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 religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...

and the founder of

Jewish Science Jewish Science is a Judaic spiritual movement comparable to 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 A ...

,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 new religious 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 ...

and viewed as supplementing services at conventional

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

Overview

Moses was born on September 23, 1878, to Rabbi Adolph and Emma Isaacs Moses. Adolph S. 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 (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language until ...

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, 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 was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...

, 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

, 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 which are 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 in ...

and

New Thought The New Thought movement (also Higher Thought) is a new religious 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 ...

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

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.

References

{{US-rabbi-stub 1878 births 1956 deaths Mobile, Alabama American Reform rabbis

Overview

Personal life

Publications

See also

References