Australian ilrtuiatj Ifistnrirai Bmuti] VOL. IV. PART II. CONTENTS. ESSAYS IN THE HISTORY OP JEWISH EDUCATION IN NEW SOUTH WALES. Part I. By D. J. Benjamin 29 THE VICTORIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY, 1900-1910. By Raymond Apple 53 MISCELLANEA 77 85 ״ BOOK REVIEWS OBITUARY ... 90 LIBRARY NOTES 91 SIXTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATE- MENT ; 94 LIST OF MEMBERS 94 Illustrations: LOUIS' PHILLIPS 31 TITLE PAGE, "JEWISH RITES EXPLAINED" 39 ABRAHAM ROTHFIELD 47 RABBI J. DANGLOW 60 HON. NATHANIEL LEVI 65 SIR BENJAMIN BENJAMIN 71 • SYDNEY : July, 5715—1955. AUSTRALIAN JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY. (Founded August 21st, 1938-5698.) Patron-Members: The Honourable Mr. JUSTICE SUGERMAN. .Kt ,׳The Honourable Sir ARCHIE MICHAELIS President: Rabbi Dr. ISRAEL PORUSH, Ph.D. Vice-President: HERBERT I. WOLFF. Hon. Treasurer : ARTHUR D. ROBB, F.C.A. (Aust.) Hon. Secretary : SYDNEY B. GLASS. Editor of Publications: DAVID J. BENJAMIN, LL.B. Committee : Mrs. RONALD BRASS, B.A. M. 25. FORBES, B.A., LL.B. M. H. KELLERMAN, B.Ec. ALFRED A. KEYSOR. Honorary Member of Committee : NATHAN F. SPIELVOGEL. Hon. Auditor: DAVID BOLOT, A.F.C.A., A.F.I.A. HON. SECRETARY'S ADDRESS : Z CASTLEREAGH STREET, SYDNEY. NEW SOUTH WALES. .flustralian Jewish historical Society JOURNAL AND PROCEEDINGS. Vol. IV. 1955. Part II. The Society is not responsible for either the statements made or the opinions expressed by the authors of papers published in this Journal. Essays in the History of Jewish Education in New South Wales, Part I. By DAVID J. BENJAMIN, LL.B. {Read before the Society, 2nd March, 1955.) This meeting of the Society is being held to-night as a contribution to Hebrew Education Month, and as the result of a request from the organisers to treat historically Jewish Education in New South Wales. In the present state of our knowledge, however, it is not possible to write a full-scale history. We have, therefore, chosen to present aspects of the problem in the form of isolated essays on different subjects within the theme. Two deal with education proper, one with personalities in the educational world, and two with organisation. Efforts have been made to ensure that the material is new, so that, as far as possible, use has not been made of papers which have previously appeared in the Society's Journal. It has not been practicable to present these essays in strict chronological order since they necessarily overlap. THE SYDNEY JEWISH SABBATH SCHOOL, 1863. The educational problem of the early 'sixties was not far different from that of to-day. Parents could not or would not teach their own children; the day school could not cope with all the children of the community, and in any case not all the parents would or could send their sons and daughters to a Jewish school.1 There were, therefore, many unattached children, almost certainly the majority of those of school age, who received no Jewish education at all. This gap had to be bridged, as it must be to-day. The man who set himself this task was Rev. A. B. Davis, the newly arrived Minister of the York Street Synagogue. It was at his instigation2 that a meeting was called for 19th February, 1863, to found a Sabbath school. 30 Australian Jewish Historical Society. The minutes3 show those present to have been Rev. A. B. Davis, Rev. Solomon Phillips (Minister of the Macquarie Street Synagogue), Moses Moss, Benjamin Francis, S. M. Levi, and Lewis Lipman. Davis was voted to the chair, and Lipman, who was Secretary of the Macquarie Street Synagogue and of the day school, was invited to be Hon. Secretary, pro. tem. Davis had obviously been influenced, as he admitted in his opening address, by the example set in other parts of the world, and he had already taken action to obtain the co-operation from both men and women that would be necessary to establish c iclfsow for boys and girls. The meeting then decided that the "above gentlemen," together with Myer Brodziak and Louis Phillips, form themselves into a committee, with Rev. A. B. Davis as President, "for. the purposp of establishing a Sabbath school." Rev. Solomon Phillips became Vice-President (though he soon resigned), and Moss was elected Treasurer. The Ladies' Committee then chosen comprised Mrs. Alfred Hort, Mrs. Jacob Lazarus, Mrs. B. Francis, Mrs. D. L. Levy, and Mrs. Henry Cohen, senr. Mrs. Hort and Mrs. Lazarus found themselves unable to act. No time was wasted. At once Samuel Phillips, the President of the Sydney Hebrew School, the then flourishing day school, was asked for the use of his rooms on Sabbaths, commencing on Saturday week. The Sydney Hebrew School at this time was conducted at 334 Pitt Street, under the Head- mastership of Rev. A. A. Levi, the second Minister at York Street.4 The request was granted, and work seems to have begun as planned.5 The second meeting of the committee took place on 26th February, and it substituted Mrs. A. B. Davis and Mrs. Samuel Emanuel for the two ladies who had declined to serve on the committee. From then until 16th July no meeting was held, but it is clear from the opening letter in the letter book, and from the first Annual Report, that classes had opened well before that. The meeting's first act was to ask Louis Phillips to be Hon. Secretary pro. tem. on the resignation of Lipman. Moss had in the interval between meetings received a letter from David Benjamin, formerly of Mielbourne but then of London, drawing his attention to the existence there of the Jewish Association for the Diffusion of Religious Knowledge. This body was founded in 1860 by Dayan Barnett Abrahams, father of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams of Melbourne, and at an early period of its existence had History of Jewish Education in 'N.8.W. 31 established a Sabbath school concurrently with its lectures and publications. It is now merged in the London Board of Jewish Religious Education.6 From the Sydney point of view, connection with it offered a twofold advantage. It had had some three years' experience of the type of education the Sabbath school here was offering, and it published books suitable for children. The meeting re- solved to open a correspondence with it, and to thank Benjamin for taking such an interest in education in Sydney. LOUIS PHILLIPS. Phillips wrote his letter two days later, addressing it to N. S. Joseph, then Hon. Secretary of the Association, and later well known for his book, Religion, Natural and —: In it Phillips said ך.Revealed Dear Sir, I have the honour to inform you that at a Committee meeting held on the 16th current correspondence of a semi-official character from Mr. David Benjamin to Mr. Moses Moss of this city was read and discussed with reference to the advantage that would accrue to the institution by becoming a branch of the one you so ably represent and I am directed to address you and to intimate that the members of the Board are desirous of acquiescing in an arrangement of this kind, persuaded they will thereby be not only benefited but in a position to carry out the necessary reciprocation. 32 Australian Jewish Historical Society. He went on to ask for information; to explain that the Sydney classes were so far for girls only; that about 25 were enrolled, and that they were probably younger than those at such classes in London. Apart from authorising this letter, the only other work of that meeting was to appoint Phillips as the regular Hon. Secretary8 and to decide on the establishment of an evening class in Hebrew once a week, the arrangements being left to Davis. The next meeting did not take place until 7th December, 1863. Meanwhile a reply had come from London. Un- happily it has not been preserved, but its tenor can be gathered from the resolution and the reply Phillips wrote the following day. It was decided to become a subscriber to the Association for one year in the sum of ten guineas. This apparently was to cover the cost of 250 copies of each of the Association's tracts which Phillips ordered in his letter. These tracts dealt with religious and moral themes, but not in a systematic way so as to supply the want of a formal text book. The disastrous situation in respect of books is made clear, in the same letter. Phillips says :— I may here remark, taking advantage of your kindly proferred services, that we are sadly in want of a manual of the Jewish faith. The one now in use, but of which we have only one copy, is that of Rev. A. P. Mendez.9 Whether this is the one you would recommend we are, of course, unaware and therefore leave it in your hands to kindly furnish us with one dozen copies of the most suitable book of the kind mentioned. Two other matters were dealt with in Phillips' letter. The heavy• cost of postage of the tracts already sent from London had caused concern there. Sydney assured them the matter was under consideration. The second matter concerned the name of the Sydney institution. Apparently the London body had suggested a reference to its own name. This question, too, was still awaiting decision. The meeting of 17th December elected three more members to the Committee—Jacob Lazarus, Samuel Emanuel and Sigmond Hoffnung. Though there was no further meeting until 23rd February, 1864, the Committee was not idle. In his letter to London of 21st February, Phillips was able to report the establishment of a Sabbath class for boys, though the attendance was still small.