Isaacs, Bernard, 1882-1975

Educator and administrator with the United Hebrew Schools of Detroit, Michigan; writer of short stories, essays, and musical plays.

From the description of Bernard Isaacs papers, 1919-1981. (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 80631833

Bernard Isaacs was a prominent Jewish educator, scholar and writer. He was born in Lithuania in 1882 and received a traditional Jewish education, concentrating particularly on Hebrew speech and literature. He taught the Hebrew language privately for three years before emigrating to the United States in 1904 to avoid military service in the army of the Czar (whose government he objected to on ethical grounds) before the Russo-Japanese War.

Upon arriving in the United States, Isaacs learned English and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering at Cooper Union (1911). After a year as an engineer, he decided to devote his career to Hebrew literature and Jewish education. He taught in New Rochelle and Uptown Talmud Torah, both in New York, before accepting a teaching position in Indianapolis, Indiana, where he eventually became the superintendent of the Hebrew school system. During his stay in Indianapolis, in 1914, he married Belle Ruth Appelbaum of Utica, New York. The Isaacs had four children, Annette, Irving, Ruben Hillel, and Emanuel.

In 1919 Isaacs moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan, where he resided until his death in 1975. He took over the leadership of the newly organized United Hebrew Schools of Detroit in 1919 and remained in that capacity until his retirement in 1955. Under Isaacs's direction, Jewish education in Detroit experienced for the first time a planned curriculum, carefully graded classes and teachers who were trained and experienced. Isaacs emphasized instruction for girls as well as boys and advocated the "Ivrit b'Ivrit" ("Hebrew in Hebrew") method of instruction.

Isaacs was also author of several volumes of short stories written in Hebrew, andoften translated in Yiddish and English. Mr. Isaacs died in 1975 at the age of 93.

From the guide to the Bernard Isaacs papers, 1919-1981, (Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan)