Julian Morgenstern (March 18, 1881 – December 4, 1976) was a Jewish-American rabbi, Bible scholar, and president of Hebrew Union College.
Life
Morgenstern was born on March 18, 1881 in
St. Francisville, Illinois
St. Francisville or Saint Francisville is a city in Lawrence County, Illinois, United States. The population was 697 at the 2010 census.
History
St. Francisville is rooted in a stockade built by Joseph Tougas in the early 1810s. The city was pl ...
, the son of Samuel Morgenstern and Hannah Ochs. His parents were German immigrants. He moved to with his family to
Vincennes, Indiana
Vincennes is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Indiana, Knox County, Indiana, United States. It is located on the lower Wabash River in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the state, nearly halfway between Evansville, Indi ...
when he was two. They stayed there for four years, and after a year in
Garden City, Kansas
Garden City is a city in, and the county seat of, Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 28,151. The city is home to Garden City Community College and the Lee Richa ...
they settled in
Cincinnati, Ohio
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 ...
.
Morgenstern graduated from 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 ...
in 1901 and was ordained a rabbi at
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 1902. He then spent two years doing post-graduate work in Germany, studying Semitics at the
University of Berlin
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...
and the
University of Heidelberg
}
Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...
. He received a Ph.D. from the latter university in 1904. He then returned to America and became rabbi of Congregation Ahaveth Achim (later known as
Temple Israel) in
Lafayette, Indiana
Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...
for the next three years. He then became Professor of Biblical and Semitic Languages at Hebrew Union College, where his systematic and thorough methods made him a successful teacher. When
Kaufmann Kohler
Kaufmann Kohler (May 10, 1843 – January 28, 1926) was a German-born Jewish American biblical scholar and critic, theologian, Reform rabbi, and contributing editor to numerous articles of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906).
Life and work
Kaufm ...
retired as president of the College in 1921, he became acting president. In 1922, he was elected president, although he continued to teach Bible courses to rabbinical and post-graduate students.
Morgenstern was the first Hebrew Union College alumnus to serve as its president. Under him, the students, faculty, and college activity all grew rapidly. New departments of education, social studies, and Jewish music were established, new buildings were erected, and an endowment fund was created. The college, which was previously part of the
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established ...
, became independently chartered. The Hebrew Union School of Religious Education was founded in
New York City, New York
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 ...
. The ''
Hebrew Union College Annual
The ''Hebrew Union College Annual'' (HUCA) is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal in the field of Jewish studies. It was established in 1924 and is published by the Hebrew Union College. The editors-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also kn ...
'' was established in 1924 and immediately became a prominent publication in Jewish scholarship. He helped a dozen European scholars escape
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and bring them to the College. He was originally an anti-Zionist, although he changed his views following the creation of the state of Israel.
While he was studying in Germany, his former classmate
Judah Leon Magnes
Judah Leon Magnes ( he, יהודה לייב מאגנס; July 5, 1877 – October 27, 1948) was a prominent Reform rabbi in both the United States and Mandatory Palestine. He is best remembered as a leader in the pacifist movement of the World War ...
suggested he study Semitic languages. He developed a close relationship with some of his professors on the subject, including
Friedrich Delitzsch
Friedrich Delitzsch (; 3 September 1850 – 19 December 1922) was a German Assyriologist. He was the son of Lutheran theologian Franz Delitzsch (1813–1890).
Born in Erlangen, he studied in Leipzig and Berlin, gaining his habilitation in 1874 as ...
,
Bruno Meissner
Bruno Meissner also Bruno Meißner (25 April 1868, in Graudenz – 13 March 1947, in Zeuthen) was a German assyriologist.Erika Bleibtreu, Johannes Boese and Barthel Hrouda: ''Orientalistenleben. Kurzbiografien von E. F. Weidner, B. Meissner, E ...
,
Carl Bezold
Carl Bezold (18 May 1859 in Donauwörth – 21 November 1922 in Heidelberg) was a German orientalist. Known primarily for his research in Akkadian (Babylonian-Assyrian), he also researched other Semitic languages: Syriac, Ge'ez (Ethiopic) and Ar ...
, and
Carl Heinrich Becker. He focused on
Assyriology
Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , '' -logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southea ...
in particular, with his dissertation called "The Doctrine of Sin in the Babylonian Religion." His time studying Assyriology inspired him to support
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...
, which he felt was dominated by Christian scholars that dismissed the Jewish perspective. He presented a paper on the subject in the 1915
Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. I ...
, which proved controversial and faced strong opposition from older rabbis, but it helped push
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 Hebrew Union College to start studying Biblical criticism. His work in Biblical scholarship led him to be president of the
American Oriental Society
The American Oriental Society was chartered under the laws of Massachusetts on September 7, 1842. It is one of the oldest learned societies in America, and is the oldest devoted to a particular field of scholarship.
The Society encourages basic ...
from 1928 to 1929, president of the
Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis
The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), founded in 1880 as the Society of Biblical Literature and Exegesis, is an American-based learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible and related ancient literature. Its current stated mis ...
in 1941, and one of two American honorary members of the
British Society for Old Testament Study.
Morgenstern served as president of Hebrew Union College until 1947 and continued to teach at the College until 1960, at which point he moved to
Macon, Georgia
Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...
. He received an honorary D.H.L. from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1937 and an honorary D.L. from the University of Cincinnati in 1947. The University of Heidelberg also gave him the unusual honor of renewing his degree in 1954. He was the Bible specialist for the board of editors of the ''
Universal Jewish Encyclopedia Isaac Landman (October 24, 1880 – September 4, 1946) was an American Reform rabbi, author and anti-Zionist activist. He was editor of the ten volume '' Universal Jewish Encyclopedia''.
Biography
Landman was born in Russia on October 4, 1880, to ...
''. He preferred the term American Judaism over Reform Judaism, considered American Judaism more pragmatic and less dogmatic than earlier Reform Judaism, and believed Reform and Conservative Judaism would ultimately merge. He was secretary of the
Central Conference of American Rabbis
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), founded in 1889 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the principal organization of Reform rabbis in the United States and Canada. The CCAR is the largest and oldest rabbinical organization in the world. I ...
from 1907 to 1913, president of the Alumni Association of Hebrew Union College from 1916 to 1918, American vice president of the
World Union for Progressive Judaism
The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries ...
, executive of the
Jewish Agency
The Jewish Agency for Israel ( he, הסוכנות היהודית לארץ ישראל, translit=HaSochnut HaYehudit L'Eretz Yisra'el) formerly known as The Jewish Agency for Palestine, is the largest Jewish non-profit organization in the world. ...
, and a member of the American Academy for Jewish Research,
B'nai B'rith
B'nai B'rith International (, from he, בְּנֵי בְּרִית, translit=b'né brit, lit=Children of the Covenant) is a Jewish service organization. B'nai B'rith states that it is committed to the security and continuity of the Jewish peopl ...
, and Theta Phi. In 1906, he married Helen Thorner. They had one child, Jean Greenebaum.
Morgenstern died at a nursing home in Macon, on December 4, 1976. His funeral was held at the Hebrew Union College chapel, with College president
Alfred Gottschalk, Dr.
Jacob Rader Marcus
Jacob Rader Marcus (March 5, 1896
–14 November 1995) was a scholar of Jewish history and a Reform rabbi.
Biography
Born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, United States into a traditional Jewish family and raised in Homestead, Pennsylvania, M ...
, Dr. Sheldon H. Blank, and Dr. Samuel Sandmel officiating the service. He was buried in
United Jewish Cemetery
United Jewish Cemetery is a Reform Jewish cemetery, located at 3400 Montgomery Road in the Evanston neighborhood, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The cemetery was opened by members of Bene Israel and B'nai Jeshurum congregations in 1862. The first burial wa ...
in
Walnut Hills.
References
External links
Julian Morgenstern Papersat the ''
American Jewish Archives
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, founded in 1947, is committed to preserving a documentary heritage of the religious, organizational, economic, cultural, personal, social and family life of American Jewry. It has be ...
''
1881 births
1976 deaths
American people of German-Jewish descent
People from Lawrence County, Illinois
People from Vincennes, Indiana
People from Garden City, Kansas
Rabbis from Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati alumni
Hebrew Union College alumni
Hebrew Union College faculty
Presidents of Hebrew Union College
19th-century American Jews
20th-century American rabbis
American Reform rabbis
Humboldt University of Berlin alumni
Heidelberg University alumni
Jewish American academics
20th-century American academics
American Assyriologists
20th-century Jewish biblical scholars
American biblical scholars
Burials in Ohio
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