RG 1 - General Files.
| Title: | Guide to the JTSA. General Files, 1902-1972. 1940-1972 (bulk). |
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| Name(s): | Jewish Theological Seminary of America General Files. | |
| Type of Resource: | text | |
| Issuance: | monographic | |
| Date Issued: | 1902 | |
| Abstract/Description: | The General Files of the Jewish Theological Seminary, which served as the Seminary's central filing system, consist principally of the correspondence of the president/chancellor (the title changed from president to chancellor in 1951). Some correspondence of vice-chancellors and other top administrators is also included. Since the bulk of this material dates from 1940-1972, the years Dr. Louis Finkelstein (1895-1992), headed the Seminary, the General Files chiefly document his administration. There is, though, a significant | |
| Abstract/Description: | amount of material from the 1930s, some from the 1920s, and a scattering going back to 1902. These earlier files cover, if thinly, the administrations of Solomon Schechter and Cyrus Adler. Records dating from the Seminary's founding in 1886 until its reorganization in 1902 are not been found in these files. Material in the General Files is mainly correspondence, both letters received and carbons of outgoing letters. The files also contain a variety of other types of documents, such as: minutes, reports, press releases, texts of speeches and lectures, clippings, reprints of articles, programs, invitations, guest lists, photographs, and audio tapes. Correspondents include: members of the Seminary's board of director | |
| Abstract/Description: | contributors to his book "The Jews: Their History, Culture, and Religion" (published between 1949 and 1971); representatives of many Jewish communal, religious, cultural, educational, and political organizations; politicians and other public figures; Israeli government officials; administrators of neighboring academic institutions on Morningside Heights, particularly Columbia University; community organizations, particularly Morningside Heights, Inc.; and an occasional member of the public writing to ask a question about Jewish law or custom. These files document Seminary administrative and academic matters, and during Louis Finkelstein's administration they also reflect his role as a prominent American Jew, one | |
| Abstract/Description: | who was occasionally called upon to act as a spokesman or representative of American Jews as a whole. Dr. Finkelstein's work as an author and editor, particularly the preparation of his "The Jews..." is documented here. Correspondents include: W.H. Auden, Mary McLeod Bethune, Franz Boas, Van Wyck Brooks, T.S. Eliot, Nels Ferre, Aldous Huxley, Jacques Lipchitz, Alain Locke, Thomas Mann, Margaret Mead, Reinhold Niebuhr, I.I. Rabi, Bertrand Russell, Bayard Rustin, Delmore Schwartz, Ben Shahn, Harlow Shapley, Paul Tillich, and many others. Also of note is correspondence with Frieda Schiff Warburg, daughter of Jacob Schiff and a Seminary board member. From 1944, when she donated her Fifth Avenue house to the Seminary for use as the Jewish Museum, until her death in 1958, the files contain her correspondence with Louis Finkelstein and other Seminary administrators, notably Jessica Feingold. This correspondence provides a view into the donation of the Warburg house and its transformation into the Jewish Museum. | |
| Abstract/Description: | The last series of General Files (1.25 linear ft.) consists of Louis Ginzberg's correspondence, 1904-1951. This correspondence concerns Seminary administrative and academic matters, Ginzberg's scholarly work (including the publication of three volumes of his "Commentary on the Talmud of Jerusalem," 1941), questions about Jewish law, and personal matters. Included are Ginzberg's letters to Solomon Schechter, Cyrus Adler, and Louis Finkelstein; to colleagues both within and outside the Seminary; students; publishers; and others. The rest of the material consists of a small group of typescripts of writings, ca.1910s-1950s, and papers documenting birthdays, his funeral, and memorial services. Included among the writings are Ginzberg's memorial addresses for Rabbi David Hoffman (1922), Cyrus Adler (1940), and Alexander Marx (1953); a group of Talmud lectures, 1941-1942; and other speeches, lectures, and articles. Of note is a published copy of Ginzberg's World War Two era "Prayer for Divine Aid." | |
| Note(s): |
The Jewish Theological Seminary was founded in New York in 1886 then reorganized in 1902 under the leadership of Solomon Schechter. Considered the fountainhead of the Conservative Movement in Judaism, the Seminary consists of a rabbinical school and graduate and undergraduate programs in Jewish studies. During the first half of the century it also included a Jewish teachers training institute. The Seminary's heads have been: Sabato Morais (1886-1897), Solomon Schechter (1902-1915), Cyrus Adler (1915-1940), Louis Finkelstein (1940-1972), Gerson Cohen (1972-1986), and Ismar Schorsch (1986-present). French, German, Hebrew, Yiddish. |
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| Subject(s): |
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Albright, William Foxwell, 1891-1971 Arzt, Max Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907-1973 Baron, Salo Wittmayer, 1895- Bavli, Hillel, 1893-1961 Bentwich, Norman De Mattos, 1883-1971 Bialik, Hayyim Nahman, 1873-1934 Boas, Franz, 1858-1942 Brooks, Van Wyck, 1886-1963 Bryson, Lyman, 1888-1959 Buber, Martin, 1878-1965 Cahn, Edmond Nathaniel, 1906-1964 Constable, William G. (William George), 1887- Dimitrovsky, Haim Z, 1920- Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965 Faust, Clarence H Feingold, Jessica Ferre, Nels Frederick Solomon, 1908- Finkelstein, Louis, 1895- Fosdick, Harry Emerson, 1878-1969 Gillman, Neil Ginsberg, Harold Louis Ginzberg, Eli, 1911- Ginzberg, Louis, 1873-1953 Glueck, Nelson, 1900-1971 Gordis, Robert, 1908- Grayzel, Solomon, 1896-1980 Greenberg, Simon, 1901- Guggenheim, Daniel, 1856-1930 Halkin, Abraham S, 1903- Heschel, Abraham Joshua, 1907-1972 Hoffman, David, 1784-1854 Huxley, Aldous, 1894-1963 Kanof, Abram, 1903-1999 Kaplan, Mordecai Menahem, 1881- Kayser, Stephen S, 1900- Kelman, Wolfe La Farge, John, 1880-1963 Lasswell, Harold D. (Harold Dwight), 1902-1978 Lehman, Herbert H. (Herbert Henry), 1878-1963 Lieberman, Saul, 1898- Lipchitz, Jacques, 1891-1973 Littauer, Lucius Nathan, 1859-1944 Locke, Alain LeRoy, 1886-1954 MacIver, Robert M. (Robert Morrison), 1882-1970 Mann, Thomas, 1875-1955 Marshall, James, 1942-1992 Marshall, Louis, 1856-1929 Marx, Alexander Mead, Margaret, 1901-1978 Murray, John Courtney Niebuhr, Reinhold, 1892-1971 Nikhilananda Swami Rabi, I. I. (Isidor Isaac), 1898-1988 Rifkind, Simon H. (Simon Hirsch), 1901- Rosten, Leo Calvin, 1908- Roth, Cecil, 1899-1970 Rothschild, Edmond baron de, 1845-1934 Russell, Bertrand, 1872-1970 Rustin, Bayard, 1912-1987 -- -- Scharfstein, Ẓevi, 1884-1972 Schechter, S. (Solomon), 1847-1915 Schmelzer, Menahem, 1934- Scholem, Gershom Gerhard, 1897- -- Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969 Shapley, Harlow, 1885-1972 Sorokin, Pitirim Aleksandrovich, 1889-1968 Sperber, Alexander, 1897- Strauss, Lewis L Tillich, Paul, 1886-1965 Warren, Earl A, 1891-1974 Wilson, Edmund, 1895-1972 Wright, Frank Lloyd, 1867-1959 Abbell, Maxwell Adam, Thomas Ritchie Akhilananda Swami Baerwald, Paul Bethune, Mary McLeod Chan, Wing-tsit Cleveland, Harlan Damanda, Carlotta Davis, Moshe Geffen, Joel Goodman, Percival Kahn, Ely Jacques Lehman, Irving List, Albert A Revson, Charles H Sarnoff, David Schapiro, Meyer Sulzberger, Arthur Hays Warburg, Frieda Schiff, 1876-1958 American Jewish History Center -- (New York, N.Y.) Jewish Theological Seminary of America. Institute for Religious and Social Studies. Jewish Museum (New York, N.Y.) Schocken Library (Jerusalem) University of Judaism. Conference on Science, Philosophy and Religion in Their Relation to the Democratic Way of Life. Eternal light (Radio program) Conservative Judaism Intergroup activities Jewish learning and scholarship -- New York (N.Y.) Jewish libraries -- New York (N.Y.) Jewish museums -- New York (N.Y.) Jewish religious education Jews, American Jews -- New York (N.Y.) Museum buildings Rabbis -- New York (N.Y.) Rabbinical seminaries -- New York (N.Y.) Radio broadcasting -- Religious aspects Universities and colleges -- Administration Talmud -- Criticism, Textual Prayers for peace Eulogies |
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| Library Classification: | R.G.1 | |
| Held by: | Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 3080 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10027 USA. | |
| Restrictions on Access: | Permission required. Some items are restricted. Reproduction of fragile items is not permitted. Consult the Librarian about literary rights. | |
| In Collections: |