In the Beginning: 1854
Each week The American Israelite will print an item from the first years.
The Choir.
We take pleasure in announcing that the choir of K. K. Benai Yeshurun of his city has thus far advanced, that they will perform the singing part of the divine service next Friday night, August 5th. Service commences at half past 6 P.M., precisely. We are informed that some very difficult courses of our excellent S. Sulzer of Vienna, and S. Naumbug of Paris, have been studied diligently, and will be delivered by a choir composed of twenty five persons, under the direction of Mr. Hess who is know to us as an eminent musician.
— July 28, 1854
150 Years ago
Items
– Mr. S. Hecht’s compositions to Jewish hymns for the house, school and houses of worship, are under the press at last, and will soon make their appearance. It is light music — exactly what we want, and the proof-sheets before us contain some fine melodies. We hope the whole will prove a success.
– Cincinnati. — The distinguished sculptor, M.J. Ezekiel, having returned from Europe, is now in this city, 413 West Third Street, with his parents, and has been heartily welcomed by his friends and admirers.
– Cincinnati. — The Temple Benai Yeshurun, corner of Plum and Eighth streets, is being frescoed in the Alhambra style, in correspondence with its architectural style. It will be reaped the first Sabbath in September, and promises to be the most classical structure in this city.
Foreign Record
– According to a telegram, dated Vienna, the 27th, we have to record the demise of Baron Anselm Rothschild.
– The Viceroy of Egypt says the Pall Mall Gazette has just conferred the Order of the Medjidie, Second Class, on each of the leading men of the Jewish communities at Cairo and Alexandria. This distinction is one which has rarely been conferred on heads of Jewish communities.
— July 31, 1874
125 Years ago
Mistaken Sympathy
A large number of the leading Hebrews of Indianapolis have signed a petition, it is stated, which has been presented to Governor Mount, asking that Samuel Friedman, a junk dealer, who is serving a sentence in the workhouse on the charge of receiving stolen property, be paroled, notwithstanding the fact that the Governor has asserted time and again that he will not interfere with workhouse sentences. We trust that the report is erroneous. Jews that become criminals should be punished as others. Any Jew who seeks to aid a violator of the law to escape the just mentality because he professes to be a coreligionist not only wrongs the State, but the Jewish community even to a greater extent.
Jottings
– The number of Jewish immigrants during the fiscal year ending July 1, 1899, was 87,415 of whom 21,153 were males and 16,202 females.
– Rabbi Harry Weiss delivered a sermon before Rodef Sholem Congregation of Youngstown, Ohio recently that is spoken of by the local press as the most masterly ever delivered in that temple.
– The statement made last week that Rabbi Israel Klein was not a candidate for election as minister of the Jewish congregation at Evansville was erroneous. Mr. Klein has not withdrawn his name from consideration by the board.
– Rev. M. S. Levy of San Francisco, who has just returned from a visit to Honolulu, has been creating a stir by his fearless expose of the hideous system of slave labor which prevails in the Hawaii Islands, which he denounces as a blot on civilization and religion.
— August 3, 1899
100 Years ago
It is a genuine pleasure to The Israelites to acknowledge the sincere congregations which have begun coming to us from all sides on the attainment of our seventieth birthday anniversary, of which good wishes and fuller acknowledgement will be made in the forthcoming issue.
Jottings
– Discoveries, which may prove to be an important contribution to the cultural history of mankind, have been made by two Jewish archaeologists, Professor Auerbach and Sosnowsky, who have been carrying on excavations in Siberia for the past two years for the purpose of discovering the remains of the first human settlement in that part of the world. The excavations has resulted In the discovery of human skeletons of the Stone Age, and the unearthing of bones of bison, gigantic deer and mammoths, resembling the American buffalo. Several hundred different kinds of stone weapons were also discovered.
Editor’s Note: Drs. Auerbach and Sosnovsky were excavating at a site now known as Afontova Gora II. The remains that they uncovered at the site date to around 17,000 BCE. The Afontova Gora sites were likely settled by mammoth hunters living in the region at that time.
– The palace gate through which Moses and Aaron passed to plead the case of the Jews before the Pharaoh of Exodus is being re-erected in the University of Pennsylvania Museum at Philadelphia. One section of the gate, which is carved from a single block of limestone and weighs more than five tons, already has been hoisted into place. The entire collection weighs 142 tons. The gateway, formed by six huge stones, was discovered at Memphis, near the Valley of the Kings, in 1922, by Dr. Clarence S. Fisher, archaeologist of the museum’s expedition. Dr. George Byron Gordon, director of the museum, said that evidence had been brought forward in recent years to prove the identity of the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
Editor’s Note: Clarence Fisher excavated a good deal of Egyptian material on behalf of the Penn Museum, and much of what he found is still in the museum today. However, contrary to Dr. George Byron’s intimation about the identity of the Pharaoh of Exodus mentioned in this news article, there is no scholarly consensus about the identity of said Pharaoh, and certainly no archaeological proof that Moses, Aaron, or any other famous Hebrew leader passed through a particular gate complex at Memphis or anywhere else in ancient Egypt.
— July 31, 1924
75 Years ago
HUC May Award Doctorate of Philosophy
The Ohio Department of Education has authorized the Hebrew Union College to offer the Doctor of Philosophy degree for work done in residence in Hebraic and cognate studies.
Other earned degrees awarded by the College are:
Bachelor of Hebrew Letters (B.H.L.); Master of Hebrew Letters (M.H.L.), awarded on completion of rabbinic program and accompanied by ordination as a rabbi; Doctor of Hebrew Letters (D.H.L.) eared by alumni occupying pulpits for work done in absentia.
Honorary degrees awarded by the College are:
Doctor of Divinity (D.D.), conferred on rabbis, and Doctor of Hebrew Letters (honoria causa), conferred on laymen, in recognition of distinguished service in the cause of Judaism.
Price Hill Picnic Set for Aug. 21 on Synagog Grounds
The 27th Annual Price Hill Beth Jacob Picnic will be held on the grounds at St. Lawrence and Kirbert Avenues, Price Hill, Sunday, Aug. 21.
A feature will be the plastic, jewelry and luggage booths.
Home-cooked meals will be served. Joseph M. Rheins, chairman, has appointed Maurice Goldman and Maurice Litz as co-chairmen of the group of former Price Hill residents now living in Bond Hill and Roselawn who have volunteered their services for the day.
— August 4, 1949
50 years ago
Hadassah Youth Aliyah Committee Plans Annual Contributor’s Event
Plans have been completed by the Hadassah Youth Aliyah Annual Contributor’s Party on Monday, August 12th at 1 p.m. The Shelterhouse Theater at Playhouse in the Park will be the setting for the product of “I Never Saw Another Butterfly,” by the Purcell High School Queen’s Men’s Drama CLub, directed by Brother Abel.
Bar Mitzvah
Dr. Enrique and Susana Kaufman are pleased to announce the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, Oran Eliezer, in Beth Abraham Synagogue, Rehobot, Israel, on August 24th, 1974.
Grandparents are Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Cialic and Mr. and Mrs. Fischel Kaufman. No cards. Cables may be sent to Mr. and Mrs. Solomon Cialic at 21 Hanasi Harishon Street, Rehobot Israel.
— August 1, 1974
25 Years ago
Rubinstein to compete in 1999 Maccabi Games
Randall Rubenstein, 15, of Cincinnati, comes into the 1999 JCC Maccabi Games having collected 21 medals over the past two years, all of them as a swimmer.
But he can also play striker and midfielder in soccer, what he describes as his favorite sport. He recently competed as part of the 4th place U.S soccer team in the Pan America Maccabi Games in Mexico.
JCC climbing wall now open
The new rock climbing wall in the gym at the Jewish Community Center is up and ready for JCC members. Center members must take an orientation course to learn safe climbing techniques. The JCC Orientation Class will be offered on two Wednesdays August 4 and 18, both starting at 6 p.m. Orientation classes will also be scheduled twice a month during the fall.
— August 5, 1999
10 Years ago
Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati honors founders and celebrates unique history
Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati (JCGC) will honor its three founders and celebrate the organization’s unique history at a reception on Sunday, October 12, 2014. The event will be held from 5:00pm to 7:00pm at Adath Israel Congregation located at 3201 E. Galbraith Rd. in Cincinnati, Ohio. The organization’s three founders, Dr. Edward Herzig, Michael Oestreicher and Edward Marks, will be honored.
The first Jewish cemetery in Greater Cincinnati dates back to 1821. Since that time, 26 Jewish cemeteries have been formed in Hamilton and Butler Counties. JCGC was incorporated in 2004. Recognizing that many of the forming congregations had ceased to exist, similar problems faced all the cemeteries, and that the leadership base was aging, a small group of community leaders embarked on a multi-year study of these issues with the leaders of these cemeteries in the late 1990s. Ultimately 22 Jewish cemeteries determined that it was in their mutual best interest to create a new, merged organization, JCGC, which would assume responsibility for the perpetual care of the existing cemeteries and the creation of such new cemeteries as will be necessary to serve the Jewish community’s future needs.
— July 31, 2014
