Letter from Isaac Mayer Wise to Isaac Leeser;April 20, 1851
- Title
- Letter from Isaac Mayer Wise to Isaac Leeser;April 20, 1851
- Author
- Isaac Mayer Wise
- Contributor
- Isaac Leeser
- Date Created
- 20 April 1851
- Format
- Letter. 3 page(s) on 4 sheet(s).
- Type
- Letter
- Language(s)
- English
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p3q815c52/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3q815c52
- Physical Characteristics
- Unlined Paper
- Wax Seal
- Manuscript
- content
-
Rev. Mr. Leeser
Dear Sir!
I shall answer to your note which you appended to my letter as soon as my second letter on the subject will be published.
I am very sorry to read that an other Hebrew has been elected in Philadelphia; I think the affairs have not been managed in a proper way; I know for sure that you have many friends in P.; I hope this will not discourage you, and you will after all not retire from public business, and I am convinced Hebrew; the public will and must acknowledge, that you were always the banner-bearer of our Faith, and though it is unpleasant to be set aside, still the conscious-ness, that you did not deserve it, is a prompt satisfaction.
Peace and order have returned among the Israelites of our City, and every past event is almost entirely forgot; my Synagogue is again so much visited, that many have to go of because of want of room; while the other Synagogues are very little visited but by their own members; you see Hazan. Go on and care for nothing. The first day of Hebrew was devoted to service and the afternoon to the examination of my happy little band, which gave general satisfaction; I was delighted to see how my former scholars, children of my severest enemies, set there so attentively, and surrounded me as affectionate as ever before. Let those be grown up and Hebrew. The members of our choir gave a concert last night, which was visited by a very numerous and respectable audience, and every one was pleased by it.
It is extremly delightful to hear children of 12 to 14 years sing the most difficult passages with such a precision and readiness as they did. Great praise is due to the Gentlemen of the choirs they spare neither their time nor their money to elevate the hebrew music; and I ardently hope that the young people in other places might follow this example.
At a meeting of our Congregation Hebrew it was passed, that the institution of a Hebrew be abolished in this Congregation; all singing to be done by the choir, according to Sulzer's, Naumburger's or other hebrew music; the prayers to be read in the common oral tunes by the Rabbi of the Congregation, who has to stand Hebrew; the Thorah to be read in a modern tune of reading by one appointed to it.
I saw, that my friend Kalisch has thrown some sparks of his immense erudition before the critical world. He will repent it by the by, I am sure of it, but still I like to see him caught in that fatal net. Who is Miss L. R. T.? a remarkable woman indeed; I should like to know some more about her. Where lives Mrs. R. H.? I wish to enter in a privat correspondence with both of them, and you would oblige me giving me their directions.
Wishing you Hebrew and God's blessing.
I remain truely
yours
Wise
Hebrew
Rev. Mr. Isaac Leeser
371 Walnut St.
Philadelphia - Identifier
- LSTCAT_item221
- Date
- 1851-04-20
Part of Letter from Isaac Mayer Wise to Isaac Leeser;April 20, 1851
Isaac Mayer Wise, “Letter from Isaac Mayer Wise to Isaac Leeser;April 20, 1851”, 1851-04-20, Isaac Leeser Digital Repository, accessed September 7, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/leeser/item/66144