Hebrew Ladies Aid Society portrait
The Jewish Encyclopedia
of Western Pennsylvania
A project of the Rauh Jewish Archives at the Heinz History Center
The Hebrew Ladies Aid Society was the first charity in Western Pennsylvania organized by Jewish women. An early version was founded on June 4, 1855 with Regina Bierman (president), Sophia Rosenbaum (vice president), Augusta Frauenfeld (treasurer), Maria Morgenstern (trustee), M. Arnold (trustee), M. Kraus (trustee), and Sarah Gallinger (trustee).[1]“News Items—Pittsburgh, Pa,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Sept. 1855, p 311 (online—National Library of Israel). Other early members included Pauline Frank, Adelaid Stern, Bertha Wormser, Sophie Arnold, Caroline Klein, Henrietta Jaroslawsky, and Eva Oppenheimer.[2]“News Items—Pittsburgh, Pa,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Aug. 1857, p 247 (online—National Library of Israel).
The Hebrew Ladies Aid Society initially provided essential social and religious services within the Jewish community. It attended to the sick and secured food and clothing for those who could not afford them, and it performed shmira (attending to the bodies of recently deceased).[3]Feldman, p 34. The organization greatly expanded its operations and profile in December 1863, when it hosted a fundraiser to support the efforts of the U.S. Sanitary Commission during the Civil War. The banquet raised $700 and became an annual affair.[4]“Munificent Subscriptions,” Pittsburgh Post, Dec. 12, 1863, p 3 (online—Newspapers.com).
Although the Hebrew Ladies Aid Society was an independent organization, its membership was closely associated with Rodef Shalom Congregation and later from Tree of Life Congregation as well. The Hebrew Ladies Aid Society formally merged with the Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1880 to form the United Hebrew Relief Association, although each group retained considerable autonomy following the merger. The Hebrew Ladies Aid Society declined in prominence in the late 19th and early 20th century, as the National Council of Jewish Women-Pittsburgh Section gained prominence and its model of “preventative philanthropy” became the dominant mode of social work and charitable giving.
References
| ↑1 | “News Items—Pittsburgh, Pa,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Sept. 1855, p 311 (online—National Library of Israel). |
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| ↑2 | “News Items—Pittsburgh, Pa,” The Occident and American Jewish Advocate, Aug. 1857, p 247 (online—National Library of Israel). |
| ↑3 | Feldman, p 34. |
| ↑4 | “Munificent Subscriptions,” Pittsburgh Post, Dec. 12, 1863, p 3 (online—Newspapers.com). |
