In the Beginning: 1854
Each week The American Israelite will print an item from the first years.
- NOTICE. — The school connected with K. K. Benai Israel, will open on Monday, January 1, 1855. Parents and guardians are requested to attend in the morning at 9 o’clock. By order of the president.
M. Hellman, Sec’y.
Editor’s Note: K. K. Benai Israel is Rockdale Temple.. - The Rev. Isaac Leeser preached last Sabbath in the Broadway Synagogue. We are told that he fully satisfied the expectations of the congregation. It is a pity that it was not publicly known that the reverent gentleman was to preach on that day, no doubt he would have had a large auditory.
— December 22, 1854
150 Years ago
Local and Domestic
- TESTIMONIAL WELL EARNED. — Mrs. Harriet Solomon, President of the Ladies’ Hebrew Benevolent Society, K.K. Adath Israel, was presented by the ladies of the society and members of the congregation at her residence, with a handsome gold necklace and locket, for her benevolent assistance toward the poor and needy. Long may she live to wear it!
- Meridian, MISS. — The Hebrew ladies of this place, under suggestions of Rev. Mr. Geratman, have organized a Ladies’ Hebrew Benevolent Society, for whose benefit a ball will be given this week. We regret exceedingly that we can not be in attendance on that interesting occasion.
- CINCINNATI. — A congregation in this city requires its minister to be present — not to officiate, but to be present — twice every day, at prayer-meeting, at six o’clock in the morning, and five in the afternoon, such being the ancient custom. The minister, however, being momentarily sickly and feeble, could not, for some time, attend those meetings. Thereupon the Board of Trustees notifies him to attend said meetings, or to expect being suspended by the congregation. This is either very small spite, or barbarous piety, which would do well in some backwoods village. The minister ought to preach an extra sermon to those gentlemen on humanity, or the congregation ought to give them a lesson on duty and reasonable conduct.
— December 19, 1873
125 Years ago
The Hamilton (O.) paper reports: Joseph Cohen, who is being held in jail at Hamilton, O., for petty larceny, is troubling the jailer by refusing to eat anything but bread and onions, as the only kosher food to be obtained. It is feared that Cohen can not live long on this slider diet. The Jews of Hamilton would no doubt, if applied to, send him such food as he would eat.
This item was sent us as a novelty, but it is not new to us: we have often heard of similar cases, and of criminals much worse than this boy, whose Judaism shrunk altogether to a bill of fare. There are sprites in our next neighborhood that keep no Sabbath and no holidays, and are not very particular otherwise except in eating that only which the Rabbis declared kosher, fit to eat. Not Moses, but the Rabbis are the authority in all matters of eating and even drinking. This fact affords food for thought: How did the people come to this conscientious strictness just in this matter of eating, all those whom religious conceptions otherwise are very lax or even immoral?
Jottings
It may interest those who have been proving, to their own satisfaction, that the weekly papers are in a state of decadence and that their death is only the question of a little while, that the Israelite will close the year 1898 with a larger number of subscribers than ever before.
— December 22, 1898
100 Years ago
Jottings
- A recent report from Germany speaks of the disarmament of the Jews in Berlin. This action was probably taken by the authorities to prevent some of the hoodlums who were committing outrages upon Jews from getting hurt.
- The Congressional Library, the New York City Public Library, and the Library of the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York recently received a copy of the Castilian translation of the Hebrew Bible from the Duke of Alba.
- A letter received at this office this week from Berlin bore postage stamps to the amount of twelve billion marks.
- A letter received at this office last week was so badly written — in Yiddish— as to be illegible. Will the sender please write again?
- To Cleveland’s Jewry there was assigned a quota of $75,000 of the $1,000,000 fund being raised for the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York. The Clevelanders have accepted the assignment and many prominent Clevelanders are on the Campaign Committee, which is now at work.
- A court composed of Moscow’s literati has tried Sergei Yessinin, husband of Isadora Duncan, and three companion poets on charges growing out of alleged anti-Semitic utterances. The court censured the writers, but decided to permit them to continue work in Moscow. The trial was attended by scores of long-haired male poets and short-haired female poets.
— December 20, 1923
75 Years ago
Jewish Groups Are Urged To Forego New Year’s Eve Celebrations Not in Keeping with Sabbath Spirit
The following statement was issued this week on behalf of the Board of Jewish Ministers of Cincinnati:
“We wish to commend those organizations that have cancelled their New Year’s celebrations because New Year’s eve occurs this year on Sabbath eve.
“At the same time we wish to remind those Jewish organizations that have not done so that their own self-respect and the respect for the Jewish community should prompt them to follow suit.
“While we can only feel sorry for those individuals who will yield to temptation to desecrate the Sabbath with the abandon that accompanies these celebrations, of organizations which claim to be Jewish and which care for the honor of the Jewish people, we can definitely demand that they refrain from any wanton demonstrations for their disregard for the sanctity of that day.
“We should observe that same read for the Sabbath day the entire year and not arrange for any affair which is not in keeping with the spirit of the Sabbath.
“Board of Jewish Ministers of Cincinnati.
“Rabbi James G. Heller, Chairmain,
“Rabbi Bernard Greenfield, Sec’y.”
Cincinnati Social and Personal
- The Misses Rosalie and Mathilda Kramer this winter are touring the western coast from San Diego to Vancouver and this summer will tour the National Parks to the Canadian Rockies before returning to their home in the East around Aug. 1st.
- Mrs. Abe Meyers is leaving for Chicago to spend the holiday season with her son and daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Alfred H. Meyers, and grandson, Allen.
— December 23, 1948
50 years ago
Bas Mitzvah
- We cordially invite you to celebrate the Bas Mitzvah of our daughter and granddaughter, Ilene Devra, on Saturday, Dec. 22, at Rockdale Temple, 10:45 a.m., and to join us in the Kiddish following the service.
Ilene is the great granddaughter of the late Iona Collin and the late Harry Schwartz.
–Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Schwartz, Mrs. Rose Schwartz and Mr. Samuel Collin. - We are happy to announce the forthcoming Bas Mitzvah of our daughter, Lisa, on Saturday, Dec. 22, at 10:445 a.m., at Plum Street Temple.
Lisa is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Froug of Dayton and Mrs. Louis Sommer of Cincinnati and the late Dr. Louis Sommer.
We would be pleased to have our friends worship with us and join us for the Kiddish following the ceremony.
–Roz and Louis Sommer
Bar Mitzvah
- Mr. and Mrs. John Rosenthal cordially invite their friends and relatives to worship with them when their son, Jeffrey Michael, is called to the Torah on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah Jan. 5, 1974, at Temple Sholom, 3100 Longmeadow Lane.
There will be a Kiddish following the service to celebrate the simcha.
Jeff is the son of Mr. Norman Lew and the grandson of Judge and Mrs. Benjamin S. Schwartz, Mr. and Mrs. Wilbert Rosenthal, Mr. and Mrs. Morris Sher and the late Mrs. Esther Schwartz and Mark Lew. - Dr. and Mrs. Laurence Essig take great pleasure in announcing the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, Kenneth Allen, Saturday, Dec. 29, at 10:45 a.m., at Temple Sholom, 3100 Longmeadow Lane.
Friends and relatives are cordially invited to worship with the family and attend the Kiddish following services.
Kenneth is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Fishman and the late Mr. and Mrs. Mendel Essig.
— December 20, 1973
25 Years ago
HUC associates to honor Weiland
Richard A. Weiland will be honored by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion Associates, according to Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, HUC-JIR president.
A longtime supporter of the College-Institute, Weiland will be honored at next year’s annual Cincinnati Associates Tribute Dinner Sunday, Nov. 7, at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati.
“Dick has been the foundation of the Tribute Dinner since the beginning. He has had a key leadership role in each of the past 16 events,” stated James G. Heldman, chairman of the Cincinnati Associates. “Dick is responsible or helping to raise millions of dollars for the College-Institute. With his advocacy, the annual dinners have earned the reputation of raising more money than any other local dinner.”
Yavneh students celebrate receiving the Torah at ceremony
Yavneh Day school second graders celebrated a major event in their life: they received a copy of the Torah. The ceremony — Kabbalat HaTorah, “receiving the Torah” — took place Nov. 22. The event included singing, dancing and a dramatic synopsis of the book of Genesis, the first of the Five Books of Moses.
— December 24, 1998
10 Years ago
JNF to take former ‘Tree of Life’ recipient Father Michael Graham to Israel
By Beth Kotzin
Assistant Editor
In 2009, Father Michael Graham was honored by Jewish National Fund as their Tree of Life Award recipient. And now, in 2014, JNF is taking him to Israel.
They will be leaving for Israel on January 4, 2014, and returning January 10th. It will be an intense 4 day/4 night mission, focusing on all the Christian sites in Israel; in addition, they will be taking a day trip with JNF to the Northern Negev, primarily to visit Aleh Negev. This state-of- the-art residential facility is for the most severely disabled in Israel, and Father Graham’s contribution plus the money raised at his Tree of Life dinner all went to build a new hydrotherapy pool there. Nina Paul, one of the organizers of the trip, says “We always said that we would love to take him to Israel and show him where his money actually went.”
Gary Heiman receives the Carl H. Lindner Award for Entrepreneurial and Civic Spirit
Standard Textile President and CEO Gary Heiman was presented with the Carl H. Lindner Award for Entrepreneurial and Civic Spirit at the 2013 Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 luncheon on November 6, 2013.
The annual Deloitte Cincinnati USA 100 list recognizes the outstanding achievements of Greater Cincinnati’s largest privately-held businesses.
— December 19, 2013
