In the Beginning: 1854
Each week The American Israelite will print an item from the first years.
Importance of the Israelite.
Many of the fair sex assured us that they can not attend to cooking, washing, ironing, knitting, sewing, stitching, and other important ings before they have read the Israelite. We understand how to appreciate the importance of this favor, and it will be one of our most pleasant endeavors to preserve the attachment of our sisters to the Israelite.
— August 25, 1854
150 Years ago
Items
– According to the late Prof. Agassiz, the Adirondack group of mountains is the oldest in the world — the land which first made its appearance able the waters of the great primeval ocean.
– During a recent freshet in Connecticut an editor telegraphed another at the scene of action, “Send me full particulars of the flood.” The answer came, “You will find them in Genesis.”
– Among some books shortly to be sold in London is a rolled manuscript of the Hebrew Pentateuch, acquired a few years ago from a synagogue in Palestine. It was written in the twelfth century on 60 skins of leather, and measures 120 feet in length by two feet two inches in breadth.
– The Rev. T. A. Goodwin, a Methodist minister of Indianapolis, is charged with heresy in maintaining that there is no resurrection of the material body of a dead man, and that the second coming of Christ and the last judgement are not physical events to take place in the material world, but spiritual events. Mr. Goodwin is to be tried by the Fourth District Conference. The question of a material resurrection has long been quietly agitating the Methodist Church, the great majority of Methodists being in favor of a strictly physical rising of the dead.
— August 28, 1874
125 Years ago
Jottings
– The publishers of the Israelite received an application for the rates of subscription, advertising, commissions, etc. from Calcutta, India this week.
– Incendiaries attempted to destroy the Jewish synagog in Kingston, N.Y., Saturday morning, but were unsuccessful.
– Tradition puts the date of the first settlement of Jews in China at 249 B.C. Colonies of them are known to have existed in various cities as far back as 58 to 75 A.D.
– At Atlantic City, the other day, a lady stopping in one of the hotels that will not admit Jews had $1,500 worth of diamonds stolen in the bath rooms, a part of the hotel accessible to its guests only. There is a joke in this that can be found by a little study.
– The dismissal in disgrace from West Point Military Academy of Cadet Philip Smith of Nebraska, for hazing, is an indication that the Superintendent, Colonel Mills, is determined to stamp out this bad practice. Smith was dismissed within an hour after his offense was committed. This is the first time within the history of the academy that a cadet has been dismissed without a trial.
— August 31, 1899
100 Years ago
Ford is Depicted as Klan Champion
Montreal. — “If the truth were known about the Ku Klux Klan it would be looked up to as a body of patriots,” Henry Ford is quoted as assessing in an article printed in The Montreal Star of August 26.
“It (the klan) is the victim of a mass of lying propaganda,” he is reported to have said, “and is therefore looked upon with disfavor in many quarters. But if the truth were known about it it would be looked up to as a body of patriots concerned with nothing but the future of the country in which it was born and the preservation of the supremacy of the true American in his own land.”
The interview was a long-range affair, The Star says, with the automobile manufacturer standing on the deck of his yacht, held up on its progress to Dearborn while a lock of the Lachine Canal was being filled. The manufacture shouted and gestured his answers to the newspaper men’s questions, thundered from the dock ten feet below him.
Jottings
– The Sinai desert, the crossing of which it took the Jew forty years in their exodus from Egypt to Palestine was for the first time in history crossed today in no greater length of time than four hours by automobile. The crossing was accomplished by Colonel Sirbab and Mr. Dale in an American automobile.
– Half way down the road between Tel Aviv and Petach Tikvah, the foundations for a new agricultural colony were laid at the ancient Jewish village of Benai Brak, by a group of Jews from Poland who have just come to settle in the National Home. The founders and settlers of Benai Brak, a place noted in the annals of Jewish history, are mostly merchants who have come to Palestine to exchange their mercantile occupation for farming.
— August 28, 1924
75 Years ago
Bar Mitzvah
– Mrs. Max P. Fink announces the bar mitzvah of her son, Frederick Alan, on Saturday morning, Sept. 3, at the Louis Feinberg Synagog. Invitations have already been issued by Mrs. Fink for a reception to be held for the immediate family only, in his honor at the home.
– The bar mitzvah of John Peter Greilsamer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Greilsamer, 3495 Burnet Avenue, will be held Saturday, Sept. 3, at 8:30 a.m., at Forest Avenue Synagog, 521 Forest Avenue. A reception will be held in his honor at the residence Sunday, Sept. 4, from 3 to 5 p.m. No cards.
– Mr. and Mrs. Abe Wacksman, 428 Dartmouth Drive, announce the bar mitzvah of their son, Frederick Spencer, on Saturday morning, Sept. 10, at the Louis Feinberg Synagog. A reception for relatives and friends will be held at the Synagog Center on Sunday, September 11, from 7 p.m. to 12. No cards.
Evening School to Open
Free public evening schools in Cincinnati will open for their 109th year of services at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 6, and Sept. 12, offering 185 courses in 13 centers.
All courses are tuition free to residents of the Cincinnati school district. Registration and opening of high school credit classes at Hughes, Western Hills and Woodward High Schools, including business courses, will be held at 7 p.m., Sept 6 in the three schools. Hobby classes, including dressmaking, cooking, arts and crafts, plastics, woodworking, practical electricity and others will open Monday, Sept. 12 in the three high schools.
— September 1, 1949
50 years ago
Bar Mitzvah
– Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Cohen announce the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, Alfred James, at Temple Sholom Saturday, Aug. 31, at 10:45 a.m.
Alfred is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Cohen, of Cincinnati, and the late Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell Barnet of New York.
Relatives and friends are cordially invited to worship with the family and take part in the Kiddish.
– Mr. and Mrs. Robert I. Kessler, of 11513 Kenn Road, announce the bar Mitzvah of their son, Jeffrey Allen, on Saturday, Aug. 31st, at 9 a.m., at Northern Hills Synagogue, 715 Fleming Road.
Jeffrey is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Lieberman, of Cincinnati and Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. Kessler, of Miami Beach, Fla.
Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend services and the Kiddish afterward.
– Marshall Maury Faust will be called to the Torah as a Bar Mitzvah on Sept. 7 at Golf Manor Synagogue. Kiddish will be served in his honor.
He is the son of Mrs. Marvin Faust and the late Mr. Faust.
He is the grandson of Mr. Nathan Faust.
— August 29, 1974
25 Years ago
B’nai Tzedek to sell honey for High Holidays
Congregation B’nai Tzedek’s Sisterhood will be selling fresh, natural and organic wild flower honey for Rosh Hashanah, made by Paul Nathan, a B’nai Tzedek member and beekeeper.
Nathan, a physiologist who worked on research related to burn wound infections at the Shriners Hospital, has been raising bees and harvesting honey for the past ten years. Nathan’s son, David, became interested in raising bees when he was a teenager and the Nathans were supportive of their son’s hobby. However, when David left a few years later for college, he left the bees behind and father Paul was left to take over the thriving bee community in their North Avondale backyard.
“We started with a purebred Carolinian queen bee,” Nathan said. “These are peaceful, high quality bees. We now have 5 hives with thousands of bees.”
Nathan has been able to collect an abundant harvest to meet the demands of the orders he receives from the B’nai Tzedek Sisterhood.
— September 2, 1999
10 Years ago
Celebrate the Jewish New Year with the JCC Fresh farmer’s market
Thee time is “ripe” for a Rosh Hashanah filled with just-picked produce and other foods fresh from the farm, when the Mayerson JCC features JCC Fresh, a super-sized farmer’s market in its front parking lot on Sunday, September 14 from 9:30 am to 1 pm. Apples and honey will take center stage at this one-time event that will add a fun and healthy twist to the age-old traditions that go hand in hand with this holiday.
“JCC Fresh is a great way to bring awareness to the holiday of Rosh Hashanah, which marks a time of personal reflection and renewal,” says Rabbi Shena Jaffee, Director of Jewish Family Life at the Mayerson JCC. “The Jewish New Year provides the perfect opportunity to promote a commitment to better health, well-being and environmental responsibility.”
Wise Temple welcomes you to S’lichot services
Picture beautiful, historic Plum Street Temple gas-lit as it was in days of old. Imagine a sense of calm that comes from serene music, quiet prayer, and personal reflection. This spiritual deep breath is found at Wise Temple’s S’lichot service, often referred to as the most beautiful service of the year. Wise Temple welcomes everyone to this poetic and reflective service which prepares one’s heart, mind and spirit for the Days of Awe and Repentance.
— August 28, 2014
