In celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, the Price Library of Judaica highlights its latest acquisition: a first edition of A Collection of the Speeches of the President of the United States … (Boston: Manning & Loring, 1796). This first printing of President George Washington’s speeches, addresses, and correspondence offers valuable insight into the political culture of the early republic. Most importantly for a Judaica collection, the volume includes Washington’s famous letter to the Hebrew Congregation of Newport, Rhode Island, later recognized as a foundational text in the development of religious liberty in America.

The Price Library of Judaica has just acquired what appears to be the only surviving copy of a remarkable 1868 pamphlet. Entitled Ein Jude über Gen. Grant und die Juden (“A Jew on Grant and the Jews”), it was written by Emil Hoeber, a prominent Jewish physician, member of B’nai B’rith, and later Coroner of New York City. In his four-page German-language tract, Hoeber confronted General Ulysses S. Grant’s notorious General Order No. 11, which expelled Jews from his military district during the Civil War. While he condemned the order, Hoeber nevertheless made an impassioned appeal to his fellow Jews to support Grant’s presidential candidacy, calling such a vote essential “for the cause of humanity” and vital to securing the future of civil rights in America.

Discover the hidden treasures of the Isser and Rae Price Library of Judaica through Curator’s Corner, a new series of video shorts spotlighting rare and remarkable items from the collection.

Produced by the Bud Shorstein Center for Jewish Studies, each episode offers a brief, captivating look into the history and significance of these cultural gems.

We’re excited to launch the series with a special feature in honor of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, highlighting an exceptionally rare 18th-century book from Amsterdam.