Edward Nathan Calisch (June 23, 1865 in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

CALISCH, Edward N.
in ''

Who's Who in America Marquis Who's Who, also known as A.N. Marquis Company ( or ), is an American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies. The books usually are entitled ''Who's Who in...'' followed by some subject, such as ''Who's Who in A ...

'' (1926 edition); p. 402 – 1946 in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

) was an American

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 ...

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 studied at the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

and was ordained after graduating 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 ...

. In 1887, Calisch accepted a pulpit in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

. In 1891, he became rabbi of

Congregation Beth Ahabah Congregation Beth Ahabah (meaning "House of Love") is a Reform Jewish synagogue at 1121 West Franklin Street, Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. Founded in 1789 by Spanish and Portuguese Jews as Kahal Kadosh Beth Shalome (meaning "Holy C ...

in Richmond. In 1893, Calisch's congregation felt the need for a more modern prayer ritual. They authorized Calisch to revise a prayer book. It was the first Hebrew book printed in Richmond. In 1908, Calisch earned a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. In 1915 Calisch gave a speech in support of women's suffrage from the steps of the state capitol. He was an executive member of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a civil rights group and 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 wi ...

, the Jewish Welfare Board, the

Joint Distribution Committee Advert Where and how does this article resemble an advert and how should it be improved? See: Wikipedia:Spam (you might trthe Teahouseif you have questions). American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, also known as Joint or JDC, is a Jewish ...

and the Virginia War History Commission. In 1945, Calisch retired.

References

Goldman, Yosef Yosef Goldman (1942 – August 4, 2015) was a scholar of History of the Jews in the United States, American Jewish history and the co-author of the two-volume reference work, ''Hebrew Printing in America, Hebrew Printing in America 1735-1926: A Hist ...

. ''

Hebrew Printing in America, 1735-1926, A History and Annotated Bibliography ''Hebrew Printing in America, 1735–1926, A History and Annotated Bibliography'' () is a history and bibliography of Hebrew books printed in America between 1735 and 1926 by Ari Kinsberg. It records 1208 items, annotated with bibliographical infor ...

'' (YGBooks 2006). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Calisch, Edward Nathan 1865 births 1946 deaths Religious leaders from Richmond, Virginia American Reform rabbis University of Cincinnati alumni Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni University of Richmond alumni 20th-century American rabbis 19th-century American rabbis