Leeser, Isaac

Leeser, Isaac

(1806–68) rabbi, author; born in Neuenkirchen, Westphalia (now Germany). He came to the U.S.A. in 1824. Founder of the first Hebrew school in Philadelphia and of Maimonides Training College, he was editor of The Occident and Jewish Advocate, a strong voice in Conservative Judaism. He translated the Hebrew Bible into English (1853) and was the first rabbi to preach in English.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.