DREAM BY DREAM

American Reform Judaism’s founder dreamed big.

Isaac Mayer Wise, born in Bohemia in 1819, loved studying and began rabbinical training at age 16. At university he learned different languages and studied music, literature, science, and other religions. In ensuing years, Isaac married, was ordained, then headed his own synagogue, where congregants disagreed with his nontraditional ideas that women and girls deserved equal treatment in synagogues and Jewish schools and that families should worship together. Isaac believed America would welcome new ideas about Judaism, so in 1846 he and his family sailed to New York. At the time, there were few trained rabbis in the United States. Leading congregations in first Albany, then Cincinnati, Isaac promoted modernization. He believed Jews should adapt older practices to the modern world and accept the coexistence of science and religion. Isaac started a Jewish newspaper and published novels and plays featuring Jewish characters and themes. More Jews embraced his forward-thinking ideas. He built a bigger synagogue and a rabbinical college open to young women (though women wouldn’t be ordained until years later). This straightforward, well-written life of a visionary whose work continues to inspire will resonate with many. The colorful illustrations, featuring a fiery-haired Isaac, have a delicate, folkloric look. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Proof that big dreams can lead to big changes and important progress.