THE HEBREW READER, FOR SCHOOLS: FROM THE PRAYER BOOK OF REV. R. B. SZOLD. REVISED BY REV. DRS. JASTROW AND HOCHHEIMER
Philadelphia: No Publisher, 1884. Item #43592
1st edition. Period printed boards, 12mo, 59 pages. 19 cm.
Singerman 3249. Wachs 313. Earlier edition of Goldman 306 & Deinard 596.
Juvenile prayer book with vocalized Hebrew liturgic texts with English rubrics based on Szold’s ‘Avodat Yisra’el, first published in 1864 (Singerman 1843), and then later with English translation in 1873 (Singerman 2399) by these same three editors. Pages are also numbered as in the Szold prayer book.
“Rabbi Benjamin Szold’s prayerbook in German and Hebrew first published in 1864 was relatively conservative in its approach to reforming the liturgy - certainly by comparison with the work of Einhorn, Wise, or Merzbacher. Later Szold issued a second edition, this time in English and Hebrew, with his own translation, further revised by Marcus Jastrow, the rabbi at Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia, who also made some retranslations and H. Hochheimer, the rabbi at Oheb Israel in Baltimore.
Known henceforth as ‘Jastrow-Szold’ or ‘Szold-Jastrow,’ it was embraced by reform-bound congregations of a cautious bent that were less ready than others for more thoroughgoing revisions” (N.W. Levi, Jewish Voices in the New World: The Song of Prayer in Colonial and 19th-Century America,
www.milkenarchive.org).
Rev. Dr. Henry Hochheimer (1818-1912) was the rabbi of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation 1849-1859, and Oheb Israel Synagogue, 1859-1892 (emeritus, 1893-98).
The leading Reform rabbi in Baltimore of the period, Benjamin Szold was a Hungarian-born rabbi who became rabbi to Congregation Oheb Shalom in Baltimore.
"Oheb Shalom was then on the verge of becoming Reform, but Szold led it to a Judaism which allowed for innovations in ritual practice, but not in basic tenets. He recognized and employed the educational potential of the regular Sabbath sermon. He introduced his own prayer book, Avodat Yisrael (1867), to replace the previously used Minhag Amerikah (1857) by I. M. Wise, and the traditional siddur. The Avodat Yidrael was widely adopted by congregations throughout the country. Under Szold's leadership Oheb Shalom became one of the foremost American congregations" (Rosen in EJ).
His daughter Henrietta was the founder of Hadassah and Youth Aliyah. See EJ, Vol. XV, cols. 664-5.
Marcus Jastrow was a Polish-born rabbi and author who immigrated to the United States and became rabbi to Rodeph Shalom, a congregation in Philadelphia largely composed of German immigrants. He introduced some reforms, such as the use of an organ and of this prayer book; however, he opposed radical reform and emerged as one of the leaders of the historical school, which developed into Conservative Judaism. (EJ)
OCLC: 82874254. OCLC and Singerman together locate only 3 copies worldwide (JTSA, HUC, Penn), and only 4 copies of the 2nd edition from 1900 (HUC, JTSA, Harvard, TempleU).
Ex-Jewish library (Dropsie College), with gift notation from “Charity Solis-Cohen" and perforations to title page. Previous owner’s name, in child’s hand: “Elizabeth Ginsberg” and a comical name and address also in child’s writing (“Mr. Ratsbummer, 1217 Fairflound Ave, Philumdelfia, Patasdonia"). Good Condition thus. Scarce. (BER-1-13).
Price: $500.00