Papers of the Jewish Women's Congress. (boxed with 1360 AND 1362)
National Council Of Jewish Women
[Judaica]. Papers of the Jewish Women’s Congress. Held at Chicago, September 4, 5, 6 and 7, 1893. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1894.
Tall 8vo.; contemporary ownership signature on front endpaper; green cloth, tips lightly bumped.
Boxed with:
Proceedings of the First Convention of the National Council of Jewish Women. Held at New York, Nov. 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, 1896. Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society of America, 1897.
Tall 8vo.; green cloth, spine lightly bumped.
Boxed with:
Tenth Triennial Program and a Record of Council Achievements (1920-1923). Prepared by Estelle M. Sternberger, Executive Secretary, Council of Jewish Women. New York: (Correct Printing Company), n.d.
8vo.; cream wrappers; loose at top front; a discrete one-inch closed tear to front panel; edgeworn; rubbed.
Three very uncommon first editions that present the history of the principal American Jewish women’s organization. The first volume records the founding of the Council at the Chicago World’s Fair. Male and female representatives of every denomination, each the chair of a committee, attended a “Parliament of Religions” held at the fair. Hannah G. Solomon, chair of the Jewish Women’s committee, arranged for the presentation of papers at the Jewish Women’s Congress, the attendance of elected delegates from across the country, and the printing of a souvenir book of traditional Jewish melodies. The subjects of the papers varied widely, from the historical—”Influence of the Discovery of America on the Jews”—to the topical— “How Can Nations be Influenced to Protest or even Interfere in Cases of Persecution.” Their publication garnered this positive review in the Baltimore Sun: “a thorough and intelligent discussion of the position of the Jewish woman from Biblical times to the present” (quoted in the publisher’s advertisement in the rear of Proceedings of the First Convention). Solomon recalls in her introduction that the Congress was such a success that the overflow attendees filled an entire lecture hall. She continues, reflecting on the achievements of the Congress:
The meeting was in every respect satisfactory. The question of religious persecution was thoroughly discussed, in the manner and spirit hoped for by the Committee. The discussion was noteworthy, because Jews, Catholics and Protestants were animated by the same desire to battle in the cause of liberty of conscience. The influence of the Congress is, however, not to be measured by the size of its audiences, nor by the merits of its papers. Its chief result is that it brought together from all parts of the country, East, West and South, women interested in their religion, following similar lines of work, and sympathetic in ways of thought, and was instrumental in cementing friendships between them. Its outcome is a National Organization, and its use was to prove to the world that Israel’s women, like women of other faiths, are interested in all that tends to bring men nearer together in every movement affecting the welfare of mankind. (pp. 4-5)
Solomon’s intuition that a meeting of so many women would indelibly change their lives proved correct. The permanent Council established in 1893 held its first convention three years later. The Proceedings of the First Convention is the copy of Salo Barovy, distinguished professor of Judaic Studies at Columbia for many years, with his ownership stamp on the front endpaper. It includes the Constitution for the National Council and for the Local Sections, both of which contain this preamble: “We, Jewish women, sincerely believing that a closer fellowship, a greater unity of thought and purpose, and a nobler accomplishment will result from a widespread organization, do therefore band ourselves together in a union of Workers to further the best and highest interests of humanity in fields Religious, Philanthropic, and Educational.” Together, the Nati
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