The Emergence of Conservative Judaism; The Historical School in 19th Century America

Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1963. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Hardcover. Good/Good. xiv, 527, [3] pages. Illustrations. Appendix A: Biographical Sketches. Appendix B: Supplementary Documents. Abbreviations. Notes. Bibliography. Index. Card signed by the author taped to fep. Card reads For [unclear] and [unclear] In friendship Moshe [Hebrew letters]. This is number 15 in the series of The Jacob R. Schiff Library of Jewish Contributions to American Democracy. Moshe Davis (January 12, 1916 in Brooklyn, New York - 1996) was a rabbi and a scholar of American Jewish history who taught at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) and Hebrew University. He was recipient of a BA from Columbia University in 1936, a BA from the Jewish Theological Seminary's Teachers Institute in 1937, rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1942, and a Ph.D. from Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1945. Davis was the first American to earn a doctorate at Hebrew University. He held a variety of leadership positions at JTS, including serving as professor of American Jewish history, and at Hebrew University, where he was named the Stephen S. Wise Chair of American Jewish History and Institutions. In 1959, upon taking up his post in Israel, Davis established the Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His numerous books include The Emergence of Conservative Judaism (1963) and Israel: Its Role In Civilization (1956). Davis has been credited with being the creator of the academic field of America-Holy Land Studies, the field of studies focusing on the relationship between America and the Land of Israel. Among the topics addressed are: Education, Higher Jewish Learning, Jewish Hospitals, Jewish Orphanages, Civil Rights, Jewish Rights, Synagogue, Reform Judaism, Immigrants, Jewish Theological Seminary, Torah, Mitzvot, Messianic Idea, and Zionism.