Access and Provenance

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Box and Folder Listing

Appendix

 

A Finding Aid to the

Samuel H. Goldenson Papers

Manuscript Collection No. 81

1918-1947 1.2 Linear ft.


ACCESS AND PROVENANCE

The SAMUEL H. GOLDENSON PAPERS were given to the American Jewish Archvies by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, New York Campus, in March, 1976.

All property rights are assigned to the American Jewish Archives. All literary rights to materials authored by Rabbi Goldenson are held by the Goldenson heirs. Literary rights to materials authored by others are held by the individual author or his/her heirs. Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Director of the American Jewish Archives.

The SAMUEL H. GOLDENSON PAPERS are open to all users. The original manuscript collection is available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH top

Samuel Harry Goldenson was born in Kalvaria, Poland on March 26, 1878. He was brought to the United States by his parents in 1890. He married Claudia V. Myar and had three children - Evelyn Beatrice (Mrs. Naaman Glick), Robert Myar, and William Lee. He received the rabbinical degree from the Hebrew Union College and his A.B. degree from the University of Cincinnati, both in 1904; he later received from Columbia University the degrees of A.M. (1914) and Ph.D. (1917). In 1925 the Hebrew Union College bestowed on him the honorary degree of D.H.L. for "deepening the philosophic content of Judaism."

Goldenson was rabbi of Congregation Adath Israel, Lexington, Kentucky (1904-06), and of Congregation Beth Emeth, Albany, New York (1906-18). In 1918 Goldenson moved to Temple Rodef Shalom, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where he established a national reputation. In 1934 he was appointed senior rabbi of Temple Emanu-El, New York City, also serving as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (1933-35). Becoming rabbi emeritus in 1947, he devoted the last years of his career to preaching in small communities under the auspices of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.

While in Albany and Pittsburgh, Goldenson was active in many campaigns for civic reform and social justice. His preachings from the pulpit reflect the moral and universalistic outlook of the prophets of Israel and stress the ideals of personal goodness as a preliminary step toward the solution of the larger problems of human society. Throughout his ministry he consistently upheld the democratic implications of Judaism within and without the congregation. He showed little sympathy with Jewish nationalism and the revived interest in synagogal ceremony. Shortly after coming to Pittsburgh, he introduced the unassigned seating system in his congregation, and ultimately received support of influential members who originally opposed his plan. His colleagues in the Jewish ministry regarded him as a "rabbi's rabbi." Many of his important sermons have been published.

Samuel H. Goldenson died on August 31, 1962.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE top

The SAMUEL H. GOLDENSON PAPERS consist of sermons, addresses, and other writings, and is divided into two series:
  • A. SERMONS
  • B. MISCELLANEOUS.
    • Series A. SERMONS, 1918-1941, consists of two boxes with contents arranged in chronological order. The Appendix gives a complete alphabetical list of the sermons within each folder.

    Series B. MISCELLANEOUS consists of one folder containing sermon outlines; one folder of monographs; one of radio addresses; one of lecture notes; one of prayers, eulogies, and invocations; and one of miscellaneous addresses. The content of each folder is arranged in alphabetical order. The Appendix gives an alphabetical list of the content of each folder.

    BOX AND FOLDER LISTING top 

    Box  Folder    Contents

SERIES A. SERMONS (Note: For a complete list of sermon titles consult
Appendix)

1    1         2/24/18, 2/16/19 - 12/28/19
     2         1920-1921
     3         1922-1923
     4         1924-1925

2    1         1926-1927
     2         1928-1929
     3         1930-1931, 1933
     4         1934-1939
     5         1940-1941

SERIES B. MISCELLANEOUS

3    1         Sermon Outlines 1926, 1927, 1934-1940
     2         Monographs n.d.
     3         Radio Addresses 1931, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1944
     4         Lecture Notes 1938-1939, 1947
     5         Prayers, Eulogies, Invocations 1929, 1934-1936, 1938-1942, 1944-1945, 1947
     6         Miscellaneous 1904, 1929-1947

    APPENDIX top

    Note: The following is a list of all the sermon titles in the SAMUEL H. GOLDENSON PAPERS. 

    
                           1918-1919

"The American Flag in the Year 1918"
"American Judaism"
"Americanization - What is America?"
"Americanization - What Does America Require?"
"Anarchism - Its Meaning and Its Fallacies"
"The Influence of Majorities"
"Isaac M. Wise Centenary"
"The League of Nations"
"The League of Nations - II"
"The Postponement of Life"
"What Do Parents Owe Their Children?"

                           1920-1921

"Democracy"
"Does Judaism Have A Future?"
"Does Virtue Pay?"
"Enlightened Selfishness"
"The Jew - The International Scapegoat" 
"The Jewish Imperatives"
"Jewish Nationalism"
"Jewish Nationalism - Practically Considered" 
"The Jewish Problem"
"Judaism and the Interchurch World Movement" 
"The Law of Liberty"
"Living One's Own Life"
"Morals and Politics"
"Myself and I"
"Spirituality and Spiritualism"
"The Unworshipped God"
"What Is the Jew - Does the Term Jew Signify A Race, A Nation, A Culture, Or A
Religion?" 
"What Children Owe Their Parents" 
"What Constitutes A Problem" 
"What Is Practical"
"What Is Right With The World?"

                           1922-1923

"Abraham Lincoln - A National Asset"
"American Uniformity or Unity?"
"An Ambulance Or A Fence?"

"The Backgrounds of Heresy"
"Evolution and Religion"
"The Hardness of The Heart - Its Natural History"
"How to Choose A Wife?" 
"If Winter Comes"
"The Jewish Conception of Man"
"Judaism As A Religion"
"Life's Dimensions"
"Loyalties"
"Man At His Worst"
"Nice People"
"The Roots of Reform Judaism"
"Shylock - Jews and Gentiles"
"The Spirit of Religion"
"What Is The Bible?"
"Are We Jews A Mission?"

                           1924-1925

"America First - In What Sense?"
"Can Judaism Survive In Enlightened and Emancipated Lands?"
"The Fool"
"How To Be A Jew In Pittsburgh"
"Is There A Purpose In Life?"
"Jewish Individuality"
"Judaism and Enlightenment"
"Judaism As A Layman's Religion"
"Liberalism and Authority"
"Liberty and Its Responsibilities"
"Liberty and Responsibility"
"A Living God"
"Misdirected Loyalties"
"Modernism and Fundamentalism Socially Considered"
"One Increasing Purpose"
"Religion and Education"
"Religion and Ethics"
"Spring Religion"
"The Test of Virtue"
"What is Judaism?"
"Winter Religion"
"Woodrow Wilson and The Eternal Tragedy"

                           1926-1927

"Abraham Lincoln"
"The Fear of Living"
"is Mechanism A Foe of Religion?"
"Is Mechanism A Foe of Religion?" - II
"Judaism and Social Justice"
"The Lawgiver and The Biblical Conception of Law"
"Moral and The Belief In God"
"A National Theme"
"Why Has Philanthropy Loomed So Large in Jewish Thought and Life?"
"Why The Bible Has Been The Book of Books"
"The World's Heroes - What Is Heroism?"

                           1928-1929

"Abraham Lincoln As A Practical Moralist"
"Are You An Asset Or A Liability?"
"The Heart of Religion"
"The Lamentations Of A Past President"
"Liberty and Society"
"The New Attitude Toward Religion"
"The New Religion"
"Politics and Morals"
"A Sermon Based On The 29th Chapter of Job"
"Springtime Religion"
"Wealth and Well-Being"
"What Can One Man Do?"
"What.Is Expected of The Pulpit?"
"What Is The Modern Mind?"
"What Things Enrich Life?"
"What Things Impoverish Life?"
"Whither America?"
"Who Are Problem Persons?"
"Why Public Worship? - A Message To The Men"

                        1930-1931, 1933

"The Americanism of Abraham Lincoln"
"Canst Thou By Searching Find Out God?"
"Does Every Man Have His Price?"
"Impressions of Jewish College Life"
"Is There A Need For A Religious Revival?"
"Judaism and Christianity - How Do They Differ?"
"Judaism and Christianity - What Have They In Common?"
"Means Without Ends"
"The Novelty Of The Religious Forum, Its Meaning in The Light 
	Of History and Contemporary Thought"
"Patriotism"
"Politics and Morals"
"The Priestly Benediction"
"Religious Freedom"
"What Parents Owe Their Children"
"Why Am I A Jew?"
"Why Have Organized Religion?"

                           1934-1935

"Abraham Lincoln And Democracy"
"America and Lincoln - The Debt of Each To The Other"
"Are We Ruled By Fate?"
"Armistice Without Peace"
"Beyond Armistice"
"Can Any Social Order Be Good Without Liberty?"
"Can Human Nature Be Changed?"
"Do The Jews Need A Mission To Live?"
"Getting Something Qut Of Life"
"How Can We Celebrate Purim This Year?"
"If Abraham Lincoln Were Alive Today"
"If Jews Were Jews and Christians Christians"
"Is Personal Happiness Possible In A Troubled World?"
"Is There Any Improvement In Human Society?"
"Jews and Christians - What Have They In Common?"
"A Little More of Judaism and Less of Jews?
"Living One's Own Life"
"Maimonides In The Light of Universal Culture"
"The Moral Basis of Democracy"
"The Moral Significance of The Class Struggle"
"A Passover Message"
"Persecution and Survival"
"The Profit System - What is Right and Wrong In It?"
"The Propaganda of Hatred and Its Tragic Consequences"
"Racialism and Humanity"
"Shall We Change Men Or Systems?"
"Shall We Pursue Racial Interests or Democratic Ideas and Policies"
"Social Justice Without Hatred or Humbug"
"Spiritual Prayer"
"A Universal Religion"
"What Are Some of The Personal Assets in Life?"
"What Can We Jews Do These Days?"
"What Can Jews Live By?"
"What Can Judaism Do For Jews?"
"What Have The Jews To Be Thankful For?"
"What Is Sacred To The Modern Mind?"
"What Shall I Do To Make The Year New?"
"When Does Right Triumph Over Might?"
"When Is Renunciation Admirable? - With Reference To The King's Decision"
"When Propaganda Is Substituted For Education, What Happens?"
"Why Have Organized Religion?"
"Why Should The Jewish People Survive?"

                           1940-1941

"The Discovery Of The American Dollar"
"Elementary Morals And The Better World"
"The Eternal Springs of Hope"
"Human Animosities"
"If The Prophet Micah Reordered Society"
"The Leadership Of Coercion Or Of Consent"
"Lincoln's Patriotism"
"A Message Of Springtime"
"One God And One World"
"The President's Peach Appointees - What Does This Mean To Jews And Christians?"
"The Religion Of Abraham Lincoln"
"What Have The Jews Yet To Contribute To The World?"
"World Citizenship"

                        SERMON OUTLINES

"Abraham Lincoln"
"The Art Of Introspection"
"Blessing Out Of The House Of The Lord"
"The Concern Of Religion With The Unemployment Problem"
"The Day Of Remembrance"
"The Established Ways Of Religious ThinXing"
"The God Of Israel"
"How To Cultivate Good Will"
"Isaac M. Wise Community Service"
"The Moral Basis of Democracy"
"Micah's Creed For The Troubles Of 1936"
"A New Heart and A New Spirit"
"Personal Religion In An Impersonal World"
"Propaganda - Its Uses and Abuses"
"Self Judgement"
"Sin and The Modern Mind"
"Social Service In A Democratic Way"
"Taking Life Seriously"
"Torah and The Jewish Way of Life"
"Upon What Shall Israel Rely?"
"What Can Judaism Do For Jews?"
"When Is Worship Spiritual?"
"Why Should The Jews Continue To Live - And Suffer?"

                           ADDRESSES

"Did Hitler Win?"
"Elementary Morals and The Better World"
"Evolution and Religion"
"The Future Of Reform Judaism In America"
"The God Of The Past"
"How To Think On Fellowship and Brotherhoodll
"Is Judaism In Danger in The Modern World?"
"The Jew"
"Jewish Problems and The Conscience of Mankind"
"Judaism and Reconstruction"
"Judaism and The World Crisis"
"Modern Judaism"
"Mother's Day"
"Religion and The Community"
"Religion and The Modern Mind"
"Religion In The Economic Process"
"Religion: The Democratic Tradition and The Future"
"Sacrifices of Righteousness"
"Total Zionism"
"What Is A Philosophic Problem?"
"What Is Progress?"
"Where Do I Find My Spiritual Resources For Living?"

                        RADIO ADDRESSES

"The Established Ways Of Religious Thinking"
"Mother's Day"
"A National Vision"
"The Presence Of God"
"Religion And The Social Advance"
"V-E Day Broadcast"

                           MONOGRAPHS

Are There A Priori Synthetic Judgements?
The Concept Of Privacy
Interpretation Of Robert Browning's Thought With Special Reference To Jewish
     Themes
Jesus Of Nazareth - In Light Of Jewish and Christian Thought And History
The Life and Character Of Baruch Spinoza
The Moral Law
What Is A Philosophic Problem?

                 PRAYERS, EULOGIES, INVOCATIONS

"Believing in God"
"How To Strengthen Morale"
"Medalie, George Z." (eulogy)
"Minority Report On Resolution II"
"The Mood Of Religion"
"On Choosing Life"
"A Passover Message"
"Roosevelt, Franklin Delano" (eulogy)
"Shepherd, William R." (memorial address) 
"Sri Ramakrishna Centenary" 
"Taking Religion Seriously"
"Thanksgiving Prayer"
"V-E Day Prayer"
"What Is Judaism?"
"Niley, Louis" (eulogy)

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