JEWISH  COMMUNAL  INTERESTS  IN  NEW  YORK






<PRE>
Newspapers, Organizations, Religious/Fraternal Orders, Education, Societies, Libraries
                 General Historical Information Prior to 1934

I		 <font color="red">NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES</font>, ETC.
      A) American Hebrew, The:
               Weekly journal, the first number of which was published in
New York, Nov. 21, 1879. It was founded chiefly through the efforts of F. de
Sola Mendes and Philip Cowen, the publisher of the paper from its first
number, to his retirement in 1906. Joseph Jacobs, Herman Bernstein, and
Rabbi Isaac Landman, have been its editors. David A. Brown, prominent in
national relief campaigns, is the present publisher. The American Hebrew has
absorbed the "Jewish Tribune," which in its turn absorbed the "Jewish
Standard," and at this date (1933) is the only Jewish weekly in English
published in Manhattan. It represents the Reform anti-nationalist viewpoint.

      B) "Jewish Daily Bulletin"
                Established in New York in 1924. The only daily newspaper
devoted to news of Jewish interest which it receives by cable and telegraph,
through the service of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Presents in brief and
concise form a daily picture of Jewish life in every part of the world.
President and Managing Director, Jacob Landau; Editor, Herman Bernstein.

      C) "The Jew":
          Title of the first Jewish periodical published in the United
States. It was a monthly, and appeared in New York, March, 1823 to March, 1825.

II 		<font color="red">ORGANIZATIONS</font>

     A) Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York:

    Incorporated by special act of the New York State Legislature, April 27,
1917. It is an affiliation of approximately 90 Jewish social agencies
operating in the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx in the City of New York
and covering the major fields of social work, namely, family relief,
medical, child care, aged, delinquency, neighborhood activities,
recreational and educational work, handicapped, technical instruction,
religious education and summer fresh air activities. Its budget for the
calendar year 1932 was $3,651,574 net toward a gross institutional expense
of $9,612,657.
The officers in 1933 were:
    1. Joseph M. Proskauer, president
    2. Walter E. Beer, treasurer;
    3. Louis J. Grumbach,  associate treasurer
    4. Albert J. Erdmann,  comptroller:
    5. Herman Lissner,  secretary
    6. Solomon Lowenstein,  executive director
    7. Felix M. Warburg,  chairman of the board
    8. Arthur Lehman,  associate chairman
    9. Mrs. Sidney C. Borg, Hon. Albert Goldman, Samuel D. Leidesdorf, Paul
Felix Warburg- vice-presidents.

             Solomon Loewenstein, B.A., Hon. D.H.L.
Rabbi, Exec. Dir., Fed. of Jewish Philanthropic Societies, N.Y.C.

     B)  Federation of American Jews of Lithuanian Descent:

    Landsmanschaft organized in 1928 in New York. President,  Judge William
M. Lewis, of Philadelphia;  secretary, Mordecai Katz.

     C)  Federation of Hungarian Jews in America:

    Landsmanschaft organized in 1909 in New York. President, Samuel Buchler;
secretary, Frieda Adamsbaum.

      D)  Federation of Palestine Jews of America:

    Landsmanschaft organized in New York in 1929. It issues a year book.
President, Hirsch Manischewitz;  secretary,  M. Schulsinger.

       E)  Federation of Polish Jews: (Branches in New York and other states).

    The purposes of the organization derive from the interests of Polish
Jews of America in the land of their origen. Accordingly, the general aims
of the Federation are to cater to the needs of the Polish Jews who have
settled in America and to advance the condition of the Jews of Poland. The
activities of the Federation are political, philanthropic, and educational.
Since the end of the World War it has been instrumental in organizing more
than 500 relief committees which have brought economic aid to distressed
Jews in Poland. The Federation has close to 100 branches in the United
States; in New York, Boston, Pittsburgh, St. Paul, Detroit, Los Angeles and
in other cities

        F)  Jewish War Veterans of the United States:
                Formed in 1923, at a convention in New York, through the
amalgamation of all then existing organizations of Jewish War Veterans.
These included the Hebrew Union Veterans Association, formed in 1895 of
Civil War Veterans, and the Jewish Veterans of the Wars of the Republic,
including Spanish-American War and World War Veterans. Only veterans are
eligible for membership.  The aims of the Jewish War Veterans are: "to
maintain true allegiance to the United States of America....to uphold the
fair name of the Jew and to fight his battles wherever he is unjustly
assailed....to assist such comrades and their families as may be in need of
help..., to gather and preserve the records of patriotic service performed
by men of our race...to honor the memory and to shield from neglect the
graves of our heroic dead." There are sixty local posts, five state
departments and a national headquarters in New York. "The Jewish Veteran," a
monthly magazine is sent to all members. National encampments are held
annually. Past commanders-in-chief include:  Hon. Julius S. Berg, M. J.
Mendelsohn and George Fredman. President National Officers are:
Commander-in-Chief, William Berman;  Harry I. Jacobs, George E. Kath, Sol
Rubin, Dr. Isaac Stalberg,  Harry Raymond,  Rabbi Solomon A. Fineberg,
Maxwell Cohen, Samuel B. Mannos, Jacob Reitzfeld, Milton Solomon, Harry C.
Mamber, Dr. Ivy Pelzman, Al Lewis, and Edward Lieberman.

                      Solomon A. Fineberg, Ph. D.
           Rabbi, Sinai Temple, Mount Vernon, N.Y.


III		  <font color="red">RELIGIOUS / FRATERNAL ORDERS</font>

      A)  Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America:

         Was organized in New York City in 1898 and holds an annual
convention. The hon. pres. are Rabbis H. Pereira Mendes,  M.S. Margolies,
Bernard Drachman,  Herbert S. Goldstein and Mr. Julius J. Dukas;  pres.,
William Weiss; treas.,  I. LeVine;  secs.,  Max S. Rosenfeld,  Harry G.
Fromberg and Isaac I. Bril.

      B)  Union of Orthodox Rabbis of United States and Canada:

           Organized in 1902 in New York. Holds an annual convention.  Hon.
pres., Rabbis I. Rosenberg,  M.S. Margolies,  B. L. Levinthal,  Bernard
Revel, Ch. I. Bloch;  pres.,  Rabbi L. Silver;  treas.,  Chas. B.
Notelovitz;  gen. sec.,  L. Seltzer.

       C)  Union of Sephardic Congregations:

           Organized in New York in 1929. Pres., Rabbi David de Sola Pool;
treas.,  Mathew J. Levy;  sec., Simon S. Nessim.

        D)  United Order "True Sisters":

            Organized in New York in 1846 as the Independent Order of True
Sisters, and therefore one of the oldest national Jewish organizations in
the U.S.  It has 35 lodges and 11,729 members, and publishes a monthly
organ, "The Echo."  Officers:  Grand monitress,  Mrs. Henriette N.
Prinstein;  pres.,  Mrs. Rose Deutschberger;  treas.,  Mrs. Hermine
Breitenfeld;  sec.,  Mrs. Fanny M. Marx.

            E) Sisterhood for Personal Service:

       In 1889 Rabbi Gustav Gottheil organized the first Sisterhood for
Personal Service, in connection with the Temple Emanu-El, in New York City.
Since then such societies, in which the work is done by the women of the
congregation, have become attached to nearly every important synagogue in
the land.

V		<font color="red">SOCIETIES</font>

           A)  Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society of America (HIAS).

     Organized in 1887 to make possible the migration of Jews to countries
offering opportunities for permanent settlement; to meet, guide, assist and
protect Jewish immigrants upon their arrival in the United States,
Argentine, Brazil, Uruguay, Cuba, and other countries of immigration and to
aid them to adjust themselves; to advise emigrants in countres of emigration
and to aid them in preparing for settlement in the new lands; to make
representation on legislation affecting immigration and immigrants; to
provide shelter for Jewish immigrants and for the Jewish homeless and
unemployed. (HIAS) has its central office in New York. Bureaus at Ellis
Island, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. Branches in other cities of the United
States.
            B) Free Sons of Israel, Independent Order of.

           A Jewish fraternal and benevolent society, with headquarters in
New York City, founded on January 10, 1849. It has three grand lodges and
103 subordinate lodges, distributed throughout the United States, and had in
1902 a total membership of some 11,000. At the same time it had a reserve
fund of over $860,000, and had since its organization paid to widows and
other beneficiaries $3,300,000, and by lodges for benefits $3,150,000.
IV  EDUCATION

      A)  Graduate School for Jewish Social Work, The

          Organized in New York in 1925. To provide facilities for the
initial training of Jewish social workers by offering a course of graduate
study; to provide facilities for the further training and preparation of
such workers as are already in the field of Jewish social work, and to build
up a literature of Jewish communal life.
         Course of Study:
      Two academic years of three quarters each leading to the M.S.S. and
D.S.S. degrees. Admission requirements: The B.S. or B.A. degree. Library:
7,500 books and pamphlets on social work, social science, and Judaica.
Fields prepared for: Family case work, child care, medical social work,
psychiatric social work, community center work, social research. Graduates
to date, 120. Chairman, Louis E. Kirstein, Boston; vice chairman, Fred M.
Butzel; Treasurer, I. Edwin Goldwasser. Dr. M.J. Karpf, president of the
faculty and director.

                           M.J. Karp, Ph.D.
 Pres. Faculty and Dir., Graduate School for Jewish Social Work, N.Y.C.

     B)  Greater New York:
         There are (April, 1934) 16 Yeshivoth with a registration of 4,000
pupils. The best known among them are: Yeshivah Rabbi Jacob Joseph, Henry
Street, New York City;  Yeshivah Torah Vodaat in Williamsburg;  Yeshivah Eiz
Chaim in Boro Park, and Yeshivah D'Bronx in New York City. Among the newer
Yeshivoth are: Yeshivah Crown Heights, Yeshivah D'Flatbush and the Yeshivah
Ohel Moishe, all in Brooklyn.
         The atmosphere that prevails in the Yeshivoth is strictly
religious. Some of them translate Hebrew into Yiddish. Others use the direct
method of Ivris B'Ivris. In some, emphasis is laid, in the higher classes,
on the teaching of the Talmud; in others, on modern Hebrew literature and
Hebrew as a spoken language. Most of the Yeshivoth are attended by boys
only. Recently some of them have registered girls also. The first Yeshivah
for girls only, known as Shulamith, has recently been established in Boro
Park.
       The Yeshivoth were seriously affected by the depression, but not one
of them has closed its doors. They have been sustained by the unusual
efforts and sacrifices of the parents, as well as of the teachers and
officers of these institutions.
                                   Kalman Whiteman
             Author, Jewish Education Association, N.Y.C.

     C)  Day Schools:
         In the tribute the Lord paid Abraham when He said, "I have singled
him out to the end that he may command his children and his household after
him that they keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgment," we find
the aim of Jewish education.
         In New York, the first Jewish Day School to be organized was the
"Yeshibat Minhat Areb" on the 7th day of Pesach, 1731. Here the children
attended daily from 9:00 to 12:00 in the forenoon and from 2:00 to 4:00 in
the afternoon. The Hazan was instructed to teach them "the Hebrew Spanish
and English writing and arithmetick."  By an act passed by the Legislature
of New York State in April, 1811, this school was to receive from the State
Treasury "the like sum as was paid to the other Religious Congregations
respectively," but after a century of activity, the school began to dwindle
and, finally in 1856, "Yeshibat Minhat Areb," whose name had been changed to
"The Polonies Talmud Torah," changed from parochial school to supplementary
school holding classes thrice weekly.
      Meanwhile, the German Jews had also been organizing schools. The
first one was opened in 1842 and named "The New York Talmud Torah and Hebrew
Institute." Its aim was "to give an elementary English education and formal
instruction in Hebrew and religion." Three years later, the Immanuel and the
Anshei Chesed Congregations opened Day Schools simultaneously. Soon, other
congregations followed suit.
      The real Jewish Day School, which from the first day of its inception
has remained a permanent and flourishing institute, did not come into
existence until the period beginning with 1881. The influx of eastern
European Jews brought intensified Jewish life that could not find ample
satisfaction in the Supplementary School system. In 1886, "The Yeshibat Eitz
Chaim" came into being. In 1901, another Elementary Day School was
organized,which was later renamed "Rabbi Jacob Joseph School," and in 1897 was
organized the first Secondary Day School in this country, "The Rabbi Isaac
Elchanan Seminary." These in turn were followed by a number of others, so
that today there are 11 such Day Schools in New York City alone and others
in Chicago, Baltimore and Paterson, New Jersey. These schools provide a
thorough Jewish education in the morning and early afternoon hours, and an
elementary or secondary secular school education in the later afternoon and
early evening hours. Their aim is to provide an harmonious blending of the
principles of religious and secular trainings imparted in a totally Jewish
environment. This aim finds its highest expression in the "Yeshiva College,"
a duly accredited undergraduate institution maintained by the "Rabbi
Elchanan Theological Seminary," now in its fifth year and conferring B.S.
and B.A. degrees.

                             Israel H. Weisfeld, B.A.
  Rabbi, Agudath Achim North Shore Cong., Chicago, Ill.

   D)  American Academy for Jewish Research:

       Organized in New York in 1920, for the purpose of furthering Jewish
learning through scholarly undertakings of a cooperative character. The
Academy holds periodic meetings. President, Dr. Alexander Marks,
Vice-President, Dr. Israel Davidson, Secretary, Prof. Salo Baron.

		<font color="red">LIBRARIES</font>

     A)  New York Public Library:
           The Jewish Division was established in 1897. Through the
munificence of Jacob H. Schiff and others it brought together a collection
of over 50,000 books and pamphlets dealing with all phases of Jewish life
and literature. The aim of the Jewish Division is to cover as far as
possible all branches of the encyclopedic knowledge of the Jews and Judaism.
The books on its shelves written in many languages, include a wide range of
subjects, sacred and secular. The collection is rich in representative
editions of the Bible, the Talmud, the Midrashic writings  in parts, and
many commentaries on their tests. Grammatical and lexicographical treatments
of the languages spoken by Jews are well represented. Then there are
editions of classical texts in Jewish philosophy, theology, ethics, and
kabbalistic writings. Codes of Jewish law and editions of the responsa of
eminent rabbis comprise a characteristic portion of the collection, as do
also the various liturgical works. Nor is there any lack in historical
writings, drama, poetry and fiction in general. They have their
proportionate share in the collec. It possesses a large assemblage of works
in Yiddish and is rich in Jewish periodical publications. It is a well
balanced "working collection" for the scholar and student of Jewish life and
literture and lore. All fields of Jewish learning and thought ancient and
modern, religious and secular are covered.

    B) Jewish Theological Seminary of America:
        At the reorganization in 1902 its library contained some 5,000 books
and three manuscripts, mainly from the libraries of Doctors D. Cassel of
Berlin and S. Morais of Philadelphia. In 1903 Judge Sulzberger presented
about 8,000 volumes and 600 manuscripts from his own collection and from
that  of S. J. Halberstam of Bielitz. Later the library received the
collections of Professors M. Steinschneider, E. Kautzsch, S. Schechter, the
Israel Solomons collection of Anglo-Judaica and prints and the Elkan N.
Adler Library. These and other noteworthy donations and purchases bring the
number of printed books up to 100,000 and of mss. up to about 7,000.
    In 1924 the library was established as a separate corporation. In 1930
it was transferred to the new Jacob H. Schiff Memorial Building. The Library
is now in the possession of the largest and the most notable Hebrew
collection in the world. It is particularly rich in Hebrew books printed in
the 15th and 16th cent. Besides circa 80 Incunabula there are fragments of
most of the others, so that it offers the best opportunity for the study of
early Hebrew typography. The library is very rich in books printed in the
Orient, in Russia before 1840 and in America. Old editions of the Talmud,
Liturgy of all the various rites, including numerous prayers for special
occasions and a Hagadah collection of over 1,000 different editions, Codes
and Responsa are especially well represented. In the rich department of
History, the Anglo-Judaica and books on the Inquisition are noteworthy. Of
the collection of books in the various dialects spoken by Jews, those in
Judaeo-Persian and Judaeo-Spanish are exceptionally rich. The manuscripts
have some very fine specimens of excellent penmanship and beautiful
illumination. They embrace all branches of Jewish literature and represent
practically every country and period.
      In 1930 the Museum of Jewish Ceremonial Objects was added. It houses
the collections  of Ephraim Benguiat;  Maurice Herrmann (poresented to the
library in 1922) and a number of gifts from private individuals.

                       Alexander Marx, Ph.D.
Prof. of History and Librarian, Jewish Theological Seminary of America;
Pres. American Academy for Jewish Research, N.Y.C.


Source:  The Encyclopedia of Jewish Knowledge   (in one volume)
Edited by:    Jacob De Haas (in collaboration with more than one hundred and
fifty scholars and specialists)
Publisher:   Behrman's Jewish Book House-New York
Copyright:  1934

Researched and Transcribed by Miriam Medina

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