TABLE OF CONTENTS
Box and Folder Listing
A Finding Aid to
the
Joseph
L. Fink Papers
Manuscript Collection No. 105
Joseph L. Fink Papers
Manuscript Collection No. 105
1915-1967
1915-1967
Introduction |
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| Title: | The Joseph L. Fink Papers. | |
| Dates: |
1915-1967. | |
| Abstract: | The Joseph L. Fink Papers consist of the papers of Joseph L. Fink, a rabbi and activist, who served in Terre Haute, Indiana and Buffalo, New York. The papers include correspondence relating to Fink's tenure as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, together with sermons and scrapbooks about his Buffalo civic activities. | |
| Quantity: | 2.0 linear feet; 5 Hollinger boxes. | |
| Identification: | Manuscript Collection No. 105. | |
Biographical Sketch
Joseph Lionel Fink, the only son and fifth child of Rabbi Mendel and Tillie Kagen Finkelstein, was born in Springfield, Ohio on 12 May 1895. He was raised in Dayton, Ohio. Fink received a B. A. from the University of Cincinnati in 1915, an M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1918 and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Niagra University in 1919. That same year, he was awarded the rabbinical degree from Hebrew Union College.
Fink's first pulpit was at the United Hebrew Congregation in Terre Haute, Indiana where he served from 1919 to 1924. While chairman of the Community Chest, he agitated the local Ku Klux Klan chapter who kidnapped him and brought him to their rally. Fink then addressed the rally, calling the masked Klan members cowards. He was released and the Klan wrote a check the following week to the Community Chest for $1800.
In 1924, Fink stopped in Buffalo, New York while on his way to Germany to begin graduate studies. He became the rabbi at Temple Beth Zion and remained there until his retirement in 1958. Fink was the leading Reform Jewish spokesperson for the Buffalo community. From 1930-1956, he had a weekly radio program entitled "The Humanitarian Hour."
Fink was also a president of the B'nai B'rith lodge and a founder of the local Board of Jewish Education. Fink was also involved in other community affairs. He served as a chaplain to the police and fire departments and as a mediator of civic disputes. Fink was on the board of the University of Buffalo and served on several New York state commissions.
Fink was elected president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1952. Joseph Fink was also one of the founders of the CCAR Journal and edited CCAR position papers while working on the Committee on Church and State.
Joseph Fink died in Buffalo, New York in 1964. He married Janice Gutfreund in June 1932. They had two children: Arnold and R. Toby Fink.
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Scope and Content Note
The Joseph L. Fink Papers consist of the papers of Joseph L. Fink, a rabbi and activist, who served in Terre Haute, Indiana and Buffalo, New York. Fink was a leading spokesman of Reform Jewry.
The papers include correspondence relating to Fink's tenure as the president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, together with sermons and scrapbooks about his Buffalo civic activities. Fink was elected president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1952, following the completion of the convention held in Buffalo. Much of the correspondence relates to this convention and his years as president. A series of scrapbooks contain newsclippings about various events and individuals concentrating on but not limited to Fink's CCAR involvement. The Buffalo scrapbook contains newsclippings about various activities, including those of fellow rabbi Israel Aaron and Temple B'nai Zion. Other scrapbooks focus on the activities of Fink himself.
The sermons included in this collection are primarily transcripts from his Buffalo radio program "The Humanitarian Hour." Some sermons from the 1930s discuss the evils of Nazism.
The span dates of the collection are 1915-1967.
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Organization |
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| The papers are organized into a single series. | ||
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Arrangement
See description of individual series.
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Restrictions
Access Information
The Joseph L. Fink Papers are open to all users and available in the reading room of the American Jewish Archives.
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Related Material
Central Conference of American Rabbis Records. MSS. Collection No. 34.
Fink, Joseph L. Nearprint Biographies File.
Fink, Joseph L. Picture Collection.
Morgenstern, Julian. MSS. Collection No. 30.
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Administrative Information
Citations
Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Joseph L. Fink Papers and the American Jewish Archives.
Provenance
The Joseph L. Fink Papers were donated to the American Jewish Archives by Arnold Fink, Alexandria, Virginia in March 1982 and June 2002.
Processing Information
Processed by Kevin Proffitt and Melinda McMartin, August, 2002.
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Box and Folder Listing
Series A: General Files. 1915-1967. |
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| Note to Researchers: To request materials, please note the collection number as well as the box and folder numbers shown below. | |||||||||||||
| The papers are organized into a single general file of correspondence, photographs and newsclippings. The collection consists primarily of correspondence relating to Fink's rabbinical career and involvement in rabbinic organizations. | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | General correspondence. A-M. | |||||||||||
| 2 | American Jewish Tercentenary. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Brav, Stanley R. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Brickner, Barnett R. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Applications for membership. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Arbitration and Ethics Committee. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. [Leo] Baeck School (Haifa, Israel) 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Chaplaincy Equalization Fund. 1950-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Committee on Church and State. 1950-1954; 1965-1967. | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Committee lists. | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Constitutions. 1944; 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Convention. 1954. | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Election as president. 1952. | ||||||||||||
| 14 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Executive Board. 1950-1951. | ||||||||||||
| 15 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Executive Board. 1952. | ||||||||||||
| 16 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Executive Board. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 17 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Finances. 1950-1951. | ||||||||||||
| 18 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Finances. 1952. | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Finances. 1953. | |||||||||||
| 2 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Finances. 1954. | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Institute for International Order. 1954. | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Institute in Israel. 1950; 1953-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Journal. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Commission on Justice and Peace. 1951-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Kaufman, Jay. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Liturgy. 1951-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Marcuson, Isaac. 1951-1952. | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Marriage, Family and Home Committee. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Miscellaneous. | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Central Conference of American Rabbis Offices in HUC-JIR New York. Lease. 1954. | ||||||||||||
| 14 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Placement Committee. 1952-1956. | ||||||||||||
| 15 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. President's message. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 16 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Projects in Israel. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 17 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Psychiatry Committee. 1951-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 18 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Rabbinic Pension Board. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 19 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Relief Fund. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 20 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Resolutions Committee. 1953. | ||||||||||||
| 21 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Responsa. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 22 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Solicitation of Funds. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 23 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Subvention Fund. Freed, Abraham. 1953. | ||||||||||||
| 24 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Subvention Fund. Marcuson, Mrs. Isaac. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 25 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Synagogue Council of America. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Committee on Synagogue Music. 1950-1954. | |||||||||||
| 2 | Central Conference of American Rabbis. Committee on the Unaffiliated. 1952-1953 | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Chaplaincy. 1950-1951. | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Egelson, Louis I. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Eisendrath, Maurice N. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Eisenstein, Ira. 1953. | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Glueck, Nelson. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Heller, Bernard. 1952; 1954. | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion - Union of American Hebrew Congregations Combined Campaign 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion. Unification Plan. 1953. | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Lefkowitz, Sidney M. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Liner, Paul. 1950-1951. | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Marriage certificates. n.d. | ||||||||||||
| 14 | Millstone, Dorothy. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 15 | National Jewish Welfare Board. Division of Welfare Activities. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 16 | General correspondence. O-Z. | ||||||||||||
| 17 | Pilchik, Ely. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 18 | Plaut, W. Gunther. 1952; 1954. | ||||||||||||
| 19 | Polish, David. 1953. | ||||||||||||
| 20 | Polish, Jacob. 1953. | ||||||||||||
| 21 | Postal, Bernard. Jewish Tourists Guide to America. | ||||||||||||
| 22 | Publications. 1951-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 23 | Scouting. 1951-1952. | ||||||||||||
| 24 | Seidler, Judah. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 25 | Silver, Samuel. 1953. | ||||||||||||
| 26 | Snyder, Herman E. 1953-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 27 | Taxay, Joseph. 1952. | ||||||||||||
| 28 | Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Executive Board. 1951-1952. | ||||||||||||
| 29 | Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Commission on Jewish Education. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 30 | Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Commssion on Social Action. 1952-1954. | ||||||||||||
| 31 | Union of American Hebrew Congregations. Commission on Synagogue Activities. 1952-1953. | ||||||||||||
| 32 | World Union for Progressive Judaism. | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Photographs. n.d. | |||||||||||
| 2 | Scrapbook. Aaron, Israel. n.d. | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Scrapbook. Buffalo, New York. n.d. | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 5 | 1 | Oversize scrapook. 1915-1946. | |||||||||||
| 4 | Scrapbook. 1949-1967. | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Sermons; addresses. A-L. | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Sermons; addresses. M-Z. | ||||||||||||
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The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.