Drachman, Bernard 1861-1945

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DRACHMAN, Bernard 1861-1945

PERSONAL:

Born June 27, 1861, in New York, NY; died March 12, 1945, in New York, NY. Education: Columbia University, B.A., 1882; attended Jewish Seminary, University of Breslau; University of Heidelberg, Ph.D., 1884.

CAREER:

Ordained rabbi, 1885; leader of Orthodox Jewish congregation in Newark, NJ, 1885-87; Zichron Ephraim, rabbi, 1889-1940. Also leader of an Orthodox Jewish congregation in New York, NY, 1909-22. Jewish Theological Seminary of America, cofounder, 1886, professor of Bible, Hebrew, and Jewish philosophy, 1887-1902; also taught at Yeshiva College (now Yeshiva University).

MEMBER:

Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations (president, 1908-20), Synagogue Council of America (member of board of directors), Mizrachi Organization of America (member of board of directors), Jewish Sabbath Alliance of America (founder, 1906).

WRITINGS:

(Translator) Samson Raphael Hirsch, Igrot tsafon: The Nineteen Years of Ben Uziel, Being a Spiritual Presentation of the Principles of Judaism, Funk & Wagnalls (New York, NY), 1899, reprinted, Block Publishing (New York, NY), 1942.

From the Heart of Israel, illustrated by A. Warshawsky, J. Pott (New York, NY, 1905, reprinted as From the Heart of Israel: Jewish Tales and Types, Books for Libraries Press (Freeport, NY), 1970.

(Editor) Zerahiah ben Isaac ha-Levi, Divre ha-rivot: Kolel ha-vikuah … ben Zerahyah … Halevi ve-avraham ben David me-'ir Poskre's be-sugyat shete parot/Divre ha-riboth, Matters of Controversy; A Rabbinical Disputation between Zerahiah ha-Levi and Abraham ben David, Defus Y. Rahlin v-shutafav (New York, NY), 1907.

Looking at America, Putnam (New York, NY), 1934, reprinted, Books for Libraries Press (Freeport, NY), 1970.

The Unfailing Light: Memoirs of an American Rabbi, edited by Julian M. Drachman, Rabbinical Council of America (New York, NY), 1948.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Drachman, Bernard, The Unfailing Light: Memoirs of an American Rabbi, edited by Julian M. Drachman, Rabbinical Council of America (New York, NY), 1948.

Religious Leaders of America, 2nd edition, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1999.