'Maggid of Montreal': Rabbi Hirsch Cohen on the Dilemmas of the Canadian Rabbi

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
'Maggid of Montreal': Rabbi Hirsch Cohen on the Dilemmas of the Canadian Rabbi
Abstract
The Polish-born Tzvi Hirsch Cohen (1862-1950) immigrated to Montreal in the early twentieth century where he served for several decades as the city's chief rabbi. According to the author, what Cohen found particularly vexing was the multiple roles that rabbis in North America were called upon to perform. In Europe, rabbis were specialized -- some were preachers, others halakhic experts. Cohen viewed the two as being in a state of perennial tension, and he had great difficulty seeing how a rabbi could function as both. The author writes that Cohen's description of his internal struggles offers a glimpse into the challenges faced by rabbis in the city's immigrant Orthodox community in the early twentieth century.
Publication
Jewish History
Volume
Vol. 23
Issue
no. 2
Pages
179-193
Date
June 2009
Language
en
Citation
Lapidus, Steven. “‘Maggid of Montreal’: Rabbi Hirsch Cohen on the Dilemmas of the Canadian Rabbi.” Jewish History Vol. 23, no. 2 (June 2009): 179–193.
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