New Essays in American Jewish History: Commemorating the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Founding of the American Jewish Archives

Abstract

This collection is a festschrift published in honor of the sixtieth anniversary of the American Jewish Archives (AJA), one of the two major repositories for the burgeoning field of American Jewish history. The archive was established by the doyen of American Jewish history, Jacob R. Marcus, in 1947 and expanded after his retirement by his successor, Gary P. Zola. The anthology begins fittingly with celebratory essays in honor of the founders written by David Ellenson, the president of Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion, and Kevin Proffitt, the senior archivist of the AJA. Nothing in the book indicates what screening standards were employed to bring together these articles, which vary enormously in quality, scope, and subject, leaving one hard-pressed to find a theme that holds the twenty-three articles together. I assume, as is customary with festschrifts, that inclusion was by invitation and the common bond was some connection to the AJA, through its fellowship program, publication in the American Jewish Archives Journal, or some other link. Strictly speaking, several contributions are not “new essays” in American Jewish history unless one considers the Jews of Suriname or the thoughts of Nachman Krochmal and Achad Ha’am to have magically sprung from American Jewish soil. Even so, from the sheer variety of subjects one can conclude that the American Jewish historical enterprise has gone “broadband.” The articles range from a thoughtful essay by Jonathan D. Sarna that develops a now well-known theme that the ferment triggered by the openness of the American polity in the Protestant community found a parallel in Jewish congregations. The breadth of that essay stands in contrast to a highly specific study by William Toll of Jewish life on the campus of the University of Oregon in the 1920s and a well-researched piece by Cornelia Wilhelm on the ambivalent relationship between Isaac M. Wise and the Independent Order of B’nai B’rith. The recognition of a scholar’s name, such as Hasia Diner, gives the reader a preview of what is coming in some of the essays. Her article is related to her passion to correct the mistaken notion of American Jewish silence after the Holocaust.