1853

There is little doubt that Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900) has contributed more to the promotion and proliferation of Reform Judaism than anybody else in Cincinnati’s storied history.

Rabbi Wise was an extremely influential and renowned force in the early history of Judaism in the United States. He was a self-educated rabbi who was profoundly devoted to Americanizing Judaism.

Elected to the helm of the K. K. Bene Yeshurun congregation in 1853, he moved to Cincinnati from Albany, he negotiated a lifetime appointment. Wise’s Cincinnati congregation was responsible for the erection of the prominent Plum Street Temple (1866). Wise realized that the “broad, healthful and youthful West” was the perfect place to cultivate his vision of a progressive, distinctly American Judaism.”

A mere sampling of the achievements he accumulated in his illustrious career include founding the first continually running English-language Jewish weekly, establishing Hebrew Union College, and turning K.K. Bene Yeshurun into the leading Reform congregation in the United States.

Wise as an educator: “Rabbi Wise deeply appreciated the liberty and equality that America offered and understood that such freedoms allowed new interpretations of religious traditions. By establishing Hebrew Union College, Wise developed a means of educating rabbinic leaders to secure the future of Judaism in America.”

Wise as an organizer: “Rabbi Wise was convinced that Hebrew Union College needed a union of congregations to support it an develop a common worship mode for American Jews. In 1873, twenty-eight representatives from five local congregations attended the first conference of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Today called the Union of Reform Judaism, the organization has grown to more than 800 member congregations.”