Prophet in a Time of Priests: Rabbi Alphabet Browne 1845-1929

Who was "Alphabet" Browne... and why is this the first time anyone has written about him? Between his arrival in the United States during post-Civil War Reconstruction and his death at the onset of the Great Depression, he grabbed headlines as a rabbi, journalist, attorney, and political activist, all in the pursuit of justice. He was widely known as an authority on the Talmud and the life of Jesus, and highly acclaimed nationally for his public lectures which one reviewer thought to be wittier than Mark Twain's. While serving congregations in numerous cities, among them New York and Atlanta, Edward Benjamin Morris Browne published the South's first Jewish-interest newspaper; defended an elderly immigrant wrongfully convicted for murder, delivered opening prayers in both houses of Congress, served as an honorary pall bearer for President Ulysses S. Grant, helped Benjamin Harrison win the presidency; bullied Presidents William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft to establish a Jewish chaplaincy for the United States military, was honored by Sultan Abdul Hamid of the Ottoman Empire, and discussed Europe's "Jewish problem" with Pope Leo XIII. Why, then, did his name disappear from view? Was he victim or visionary, heretic or hero? Armed with a personal interest and unrelenting curiosity, Janice Rothschild Blumberg has meticulously researched, carefully documented and deftly articulated the life of this controversial American rabbi.

"From the time Rabbi Edward M. Browne stepped up to the pulpit until his death 60 years later, he was a 'spiritual entrepreneur' in the rabbinate, in Zionism, in the public sector and in the political arena.... His life was filled with exciting possibilities for himself and for the people he served." -David Geffen in The Jerusalem Post

"A fascinating tale of the rabbinate in late 19th century America, this biography written by Browne's great-granddaughter recounts the life of a rabbi who held 13 pulpits in eight states, lectured to Jewish and Christian audiences, took on pro bono legal causes, started the first Jewish newspaper in the South and lobbied for years for a Jewish chaplaincy. His battles with other rabbis, his correspondence with Theodor Herzl on efforts to promote Zionism in the U.S. and the development of the Reform and Conservative movements are all lovingly depicted...." -Eileen Lavine in Moment

"This warts-and-all biography recounts the strange-but-true story of one of America's most colorful, accomplished, and eccentric religious leaders. Few recall Browne today, but as this prodigiously researched volume demonstrates, they should. His life illuminates significant chapters in the history of American Judaism." -Jonathan D. Sarna, author of American Judaism: A History

"Readers will quickly discover that by examining Browne they will supplement their knowledge of numerous vitally important topics relating to the history of American Jewry. The story of Rabbi 'Alphabet' Browne is as instructive as it is enthralling." -Gary Philip Zola, Executive Director of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives and Professor of the American Jewish Experience at Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion

"The narrative is meticulously documented, but lovingly related by Janice Rothschild Blumberg who remembers her great-grandfather from her childhood. Browne is honestly depicted as a prophetic figure who held strong and controversial opinions in a generation of rabbis who were committed to compromise." -Rabbi Harold S. White, Senior Advisor and Founder, The Program for Jewish Civilization, The School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University