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 t ...

. He was the first rabbi in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' (), 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, ''The New York Times'' reported that Set ...

'', 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 The Wilshire Boulevard Temple, known from 1862 to 1933 as Congregation B'nai B'rith, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue at 3663 Wilshire Boulevard, in the Wilshire Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded ...

Early life

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

Kutno Kutno is a city in central Poland with 42,704 inhabitants (2021) and an area of . It is the capital of Kutno County in the Łódź Voivodeship. Founded in the medieval period, Kutno was a local center of crafts and trade, owing its growth to i ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. 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) 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, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, 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 Joseph Newmark (1799–1881) was a Prussian-American businessman in New York City and Los Angeles and a member of the Newmark family of Southern California. He helped found Jewish congregations in both cities and later became an ordained rabbi. ...

. 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. Newmark immigrated to the United States in 1853. He sailed from Europe to New York City, and then to San Francisco. He joined his older brothe ...

, 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-pag ...

rabbi and the congregation was slowly becoming

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

. 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) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

, 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 E. Huntington, Henry Huntington, or simply 6th & Main), opened in 1905 in the Historic Core, Los Angeles, core of Los Angeles as ...

, and collected rents from it. He became a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

, 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, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. 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 non-profit, Tertiary referral hospital, tertiary, 915-bed teaching hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre, academic health science center located in Los Angeles, California. Part of the Cedars ...

.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 that primarily covers Judaism- and Jewish-related topics and news. Described as the "Associated Press of the Jewish media", JTA serves Jewish and non-Jewish news ...

'', 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 (), or East L.A., is an unincorporated community and census designated place (CDP) situated within Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, East Los Angeles is designated as ...

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