Shema Israel / The Spirit of Judaism, by Grace Aguilar edited by Isaac Leeser. Philadelphia: C. Sherman & Co., 5602 (1842). English.
A work in defense of Judaism, by the Jewish-British writer Grace Aguilar. The book was edited by Isaac Leeser and printed in Philadelphia, with introduction and comments by Leeser, in which he expresses his reservations regarding Aguilar's thoughts. The book was well received by Jews and by Christians alike and was used in several synagogues and even in Protestant churches.
Singerman 767.
On the front endpaper is an autograph inscription from 1842 by Jewish merchant Jacob Ezekiel (1812-1899), a prominent figure in the Jewish community of Richmond, Virginia: "This small volume is most respectfully presented, by his friend Jacob Ezekiel, Richmond. Va. United State of America, Sunday, May 1st 1842". Beneath the inscription is a note handwritten in Hebrew: "...Jacob son of Ezekiel, Gabbai [?]…".
Jacob Ezekiel was born in the city of Philadelphia in 1812, two years after his parents immigrated from Amsterdam to America. When he was 13, he was apprenticed to a bookbinder and in 1833 moved to the city of Baltimore to carry on the bookbinding business. From Baltimore he moved to Richmond, Virginia, where he ran a dry goods business. Shortly after his arrival in Richmond, he was elected secretary of the "Beth Shalom" synagogue, a position he held for about thirty years. In 1835 he married Catherine Myers Castro, who was also an immigrant from the Jewish community of Amsterdam, and over the years, the couple had fourteen children.
During the time he lived in Richmond, Jacob Ezekiel was involved in the affairs of the Jewish community of the town and in social and public activity for American Jews. He succeeded in bringing about the repeal of an order by the city council of Richmond according to which heavy fines were imposed on those violating the Christian Sabbath (later, due to his efforts, Jews were legally exempt from any penalty for violating the Christian Sabbath). Furthermore, in protest of anti-Semitic decisions reached in several Swiss cantons, he prevented the acceptance of a block of Swiss granite for the Washington Monument. In 1841, Ezekiel received a personal letter of apology from USA President John Tyler, after Tyler issued an official proclamation announcing the death of the previous president in which he referred to the citizens of the United States as a "Christian people".
In 1869, Jacob Ezekiel moved to Cincinnati, where he took part in founding the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and was a member of the board of directors of the Hebrew Union College. He took part in public activity for the American Jews until his death in 1899.
XII, 255 pp, approx. 20.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains (mainly on the endpapers). Creases. A long tear to upper part of one leaf, reinforced with tape. An open tear to the upper part of the same leaf (not affecting text). Several small tears along the edges. Stains, small tears and minor blemishes to inscription leaf (mounted to additional leaves, for restoration). New binding (with parts of the original binding). New endpapers alongside the original ones.
Literature: Jacob Ezekiel, in: Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, no. 9, 1901, pp. 160-163.