Isaac S. Moses (December 8, 1847 – December 2, 1926) was a German-born Jewish-American rabbi.

Life

Moses was born on December 8, 1847, in Santomischel, Posen, the son of Rabbi Israel Baruch Moses and brother of Rabbi Adolph S. Moses. Moses was educated at Santomischel,

Gleiwitz Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional cap ...

, and Breslau. He received rabbinical diplomas from Rabbi Salomon Rosenthal of Jaroczyn and Rabbi

Bernhard Felsenthal Bernhard Felsenthal (January 2, 1822 – January 12, 1908) was a German-born Jewish-American rabbi. Life Felsenthal was born on January 2, 1822, in Münchweiler, near Kaiserslautern, the Rhenish Palatinate, Bavaria, the son of Simon Felsenthal ...

of Chicago. He moved to America in the early 1870s and initially worked as a religious teacher in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, whic ...

. In 1874, he was elected rabbi of the

B'nai Sholom Temple B’nai Sholom Temple is a synagogue in Quincy, Illinois. It was built in 1870 in the Moorish Revival style. The original, 80 foot high, twin minaret-style towers were damaged by a tornado in 1947 and not replaced. The B’nai Sholom Congregat ...

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

. In 1879, he was elected rabbi of the

Emanuel Congregation Emanuel Congregation (formerly Temple Emanuel) is a Chicago synagogue that was founded in 1880. It is a Reform Jewish Synagogue located at 5959 N. Sheridan, Chicago, IL. History Fourteen German-speaking Jews founded Emanuel Congregation in 1880 ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

. In 1887, he was elected rabbi of the Temple Congregation in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

. In 1888, he was elected rabbi of Kehilath Anshe Ma'arav in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. In 1896, he organized a new synagogue on the South Side called Temple Israel. In 1901, he was made rabbi of Central Synagogue in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He became rabbi emeritus of the Synagogue in the end of 1917, not long after his 70th birthday. Moses wrote ''The Pentateuch'' in 1881, ''The Historical Books of the Bible'' in 1884, ''The Ethics of the Hebrew Scriptures'' 1889, and ''Hymns for Jewish Worship'' in 1904. He also edited ''Tefillah le-Mosheh'' in 1886. He published and edited the German weekly ''Zetgeist'' in Milwaukee with his brother Adolph and

Emil G. Hirsch Emil Gustav Hirsch (May 22, 1851 – January 7, 1923) was a History of the Jews in Luxembourg, Luxembourgish-born American Jews, Jewish American Biblical studies, biblical scholar, Reform Judaism, Reform rabbi, contributing editor to numerous a ...

from 1880 to 1882. A charter and active member 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 ...

, his manuscript became the basis of the ''

Union Prayer Book The ''Union Prayer Book'' was a Siddur published by the Central Conference of American Rabbis to serve the needs of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States. History An original version of the prayer book was published in 1892, based on t ...

'' in 1894. The Conference also published ''Sermons by American Rabbis'', which he collected and edited, that same year. Active before the outlines of Reform Judaism were firmly established, he initially leaned towards Rabbi David Einhorn's radicalism before switching to the conservatism of Rabbi

Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819, Lomnička – 26 March 1900, Cincinnati) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. At his death he was called "the foremost rabbi in America". Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in ...

. He published a number of sermons and textbooks for children, and his 1894 ''Sabbath School Hymnal'' had fourteen additions. Moses died from heart disease at his home at the Manhattan Square Hotel on December 2, 1926. His funeral was held at the Central Synagogue, where Rabbi

Jonah Wise Rabbi Jonah Bondi Wise (February 21, 1881 – February 1, 1959) was an American Rabbi and leader of the Reform Judaism movement, who served for over thirty years as rabbi of the Central Synagogue in Manhattan and was a founder of the United Je ...

conducted the service and Rabbi

Stephen S. Wise Stephen Samuel Wise (March 17, 1874 – April 19, 1949) was an early 20th-century American Reform rabbi and Zionist leader in the Progressive Era. Born in Budapest, he was an infant when his family immigrated to New York. He followed his father ...

of the Free Synagogue and Rabbi Nathan Krass of Temple Emanu-El delivered eulogies. The honorary pallbearers included Samuel B. Hamburger, Max Schallek, Joseph Steiner, Max Neuberger, Max Schwarz, August Lambert, Henry Weiss, George Kohut, D. Emil Klein, Gaza Paskus, and Cantor Isadore Weinstock. The funeral was also attended by, among other people, Rabbi

Isaac Landman 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 ...

of the Far Rockaway Synagogue, Henry Kantrowitz, Mrs. Alexander Kohut, William Loebel, the Rev. Dr. Barnett Ellsworth, Charles E. Block, and Mr. and Mrs. Sigmund Schanzer. He was buried in the Linden Hill Cemetery in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

References

External links

Isaac S. Moses Papers
at 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 ...

'' 1847 births 1926 deaths {{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Isaac S. People from the Grand Duchy of Posen People from the Province of Posen 19th-century German rabbis American people of German-Jewish descent Prussian emigrants to the United States Educators from St. Louis People from Quincy, Illinois Religious leaders from Milwaukee Religious leaders from Nashville, Tennessee Rabbis from Chicago Rabbis from New York City 19th-century American rabbis 20th-century American rabbis American Reform rabbis