Records of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism
Scope and Content Note
This collection contains materials relating to the various activities of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, including yearbooks, anniversary albums, the correspondence of Mordecai M. Kaplan, Ira Eisenstein, and Jack J. Cohen, newspaper clippings, and photographs, among others. Materials found in the five scrapbooks (1923-1957) include announcements and programs of events, letters to the Board of Directors, songbooks, newspaper clippings, and materials relating to the career of Mordecai M. Kaplan. Also includes a near-complete run of the SAJ Bulletin for 1928-1970.
Dates
- 1922-1970
Creator
- Society for the Advancement of Judaism (Organization)
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
Historical Note
The Society for the Advancement of Judaism was founded in 1922 by Dr. Mordecai M. Kaplan in order to reconcile traditional Judaism with modern life. The Society, which affiliates itself with the Reconstructionist Judaism movement, is not only an organization but also a synagogue, which is located in New York, NY.
The SAJ synagogue held the first ever American Bat Mitzvah on Saturday morning, March 18, 1922 for Mordecai Kaplan's daughter Judith.
Extent
8.05 Linear Feet (2 manuscript boxes, 1 half-manuscript box, 4 oversized boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
This collection contains several types of materials relating to the various activities of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, including published bulletins, yearbooks, correspondence, newspaper clippings, audio recordings, and photographs. This collection also contains disbound scrapbooks, some of which are extremely fragile.
Arrangement
This collection is intellectually organized into four series, based on item type.
Physical Location
Located in AJHS New York, NY
- Brochures
- Clippings (information artifacts)
- Cohen, Jack, 1919-2012
- Compact discs
- Correspondence
- Eisenstein, Ira, 1906-1991
- Film reels
- Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation
- Kaplan, Mordecai Menahem, 1881-1983
- Memorandums
- Publications (documents)
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Scrapbooks
- Society for the Advancement of Judaism
- Synagogues
- Title
- Guide to the Records of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism, 1922-1970
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid created by marc2ead_ajhs.xsl
- 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
- 2016-10-31: PDF box list converted to dsc. Finding aid encoding revised by Janine Veazue.
- January 2021: RJohnstone: post-ASpace migration cleanup.
Repository Details
Part of the American Jewish Historical Society Repository
