Joseph Silverman (August 25, 1860 in

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 ...

– July 26, 1930 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

), was a leading

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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 ...

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 ...

and author. He was the first American born rabbi to serve in

. Born 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 ...

, he attended the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

and received a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from the

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 1887, from which he received his rabbinic ordination three years earlier. In 1887, he married and subsequently had five children with his wife Henrietta. He was Rabbi of Temple Emanu-El,

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, September 1884 to June 1885; rabbi of Congregation B'nai Israel, Galveston, Texas July, 1885 to February 20, 1888. While in Texas he was a circuit preacher to the Jewish communities in the vicinity of Dallas and Galveston, and aided in organizing many Sabbath schools and congregations. He was consulting editor of the ''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

'' (

Funk & Wagnalls Funk & Wagnalls was an American publisher known for its reference works, including ''A Standard Dictionary of the English Language'' (1st ed. 1893–5), and the ''Funk & Wagnalls Standard Encyclopedia'' (25 volumes, 1st ed. 1912).Funk & Wagnalls N ...

). He helped organize the

Religious Congress of the World's Fair in Chicago, 1893 There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World's Religions, the first being the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, which was an attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another c ...

, where his address on this occasion was titled, "The Popular Errors About the Jews." At the beginning of 1888, Silverman received an offer from Temple Emanu-El in

to serve as a rabbi of the leading

congregation in America. Silverman started at Temple Emanu-El on March 1, 1888, succeeding rabbi

Gustav Gottheil Gustav Gottheil (May 28, 1827, Pinne/Pniewy, Grand Duchy of Posen, Prussia – April 15, 1903, New York City) was a Prussian born American rabbi. Gottheil eventually became one of the most influential, well-known and controversial Reform Jew ...

. During the years of his career in New York, 1888-1922 he was also president (1900–1903) of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Eastern Council 1918- and was founder and president of the Emanu-El Brotherhood. Silverman published many articles and books, including ''A Catechism on Judaism'' (1886) and ''The Renaissance of Judaism'' (1918). An article from ''

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'' on April 21, 1912, quoted Silverman at a memorial service for victims of the

RMS Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

disaster as saying "Not God was responsible for this great disaster but the imperfection of human knowledge and judgment." Silverman died on July 26, 1930, having spent 34 years as the leader of Temple Emanu-El followed by eight years as Rabbi Emeritus. ''

'' described him in its obituary as "one of the most prominent clergymen of his faith in America"."Rev. Dr. Silverman, Noted Orator, Dies; Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanu-El, 69, Had served for 42 Years. He Aided Social Welfare in Work Here and in First Charge in Texas He Lent Weight to Progressive Movements. Scholar and Philanthropist. Fortieth Anniversary Recalled. Born in Cincinnati. Raised to Position of Head Rabbi. Known for His Courage."
''

'', July 27, 1930. Accessed January 11, 2021. "The Rev. Dr. Joseph Silverman, for thirty-four years rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, now at Fifth Avenue and Sixty-fifth Street, and for the last eight years rabbi-emeritus, died yesterday afternoon at 3:30 o'clock at his home, 55 East Eighty-sixth Street. He had been ill for a week. Dr. Silverman would have been 70 years old on Aug. 25."

References

*Nahshon, Edna. "The Pulpit and the Stage: Rabbi Joseph Silverman and the Actors' Church Alliance". ''American Jewish History'' - Volume 91, Number 1, March 2003

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Joseph 1860 births American Reform rabbis American religious writers Hebrew Union College alumni People from Cincinnati University of Cincinnati alumni 1930 deaths