Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

Yesterday, the twelfth of Shvat, marked the seventy-fifth Yahrzeit of Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz. Chief Rabbi of the U.K. from 1913 until his death in 1946, Rabbi Hertz was the first graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary, at a time when the gap between Conservatism and Orthodoxy was largely ideological. While Rabbi Hertz identified himself as Orthodox, he will be remembered around the Jewish world for the "Hertz Chumash" which filled the pews of synagogues from across the religious spectrum. Rabbi Hertz's anthology of commentaries drew from Jewish and non-Jewish sources which spanned the ages. His commentary was progressive for the time.

In recent decades, the different denominations have introduced Chumashim whose commentaries reflect particular ideologies and modern scholarship. While these are all welcome additions, there was something beautiful, nostalgic, charming, and unifying when most English speaking congregations housed the Hertz Chumash.

Our tradition teaches us that there are "Seventy faces" to the Torah, implying a multiplicity of interpretations and philosophical understandings of Torah. While Beth Emeth has introduced the Etz Hayim and the Stone edition of the Art Scroll Chumash in the last decade, our shul continues to provide the Hertz Chumash in our pews. To this day (pre Covid), many attendees continue to prefer being enriched by the timeless insights offered in the Hertz Chumash.

May the memory of Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz be a blessing.

Rabbi Howard Morrison