Liberty collection point
Jewish Educator and Philanthropist
Dates: 1781–1869
Quote: How shall we thank God who grants us living examples of truth and holiness to dwell in our midst?
Quote credit: Louisa B. Hart, friend and colleague, 1864
Image credit: The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Accession number 1954.1936
Synopsis copy: Rebecca Gratz was the most influential Jewish woman in early America. She founded both civic and Jewish charities, including the Hebrew Sunday School Society, and inspired women with ideals of “Republican Womanhood.”
Image credit: North Wind Picture Archives / Alamy Stock Photo
Body copy: As an observant Jew, Gratz moved beyond traditional female roles to devote her life to providing material relief, and spiritual and moral support, to women and to both Jewish and non-Jewish children.
Date: March 4, 1781
Title: Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Description: Born and raised in a wealthy Philadelphia merchant family, Gratz was active in Congregation Mikveh Israel, a religious minority community with a distinct American patriotic identity.
Image caption: The Gratz family Bible containing the birth and death records of the family, many entries written by Rebecca
Image credit: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania
Date: 1800
Title: Cofounds A Relief Organization for Women
Description: At age 19, Gratz, her mother, sister, and other women of public influence, including Hannah Boudinot and Susan Boudinot Bradford, helped to found the Female Association of Philadelphia for the Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances to aid impoverished “gentlewomen.”
Image caption: Constitution of the Female Association of Philadelphia for the Relief of Women and Children, printed by Jane Aikten, Philadelphia, 1803
Image credit: National Library of Medicine
Date: 1814
Title: Helps Found A Charity for Orphans
Description: Gratz cofounded a charity with Sarah Ralston and Julia Rush, wife of American founder Dr. Benjamin Rush, the non-sectarian Orphans Society of Philadelphia. The interfaith effort was “to rescue from ignorance, idleness and vice” destitute orphans. She served as its secretary for 40 years.
Image caption: Home of the Orphans Society of Philadelphia in 1827 Image credit [278]: Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Date: 1819
Title: Founds Female Hebrew Benevolent Society
Description: Gratz and other women from the Congregation Mikveh Israel founded America’s first Jewish charity, the Female Hebrew Benevolent Society. The charity provided food, fuel, and shelter to impoverished Jewish women. It remains the oldest Jewish charity in continuous existence in the United States.
Image caption: Rebecca Gratz as a young woman Image credit [278]: American Jewish Archives
Date: 1820
Title: Sir Walter Scott Publishes Ivanhoe
Description: It was credibly rumored that Gratz inspired the heroine of Scott’s popular medieval historical novel. The beautiful Jewess named Rebecca of York, although in love with the Christian protagonist, refuses to countenance romance with Ivanhoe out of a deep self-denying commitment to her Jewish faith.
Image caption: Gratz may have inspired a character in Sir Walter Scott’s classic historical novel of romance and gallantry.
Image credit: The University of Edinburgh
Date: 1838
Title: Founds the Hebrew Sunday School Society
Description: Gratz founded and directed the Hebrew Sunday School Society. She modeled the schools after the American Sunday School Union, which provided basic literacy and Bible education, especially for children who worked in factories every day but Sunday. It served 4,000 Jewish students by the century’s end.
Image caption: A Hebrew School in Philadelphia
Image credit: Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, PA
Date: 1855
Title: Founds Jewish Foster Home Society
Description: Concerned that orphaned Jewish children might become estranged from their faith, Gratz helped open the first Jewish orphanage in the United States, to provide “a home for destitute and unprotected children of Jewish parentage.” Beyond providing care, the goal was to offer both Jewish and American civic education.
Image caption: Constitution and bylaws of the Jewish Foster Home Society, 1863
Image credit: University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Date: Aug. 27, 1869
Title: Dies in Philadelphia
Description: Although Gratz never married, she raised her sister’s children and cared for other family members. Active in community benevolence, education, and civic engagement into her eighties, she was well loved and respected by an extensive, diverse, and influential circle of people.
Image caption: Rebecca Gratz in her eighties
Image credit: Gift of Mrs. Anderson Gratz, Rosenbach Museum and Library
Catechism for Younger Children
Bubble copy: Rabbi Isaac Leeser, Bible scholar, teacher, preacher, and Hebrew Bible translator (1853), influenced Gratz in her educational pursuits.
Image credit: Catechism for Younger Children: Designed as a Familiar Exposition of the Jewish Religion by Isaac Leeser, University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Bubble Copy: Lesser and Gratz shared her goal of making Judaism more accessible to Jewish youth who were being assimilated by an overwhelmingly Protestant Christian culture.
Image credit: Catechism for Younger Children: Designed as a Familiar Exposition of the Jewish Religion by Isaac Leeser, University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Bubble copy: While serving Congregation Mikveh Israel, Leeser and Gratz began a lifelong friendship and collaboration. He dedicated his 1839 Catechism to her, and it became a standard text in Hebrew Sunday Schools.
Source: N/A
Image credit: Catechism for Younger Children: Designed as a Familiar Exposition of the Jewish Religion by Isaac Leeser, University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Bubble copy: Leeser believed that Judaism needed to be understood by its young adherents to survive in America’s Christian culture. His texts were often explanatory of Jewish beliefs, and were effectively used by the Hebrew Sunday School Society.
Source: NA
Image credit: Catechism for Younger Children: Designed as a Familiar Exposition of the Jewish Religion by Isaac Leeser, University of Pennsylvania Libraries
Legacy of Liberty
Question/alignment statement: Do you agree with Gratz that integrating faith and civic education makes for good citizenship?
Image credit: Glenn Koenig / Contributor
Scripture: Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. Never forget these commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children.
Scripture credit: Deuteronomy 6:5–7a
Image credit: Rosenbach Museum and Library
Related changemakers: William Holmes McGuffey, Jane Addams, Dorothy Day
