The American Jewish Archives Journal, Volume LXI 2009, Number 1
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The American Jewish Archives Journal Volume LXI 2009 • Number 1 Academic Advisory & Editorial Board Jonathan D. Sarna, Co-chair Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts Gary P. Zola, Co-chair Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, Ohio Martin A. Cohen Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, New York Norman J. Cohen Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, New York, New York Sara S. Lee Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, Los Angeles, California Pamela S. Nadell American University, Washington, DC Kevin Proffitt American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio Mark A. Raider University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio Marc Lee Raphael College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia Shuly Rubin Schwartz The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York, New York Robert Seltzer Hunter College, New York, New York Lance J. Sussman Congregation Keneseth Israel, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania VoLume LXI NumbeR 1 (2009) A Journal Devoted to the Preservation and Study of The American Jewish Experience Gary P. Zola, Ph.D., Editor Dana Herman, Ph.D., Managing Editor Phil Reekers, Editorial Assistant Jacob Rader marcus, Ph.D., Founding editor (1896–1995) Published by The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives Located on the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew union College–Jewish Institute of Religion Cincinnati • New York • Los Angeles • Jerusalem Publication of this journal is made possible, in part, by gifts from Congregation emanu-el of the City of New York and by the Dolores and Walter Neustadt American Jewish Archives Journal endowment fund. The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives Located on the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew union College–Jewish Institute of Religion Cincinnati • New York • Los Angeles • Jerusalem Dr. David Ellenson, President Dr. Alfred Gottschalk, Chancellor Emeritus On the cover: Nelson Glueck and Yigael Yadin examine a photographic plate of the rolled Genesis Apocryphon Scroll, Cincinnati, 30 November 1956. The plate is published as illustration #1 in Nahman Avigad and Yigael Yadin’s A Genesis Apocryphon: A Scroll From the Wilderness of Judaea (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1956). (Courtesy American Jewish Archives) The American Jewish Archives Journal is indexed in the Index to Jewish Periodicals, Current Contents, American Historical Review, United States Political Science Documents, and the Journal of American History. Information for Contributors: The American Jewish Archives Journal generally follows The Chicago Manual of Style (15th Edition) but issues its own style sheet, which may be accessed by visiting the American Jewish Archives website at: www.AmericanJewishArchives.org ISSN 002-905X © 2009 by The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives ii • American Jewish Archives Journal CONTENTS To Our Readers Gary P. Zola, Editor pp. vii–x Articles Optimistic, Even With the Negatives: HUC-JIR and the Dead Sea Scrolls, 1948–1993 Jason Kalman pp. 1–114 Between 1948 and 1993, scholars at HUC-JIR were actively engaged in the study of the Dead Sea Scrolls, participated in efforts to acquire and preserve the manuscripts, and played a significant part in breaking the monopoly of scholars initially assigned to publish them. Despite these activities, a number of HUC- JIR’s influential teachers took a negative view of the scrolls, which created a situation in which rabbinical students either did not encounter the material or left the institution with a view of it that was far from the mainstream. This article traces the activities of HUC-JIR’s professors over five decades, the contribution they made to the new academic field, and their influence on how knowledge of the Dead Sea Scrolls was shared with Jewish clergy and teachers-in-training. How the Dead Sea Scrolls Influenced Reform Judaism Richard A. Freund pp. 115–143 The Dead Sea Scrolls are acknowledged as the greatest discovery of Hebrew manuscripts in modern times. For modern Jews and Judaism the question is, what is the impact of the scrolls beyond the obvious contributions to the understanding of ancient manuscript readings of the Hebrew Bible and verification of certain historical beliefs of the Jews in the first centuries before and after the Common Era? Do the Dead Sea Scrolls actually affect modern Reform synagogue theology, life, and customs? Volume LXI Number 1 • iii Documentary Analysis A Spiritually Powerful Sect of Judaism: Two Sermons on the Dead Sea Scrolls by Rabbi Harold I. Saperstein introduced by Marc Saperstein and annotated by Jason Kalman pp. 144–161 Book Reviews Naomi W. Cohen, What the Rabbis Said: The Public Discourse of Nineteenth-Century American Rabbis reviewed by Ira Robinson pp. 164–165 John Cooper, Raphael Lemkin and the Struggle for the Genocide Convention reviewed by Mitchel Gerber pp. 165–167 Carole S. Kessner, Marie Syrkin: Values Beyond the Self reviewed by Norman Finkelstein pp. 167–168 Julian Levinson, Exiles on Main Street: Jewish American Writers and American Literary Culture reviewed by Lara Trubowitz pp. 169–170 John P. Marschall, Jews in Nevada: A History reviewed by Marc Dollinger pp. 170–171 Michael A. Meyer, ed., Joachim Prinz, Rebellious Rabbi: An Autobiography—The German and Early American Years reviewed by Tobias Brinkmann pp. 172–173 Andrew Muchin, “Chosen Towns: The Story of Jews in Wisconsin’s Small Communities” (DVD) reviewed by Amy Hill Shevitz pp. 173–174 iv • American Jewish Archives Journal Marc Lee Raphael, ed., The Columbia History of Jews and Judaism in America reviewed by Dana Evan Kaplan pp. 174–177 Walter Roth, Avengers and Defenders: Glimpses of Chicago’s Jewish Past reviewed by Stephen J. Whitfield pp. 177–178 Leonard Saxe and Barry Chazan, Ten Days of Birthright Israel: A Journey in Young Adult Identity reviewed by Caryn Aviv pp. 178–180 Edward S. Shapiro, ed., Yiddish in America: Essays on Yiddish Culture in the Golden Land reviewed by Shiri Goren pp. 180–181 Shlomit Steinberg, Orphaned Art: Looted Art from the Holocaust in the Israel Museum reviewed by Karen S. Franklin pp. 182–183 Hollace Ava Weiner, Jewish “Junior League”: The Rise and Demise of the Fort Worth Council of Jewish Women reviewed by Susan Landau-Chark pp. 184–185 Jack Wertheimer, ed., Imagining the American Jewish Community reviewed by Adam Mendelsohn pp. 185–186 Councils pp. 187–188 Index pp. 189–198 Volume LXI Number 1 • v Combined faculty colloquium, Cincinnati, 1974. Left to right, front row: Michael Cook, Sheldon H. Blank, Alexander Guttmann, Alfred Gottschalk, Jacob R. Marcus, Paul M. Steinberg, Kenneth D. Roseman, Samuel Greengus, Lewis M. Barth Second row: Ellis Rivkin, William Cutter, Judith Bisno, Lowell G. McCoy, Harry M. Orlinsky, Samuel Atlas, Stephen Passamaneck, Eugene B. Borowitz, Eugene Mihaly, Lennard R. Thal Third row: Ben Zion Wacholder, Herbert C. Zafren, Matitiahu Tsevat, Sylvan D. Schwartzman, Nathaniel H. Karol, Jakob J. Petuchowski, Lawrence Hoffman, Norman B. Mirsky, Stanley Gevirtz Back row: Uri D. Herscher, Werner Weinberg, Edward A. Goldman, Martin A. Cohen, Samson H. Levey, Samuel Sandmel, I. Edward Kiev, Michael A. Meyer, Herbert C. Brichto, Stanley F. Chyet, Fred Reiner (Courtesy American Jewish Archives) vi • American Jewish Archives Journal TO our readers… The distinguished American Jewish financier, statesman, and presidential advisor, Bernard M. Baruch (1870–1965), was known for his clever aphorisms. On one occasion he quipped: “Vote for the man who promises least; he’ll be the least disappointing.”1 A few years ago, the editors of this journal promised to publish, in rapid succession, the back issues and return this periodical to a timely publication by the summer of 2009. With this edition, we have made good on that promise, and we pledge to maintain our traditional publication schedule in the future. We have no intention of being the least bit disappointing! In light of the recent media attention that has focused the public’s inter- est on the impending changes in the overall structure of the Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), it is an ironic coincidence that this volume of The American Jewish Archives Journal sheds new light on almost fifty years of fascinating scholarly activity at the College-Institute. At the very time that HUC-JIR struggles to find the sure footing on which it will stand for the coming decades, the articles in this edition bring the school’s distinguished academic achievements into bold relief. The content of this par- ticular journal offers a timely perspective on the influential role that HUC-JIR and its distinguished faculty have played in the unfolding saga of one of the most fascinating events in the entire history of biblical studies: the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in the caves near Qumran. The essays in this issue demonstrate that the College-Institute has been actively involved in Dead Sea Scroll scholarship and has been at the epicenter of numerous controversies associated with the scrolls from the beginning, only months after a Bedouin in 1947 stumbled on the ancient parchments in a cave on the cliffs facing the Dead Sea. Collectively, these articles illuminate how HUC-JIR’s academic involvement with the Dead Sea Scrolls influenced the field of biblical studies and, concomitantly, captivated generations of HUC- JIR rabbinic students, who became genuinely interested in the fierce scholarly debates that ensued. After completing their studies, HUC-JIR’s rabbinic alumni applied this interest to their communal endeavors. They used what they learned in their sermons and, through their lectures on the Dead Sea Scrolls, HUC-JIR ordinees helped to popularize the subject matter in Reform congregations all across North America. Readers will also note that this fascinating reconstruction of the history of Jewish scholarship in the United States is almost entirely based on primary source material preserved at The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives. The AJA’s holdings contain the papers of numerous Jewish academics, many of whom taught at HUC-JIR but also many who taught elsewhere.