Tobias Geffen Papers
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains the surviving papers of Rabbi Tobias Geffen who served as a rabbi in New York City (1904-1907), Canton, Ohio (1907-1910), and Atlanta, Georgia (1910-1970). It includes extensive correspondence with members of his family, autobiographies in Yiddish and English (several versions) and other material relating to his personal life.
Also included are several copies of his books and articles, both in published and manuscript form, various manuscript novellae, manuscript annotations on books and articles written by others, manuscript sermons delivered by Geffen on various holidays and special occasions, etc. Of special interest is the extensive documentation of Geffens' rabbinate in Atlanta, consisting of correspondence, responsa to numerous religious questions, and various charitable efforts on behalf of institutions in Europe and Palestine. There is a large body of material relating to the dietary certification of Coca-Cola. The responsa represent request from sixty-one different Jewish communities throughout the South. Among the correspondents are the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, internationally prominent rabbis in Europe and Palestine, etc. The subjects discussed include supplying etrogim, sacramental wine, Passover, the Sabbath, Kashrut, gittin, schochetim, etc. Of unusual interest is Geffen's involvement with Jewish soldiers in World War I and assistance to Jewish prisoners in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, and his efforts to make the orphan home kosher and to give the orphans a religious education.
The collection also contains material on the synagogue, Congregation Shearith Israel of Atlanta, Georgia (financial records, Purim ball, etc.), the sisterhood, the Hebrew School, youth work in the synagogues and the Shearith Israel Lodge of Independent Order of Brith Abraham in the synagogue. Also included is a family tree of Tobias Geffen and Sara Hene Rabinowitz.
Dates
- undated, 1884-1985
Creator
- Geffen, Tobias, 1870-1970 (Person)
Access Restrictions
The collection is open to all researchers, except items that may be restricted due to their fragility, or privacy.
Use Restrictions
No permission is required to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection, as long as the usage is scholarly, educational, and non-commercial. For inquiries about other usage, please contact the Director of Collections and Engagement at mmeyers@ajhs.org.
For reference questions, please email: inquiries@cjh.org
Biographical Note
Tobias Geffen (1870-1970)
Tobias Geffen was born on August 1, 1870. He was an American Orthodox rabbi. He served as the leader of Congregation Shearith Israel in Atlanta, Georgia, from 1910 to 1970. Geffen is widely-known for his 1935 decision that certified Coca-Cola as kosher.
Geffen was born in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas (called Kovno at the time, part of the Russian Empire). He immigrated to the United States in 1903 and became rabbi of New York's Congregation Ahavat Zedek in New York City. In 1907, he moved to Canton, Ohio, to become the rabbi of a small synagogue. In 1910, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel until his death.
Geffen organized the first Hebrew school in Atlanta. He began a daily class in Talmud. Geffen also standardized regulation of kosher supervision in the Atlanta area under his central authority. He was the leader of the Southern division of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis. Geffen published eight books of Talmudic and Biblical exegesis.
Geffen died on February 10, 1970.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobias_Geffen
Extent
17.7 Linear Feet (32 manuscript boxes, 1 oversized box, 1 oversized folder in a shared box)
Language of Materials
English
French
German
Hebrew
Lithuanian
Polish
Russian
Yiddish
Abstract
Contains the surviving papers of Rabbi Tobias Geffen who served as a rabbi in New York City (1904-1907), Canton, Ohio (1907-1910), and Atlanta, Georgia (1910-1970). Includes extensive correspondence with members of his family, autobiographies in Yiddish and English (several versions) and other material relating to his personal life.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into nine series as follows:
- Series I: Personal Affairs, undated, 1884, 1899, 1901, 1905-1906, 1911-1913, 1915-1970, 1980, 1982, 1985
- Subseries A: Autobiography, undated, 1901, 1927-1929, 1934, 1943, 1948-1949, 1954, 1956-1963, 1965, 1970, 1982
- Subseries B: Personal Matters and Honors, undated, 1899, 1916-1935, 1941-1959, 1964-1965
- Subseries C: Efforts on Behalf of Family, undated, 1923, 1925-1926, 1929-1930, 1935-1936, 1938, 1940-1941, 1943, 1945, 1947-1948, 1951-1956, 1959-1962, 1964-1965
- Subseries D: Family Correspondence, undated, 1884, 1905-1906, 1911-1913, 1915-1926, 1928-1942, 1944-1970, 1980, 1982, 1985
- Series II: Writings, undated, 1888-1899, 1903, 1918, 1924-1928, 1931-1951, 1954-1966, 1968-1969
- Subseries A: Manuscript Novellae and Other Writings, undated, 1888, 1891-1899
- Subseries B: Published Writings with Manuscript Additions, undated, 1888-1898, 1918, 1924-1928, 1931, 1935-1936, 1938-1947, 1949-1951, 1954-1956, 1958-1961, 1963-1965
- Subseries C: Sermonic Material, undated, 1903, 1932-1937, 1945-1949, 1954, 1957-1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968-1969
- Series III: Career, undated, 1907-1908, 1910-1911, 1913-1969
- Subseries A: Smichos, Contracts, and Letters of Congratulations, undated, 1907, 1910, 1922
- Subseries B: Invitations, undated, 1923, 1925, 1928, 1935, 1938, 1941, 1956-1960, 1963-1964, 1967
- Subseries C: Professional Correspondence, undated, 1908, 1913-1914, 1916-1918, 1921-1928, 1931, 1933, 1935-1938, 1940, 1943, 1950-1951, 1955-1966, 1968
- Subseries D: Professional Activities and Responsa, undated, 1913-1969
- Subseries E: Divorces, undated, 1910-1911, 1914-1968
- Series IV: Charitable Work, undated, 1911-1941, 1950-1968
- Subseries A: Disbursements to Individuals, Work with Prisoners, Soldiers, undated, 1916, 1918-1925, 1927-1936, 1938, 1940, 1951-1962
- Subseries B: Charitable Institutions, undated, 1911-1941, 1950-1968
- Series V: General Correspondence, undated, 1916-1918, 1921-1922, 1924, 1927-1932, 1935-1939, 1951-1952, 1956-1967
- Series VI: Communal Activities, undated, 1914-1917, 1922-1924, 1926, 1928-1934, 1936, 1940, 1947-1949, 1954-1956, 1958, 1963
- Series VII: Synagogue Activities, undated, 1916-1964, 1966-1968, 1970, 1976
- Subseries A: Synagogue Program, undated, 1925, 1929-1930, 1932, 1934-1936, 1940, 1945, 1957-1958, 1961, 1964, 1966
- Subseries B: Purim Ball, 1934, 1936-1939, 1946-1948, 1950-1956, 1958-1961, 1963
- Subseries C: Synagogue Finances, undated, 1916-1957
- Subseries D: Sisterhood, Brith Abraham Lodge, undated, 1918-1938, 1940
- Subseries E: Activities with Young People, undated, 1925-1926, 1929, 1934-1935, 1950
- Subseries F: Hebrew School, undated, 1929-1936, 1939
- Subseries G: Miscellaneous Material, undated, 1917-1918, 1926, 1931-1932, 1938-1941, 1943-1956, 1963-1964, 1966-1968, 1970, 1976
- Series VIII: Index of Major Correspondents and List of Jewish Communities
- Series IX: Family Tree of Tobias Geffen and Sara Hene Rabinowitz, undated
Acquisition Information
Gifts of Rabbi David Geffen, December 1979; Louis Geffen, January 1979; and Rabbi Samuel Geffen (per Joel D. Ziff), June 1980.
Note
Includes former P-589 and P-516.
Please note that permission to publish and quote from the Rabbi Tobias Geffen papers must be obtained from the Geffen Family prior to publication.
- Articles
- Atlanta (Ga.)
- Canton (Ohio)
- Coca-Cola Company
- Contracts
- Conversion -- Judaism
- Correspondence
- Divorce
- Geffen family
- Independent Order Brith Abraham of the United States of America
- Invitations
- Jewish sermons, Hebrew
- Jews -- Dietary laws
- Orphans and orphan-asylums
- Palestine
- Passover
- Prisons -- United States
- Prohibition -- United States
- Purim
- Responsa
- Sabbath (Jewish law)
- Sermons
- Slaughtering and slaughter-houses
- Southern States
- Synagogues
- United States -- Relations
- World War, 1914-1918
- Title
- Guide to the Tobias Geffen Papers, circa 1884-1985 P-516
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Reprocessed by Marvin Rusinek
- Date
- © 2009
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Revision Statements
- September 2020: RJohnstone: post-ASpace migration cleanup.
Repository Details
Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository