Alfred Geiger Moses (1878-1956) was an American rabbi associated with
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...
and the founder of
Jewish Science
Jewish Science is a Judaic spiritual movement comparable with the New Thought Movement. Many of its members also attend services at conventional synagogues.
It is an interpretation of Jewish philosophy that was originally conceived by Rabbi ...
,
[Umansky, E. M. (2005). ''From Christian Science to Jewish Science: Spiritual Healing and American Jews''. Oxford University Press on Demand. (pp. 35-62).] a Jewish
spiritual movement comparable with the
New Thought Movement
The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...
and viewed as supplementing services at conventional
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
s.
Overview
Alfred Geiger Moses was born on September 23, 1878 to Rabbi Adolph and Emma Isaacs Moses. Adolph Moses (1840-1902) served as a rabbi for several congregations in the American South. He authored a work titled ''The Religion of Moses'' (1894).
[ Alfred Geiger Moses received his rabbinical ordination from ]Hebrew Union College
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
in Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
in 1901. He served as the rabbi at the Reform Congregation Sha'arai Shomayim, in Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 United States census, 2010 cens ...
from 1901 to 1940. The congregation reportedly had six hundred members during Moses' tenure.[ Moses' father, Adolph Moses had served the same congregation from 1871-1881.][
In terms of the founding of ]Jewish Science
Jewish Science is a Judaic spiritual movement comparable with the New Thought Movement. Many of its members also attend services at conventional synagogues.
It is an interpretation of Jewish philosophy that was originally conceived by Rabbi ...
, while Moses was concerned with the issue for several years during his early rabbinical career, his first major public act was his 1916 publication of ''Jewish Science: Divine Healing in Judaism'' which sought to raise awareness of spirituality in Jewish prayer. Moses sought to persuade American Jews seeking spirituality in the Christian Science
Christian Science is a set of beliefs and practices associated with members of the Church of Christ, Scientist. Adherents are commonly known as Christian Scientists or students of Christian Science, and the church is sometimes informally know ...
and New Thought
The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a spiritual movement that coalesced in the United States in the early 19th century. New Thought was seen by its adherents as succeeding "ancient thought", accumulated wisdom and philosophy from ...
movements that spirituality could be found within Judaism.[ Moses' 1916 work was republished in 1920 in an expanded edition and titled ''Jewish Science: Psychology of Health, Joy and Success or the Applied Psychology of Judaism''.
]
Personal life
Alfred Geiger Moses married Birdie Feld in 1915.["Moses-Feld Cards Issued". ''The Birmingham News''. 18 May 1915. Page 8.]
Publications
* ''A History of the Jews of Mobile'' (1904). Baltimore: Lord Baltimore Press.
* ''A Congregation in the Name of God'' (1905). Mobile, Alabama: Brisk Press.
* ''Our Present Condition as a Jewish Community'' (1905). Mobile, Alabama.
* ''Jewish Science: Divine Healing in Judaism'' (1916). Mobile, Alabama: Gill Printing.
* ''A Peace Anthology: A Bible Message on Peace'' (1916). Mobile, Alabama: Gill Printing.
See also
* Morris Lichtenstein
Morris Lichtenstein (1889–1938) was the founder of the Jewish Science, Society of Jewish Science. Born in Lithuania, he later moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where he was ordained by the Reform Hebrew Union College in 1916, becoming the first Eastern E ...
, founder and leader of the Society of Jewish Science (1922-1938)
* Tehilla Lichtenstein
Tehilla Lichtenstein (1893 – 1973) was a cofounder and leader of Jewish Science, as well as an author. She was born in Jerusalem and immigrated to America when she was eleven years old. Her parents were Hava (Cohen) and Rabbi Chaim Hirschensohn. ...
, leader of the Society of Jewish Science (1938-1973)
References
{{US-rabbi-stub
1878 births
1956 deaths
Mobile, Alabama
American Reform rabbis