Partial Friday evening Purim Sabbath Service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with reading of Megillat Esther and sermon, “The Purim Story: Fiction or Fact?”, March 19. 1954. Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.

Item Information

Title:
Partial Friday evening Purim Sabbath Service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with reading of Megillat Esther and sermon, “The Purim Story: Fiction or Fact?”, March 19. 1954. Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.
Description:
This is a partial Friday evening Purim Sabbath Service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with reading of Megillat Esther by Samuel Sidd (1892-1969), Alvin Sloan (1901-) and George Cohen; as well as a sermon. In his sermon, Rabbi Gittelsohn points out what he believes are several unusual characteristics of the Megillat Esther (Book of Esther), including that there is no mention of God. While most scholars agree that the text is historical fiction, Rabbi Gittelsohn concludes that the story is based on historical reality since it depicts the experience of the Jews throughout the centuries. Choral music performed by the Temple Israel Choir, Herbert Fromm, conductor.
Speaker:
Gittelsohn, Roland Bertram, 1910-1995
Speaker:
Sidd, Samuel, 1892-1969
Musical director:
Fromm, Herbert
Composer:
Fromm, Herbert
Creator:
Congregation Adath Israel (Boston, Mass.)
Date:
March 19, 1954
Format:
Audio recordings (nonmusical)
Location:
Temple Israel of Boston
Wyner Archives
Collection (local):
Past Voices, Audio Recordings, 1934-1979
Subjects:
Reform Judaism--United States
Jewish sermons--United States
Synagogue music--Sabbath services
Purim
Antisemitism--History
Bible. Esther
Places:
Massachusetts > Suffolk (county) > Boston
Extent:
1/4" open reel tape (2 recordings)
Permalink:
https://ark.digitalcommonwealth.org/ark:/50959/6d572m12c
Terms of Use:
No known copyright restrictions.
This work is licensed for use under a Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives License (CC BY-ND).
CC BY-ND icon
Language:
English
Hebrew
Preferred Citation:
Partial Friday evening Purim Sabbath Service led by Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn with reading of Megillat Esther and sermon, “The Purim Story: Fiction or Fact?”, March 19. 1954. Audiovisual Collection, Wyner Archives of Temple Israel of Boston.
Notes (object):
Part 1 (1 hour, 04 min., 39 sec.)
Part 2 (40 min., 18 sec.)
Notes (funding):
This project was supported by a Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR). The grant program is made possible by funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Notes (historical):
Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn (1910-1995), social justice activist, Zionist, and writer, was Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel from 1953-1977 and Rabbi Emeritus thereafter. He served as founding rabbi of Central Synagogue in Rockville Center, NY from 1936-1953. During WWII, he became the first Jewish Marine Corps chaplain, and, in 1945, he delivered a moving, oft-quoted eulogy on brotherhood at Iwo Jima. After his retirement he was a co-founder of ARZA (the Association of Reform Zionists).
Rabbi Leon A. Jick (1924-2005), professor, historian, activist, and Zionist, was Assistant Rabbi at Temple Israel from 1954-1957. From 1957-1966, he served as rabbi of the Free Synagogue of Westchester in Mount Vernon, NY. He then became Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Brandeis University, where he held several positions, including Dean, over the next 24 years. His book, The Americanization of the Synagogue, 1820-1870 (1992) has become a classic.
Louis Golden (1890-1957), a long-term member of Temple Israel, was a boys’ wear clothing executive and Jewish civic activist. He was the Vice-President of the Combined Jewish Appeal of Greater Boston in 1948, the Appeal’s most successful fundraising campaign.
Cecil G(eorge) Sheps (1913-2004), Temple Israel member, was the General Director of Beth Israel Hospital.
Samuel Sidd, (1892-1969), a Director of the Schrafft & Sons company, was a long-term member and a Trustee of Temple Israel.
George Cohen (1886-1970) was a practicing attorney in Boston and a Temple Israel Board member of over forty years who served President of both the Temple Israel Brotherhood and the New England Association of Temple Brotherhoods.
Herbert Fromm (1905-1995), Temple Israel’s organist and Music Director (1941-1973), was a German-born conductor and composer forced to leave Germany in 1937. A prolific composer of religious music, much of which became part of the standard synagogue repertoire, and secular works, he also published many articles and essays and several books.
Identifier:
TI-AV_90069.001
TI-AV_90069.002