RUACH HAYIM (THE SPIRIT OF LIFE) OR JEWISH DAILY LIFE ETHICALLY PRESENTED
New York: Bloch Publishing Co, 1917. Item #41936
First edition. Original publisher’s blue cloth, 12mo. 191, [1] pages. "Manual of religious duty giving ethical, spiritual reasons that appeal to the emotions, as well as to modern intelligence naturally so influenced by modern thought" (from author's preface). Henry Pereira Mendes (1852-1937) was an American rabbi who lived in New York and was born in Birmingham, England. He was born into a long line of rabbis. Raphael Meldola, the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of London, and David Aaron de Sola are among his maternal ancestors. Abraham Pereira Mendes, his father, was a rabbi in Birmingham, England, Jamaica, and Newport, Rhode Island. He received his education at Northwick College (rabbinics), University College (London), and New York University (M.D.) (1884). The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (1904). In 1874, he was called to the Sephardic community of Manchester (England), and in 1877, he became rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel of New York. He was one of the founding members of the New York Board of Ministers in 1881, and served as its secretary until 1901, when he was elected president. In 1886, he joined Sabato Morais in helping to found the Jewish Theological Seminary, where he later became secretary of the advisory board and history professor. When Dr. Morais died, he became acting president of the faculty until Solomon Schechter was appointed in 1902.He was chosen president of the Union of Orthodox Congregations in the United States and Canada (1897) after promoting its foundation. Mendes was a founding member of the Young Women's Hebrew Association of New York in 1902. From 1917 to 1920, Mendes was a professor of homiletics at Yeshiva Isaac Elchanan. He was vice-president of the American Federation of Zionists and a member of the Actions Committee of Vienna in 1898-99. Mendes was one of the first American Zionists, and Theodore Herzl requested his help in popularizinb the Zionist cause in the United States. OCLC 466219958. Previous owner’s gift inscription on title page, light wear to boards, paper toned as expected, Good+ Condition, a solid copy. (AMR-64-33).
Price: $100.00