[Avodah] Isaac Leeser

[Prof. Levine]

At 10:18 AM 1/13/2008, Jonathan Baker wrote:


>Nitpick: not Colonial, but antebellum.  Born in 1808, raised in Germany,
>he came to the US in 1824.  Bemoaning the state of Jewish education and
>publishing, he set about doing something about it, publishing his own
>translations of "Instruction in the Mosaic Religion", the Chumash,
>the Tanach, his own writings in Jewish education, and other English-
>language Judaica, as well as both German and Portuguese-rite siddurim,
>etc.  He started a well-regarded magazine that is still quoted today
>(by R' Yosef Wikler in his Yoreh Deah classes), the Jewish Publication
>Society, and Maimonides College, the first attempt at a rabbinical
>seminary in the US (1867-73).
>
>He was the rabbi at Cong. Mikveh Israel in Philadelphia, their Spanish
>& Portuguese synagogue, for over 20 years, so it's not too surprising
>that he transliterated Shema as Shema/nj/.

Since we are nitpicking, let me point out that Isaac Leeser was not a 
rabbi. He was the chazzan of Cong. Mikveh Israel. The first ordained 
Orthodox rabbi to come to America was R. Avraham Rice. He arrived in 1840.

For information about the accomplishments of Isaac Leeser, please see
"<http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?contentid=21906&mode=a&contentname=Isaac_Leeser:_Architect_of_Traditional_Judaism_in_America&recnum=4&sectionid=14>Isaac 
Leeser: Architect of Traditional Judaism in America" The Jewish 
Press, June 22, 2007, page 1.  http://tinyurl.com/2f3eu9

There is no question that Chazzan Leeser was the outstanding Jewish 
leader of the 19th century.  BTW, the "well-regarded magazine" he 
published was called the Occident. The issues from 1843 to 1852 are 
available on the Internet at 
http://www.jewish-history.com/Occident/index.html . If you have the 
time, I think that you will find some of fascinating reading.



Yitzchok Levine 
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