Maimonides College was a Jewish institute of higher education which existed in

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 ...

from 1867 to 1873. It was named for the great mediaeval Jewish philosopher and Torah sage,

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

. Although short-lived, it was the first Jewish theological seminary in the United States. On Dec. 4, 1864, a meeting was held which resulted in the establishment of the first Jewish theological seminary in America. The need of such an institution was strongly felt, as there were numerous synagogues in the country, but few persons capable of filling the rabbinical office. The seminary was established under the joint auspices of the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia and the

Board of Delegates of American Israelites The Board of Delegates of American Israelites was the first Jewish civil and political rights organization in the United States, modeled after the Board of Deputies of British Jews. The organization was established in 1859 with headquarters in New ...

; it was opened Oct. 28, 1867, with Isaac Leeser as its provost.

Sabato Morais Sabato Morais (; April 13, 1823 – November 11, 1897) was an Italian-American rabbi of Portuguese descent, leader of Mikveh Israel Synagogue in Philadelphia, pioneer of Italian Jewish Studies in America, and founder of the Jewish Theolog ...

Marcus Jastrow Marcus Jastrow (June 5, 1829 – October 13, 1903) was a Poland-born American Talmudic scholar and rabbi, most famously known for his authorship of the popular and comprehensive ''Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Mid ...

, Aaron S. Bettelheim, L. Buttenwieser, William H. Williams; and the provost comprised the faculty. At a later date Hyman Polano and George Jacobs were added to this number. Abraham Hart was president, and Mayer Sulzberger secretary, of the board of trustees. Lawyer and philanthropist Moses A. Dropsie was the first president of the college, followed by Isidore Binswanger. After an activity extending through six years Maimonides College was closed in December 1873 due to financial difficulties; its closure was a major motivator for the founding 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 ...

References

*{{JewishEncyclopedia, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=258&letter=P, article=Philadelphia Jewish universities and colleges in the United States Defunct private universities and colleges in Pennsylvania Defunct Jewish seminaries 1867 establishments in Pennsylvania 1873 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Jewish-American history Educational institutions established in 1867 Educational institutions disestablished in 1873 Jews and Judaism in Pennsylvania