Israel Aaron

Israel Aaron was born on November 20, 1859, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the son of Moses Aaron.[1] His father was a native of Hesse-Darmstadt who had served for many years in the army and held several minor military offices.[2] Aaron attended Lancaster public schools, earned a B.A. from the University of Cincinnati, and received rabbinical and Doctor of Divinity degrees from Hebrew Union College.[1]

He was enrolled in Hebrew Union College's first class in 1875, beginning an eight-year course of study.[3] By 1883, the College's annual report listed him as a member of the senior class and as one of four candidates fully entitled to receive rabbinical diplomas after completing both the College's program and the academic department of the University of Cincinnati.[3] His three fellow graduates were Henry Berkowitz, Joseph Krauskopf, and David Philipson.[4]

At Hebrew Union College's first commencement in July 1883, College president Isaac Mayer Wise conferred the rabbinical title on Aaron and his three fellow graduates.[4] A contemporary account says Wise kissed each graduate on the forehead, a gesture described as symbolizing the apparent end of opposition to Hebrew Union College and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.[4] The commencement program listed Aaron for an address titled "Judaism and Science."[3]

Even before the graduation exercises, Aaron had been elected rabbi of a congregation in Fort Wayne, Indiana, making him one of three members of his graduating class to secure a rabbinical position before completing their studies.[3] He served in Fort Wayne from 1883 to 1887.[2]

Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo, New York, called Aaron as successor to Rabbi Samson Falk, who had died on December 24, 1886.[5] Aaron was installed on May 1, 1887, and served the congregation until his death in 1912, a tenure of twenty-five years.[6][5]

During his incumbency, the congregation erected a larger and more commodious temple on Delaware Avenue.[5] Aaron also served on the Council of the University Club of Buffalo and was baccalaureate orator at Hebrew Union College and at Buffalo High Schools in 1902.[1]

In April 1891, Aaron founded the Sisterhood of Zion, which managed the congregation's educational and social-settlement work.[5] The organization owned Zion House free of debt and operated it as a busy educational and social center in the part of Buffalo inhabited by Russian Jewish residents.[5]

Aaron produced both original writings and translations. His original works included "The Relation of the Jews and Arabs to the Renaissance" and "The Megillah of Saragossa," the latter published in the Menorah.[2] He also contributed articles regularly to both the Jewish and secular press.[1]

As a translator, he rendered Franz Delitzsch's "Colors in the Talmud" and J. Stern's "Woman's Place in the Talmud" into English, and translated portions of Bahya ibn Paquda's ethical treatise "Choboth Haleboboth" (Duties of the Heart).[1][2]

Aaron's theology reflected the classical Reform emphasis on the universal mission of Judaism. In a sermon delivered before the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1899, he argued that Jewish particularity and universal human responsibility were compatible.[7] He stated: "Israel is born into its task" and "Intense devotion to Judaism does not imply separation from mankind, but rather is an avowal of union with it, and living for it."[7]

An 1885 conference roster lists "I. Aaron of Ft. Wayne, Ind." among participants at the Pittsburgh Conference. Because Aaron served in Fort Wayne from 1883 to 1887, the entry likely refers to him, although the source gives only his initial.[2][8] The conference produced the Pittsburgh Platform of Reform Judaism.[8]

Israel Aaron died on May 15, 1912, in Buffalo, New York. A New York Times notice appeared the following day.[6] During his rabbinate, Temple Beth Zion erected its larger Delaware Avenue temple, and the Sisterhood of Zion's debt-free Zion House served as an educational and social-settlement center for Russian Jewish residents.[5]

As one of the four graduates of Hebrew Union College's first class, Aaron holds a distinct place in the institutional history of American Reform Judaism. Together with Berkowitz, Krauskopf, and Philipson, he completed the College's first course and received the rabbinical title from Isaac Mayer Wise.[4]