In the Beginning: 1854
Each week The American Israelite will print an item from the first years.
Proselytism and Penitence
By the exertions of the Rev. Dr. Lilienthal two young Jews have been saved from the hands of the missionaries. Poverty and want of religious education had brought them to the brink of apostasy; we are happy to report their true and sincere repentance.
— September 22, 1854
150 Years ago
Local and Domestic
– The gentle man who took my hat in a mistake for his own at the meeting of K.K. B.Y., Thursday evening, the 17th inst., will please exchange the same at 160 Richmond Street.
Editor’s Note: The abbreviation inst. is short for “instante mense” which means “this month” in Latin. Dr. Wise is remarking on a hat that went missing a week previous to this publication.
– Samuel J. Loeb and Isaac J. Levinson are authorized agents of The American Israelite and Deborah. We request our friends on whom they may call to assist them kindly.
– The two rabbis of Cincinnati congregations, Rev. Drs. Goladammer and Eppstein, wish to announce that they are willing and desirous each to give gratuitous instruction to young men to prepare them for the Hebrew Union College. Students please address personally or by letter, care of this office.
— September 25, 1874
125 Years ago
Jottings
– The congregation at Madison, Wis., after remaining in a comatose condition for several years, is to be reorganized.
– Emanuel Kaufman, an Atlanta, Ga., young man, who was stopping with his father, Daniel Kaufman, at the Marlborough Hotel, New York City, disappeared mysteriously three weeks ago and the efforts of the police to find him have proved futile.
– Congregation Bnai Sholom of Huntsville, Ala., has re-elected Rabbi Nathan Michnik for another term of two years with a considerable increase of salary. The new term begins on March 1st, next. The new temple, which is the pride of Huntsville, will be dedicated free of debt, the latter part of next month. Elaborate preparations are already made for that joyful occasion.
– Isaac and Bernard Bernheim, constituting the firm of Bernheim Bros., one of the largest distilling firms in this country, have made public the fact that they are having made by Chevalier Moses Ezekiel at Rome a heroic statute of Thomas Jefferson, which they will present to the City of Louisville. The figure alone is to cost $75,000 and it will be put upon a granite base which will cost $10,000 more. The statue is to be placed in Central Park and to be ready to be unveiled by July 4, 1900.
Editor’s Note: The statue mentioned here is still standing outside the Jefferson County Courthouse in Louisville, Kentucky.
— September 28, 1899
100 Years ago
Jottings
– The road to Damascus, traveled for centuries by slow-moving caravans, has been opened as a modern motor road and a regular service inaugurated from Beirut via Damascus and Bagdad to Teheran.
– According to information received from Moscow, the land allotment to Jews in Ukraine will be 10 per cent of the colonization reserve in that province. There are now 125,000 Jewish colonists in Ukraine.
– A new $175,000 Temple Center was formally dedicated at Seattle, Wash. The Center is a model of modern Temple Architecture and contains nineteen classrooms and a large auditorium. A spacious library is another feature of the Temple Center.
– The new Temple Isaiah of Chicago was dedicated with a three days’ service beginning September 12th. The dedication was rendered notable by the presence of no less than fifteen rabbis, local and from other cities, who took part in the various services, which surely is a record.
– A crowd of curious far outnumbered the buyers at the auction of the household effects of the family of Jacob Franks, Chicago, whose son, Robert, was kidnapped and murdered by Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr., now serving life prison sentences. A few belongings of the slain boy, including a radio set, a blackboard still showing childish drawings, some games and a desk, were included in the articles for sale. Mr. Franks withdrew from sale a glass window showing Robert with his sister Josephine and brother, Jack. The family sold the home and has moved to a hotel.
— September 25, 1924
75 Years ago
HUC Announces Program for Lay Students
Courses in Jewish history and Judaism will be offered again in the Lay Student Program presented by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati in cooperation with the College of Liberal Arts of the University of Cincinnati, Rabbi Robert L. Katz, Director of Admissions and Field Activities of the College-Institute, has announced.
Teaching the course in Jewish History will be Dr. Ellis Rivkin, newly appointed Assistant Professor in Jewish History at the College-Institute in Cincinnati. Dr. Rivkin was formerly instructor in Jewish History at Gratz College in Philadelphia, and special lecturer at Dropsie College, Johns Hopkins University and the New School for Social Research. His course will be a comprehensive survey of Jewish history, stressing the impact of economic and social thought in Jewish life.
Rabbi Ezra Spicehandler, a graduate of the Hebrew Union College, class of ’46, holder of a graduate fellowship at HUC, will instruct the course in Judaism. Rabbi Spicehandler, who held a fellowship earlier at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, will present material from the point of view of the mature student seeking an objective understanding of the Jewish heritage and its redefinition in terms of modern thought.
Lay students are permitted to make full use of the College Library and Museum, gymnasium and swimming pool and other facilities of the College-Institute on Clifton Avenue, and to attend special lectures and programs offered on campus, Rabbi Katz said.
— September 29, 1949
50 years ago
Bar Mitzvah
– Please be with us on the happy occasion of our son Bradley’s Bar Mitzvah at the Isaac M. Wise Temple, Eighth and Plum Streets, Saturday morning, Oct. 5, at 10:45 a.m.
Bradley is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Sattler and Mr. Alvin I. Kuhr at the late Mrs. Fanny Kuhr. Join us for Kiddish immediately following services.
—Nancy and Dick Kuhr
– Mr. and Mrs. Stanford Boster announce the forthcoming Bar Mitzvah of their son, Michael Stuart, at Rockdale Temple, Saturday, October 5. At 10:45 a.m.
Friends and relatives are cordially invited to attend the service and buffet luncheon.
Michael is the grandson of Mrs. Samuel Boster and the late Mr. Boster and the Late Mr. and Mrs. Ben Kahn.
– Dr. and Mrs. Philip M. Weintraub of 7065 Miami Hills Drive are very proud and happy to announce the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Michael Alan, on Saturday, Sept. 28th, at Temple Sholom, Ridge Road and Longmeadow Lane.
Michael is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Weintraub of Cleveland, Mr. Ben Agins of Cleveland, and the late Mrs. Agins.
Local Students Resume Studies at Hebrew Theological College
Three Cincinnati students have returned to Chicago to resume their studies for the 1974-1975 school year at Yeshiva High School of Chicago, preparatory division of Hebrew Theological society.
The students are: Avi, son of Rabbi and Mrs. Fishel J. Goldfeder, Jack, son of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Czerkiewicz, and Mark, son of Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Deutch.
— September 26, 1974
25 Years ago
Cincinnati to host JCC Maccabi Games in 2000
Fifty-four teen athletes from Cincinnati witnessed the excitement first-hand in August when organizers of the 1999 JCC Maccabi Games in Rochester, New York handed the Olympic torch to Andrea Bochner, Cincinnati Games director, making it official — Cincinnati will be one of five sites for the JCC Maccabi Games.
The games will take place Aug. 13-18, 2000 and are sponsored by the Jewish Community Center Association. They are designed to bring together Jewish teens, between the ages of 13-16, for athletic competition, and cultural and social interaction.
“Even though most of the participants won’t know each other when they arrive, there’s sure to be an instant bond between them just knowing everyone is Jewish,” Bochner said. “Beyond the thrill of the athletic competition, they will have the fun of meeting people from all over the world, finding e-mail partners and making friends for life.”
— September 30, 1999
10 Years ago
Congregation Shaa’rei Torah moves into new building
Congregaton Shaa’rei Torah has completed construction on their new building, and made their big move this past weekend. They’ve already davened their first Shachrit there, and are looking forward to davening Rosh Hashanah together in their new facility.
On Friday, September 19, the congregation and other members of the community danced with the Torahs from the home of the Zimmermans up to the new building, with Mincha and Shabbat evening services following the processional.
Shaa’rei Torah is excited to embark on this new and very exciting chapter in the life of their congregation.
Mitzvah Mornings at Wise Temple
Several Sunday mornings throughout the year Wise Temple will be hosting Mitzvah Mornings, a time when members from our community will come together and do something good for others. On our first-ever Mitzvah Morning on Sunday, September 21, Wise members were invited to drop by Wise Center and participate in several projects, dedicating as little as twenty minutes or as much time as the whole morning to help those less fortunate. Sunday mornings at Wise Center are already generally very lively on account of our active religious school and Mitzvah Mornings added a new kind of energy, bringing children and seniors together under one roof to work together towards a common goal.
— September 25, 2014
