author
Bernard Drachman
1861–1945
A leading voice in American Orthodox Judaism, he helped shape Jewish religious life in the United States while also bringing classic Jewish thought to English-speaking readers. His life joined scholarship, public leadership, and decades of congregational service in New York.
1 Audiobook
From the Heart of Israel: Jewish Tales and Types
by Bernard Drachman
About the author
Born in New York City in 1861, Bernard Drachman studied at Columbia College and continued his rabbinic and academic training in Breslau and Heidelberg. He is often described as one of the first modern, English-speaking Orthodox rabbis in America, part of a generation that tried to show that traditional Judaism and American life could stand together.
He served for many years as rabbi of Congregation Zichron Ephraim in New York, better known as the Park East Synagogue, and was active in major Jewish institutions beyond the pulpit. He helped found the Jewish Theological Seminary in its early years, later taught there, and also served as president of the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America.
Drachman was also a writer and translator whose books opened important Jewish ideas to a wider audience. Among his best-known works are From the Heart of Israel and his English translation of Samson Raphael Hirsch's The Nineteen Letters, both of which reflect his gift for combining learning with a warm, accessible style.