Isidor Kalisch
Encyclopedia
Isidor Kalisch (15 November 1816 - 11 May 1886) was a rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
who wrote both in prose and verse.
Early life
He was born at Krotoschin in PrussiaPrussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
, and was educated at Berlin
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin is Berlin's oldest university, founded in 1810 as the University of Berlin by the liberal Prussian educational reformer and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt, whose university model has strongly influenced other European and Western universities...
, Breslau and Prague
Charles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
. While pursuing his studies in theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, he contributed to German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
periodicals. In 1842 he wrote a patriotic poem, entitled “Schlacht-Gesang der Deutschen” (Battle song of the Germans) which was set to music and became one of the popular songs of the day. In 1843 he preached the first German sermon ever delivered in his native town.
Rabbi in the United States
In 1848 he came to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, but passed on in 1849 to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1850 was called to the Tifereth Israel congregation in Cleveland, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, where he labored in the interest of Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
. In 1855 the first conference of rabbis was held in Cleveland, and a ritual and common prayer-book was agreed upon, entitled Minhag America
Minhag America
Minhag America is a siddur created in 1857 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise that was intended to address conflict between sides supporting and opposing traditionalism in early Reform Judaism in the United States...
, which he edited together with Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise
Isaac Mayer Wise
Isaac Mayer Wise , was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author.-Early life:...
and found use in many synagogues. In 1855 he was requested by Prof. Josiah W. Gibbs, of Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, to decipher a Phoenician inscription that had been found in Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
, Asia. His rendering of it was read before the Syro-Egyptian Society of London, 13 November 1855. From 1856 to 1859 he had charge of a congregation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
where he united two factions and organized Die treue Schwestern, a benevolent society of Jewish women. He then held charges in Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
; Detroit; Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth, Kansas
Leavenworth is the largest city and county seat of Leavenworth County, in the U.S. state of Kansas and within the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Located in the northeast portion of the state, it is on the west bank of the Missouri River. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
; Newark, New Jersey
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
; and Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
where he erected a synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
.
Literary work
He returned to Newark in 1875, and devoted himself to literary work and to lecturing, taking part in polemical discussions in behalf of the ultra-reform element in Judaism. His controversies with Rev. Isaac LeeserIsaac Leeser
Isaac Leeser was an American, Ashkenazi Jewish lay minister of religion, author, translator, editor, and publisher; pioneer of the Jewish pulpit in the United States, and founder of the Jewish press of America. He produced the first Jewish translation of the Bible into English to be published in...
, arising from Dr. Kalisch's criticism of Leeser's English version of the Bible, and on the “Jewish Belief in a Personal Messiah,” have become famous in the history of Jewish literature. From 1853 till 1878 he edited the Guide, and contributed a great number of essays and discourses to German and English religious periodicals.
Prose
- Wegweiser für rationelle Forschungen in den biblischen Schriften (1853; English translation by Dr. M. Mayer, of Charleston, S. C., 1857)
- English translation of LessingGotthold Ephraim LessingGotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
's Nathan der Weise (1869) - English translation of Sepher Yezirah, a Book on Creation, or the Jewish Metaphysics of Remote Antiquity, with notes and glossary, together with a “Sketch of the Talmud” (1877)
- English translation (from FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) of Munz's History of Philosophy and Philosophical Authors of the Jews (1881) - English translation (from HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
) of Ha-Tapnach, an imitation of PlatoPlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
's Phaedor ascribed to Aristotle the Stagyrite (New York, 1885)
His contributions to Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ical lexicography were published in the London Jewish Chronicle (1867) and in the Literatur-Blatt (Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, Germany, 1880).
Verse
- “Töne des Morgen-Landes” (Sounds of the Orient)
- “Die letzten Lebensmomente Moses” (The Last Months of Moses)
- “Die mystische Harfe” (The Mystic Harp)
- “Der Teufelstein” (Devil's Rock)
- “Gesicht der Seele” (Face of the Soul)
- Several hymns which are contained in the Reformed Hebrew Prayer-Book