Some 600 Jews and non-Jews joined in an outpouring of respect and affection for Dr. Philipson as rabbi, author, civic and inter-religious leader at the testimonial dinner given at the Hotel Alms in celebration of his 70th birthday.
Included on the program of speakers were Dr. Julian Morgenstern, president of the Hebrew Union College of whose first class Dr. Philipson is the only living member; Harry Meiss, president of Dr. Philipson’s congregation; Hon. Russell Wilson, mayor of Cincinnati and friend of Dr. Philipson as was his father before him; Dr. Samuel H. Goldenson, of Pittsburgh, vice-president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis of which organization Dr. Philipson is honorary president; Dr. J. J. Castleberry, Protestant minister and president of the Federation of Churches of Cincinnati; Dr. Thomas P. Hart, editor of The Catholic Telegraph, Cincinnati’s Catholic weekly; and Dr. Victor E. Reichert, associate rabbi with Dr. Philipson at the Rockdale Avenue Temple.
At the conclusion of the program, Adolph Rosenberg, chairman of the committee on arrangements, presented on behalf of the Congregation, a large silver bowl inscribed with the words:
“There is in this city a man of God, and he is a man that is held in honor.”
“When the history of American Judaism will be written,” said Ludwig Vogelstein, chairman of the Executive Board of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, in his message of tribute, “the name of Dr. Philipson will figure largely in the story of its very auspicious beginnings.
“He is one of the few men surviving who have collaborated with Dr. Isaac M. Wise during the years of his struggles and who was instrumental in molding modern Jewish conception in America during the last half century.
“The Union gratefully places a laurel wreath on the head of one of its most cherished members with best wishes for many happy returns of the day.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
