Description
Book SynopsisRabbi Marcus Jastrow (1829-1903) was one of the most important figures of nineteenth-century Judaism, but is often neglected. This volume presents his life and his views on the reform of Judaism in the context of the changes and developments of Judaism in his lifetime. It covers his early life and his career in Europe as a preacher and rabbi in Warsaw, Mannheim, and Worms, and then discusses his activities in the United States, where he served as rabbi of Congregation Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia, as well as his work on his famous dictionary.
Jastrow was deeply involved in the important religious and scholarly initiatives of American Jewry: he took part in the emergence of Reform as well as Conservative Judaism, being involved in major controversies and polemics regarding them, and had a great impact on the creation of Jewish scholarship and Judaic studies in America.
Trade Review“It is a service to the broader field of Jewish Studies that [this] book is now available in an English translation. . . . The book is a valuable contribution to our understanding of a rabbi who, in three different countries, showed considerable courage in the stands he took on both political and religious issues, and who made a significant and largely unappreciated contribution to American Judaism, over and above the Dictionary that is his major contribution to scholarship. The dramatic events of Jastrow’s life as presented by Galas reveal an individual who deserves to be known for more than his Dictionary.” -- Marc Saperstein, King’s College London * Journal of Jewish Studies, Vol. LXVI, No. I, Spring 2015 *
