Henrietta Szold
| Henrietta Szold | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
December 21, 1860 Baltimore, Maryland, United States |
| Died | February 13, 1945 (aged 84) Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine |
| Known for | Founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America |
Henrietta Szold (December 21, 1860 – February 13, 1945) was a U.S. Jewish Zionist leader and founder of Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America. In 1942, she co-founded Ihud, a political party in Mandatory Palestine dedicated to a binational solution.
Henrietta Szold was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Rabbi Benjamin Szold, who was the spiritual leader of Baltimore's Temple Oheb Shalom. She was the eldest of eight daughters. In 1877, she graduated from Western High School. For fifteen years she taught at Miss Adam’s School and Oheb Shalom religious school, and gave Bible and history courses for adults. Highly educated in Jewish studies, she edited Professor Marcus Jastrow's Talmudic Dictionary. To further her own education, she attended public lectures at Johns Hopkins University and the Peabody Institute.
Szold established the first American night school to provide English language instruction and vocational skills to Russian Jewish immigrants in Baltimore. Beginning in 1893, she worked as the first editor for the Jewish Publication Society, a position she maintained for over 23 years. "The sole woman at the JPS, Szold's duties included the translation of a dozen works, writing articles of her own, editing the books, and overseeing the publication schedule. In 1899 she took on the lion's share of producing the first American Jewish Year Book, of which she was sole editor from 1904 to 1908." She also collaborated in the compilation of the Jewish Encyclopedia.
In 1902, Szold took classes in advanced Jewish studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary, However, its rabbinic school was for men only. Szold begged the school's president, Solomon Schechter, to allow her to study, he did only with the provision that she not seek ordination. Szold did well at the seminary, earning the respect from other students and faculty alike. Her commitment to Zionism was heightened by a trip to Palestine in 1909. She founded Hadassah in 1912 and served as its president until 1926. In 1933 she immigrated to Palestine and helped run Youth Aliyah, an organization that rescued 30,000 Jewish children from Nazi Europe.
...
Wikipedia