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 (; , ) 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 River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

, 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 American rabbi. Life Felsenthal was born on January 2, 1822, in Münchweiler, near Kaiserslautern, the Circle of the Rhine, Rhenish Palatinate, Kingdom of Bavaria, Ba ...

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

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. In 1874, he was elected rabbi of the B'nai Sholom Temple in

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ) is a city in Adams County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Mississippi River, the population was 39,463 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 40,633 in 2010. The Quincy, Illinois, mic ...

. In 1879, he was elected rabbi of the

Emanuel Congregation Emanuel Congregation (formerly Temple Emanuel) is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 5959 North Sheridan Road, in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. The congregation was founded in 1880. ...

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

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

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

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

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. 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 (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 ...

. 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 Luxembourgish-born Jewish American biblical scholar, Reform rabbi, contributing editor to numerous articles of ''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906), anfounding member of the NAACP Biog ...

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. ...

, 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 ...

'' 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 – 26 March 1900) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in Bohemia (today Lomnička, a part of Plesná in the Czech Republic). He was the son ...

. 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 J ...

conducted the service and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise 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 ''The Universal Jewish Encyclopedia''. Biography Landman was born in Russia on October 4, 1880, t ...

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 Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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