Format: Web Page
Finding aid URL: https://archivesspace.lafayette.edu/repositories/2/resources/35
The Rabbi Alexander Feinsilver papers includes writings, sermons, typescripts for public talks and radio addresses, and selected correspondence of Rabbi Alexander Feinsilver. Writings are typescripts and drafts of Feinsilver’s published works in addition to typescripts and drafts of articles and opinion pieces published in magazines and newspapers. The sermons comprise a large portion of the collection, and include typescript copies of weekly sermons and sermons in observance of high holidays delivered by throughout Feinsilver’s career as a Rabbi. The bulk of the sermons date from his early career, 1937-1946, in Kentucky and Sacramento, California. Many of these sermons offer Feinsilver’s views on contemporary subjects, books, and historical events such as “Poland’s 3,000,000” which he wrote in late 1937, and “If I could Speak to Adolf Hitler” written in early 1939. Weekly sermons and sermons for Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and other Jewish holy days given at the Temple Covenant of Peace in Easton, Pennsylvania, from 1960 to 1973 are also included. Files from Hebrew Union College document Feinsilver’s early training and coursework, his thesis, and other school writings, in addition to a personal journal that contains descriptions of daily events, campus occurrences, visiting speakers, information about clubs, and drafts of poetry. The correspondence files are incomplete and includes a group from the 1930s, letters relating to his education and career, and a selection of letters preserved for biographical purposes.