Letter from Isidor Bush to Isaac Leeser;May 04, 1851
- Title
- Letter from Isidor Bush to Isaac Leeser;May 04, 1851
- Author
- Isidor Bush
- Contributor
- Isaac Leeser
- Date Created
- 4 May 1851
- Format
- Letter. 2 page(s).
- Type
- Letter
- Language(s)
- English
- Has Format
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/items/ark:/81431/p36d5px5p/manifest.json
- Link to Colenda
- https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p36d5px5p
- Physical Characteristics
- Lined Paper
- Manuscript
- content
-
St. Louis. A correspondent from this flourishing city writes as follows
St Louis, Mo, May 4th 5611.
Mr Isaac Leeser Pha
With sincere joy and an admiration, as only my own experiences, earned on your thorufull? field, can inspire, I received the first number of the new series of your Occident, and I determi-ned to obey your friendly and repeated demand for some contributions of my pen. To save you the trouble of translating- I write you in English and hope, your readers will excuse their German brother for the want of elegance and even correctness of style, and might anyhow that they may find the manner what he offers them, worthy of their noticing.
As a correspondent at of this place I feel it my duty to begin with local matters, though they may not be of much interest, as far as I know of them, which, I confess my knowledge of them is but very little and yet less tho? not favorable. The body of the Jews here were are of Polish rite origin and habits and ? followed the clothing trade, which was is little calcu-lated to gain the esteem of our fellow citizens; but even many Jews were unwilling to join them for on account of their intollerance and high emotions at every opportunity. The result is that a kind of stag-nation prevails in our community and while St Louis has become in the last decenium ten years one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the U. S. and whilst the number and wealth of its Israelites did not remain behind its growth kept pace in proportion, our religious institutions are insignificant, our house of worship poor, & there is no learned man at the head of the community to devote on the Sabbath our minds and hearts, to instruct our children, which are in great numbers sent to parochial schools and catholic sisters for getting nunning schools to obtain their first instruction rudiments of education. Most probably the old community thought
to get obtain adherents by making extravagant charges when a Jew, that who was not a member had the sad duty to ? to bury his friends or relation. This was a rebuke grievance to many and some they formed lately though with very little means new congregations, one of which is generally called the Bavarian the other the Bohemian Jews. The latter though very few in number dissing with themselves by a greater degree of tollerance; though very fewin number they have by great sacrifices purchased a burring ground of their own and have organized a well organized service regulated system of worship, which is well attended on our holy days. It is to be hoped that
May the future furnish a more rejoicing agreeable report in with regard to these our interests; until then you will not wonder that your journal magazine finds but very few subscribers in this great metropolis of the west, and that a St Louis Paper*, speaking of Jews in general and (though as a catholic organ inclined to speak favorably of them) mentions the Jews of South Carolina and Savannah of New York and Philadelphia but does not find anything to say in praise of those Jews, that are its own readers.
I.B.(usch)
* the St Louis Union of the 25th of April contained the following article: - Identifier
- LSDCBx1FF8_40
- Date
- 1851-05-04
Part of Letter from Isidor Bush to Isaac Leeser;May 04, 1851
Isidor Bush, “Letter from Isidor Bush to Isaac Leeser;May 04, 1851”, 1851-05-04, Isaac Leeser Digital Repository, accessed September 7, 2024, https://judaicadhpenn.org/legacyprojects/s/leeser/item/69005