Wise, Isaac Mayer (1819–1900). The father of American Reform
Judaism. He arrived from Germany in 1846 and went on to found the Union of
American Hebrew Congregations (renamed Union of Reform Judaism in 2003), Hebrew
Union College, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He was the editor
of the Jewish newspaper The Israelite (later named The American Israelite) and
the German-Jewish newspaper Die Deborah. Wise was not a radical reformer,
though he did introduce mixed seating and rejected the use of traditional head
coverings and prayer shawls for men in the Temple. Yochanan ben Zakkai was one
of the leading sages at the time of the destruction of the Second Temple (70
C.E.). According to Rabbinic lore, he was spirited out of Jerusalem in the
final stages of the Roman siege. He secured permission from Rome to establish
what became the seed of Rabbinic Judaism at Yavneh.
Courtesy: Professor Shai Cherry
