David Philipson

David Philipson
Born	(1862-08-09)August 9, 1862 Wabash, Indiana
Died	June 29, 1949(1949-06-29) (aged 86) Boston, Massachusetts
Resting place	United Jewish Cemetery
Education	Hebrew Union College University of Cincinnati
Occupation(s)	Rabbi, writer

David Philipson (August 9, 1862 – June 29, 1949) was an American Reform rabbi, orator, and author.

The son of German-Jewish immigrants, he was a member of the first graduating class of the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. As an adult, he was one of the leaders of American Reform Judaism and a philanthropic leader in his adopted hometown of Cincinnati. In addition to English, he spoke Hebrew, German, Arabic, Aramaic, and Amharic.

Early life

Philipson was born in Wabash, Indiana to Reform Jewish parents from Germany. His family shortly moved to Columbus, Ohio. He went to grammar school there and was confirmed. At the invitation of Rabbi Isaac M. Wise, who was friends with David's father (Joseph Philipson), David moved to Cincinnati to become a member of the first class of Hebrew Union College (HUC), a Reform Jewish Seminary Rev. Wise was beginning.

Philipson lodged with a prominent Jewish family during his time taking classes both at HUC and Hughes High School. He graduated from both Hughes High School and the preparatory section of HUC in 1879, and was valedictorian at the former. He immediately matriculated into college courses at HUC while also studying at the University of Cincinnati.

He graduated from The University of Cincinnati in 1883 with a Bachelor of Arts in Classics. He was also one of four men ordained as Reform Rabbis in that year, and was one of those feted at the Trefa Banquet that HUC hosted for its first ordination class.

Beginnings in Ministry (1883–1888)

Philipson did not intend to go directly into the ministry, but instead chose to spend time in Dallas to aid in the growth of Reform Judaism there. However, he was offered the opportunity to minister at Har Sinai Congregation, a prestigious congregation in Baltimore. He initially refused the offer, but later agreed to go. He also continued his education at Johns Hopkins University. There, he was classmates with Cyrus Adler, and he continued his language acquisition, learning Aramaic and Amharic. He received a Doctorate of Divinity from Johns Hopkins in 1886 where he studied Assyriology and other Semitic languages. Also in that year, he married Ella Hollander, a young woman who attended his Bible studies.

Philipson gained attention within Baltimore society by serving on the board of the Baltimore Charity Organization Society, on which he was the only Jew. Additionally, he gave a eulogy for Henry Ward Beecher to his congregation as a sermon, an action considered noteworthy at the time because it was a speech on a non-Jew for a Jewish audience. Within Jewish circles, Philipson drew acclaim for acting as secretary at the famous Pittsburgh Platform meetings in 1885. These meetings established "Classical Reform Judaism" and rejected Jewish laws that had a ritual, rather than moral basis. His work in Pittsburgh, as well as his background at HUC launched him into acclaim among Reform Jews.

Dr. David Philipson (left) with Drs. Solomon Schechter, Cyrus Adler and Samuel Schulman c. 1913

Last years/death

Philipson retired from his position as Rabbi of Bene Israel in 1938. He did very little in public life after his retirement, but stayed active in various Jewish organizations and charities. He died at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston after collapsing at a convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1949. He is buried at the United Jewish Cemetery in Cincinnati.

Published works

Philipson wrote extensively in his adult life. He co-wrote the Union Prayer Book, the central prayer book for Reform Judaism, and presided over the first few of its re-publishings.

His first published work was The Jew in English Fiction. While in England giving talks about this book, he was given the correspondence of Rebecca Gratz, who is widely believed to be the model for Sir Walter Scott's Rebecca in his masterpiece Ivanhoe. He also is noted for writing Old European Jewries, considered to be a foundational work on the study of ghetto life. His memoir, written in 1940, is My Life as an American Jew. He was a member of the translation committee for the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 Bible translation into English. His most famous and notable work is titled The Reform Movement in Judaism. In it, he writes on the history and ideology of the movement both in Europe and the United States. It was widely lauded at the time of its publication, and is still seen as a master work on its subject.

List of works

• "David Philipson Papers". American Jewish Archives.
• Philipson, David (1941). My Life as an American Jew. Cincinnati: J.G. Kidd & Son. OCLC 238022.
• Philipson, David (1919). Centenary papers and others. Cincinnati: Ark Pub. Co. OCLC 315925.
• Philipson, David (1918). Are the Germans the chosen people? Address delivered at the Business Men's Club, Cincinnati, January 28th, 1918. OCLC 558492119.
• Philipson, David (1914). The principles and achievements of the Central Conference of American Rabbis : twenty-fifth anniversary address. OCLC 8853677.
• Philipson, David (1910). Syllabus of lectures on the prophets of Israel. Cincinnati. OCLC 229162456.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Philipson, David (1909). The Jew in America. Cincinnati: Central Conference of American Rabbis. OCLC 8853372.
• Philipson, David (1907). The Reform Movement in Judaism. Macmillan.
• Philipson, David (1895). Tendencies of thought in modern Judaism. Boston: Houghton.
• Philipson, David (1894). Old European Jewries. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America. OCLC 315925.
• Philipson, David (1889). The Jew in English Fiction. Cincinnati: Robert Clarke Comp. OCLC 506684.
• Philipson, David (1889). Sabbath legislation and personal liberty : lecture delivered before Congregation B'ne Israel. Cincinnati: Bloch Print. Co. OCLC 8853677.