Joseph Stolz (November 3, 1861 – February 7, 1941) was an American rabbi who ministered in Chicago for most of his life.

Life

Stolz was born on November 3, 1861, in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

, the son of David Stolz and Regina Strauss. Stolz attended Syracuse public schools and prepared for Hebrew Union College under Rabbi Herman Birkenthal, the rabbi of

Temple Society of Concord The Temple Society of Concord, commonly referred to as Temple Concord, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 450 Kimber Road, in Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, in the United States. Established in 1839, it is the ninth ...

. He entered

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, Ohio 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 ...

, in 1879. While there, he became influenced by Professor Solomon Eppinger and Dr. Moses Mielziner and would come to share their conservative thoughts. In 1882, he officiated in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, during the

High Holidays In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, th ...

. He graduated from Hebrew Union College in 1884. He also graduated from 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 ...

with a B.L. that year. He was part of the first graduating class of Hebrew Union College. He received a D.D. from Hebrew Union College in 1890, and in 1931 he received an honorary D.H.L. degree from there. Following his ordination, he worked as rabbi in B'nai Israel Temple in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, from 1884 to 1887. He then assisted

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 ...

at Zion Temple 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 ...

, from 1887 to 1895. In 1895, when Chicago Jews were moving to the South Side, he was elected rabbi of Isaiah Temple. He served as rabbi there until 1929, when he retired and became rabbi emeritus. Concerned that Reform Judaism was closing itself off from middle-class Jews, he introduced a Sunday service in 1887 and believed that the synagogue, the Jewish community's cornerstone, should be a democratic institution. Active in Chicago civic affairs, Stolz served on the

Chicago Board of Education The Chicago Board of Education serves as the board of education (school board) for the Chicago Public Schools. The board traces its origins to the Board of School Inspectors, created in 1837. The board is currently made up of 11 members appoin ...

from 1899 to 1905 and on the

Chicago Crime Commission The Chicago Crime Commission is an independent, non-partisan civic watchdog organization of business leaders dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of organized criminal activity, especially organized crime, street gangs and the tools ...

from 1910 until his death. He served as president 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. ...

from 1905 to 1907, after which he served on its executive committee. He was also an executive committee member of the

Union of American Hebrew Congregations The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establ ...

and 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 ...

, and served on the publication committee of the

Jewish Publication Society of America The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by Reform Rabbi Joseph Krauskop ...

. In 1897, he wrote ''Funeral Agenda of Jews''. He was president of the Chicago Rabbinical Association from 1920 to 1925 and of the Chicago Federation of Synagogues. In 1890, Stolz married Blanche A. Rauh of Cincinnati. Their children were Edna (wife of lawyer Joseph Brody of

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

), Regina (wife of physician Harry Greenebaum of Chicago), and Leon (an editorial writer for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''). In 1937, Stolz fell and broke his hip, rendering him an invalid for the rest of his life. He died at home on February 7, 1941. Rabbi Morton Berman and Rabbi

Felix A. Levy Felix Alexander Levy (October 20, 1884 – June 16, 1963) was an American rabbi who mostly ministered in Chicago, Illinois. Life Levy was born on October 20, 1884, in New York City, New York City, New York, the son of Alexander Levy and Catheri ...

conducted his funeral at Temple Isaiah Israel.

References

External links

Joseph Stolz 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 ...

'' 1861 births 1941 deaths 19th-century American rabbis 20th-century American rabbis American Reform rabbis Rabbis from Chicago People from Syracuse, New York University of Cincinnati alumni {{DEFAULTSORT:Stolz, Joseph Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni People from Little Rock, Arkansas Members of the Chicago Board of Education