent by the beth din of Jerusalem dated 8 lyar, 5622 and signed by Rabbis Shmuel Salant, Binyamin David of Vilna and Yaakov Teumim appears in Malta 'el Moshe, 53b. Condemning the practice of bloodletting, Rabbi Elazar Horowitz, Chief Rabbi of Vienna elaborated upon the unique technique of New York bloodletting: "Your question arrived pertaining to the evil custom in your country of Jewish and non-Jewish meat merchants who' let the blood of calves several hours or a day prior to their slaughter in order that the meat be tender and white. They have a special bronze vessel... with two sharp prongs on both sides and a point at the top and they stick it in together with the vessel on its neck opposite the pipe. If they don't succeed the first time they try a second or third time until a lot of blood starts flowing and then they hasten to close the wound afterward so that the calf will not die. Notwithstanding some calves die an hour or two later." See Elazar Horowitz. Yad Elazar (Vienna, 1870), no. 115:63.
42. For a letter of Rabbi Yaakov Zvi Mecklenburg dated 2 Nissan, 5622, see Malta 'el Moshe,
43. ibid., 54a.
44. A responsum of Rabbi Shlomo Kluger was printed in his Tuv ta 'am v 'da 'at 3, section 1, no. 48, 226. Aaronsohn claimed that the original copies of these letters were held by his son in Madison, Indiana. See Matta'ei Moshe, 13b.
45. Aaronsohn wrote to Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch and solicited his opinion. See Manuscripts and Printed Matter from the Legacy of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch. Sanger Collection, vol. 1. Letters and Hebrew Manuscripts. Box 2, no. 29, 30, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel. For a general discussion of this controversy, see Abraham Jacob Koplowitz, Melekhet ha-kodesh (New York, 1948), 32-3.
46. Specifically, Goldsmith and Levy wanted to know whether a maximum amount of dough (shiur hallah) must be used in an automated matzah baking machine. What happens with residue dough left unkneaded? Does the temperature of the kneading room effect fermentation? Nathan Adler, Chief Rabbi of England, ruled that the machine could be used, though he insisted on close supervision to ensure that the temperature in the kneading room not be excessive and that unused dough be discarded. For a complete text of Rabbi Nathan Adler's letter to Congregation B'nai Jeshurun, New York, dated 7 Marchesvan, 5610 (October 1849), see The Occident 7,10 (January 1850): 523-4. Rabbi H.S. Hirshfeld, Chief Rabbi at Gleiwitz, also permitted the manufacture of matzah with this machine; see The Asmonean 1,12 (January 11, 1850): 93 and 3,19 (February 28, 1851): 148.
47. There is an abundance of literature written at this time dealing with the permissibility of machinery for the baking of matzah. For the rulings of some prominent European authorities, see Shomo Kluger, Moda'ah l'Beit Yisrael (Lemberg, 1859) and responses to this halakhic position in Bittul Moda'ah (Lemberg, 1859).
48. Correspondence of Chief Rabbi Nathan Adler, Letter Book no. 6 (1857-58), Office of the Chief Rabbi, Woburn House, London, England.
49. The Asmonean 3,19 (February 28, 1851): 148.
50. If individual rabbis could not independently assert authority as often as they might have liked, perhaps America required something akin to the European ecclesiastical courts which determined religious issues, and thereby attempt to enforce Jewish law on the community. "What America must have," wrote Robert Lyon, "if there is to be uniformity in the customs and ritual of Judaism, is an ecclesiastical Board-Bern Din, comprised of men not only learned in scriptures and the written law, but sensible to surrounding circumstances, cognizant of the requirements of the times, and possessing sufficient moral courage to act up to the exigencies of the case." The Asmonean 3,19 (February 28, 1851): 148;
51. and The Asmonean 6,4 (May 14, 1852): 28.
52. See also Sefton D. Temkin, "A Bern Din for America," in Arthur A. Chiel, ed., Perspectives on Jews and Judaism: Essays in Honor of Wolfe Kelman (New York, 1978), 409-20.