Henry Berkowitz
Henry Berkowitz was a prominent figure in the Reform movement of Judaism, born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the late 19th century. He pursued his education at Cornell University and Hebrew Union College, becoming a rabbi at a young age. Berkowitz made significant contributions to Jewish life in America, including serving as the first rabbi of Congregation Sha'are Shomayim in Mobile, Alabama. He was a strong advocate for social justice, known for his opposition to racism and his involvement in various humanitarian causes, including the Humane Movement for the Protection of Children and Animals from Cruelty.
Berkowitz played a crucial role in establishing the Jewish Chautauqua Society in 1893, aimed at promoting Jewish education and interfaith dialogue. He was also a vocal opponent of Zionism and participated in efforts to advocate for social reform, notably through his sermons addressing controversial topics such as prostitution. Throughout his career, he published several works, including "Judaism on the Social Question," which emphasized the importance of education in resolving social issues. Berkowitz's legacy lies in his commitment to social justice, education, and the advancement of Reform Judaism, which continue to influence the Jewish community today. He passed away in Philadelphia in 1924 after a distinguished career spanning over fifty years.
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Subject Terms
Henry Berkowitz
Religious leader, social reformer, and writer
- Born: March 18, 1857
- Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Died: February 7, 1924
- Place of death: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A renowned rabbi, Berkowitz founded the Jewish Chautauqua Society, believing that all people could learn from the fundamental tenets of Judaism on social justice, peace, and freedom of choice.
Early Life
Henry Berkowitz (BUR-koh-wits) was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Louis Berkowitz, an Austrian immigrant, and Henrietta Jaroslawski. When Henry Berkowitz graduated from Central High School in 1872, he enrolled at Cornell University. At age sixteen, Berkowitz, inspired by Isaac Wise, decided to become a rabbi. In 1873, the youth received his hattarat hora’ah (rabbinical diploma), and soon after he enrolled in Hebrew Union College. During the same year, he enrolled part-time at the University of Cincinnati, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in literature in 1881. Meanwhile, he read law with the firm of Brown and Lamble for five years, until 1875.
When Berkowitz graduated from Hebrew Union College in 1883, he married Flora Brunn of Coshocton, Ohio. The couple moved to Mobile, Alabama, where he served Congregation Sha’are Shomayim, the first Reform congregation in Alabama. Berkowitz admired Theodore Parker, the abolitionist, and remained sardonic about racism in the South throughout his life. He joined the Humane Movement for the Protection of Children and Animals from Cruelty, with his concern about animals prompted in part by the need of his congregation for properly slaughtered meat. In 1884, Berkowitz and Joseph Krauskopf published Bible Ethics: A Manual of Instruction in the History and Principles of Judaism. His daughter, Etta Pearl, was born in 1885. Hebrew Union College awarded him the doctor of divinity degree in 1887, and one year later he published Judaism on the Social Question (1888), in which he attacked lynching.
Life’s Work
In 1888, Berkowitz became rabbi of Congregation B’nai Jehudah in Kansas City, Missouri, where his son, Max Edward, was born. The family stayed in Missouri for four years, until Berkowitz was elected in 1892 to be rabbi to Temple Rodelph Sholem in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. During his thirty-two years in Philadelphia, he worked closely with the Federation of Jewish Charities and the Philadelphia Rabbinical Association. Berkowitz joined the Universal Peace Union, as an early advocate for a League of Nations and for international disarmament.
In Judaism on the Social Question, Berkowitz advocated education in Jewish principles for all as the way to resolve class conflict. Accordingly, he established the Jewish Chautauqua Society in 1893. The Chautauqua provided reading groups and texts for people of all faiths. Berkowitz wrote The Open Bible (1896) and Kiddush (1898). The Chautauqua held annual colloquiums that drew hundreds of participants. Berkowitz led seven of the summer sessions. In 1900 and again in 1903, Berkowitz traveled to England to organize the Jewish Chautauqua. He also toured around the United States to promote the organization. Berkowitz was a founding member and secretary of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Berkowitz was a member of Philadelphia’s Vice Commission and of the Social Purity Alliance. He reveled in controversy. In 1913, he delivered a sermon opposing “white slavery” in Philadelphia, in which he charged that local elites perpetuated prostitution. City fathers nevertheless regarded Berkowitz highly enough to sponsor an official trip to Europe for Berkowitz and his wife to study social conditions there.
Berkowitz opposed Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish state. When U.S. congressman Julius Kahn circulated a petition against creation of a Jewish state in Palestine for presentation to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Berkowitz was one of the 299 signatories and one of thirty-one prominent Jewish men who traveled to Paris to hand the petition to U.S. president Woodrow Wilson. In 1921, Berkowitz published Intimate Glimpses of the Rabbi’s Career, a collection of four talks on leadership delivered to rabbinical students at Hebrew Union College and an appropriate coda to his career. In ill health for two years, Berkowitz died in Philadelphia in 1924.
Significance
For more than fifty years, Berkowitz worked to build the Reform movement within Judaism. His belief was that the fundamental tenets of Judaism included striving for social justice and peace and for freedom of choice. Berkowitz promulgated these ideas through his speeches and sermons, through the assistance he provided to his alma mater, Hebrew Union College, and to the Central Conference of American Rabbis, and especially through his establishment of the Jewish Chautauqua. The Chautauqua, the college, and Reform Judaism flourish, Berkowitz would say, because they educate people not to conform thoughtlessly but to unite with respect for differences.
Bibliography
Berkowitz, Henry. Judaism on the Social Question. New York: John B. Alden, 1888. Berkowitz’s first solo published work illuminates his commitment to the right of individual choice and to Reform Judaism.
Berkowitz, Max E. Beloved Rabbi: An Account of the Life and Works of Henry Berkowitz. New York: Macmillan, 1932. Written by his son, this book is the only full-length biography of Henry Berkowitz. The book provides a sense of the brilliant, sophisticated organizer behind the rabbi, who called down fire upon monopolies and states.
Kaufman, David. Shul with a Pool: The Synagogue-Center in American Jewish History. Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis University Press, 1999. Kaufman credits Berkowitz with originating the synagogue-center and discusses the history and the fruits of his “invention.”
Zola, Gary Phillip. “Southern Rabbis and the Founding of the First National Association of Rabbis.” American Jewish History 85, no. 4 (December, 1997): 353-372. Zola writes about Berkowitz’s role in founding the Central Conference of American Rabbis, a group important to Berkowitz not only because it united like-minded rabbis but also because his first two rabbinates were in the South, where Jews faced particular difficulties.