The Occident and American Jewish Advocate
Encyclopedia
The Occident was the first general Jewish periodical published in the United States
. (The only earlier periodical, Solomon Henry Jackson
's The Jew was published as an anti-missionary journal).
Compiled by Rabbi Isaac Leeser
from inception through 1868, in 1869 the publication was edited by Mayer Sulzberger. (Sulzberger, a successful attorney was a disciple of Leeser's in his youth. Leeser hoped Sulzberger would enter the rabbinate, but Sulzberger chose a career in law instead, but pledged to Leeser that he would edit the Occident for a year, which he fulfilled after Leeser's death.)
A monthly publication, the Occident did print weekly from April 1859 - March 1861 until returning to the monthly format. It contained a broad array of contents, including sermons, obituaries, juvenile literature, scholarly research, theology, spiritual poetry, domestic and foreign news of Jewish interest, resolutions adopted by congregations and organizations, book reviews and correspondence. The Occident is one of the most important records of American Jewish life in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.
Over ten years worth of this news monthly have been transcribed and are available for reading online.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. (The only earlier periodical, Solomon Henry Jackson
Solomon Henry Jackson
Solomon Henry Jackson was a pioneer American Jewish printer.An immigrant from England, Jackson settled in Pike County, Pennsylvania, and married the daughter of a local Presbyterian minister.In the 1820s, Jackson moved to New York...
's The Jew was published as an anti-missionary journal).
Compiled by Rabbi Isaac Leeser
Isaac Leeser
Isaac Leeser was an American, Ashkenazi Jewish lay minister of religion, author, translator, editor, and publisher; pioneer of the Jewish pulpit in the United States, and founder of the Jewish press of America. He produced the first Jewish translation of the Bible into English to be published in...
from inception through 1868, in 1869 the publication was edited by Mayer Sulzberger. (Sulzberger, a successful attorney was a disciple of Leeser's in his youth. Leeser hoped Sulzberger would enter the rabbinate, but Sulzberger chose a career in law instead, but pledged to Leeser that he would edit the Occident for a year, which he fulfilled after Leeser's death.)
A monthly publication, the Occident did print weekly from April 1859 - March 1861 until returning to the monthly format. It contained a broad array of contents, including sermons, obituaries, juvenile literature, scholarly research, theology, spiritual poetry, domestic and foreign news of Jewish interest, resolutions adopted by congregations and organizations, book reviews and correspondence. The Occident is one of the most important records of American Jewish life in the middle decades of the nineteenth century.
Over ten years worth of this news monthly have been transcribed and are available for reading online.