Dropsie, Moses

ON DEFORM IN JUDAISM AND ON THE STUDY OF HEBREW

Philadelphia: Billstein & Son. 1895. Item #40900

1st edition. Original paper wrappers. 4to. 7 pages, 28 cm. Dropsie's harsh critique of the low state of Jewish scholarship in the US, especially as exhibited within the Reform movement. Moses Dropsie (1821-1905) was a prominent American lawyer who was active in public affairs as a member of the Philadelphia Whig party. He was heavily involved in Jewish charitable and educational work. Dropsie was also the president of the Maimonides College, the Philadelphia branch of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, and Graz College (EJ, 1906) . The estate left by his will created Dropsie College, with the goal of correcting the low level of Jewish knowledge he detailed in this booklet. This work is cited by Jonathan Sarna in his essay on Philadelphia entitled, "The Making of an American Jewish Culture" as documentation that "on at least one occation, Cyrus Adler and Solomon Schechter actively conspired to keep the Reform Movement down, rigging the board of the Schiff Library of Jewish Classics to ensure that the 'Reform element' would not have a 'preponderating vote'" (in Friedman, 1993, p. 151) . Singerman 4828. SUBJECTS: Hebrew language. Jews -- Civilization. OCLC lists 9 copies worldwide (OCLC: 11632201) . Wrappers are slightly edgeworn. First few pages are slightly torn in the upper margin. (AMR-56-9-BF).

Price: $750.00