Abram Wolf Edelman (a.k.a. Abraham Edelman) (1832-1907) was a Polish-born American

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

. He was the first rabbi in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

,Samuel D. Gruber
Restoring a Landmark Synagogue: If You Rebuild It, Will They Come?
''

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...

'', June 10, 2005 serving as the first rabbi of Congregation B'nai B'rith, from 1862 to 1885. It is now known as the

Wilshire Boulevard Temple Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is the oldest Jewish congregation in Los Angeles, California. Wilshire Boulevard Temple's main building, with a sanctuary topped by a large Byzantine revival dome an ...

Early life

Abram Wolf Edelman was born on August 17, 1832, in

Kutno Kutno is a city located in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . Situated in the Łódź Voivodeship since 1999, previously it was part of Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998) and it is now the capital of Kutno County. Dur ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. He had a classic Jewish education.Norton B. Stern and Wiliam M. Kramer, 'Rabbi Abraham Wolf Edelman: Jewish padre to the Pueblo (serving 1862-1885)', ''Western States Jewish History'', v. 38, no. 3/4, p. 235-249 (spring/summer 2006)Rabbi Abraham Wolf Edelman, The First Rabbi of Los Angeles
Jewish Museum of the American West He married and immigrated to the United States with his wife in 1851, the year he turned nineteen. By 1858, they moved to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, where he studied Jewish theology and taught Hebrew. He also learned Spanish well enough to speak it.

Career

After completing his education, Edelman was invited to move to Los Angeles to serve as the rabbi of its first Jewish , founded by Joseph Newmark. As a result, he became the first rabbi in Los Angeles, serving at Congregation B'nai B'rith from 1862 to 1885.'Rabbi Abraham Edelman Goes To His Last Rest', ''

Los Angeles Herald-Examiner The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst syndicate. It was formed when the afternoon ' ...

'', Volume 34, Number 299, 27 July 190
California Digital Newspaper Collection
/ref> He was also the cantor. According to

Harris Newmark Harris Newmark (July 5, 1834 – 1916) was a Jewish American businessman, philanthropist, and historian who was born in the West Prussian city of Löbau (now Lubawa, Poland). Newmark immigrated to the United States in 1853. He sailed from Europe ...

, another pioneer of the Newmark family, Edelman later resigned because he was an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...

rabbi and the congregation was slowly becoming

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

. But his services were not ''stricto sensu'' Orthodox. They included "mixed seating, a mixed choir, Conformation, English prayers and English sermons." Edelman acquired a building on the corner of 6th and Main streets in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...

, across the street from the

Pacific Electric Building The historic Pacific Electric Building (also known as the Huntington Building, after the railway’s founder, Henry Huntington, or simply “6th & Main”), opened in 1905 in the core of Los Angeles as the main train station for the Pacific Elec ...

, and collected rents from it. He became a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, joining Masonic Lodge #42 in Los Angeles. He was also a member of the fraternal Order of United Workmen and the Independent Order of Foresters.

Personal life

He married Hannah Pessah Cohn in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in 1851, the year they immigrated to the United States. They had four sons, Benjamin, Abram M., Henry W. and David W., and two daughters, Rachel and Matilda. Their son, Abram M. Edelman, became a prolific architect in Los Angeles. Several of his buildings have been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. Another son, David W. Edelman, became a doctor and later served as chief of staff at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, later known as the

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a nonprofit, tertiary, 886-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over 2 ...

.Dr. David W. Edelman Dies Suddenly in Los Angeles
''

Jewish Telegraphic Agency The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) is an international news agency and wire service, founded in 1917, serving Jewish community newspapers and media around the world as well as non-Jewish press, with about 70 syndication clients listed on its web ...

'', August 8, 1933

Death

Edelman died on July 26, 1907, in Los Angeles. He was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edelman, Abram Wolf 1832 births 1907 deaths People from Kutno Rabbis from Los Angeles Polish emigrants to the United States Polish Orthodox rabbis American Freemasons American people of Polish-Jewish descent 19th-century American rabbis