Hyman Brodsky (August 11, 1852 – February 25, 1937) was a Russian-born American rabbi.

Life

Brodsky was born on August 11, 1852, in Bialystok,

Grodno Governorate Grodno Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Northwestern Krai of the Russian Empire, with its capital in Grodno. It encompassed in area and consisted of a population of 1,603,409 inhabitants by 1897. Gro ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the son of Noah Brodsky. He attended yeshiva in

Slonim Slonim is a town in Grodno Region, in western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Slonim District. It is located at the junction of the Shchara and Isa (river), Isa rivers, southeast of Grodno. As of 2025, it has a population of ...

and

Valozhyn Valozhyn or Volozhin (, ; ; ; ; ) is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Valozhyn District. It is located northwest of the capital Minsk, on the Valozhynka River in the Neman, Neman River basin, and the begi ...

. He received rabbinical degrees from Rabbi Hirsch Leib Berlin of Volosin, Rabbi Jacob Widrewitz of

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Rabbi Bernard L. Levinthal of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and Rabbi Samuel Wein of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Brodsky immigrated to America in 1886 and served as a rabbi in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

, for several years. He then became rabbi of the Bené Ya'acob Congregation in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. While there, he served as school board chairman of the Talmud Torah and president of the Independent Chebrah Kadisha. He was also active in encouraging downtown Jews to become American citizens. He also served as rabbi in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, at one point. In 1899, he became rabbi of Congregation Anshei Russia in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. He served as rabbi there for nearly forty years, until his death. One source described him as the oldest active rabbi in America by the time he died. He helped establish schools, libraries, sheltering homes, and other institutions, and founded

HIAS HIAS, founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, is a Jewish American nonprofit that provides humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees. It was established on in 1881 to help Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States escaping antisemi ...

in New York City. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he collected $250,000 for the relief of Jewish war victims in Bialystok and travelled to Bialystok in 1919 to deliver the funds there. Brodsky published and edited the weekly serial ''Filadelfyer Shtot-Tsaytung'' in Philadelphia with Khayim Malits, contributed to the ''Byalistoker Shtime'' in New York City, and published in the Hebrew-language ''Hadevora''. He wrote two religious works in Hebrew, ''Maase Hoshev'' in 1906 and ''Divre Heshev'' in 1908. He used pseudonyms in his writings, including "Ḥoshev." He was involved in a number of local organizations, including Beth Israel Hospital, the Daughters of Israel, and the

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, H ...

. While he was a strict

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 ...

Jew, he never publicly criticized the

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 ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

movement and was occasionally invited to preach in their temples. Brodsky's wife's name was Sadie. His children were Nathan H., Rae, Beatrice, Florence, Sophie, Hannah, Sarah, and Yetta. Brodsky died at home on February 25, 1937. He was buried in the congregation cemetery on Grove Street.

References

1852 births 1937 deaths People from Białystok People from Belostoksky Uyezd Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 19th-century American rabbis 20th-century American rabbis Orthodox rabbis from New York City Rabbis from New Jersey Rabbis from Philadelphia {{DEFAULTSORT:Brodsky, Hyman Clergy from Newark, New Jersey 19th-century rabbis from the Russian Empire Volozhin Yeshiva alumni