Nehemiah Mosessohn, Founder-editor of the “jewish Tribune”, Dies

Dr. Nehemiah Mosessohn, Hebrew scholar and founder-editor of “The Jewish Tribune,” died Friday night, at Mount Sinai Hospital after an illness following an operation made three weeks ago. He was seventy-three years old. Funeral services will be held at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Brooklyn, N. Y. He is survived by his wife, his daughter, Clara (Mrs. Louis Tobler of Dallas, Texas), and his two sons, David N. and Moses Dayyan Mosessohn.

Dr. Mossessohn was born April 15, 1853, in the Crimea, Russia, the son of Rabbi Moses and Thema Mosessohn. His father was chief rabbi of Odessa. He received his education at the Zhitomir Rabbinical School, Zhitomir, Russia. He also attended the University of Odessa, where he took his LL.D. degree in 1875. In 1876 he was granted the degree of Doctor of Semitic Languages from the University of St. Petersburg. He received an appointment as procuror (district attorney) for his district, being one of the few Jews in Russia to hold this position. He was among the first official rabbis. (Kazionny Ravin).

Dr. Mosessohn came to the United States in 1887 where he was rabbi of a congregation in Philadelphia, Pa. He served variously until 1902 as rabbi of orthodox congregations in Philadelphia, Dallas, Texas, and Portland, Oregon. Throughout these years Dr. Mosessohn was also contributing articles to various periodicals throughout the country on the Talmud, and the Old and New Testaments. He also wrote for many years against the apostates, who were misinterpreting the Jew and his religion to gullible audiences.

In 1902 Dr. Mosessohn took his LL.B. degree from the University of Oregon, in the same year that his son David N. Mosessohn obtained that degree. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of Oregon in 1902, by the Supreme Court of California in 1903 and by the U. S. District and Circuit courts in 1902. In this year Dr. Mosessohn became the editor of “The Jewish Tribune,” which was published in Oregon until 1918 and since then is being published in New York.

Dr. Mosessohn was the author of “Almah Again” and several other books that are awaiting publication.

Among his other activities were his work as associate editor of the Hebrew Encyclopedia, as National Director of the Jewish Consumptive Relief Society, as past president B’nai Brith, and Order Brith Abraham.