Dr. Yitzchok Levine

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	Select an Archives Section: JP Archives: Glimpses Into American Jewish History 80 Archived Articles Found in Glimpses Into American Jewish History Next 20 Articles > 1) Posted Nov 02 2011 American Jewry And The 1840 Damascus Blood Libel By Dr. Yitzchok Levine Anyone familiar with Jewish history knows of the blood libels that have been used against Jews for centuries. Read Article 2) Posted Oct 05 2011 Bilhah Abigail Franks: Early American Jewish Matriarch By Dr. Yitzchok Levine In general, little is known about Jewish women who resided in America during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Two exceptions are Rebecca Machado Phillips[i] and Rebecca Gratz[ii]. Another is Bilhah Abigail (Levy) Franks. Read Article 3) Posted Aug 31 2011 The Founding Of Mount Sinai Hospital By Dr. Yitzchok Levine The Jews of New York City were rather late in establishing Jewish institutions such as poorhouses, homes for orphans and the aged, and hospitals. Several attempts were made in the years prior to 1850, but they failed due to the small size of the New Jewish community, which in 1836 numbered only about 2,000 and increased to about 7,000 in 1840. Read Article 4) Posted Aug 03 2011 Sampson Simson, Eccentric Orthodox Philanthropist By Dr. Yitzchok Levine Sampson Simson was born on June 30, 1781 in Danbury, Connecticut and died January 7, 1857 in New York. Sampson's father, Solomon Simson, was also American born. Solomon was partners with his brother Sampson Simson, whom we shall refer to as Sampson the elder. Read Article 5) Posted Jun 29 2011 Rabbi Abraham Joseph Ash: Strengthening Orthodoxy In Nineteenth-Century America By Dr. Yitzchok Levine Readers of this column are aware that it was not until 1840 that the first ordained Orthodox rabbi, Rabbi Abraham Rice,1 settled in America. Other rabbonim soon began to settle in America. One of them was Rabbi Abraham Joseph Ash. Read Article 6) Posted Jun 01 2011 Nineteenth-Century Sabbath Observance By Dr. Yitzchok Levine The previous two columns discussed kashrus and bris milah observance in America during the 19th century. The trend was that until about 1860 most Jews were careful to observe these mitzvos. However, in the latter part of the century many Jews abandoned keeping kosher both at home and in public. Bris milah, though, was generally observed throughout the entire century. Read Article 7) Posted May 04 2011 *Nineteenth-Century Bris Milah* Observance By Dr. Yitzchok Levine Last month's column dealt with the observance of kashrus by Jews in America during the 19th century. Up until about 1870 German Jewish immigrants went to considerable effort to make sure they could eat kosher meat and poultry. Almost every Jewish community of more than 15 families employed a professional shochet. Smaller communities were served by volunteer shochtim. However, with the spread of the Reform movement in the latter half of the century, Jews began to abandon kashrus. Read Article 8) Posted Mar 30 2011 Nineteenth-Century Kashrus Observance By Dr. Yitzchok Levine During the latter part of 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, many European Jews viewed America as a treife medina (a non-kosher land) from the perspective of traditional Jewish religious observance. It was felt that it was virtually impossible to remain observant in America, and many Jews proved this was indeed the case, as they or their children abandoned much of their religious practices once they arrived in this country. Read Article 9) Posted Mar 02 2011 Jews And The Maryland Toleration Act By Dr. Yitzchok Levine In 1629 George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, applied to King Charles I for a charter to found what was to become the Province of Maryland. Tobacco had proven to be a profitable enterprise in Virginia, and Calvert was hopeful the same would prove true in this new venture. In addition, Calvert, a Catholic, hoped to found a religious haven for his co-religionists who were often persecuted in predominantly Protestant England. Read Article 10) Posted Feb 02 2011 The Controversial Mordecai Moses Mordecai By Dr. Yitzchok Levine The first ordained rabbi to settle in America, Abraham Rice did not arrive here until 1840. Before then, few men with anything more than a rudimentary Torah knowledge resided in America. One exception was Mordecai Moses Mordecai. Read Article 11) Posted Jan 05 2011 James Logan: Early American Hebrew Scholar By Dr. Yitzchok Levine The story of Hebrew culture in Massachusetts begins with the very foundation of the Plymouth colony, for the first Hebraists to settle in New England came over in the Mayflower. Governor Bradford, one of the Mayflower Pilgrims, was a man whose ability, character, and comparative culture raised him above his fellow settlers. His knowledge of languages is praised by Cotton Mather in the Magnalia:" he was conversant with Dutch, French, Latin, and Greek, but the Hebrew [tongue] he most of all studied, because he said he would see with his own eyes the ancient oracles of God in their native beauty." Read Article 12) Posted Dec 01 2010 Reverend Abraham de Sola: Scholar Extraordinaire By Dr. Yitzchok Levine The name de Sola appears prominently in the annals of Spanish Jewish history. The de Solas may have settled in Andalusia (in southern Spain) as early as the sixth century. Read Article 13) Posted Nov 03 2010 A Non-Jew's 1841 Impressions Of Shearith Israel By Dr. Yitzchok Levine Lydia Maria (nee Francis) Child (February 11, 1802-Oct. 20, 1880) was educated at home, at a local "dame school" and at a nearby women's seminary. After her mother died when she was twelve, she went to live with an older sister in Maine for some years. She is little known today, but in her time she was a famous anti-slavery activist. She was also a novelist, editor, journalist and scholar. She is best remembered for her poem "Over the River and Through the Woods," which recalls her Thanksgiving visits as a child to her grandfather's home. Read Article 14) Posted Sep 28 2010 Dr. Simeon Abrahams: More Than A Footnote By Dr. Yitzchok Levine** There were Jews living during the nineteenth century who made substantial contributions to Yiddishkeit but who, unfortunately, are almost completely forgotten today. Their lives are at most a footnote in standard books dealing with American Jewish history. One such man was Dr. Simeon Abrahams, a pillar of the New York Jewish community during his relatively short life. Read Article 15) Posted Sep 01 2010 Chazzan Jacques Judah Lyons: Early American Congregational Leader By Dr. Yitzchok Levine From 1654, when the first Jews arrived in North America, until 1840, when the first Orthodox ordained rabbi, Rav Abraham Rice, settled in Baltimore, American Jewry was led by chazzanim and baalei batim (private individuals) who had better than average Torah educations. These men did their best to fill the void in rabbinical leadership that characterized American Jewish life until the last few decades of the nineteenth century. Read Article 16) Posted Aug 04 2010 Jacob da Silva Solis - Advocate For Orthodox Judaism By Dr. Yitzchok Levine Jacob da Silva Solis was born into London's Sephardic community on August 4, 1780. He referred to himself as Jacob S. Silva. Arriving in America on October 25, 1803, Jacob almost immediately affiliated with New York's Spanish-Portuguese Synagogue (Shearith Israel). On April 24, 1811, he married Charity Hays, daughter of a Westchester County farmer. They had seven children, the eldest born in 1813 and the youngest in 1827. Read Article 17) Posted Jun 30 2010 The Case Of The Charleston Synagogue Organ By Dr. Yitzchok Levine In 1749 the Jews of Charleston, South Carolina established their first synagogue, Kahal Kodesh Beis Elokim (KKBE). Last month we examined the events that led some members of KKBE to establish The Reformed Society of Israelites. Read Article 18) Posted Jun 02 2010 The Reform Movement Comes To Charleston By Dr. Yitzchok Levine Last month we traced the establishment and development of the Jewish Community in Charleston, South Carolina, and its first synagogue, Kahal Kodesh (Holy Congregation) Beth Elokim (KKBE). From its inception in 1749 the synagogue was Orthodox and followed the Sephardic ritual. (This was the case with all of the synagogues founded during colonial times.) Read Article 19) Posted May 05 2010 The Early Jewish Community Of Charleston By Dr. Yitzchok Levine The English first settled at Albemarle Point in what is now South Carolina in 1670. In 1680 this settlement was moved to a peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, and became Charles Town (named in honor King Charles II). The new location was more healthful than the original settlement, and, since it was behind the islands of a land-locked harbor, provided safety from attack. The name was changed to Charleston at the end of the War of Independence. Read Article 20) Posted Mar 29 2010 Colonial Jewish Businesswomen By Dr. Yitzchok Levine There is a stereotype that many may have regarding women of the past - namely, that their place was in the home. But this was not necessarily the case for Jewish women during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Indeed, there were some women during this period who were engaged in a variety of commercial endeavors. Things did begin to change at about the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the attitude that a woman's place is in the home became prevalent. Read Article 80 Archived Articles Found in Glimpses Into American Jewish History Next 20 Articles >
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