Joseph Stolz (November 3, 1861 – February 7, 1941) was an American rabbi who ministered in Chicago for most of his life.

Life

Stolz was born on November 3, 1861, in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

, the son of David Stolz and Regina Strauss. Stolz attended Syracuse public schools and prepared for Hebrew Union College under Rabbi Herman Birkenthal, the rabbi of

Temple Society of Concord The Temple Society of Concord, commonly referred to as Temple Concord, is a Reform Jewish congregation located at 910 Madison Street, Syracuse, in the U.S. state of New York. Established in 1839, it is the ninth-oldest still-active Jewish congre ...

. He entered

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, Ohio, in 1879. While there, he became influenced by Professor Solomon Eppinger and Dr.

Moses Mielziner Moses Mielziner (August 12, 1828 in Schubin, Grand Duchy of Posen, Prussia - February 18, 1903 in Cincinnati) was an American Reform rabbi and author. Life Mielziner received his first instruction in Talmudic literature from his father, Benjamin, w ...

and would come to share their conservative thoughts. In 1882, he officiated in Birmingham, Alabama, during the

High Holidays The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe") #strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jew ...

. He graduated from Hebrew Union College in 1884. He also graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a

B.L. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

that year. He was part of the first graduating class of Hebrew Union College. He received a D.D. from Hebrew Union College in 1890, and in 1931 he received an honorary D.H.L. degree from there. Following his ordination, he worked as rabbi in B'nai Israel Temple in Little Rock, Arkansas, from 1884 to 1887. He then assisted

Bernhard Felsenthal Bernhard Felsenthal (January 2, 1822 – January 12, 1908) was a German-born Jewish-American rabbi. Life Felsenthal was born on January 2, 1822, in Münchweiler, near Kaiserslautern, the Rhenish Palatinate, Bavaria, the son of Simon Felsenthal ...

at Zion Temple in Chicago, Illinois, from 1887 to 1895. In 1895, when Chicago Jews were moving to the South Side, he was elected rabbi of Isaiah Temple. He served as rabbi there until 1929, when he retired and became rabbi emeritus. Concerned that Reform Judaism was closing itself off from middle-class Jews, he introduced a Sunday service in 1887 and believed that the synagogue, the Jewish community's cornerstone, should be a democratic institution. Active in Chicago civic affairs, Stolz served on the

Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently appointed solely by the mayor ...

from 1899 to 1905 and on the

Chicago Crime Commission The Chicago Crime Commission is an independent, non-partisan civic watchdog organization of business leaders dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of organized criminal activity, especially organized crime, street gangs and the tools o ...

from 1910 until his death. He served as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1905 to 1907, after which he served on its executive committee. He was also an executive committee member of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

, and served on the publication committee of the Jewish Publication Society of America. In 1897, he wrote ''Funeral Agenda of Jews''. He was president of the Chicago Rabbinical Association from 1920 to 1925 and of the Chicago Federation of Synagogues. In 1890, Stolz married Blanche A. Rauh of Cincinnati. Their children were Edna (wife of lawyer Joseph Brody of Des Moines, Iowa), Regina (wife of physician Harry Greenebaum of Chicago), and Leon (an editorial writer for the '' Chicago Tribune''). In 1937, Stolz fell and broke his hip, rendering him an invalid for the rest of his life. He died at home on February 7, 1941. Rabbi Morton Berman and Rabbi

Felix A. Levy Felix Alexander Levy (October 20, 1884 – June 16, 1963) was an American rabbi who mostly ministered in Chicago, Illinois. Life Levy was born on October 20, 1884, in New York City, New York, the son of Alexander Levy and Catherine Bergdoll. Hi ...

conducted his funeral at Temple Isaiah Israel.

References

External links

Joseph Stolz Papers
at the '' American Jewish Archives'' 1861 births 1941 deaths 19th-century American rabbis 20th-century American rabbis American Reform rabbis Rabbis from Chicago People from Syracuse, New York University of Cincinnati alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolz, Joseph Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni People from Little Rock, Arkansas Members of the Chicago Board of Education