Joseph Hertz

"Rabbi Hertz" redirects here. For the 17th-century rabbi, seeNaftali Hertz ben Yaakov Elchanan.

Rabbi Joseph Hertz CH
Joseph Hertz in 1913
Chief Rabbiof Great Britain and theCommonwealth
In office 1913–1946
Preceded by	Hermann Adler
Succeeded by	Israel Brodie
Personal details
Born	25 September 1872
Died	14 January 1946(1946-01-14)(aged 73)
Resting place	Willesden Jewish Cemetery
Nationality	Hungarian

Joseph Herman HertzCH(25 September 1872 – 14 January 1946) was a British Rabbi andbiblical scholar.He held the position ofChief Rabbi of the United Kingdomfrom 1913 until his death in 1946, in a period encompassing bothworld warsandthe Holocaust.

Early life

Hertz was born in Rebrín/Rebrény,Kingdom of Hungary(presently part of the village ofZemplínska Široká,Slovak Republic), in 1872 and immigrated to New York City in 1884. He was educated atNew York City College(BA),Columbia University(PhD) and theJewish Theological Seminary of America(Rabbi, 1894, the Seminary's first graduate). His first ministerial post was inSyracuse, New Yorkat what is now Temple Adath Yeshurun.

South Africa

In 1898, he moved toTransvaal,South Africa, to theWitwatersrandOld Hebrew Congregation inJohannesburg.He stayed there until 1911, despite attempts by PresidentPaul Krugerin 1899 to expel him for his pro-Britishsympathies and for advocating the removal of religiousdisabilitiesof Jews and Catholics in South Africa. He was Professor of Philosophy at Transvaal University College (later known as theUniversity of the Witwatersrand), 1906–8.

In 1911, he returned to New York to the Orach Chayim Congregation.

Chief Rabbi

Rabbi Hertz in the late 1920s

In 1913, Hertz was electedChief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire;he received 298 votes against 39 forDayan Moses Hyamson.His rival candidates had also includedBernard Drachman.

Hertz held the post until his death. His tenure was affected by arguments with a wide variety of people, mainly within the Jewish community; theDictionary of National Biographydescribes him as a "combative Conservative". It was said that he was in favour of resolving disagreements by calm discussion – when all other methods had failed.

Despite his title, he was not universally recognised as the final rabbinical authority, even in Britain. While he was Chief Rabbi of the group of synagogues known as the United Hebrew Congregations of the British Empire, led by theUnited Synagogue,a minority of new immigrants who had arrived since the 1880s regarded it as insufficiently orthodox. Hertz tried both persuasion and such force as he could muster to influence them; he added to his credibility among these immigrants by persuading RabbiYehezkel Abramskyto become head of theLondonBeth Din.

Hertz antagonised others by his strong support forZionismin the 1920s and 1930s, when many Jews were against it, fearing that it would lead to accusations against the Jewish community of divided loyalty. Hertz was strongly opposed toReformandLiberal Judaism,though he did not allow this to create personal animosities, and had no objection in principle to attending the funerals of Reform Jews.

However, despite all this, his eloquent oratory, lucid writing, erudition and sincerity earned him the respect of the majority ofBritish Jewsand many outside the Jewish community.His commentary on theTorahis still to be found in most Orthodox synagogues and Jewish homes in Great Britain. Despite there being some Ultra-Orthodox Jews who do not look up to Hertz, prominent Ultra-Orthodox RabbiNosson Schermanmaintained that Hertz "was a great man," a courageous Rabbi, and that although he was affiliated with the Jewish Theological Seminary Hertz "was Orthodox, without any question."

Although Hertz vigorously denounced the horror of theHolocaust(at one point relating an eyewitness claim that "German soldiers in football attire entered [a] stadium [near Kiev]. They snatched the infants from their mothers' arms and used them as footballs, bouncing and kicking them around the arena." ),Hertz was opposed to theKindertransportif it meant Jewish refugee children would be raised in the homes ofgentiles.Hertz saw the British war effort in the noblest of terms, wishing Prime MinisterWinston Churchilla happy 70th birthday in late 1944 with the message, "But for your wisdom and courage there would have been aVichyEngland lying prostrate before an all-powerful Satanism that spelled slavery to the western peoples, death to Israel, and night to the sacred heritage of man. "

He wasex officioPresident ofJews' College,and Acting Principal, 1939–45. He was President of theJewish Historical Society of England,1922–3 and after his tenure was over, he continued to preside over lectures at the society including a lecture by then Chief Rabbi ofCologne, Germany,Rabbi Dr. Adolf Koberin 1937.He was also President of the Conference of Anglo-Jewish Preachers. He was on the Board of Governors of theHebrew University of Jerusalemand Chairman of the Governing Body of its Institute of Jewish Studies. He was Vice-President of a wide variety of Jewish and non-Jewish bodies, including theAnglo-Jewish Association,theLondon Hospital,theLeague of Nations Union,the National Council of Public Morals andKing George's Fund for Sailors.In 1942, with the Archbishop of Canterbury,William Temple,Hertz foundedthe Council of Christians and Jewsto combat anti-Jewish bigotry.

His daughter Judith married RabbiSolomon Schonfeld.His great granddaughter is the economistNoreena Hertz.

Imperial tour

From 1920 to 1921, Hertz became the first chief rabbi to undertake a pastoral tour of theBritish Empire.He arrived at the idea of such a tour after reading reports ofthe Prince of Wales' successful tour of Canada following theFirst World Warand decided to do something similar to visit small Jewish communities in the BritishDominions(later known as theBritish Commonwealth). Hertz "Imperial tour" took him 40,000 miles and to 42 Jewish communities over 11 months inSouth Africa,Rhodesia,Australia,New Zealand,FijiandCanada.He lectured extensively on the Bible to Jews and non-Jews and sought to raise £1 million for Jewish education.

He began his tour in South Africa, which had a Jewish population of 66,000, on 27 October 1920 and travelled throughout the country over a period of three months, covering 5,000 miles by railway, including stops in several smaller communities as well as theCape Town,JohannesburgandPretoria,where he was greeted byPrime MinisterJan Smuts,followed by a trip toBulawayoin neighbouring Rhodesia. He then proceeded to Australia, with 20,000 Jews, where he delivered lectures in 20 communities. His travels then took him to New Zealand, with 2,500 Jews, stopped in Fiji where a few Jewish families were living, before arriving in Canada, with 125,000 Jews, on July 4, 1921 for a six-week tour that took him acrossWestern Canadawith stops inVancouver,Calgary,Edmonton,Saskatoon,ReginaandWinnipegdelivering eleven sermons and speaking at thirteen meetings as well asreceptionswith fourLieutenant-Governors,received by sevenMayorsand visiting three provincialPremiers.He carried out many engagements in the large Jewish centres ofTorontoand in what was then Canada's largest Jewish community of 40,000 inMontreal,highlighted by an address to 2,000 children in a park. He continued toHalifax, Nova Scotiabefore concluding with a Bible lecture inSt. John, New Brunswick,departing Canada on August 16, 1921.

After returning to England, he wrote “I had preached love and loyalty to the Empire wherever I went, and sown the seeds of Jewish idealism and spirituality in all the far-off places I had visited.” He was granted a private audience with KingGeorge VatBuckingham Palacein November to discuss his visit.

Calendar reform

In the 1920s, Hertz successfully organised international opposition to a proposedcalendar reform.TheLeague of Nationswas considering a calendar amendment,The World Calendar,such that a given date would fall on the same day of the week every year. This requires that one day every year (two in leap years) is not any day of the week but a "world day". Thus, once or twice a year there would be eight days rather than seven between consecutive Saturdays. Thus the JewishSabbath,which must occur every seventh day, would be on a different weekday each year. The same applies to the Christian Sabbath. Hertz realised that this would cause problems for Jews and Christians alike in observing their Sabbaths, and mobilised worldwide religious opposition to defeat the proposal.

Honours

He was made aMember of the Order of the Companions of Honourin 1943.He was also Commander of theOrder of Léopold IIof Belgiumand had a Columbia University medal.

A memorial plaque on his former London home at 103 Hamilton Terrace,Maida Valewas unveiled on 12 March 1996.

Publications

• Affirmations of Judaism,a collection of his sermons, was well regarded. He published a further three volumes ofSermons, Addresses, and Studies.
• A Book of Jewish Thoughts(1917), a selection of Jewish wisdom through the millennia, was immensely popular and ran to 25 editions.
• The Battle for the Sabbath at Geneva,an account of his work opposing calendar reform.

Hertz edited a Hebrew-English edition of the Jewish Prayer Book orSiddur(1946), and contributed to theJewish Encyclopediaand theEncyclopædia Britannica.

Hertz Chumash

Hertz edited a significant commentary on the Torah (1929–36,one volume edition 1937). Published asThe Pentateuch and Haftorahsand popularly known as theHertz Chumash,this classic Hebrew-English edition of the Five Books of Moses, with correspondingHaftorahs,is used in many synagogues and classrooms throughout the English-speaking world. The work - through its commentary and essays - is noted for its stance againstHigher Criticism.

It is also referred to as theHertz Pentateuch,and it includes the following features:

• "extensive essays on... perceived conflict between science and religion"
• comparisons of "Torah’s laws and those in theCode of Hammurabi"
• comments from and source references to Christian sources, including theAuthorized Version(King James Version) andRevised Version

It also includes views of the most important medieval Jewish commentators, such asAbraham ibn Ezra,Rashi,Ramban,Radak,SfornoandRalbag(Gersonides).

The actual writing, which produced five volumes, was done by four other people,but "Hertz recast their material into his own style."

When the five volumes were combined into a single volume (and published bySoncino Press), theRevised Versiontranslation, but not the non-Jewish commentaries, were replaced with the 1917Jewish Publication Societytranslation.Both translations were lightly edited by Hertz (e.g., at Lev. 27:29 RV and Num. 10:33 JPS).

Further reading

• Harvey Warren Meirovich:A Vindication of Judaism: The Polemics of the Hertz Pentateuch.New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1998.
• Joseph Aaron Skloot:Moses of Hamilton Terrace: The Hertz Torah Commentary in Context and Interpretation.Thesis No. 19200, in fulfilment of the requirements for an A.B. degree in History. Princeton University, 2005.
• Derek Taylor:Chief Rabbi Hertz: The Wars of the Lord.London:Vallentine Mitchell,2014.

External links

• The truth HertzJewish Standard
• Quotations related toJoseph Hertzat Wikiquote