A tale of two isaacs: nineteenth century pioneers in the development of the American Jewish Community

1996 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-158
Author(s):  
Chaim I. Waxman
Author(s):  
Sefton D. Temkin

This chapter considers Isaac Mayer Wise’s legacy to the Jews of America, as well as events in the aftermath of his death. In time, America’s powerful industrial society homogenized the American Jewish community, at the same time allowing for unforeseen divisions. The rejection of practices brought over from Europe, which characterized much of nineteenth-century Reform, abated as the immigrant generation disappeared, and nostalgia for the past helped to influence their descendants. As the twentieth century staggered to its mid-point, the scene was transformed in a more fundamental sense. In 1919, when the centenary of Wise’s birth came round, Europe had lost its hegemony in world affairs; in 1946, at the centenary of Wise’s arrival in New York, Europe lay in ruins, and world leadership had been thrust into America’s hands. The old heartland of Jewish life did not just lie in ruins; it had been utterly destroyed. It was for the Jews of America to take up the torch, and to this task they applied themselves with energy and generosity. Unencumbered by ideological restraints, the institutions which Wise had fostered, amid doubts as to whether American soil could sustain them, showed themselves resilient enough to rise to the challenge.


Hadassah ◽  
2011 ◽  
pp. 293-306
Author(s):  
Mira Katzburg-Yungman

This concluding chapter considers developments to 2005. It sets out to assess whether the conclusions reached with regard to Hadassah as an organization remain valid. This question is addressed by considering various developments within Hadassah in the 1970s and the subsequent quarter of a century, years when the organization was affected by significant changes within the wider American Jewish community — specifically, the enormous increase in intermarriage with non-Jews and the impact of the so-called ‘second wave’ of feminism. Notwithstanding these developments and changing circumstances, however, the objectives, goals, and organizational identity of Hadassah as a Zionist organization have remained constant over the years. The focus of its work and investment — the medical projects in Israel — has also remained unchanged.


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