Brickner, Rebecca Aronson, 1894-1988

Rebecca Aronson Brickner was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Her parents, Max and Dora Aronson, followed Orthodox Jewish practices and had strong ties to the Zionist movement. She received a rigorous Jewish education with Dr. Samson Benderley, and in 1910 accompanied him, as his Hebrew secretary, to New York City, where he established the Bureau of Jewish Education. While in New York, she became the first woman to complete a new program in Jewish education at the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the first woman with a professional degree in Jewish education in the United States. She married Barnett R. Brickner in 1919, accompanying him first to Cincinnati, Ohio, where be studied for the rabbinate at Hebrew Union College, and then to Toronto where his first pulpit was located. While living in Toronto, she established Hadassah in Canada; in 1912 she had been a founding member of Hadassah in the United States with Henrietta Szold. The Brickners came to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1925, where Rabbi Brickner was to lead Anshe Chesed Congregation (Fairmount Temple) until his death in 1958. Rebecca Brickner continued to promote Jewish education and women's organizations in Cleveland. By her impetus, in 1963 the Cleveland College of Jewish Studies became an agency independent of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Cleveland. She also established the college's Women's Association.

From the description of Rebecca Aronson Brickner papers, 1915-1980 1970-1980. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 41447142

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