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Guide to the Papers Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond (1904-1998), Undated, 1943-1964
 
*P-112

Processed by Stephanie Call

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

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Email: reference@ajhs.org

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Machine-readable finding aid created by Stephanie Call as MS Word document, April 2012. Finding aid was encoded by Christine McEvilly on April 17, 2012. Description is in English.

Descriptive Summary

Creator: Zigmond, Maurice L., 1904-1998
Title: Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond (1904-1998), Papers
Dates: undated, 1943-1964
Abstract: Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond, or “Ziggy” as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born in Denver, Colorado on March 5, 1904. Rabbi Zigmond taught Anthropology at Yale from 1948-1961, but he began his career as a counselor for Jewish college students in 1935, and was a staunch advocate of Hillel establishing and directing several Hillels throughout his professional career. In 1941, he established the Hillel Foundations at both Yale and the University of Connecticut, and from 1955-1956 he served as the Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. From 1947-1968 he was the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe, and in 1950-1969, he was the New England Regional Director of B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations. This collection contains correspondence, program and financial reports, and information pertaining to the activities of a variety of organizations and Hillel foundations. The bulk of the material reflects Rabbi Zigmond’s tenure as the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe (1947-1969) and the New England Regional Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations (1950-1969).
Languages: The collection is in English.
Quantity: 6.5 linear feet (13 Manuscript boxes and 2 OS Folders)
Identification: P-112
Repository: American Jewish Historical Society
Location: Located in AJHS Boston, MA
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Biographical Note 1

Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond (1904-1998)

Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond, or “Ziggy” as he was known to friends and colleagues, was born in Denver, Colorado on March 5, 1904. His parents, Joseph and Esther Zigmond, were Hungarian immigrants. In addition to Maurice, they had a daughter, Helen, and another son, Isador Jerome.

Rabbi Zigmond graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1925 and went on to study at Hebrew Union College, where he was ordained as a Rabbi in 1929. In 1941, he earned his Ph.D. in Anthropology from Yale University, and later received an honorary D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) from Hebrew Union College. In addition, he was a member of both Phi Beta Kappa (an honorary scholastic society) and Sigma Xi (an honorary scientific society), and was a Fellow of the American Anthropological Association.

Although Rabbi Zigmond taught Anthropology at Yale from 1948-1961, he began his career as a counselor for Jewish college students in 1935, eventually establishing and directing several Hillels throughout his professional career. In 1941, he created the Hillel Foundations at both Yale and the University of Connecticut. From 1947-1968 he was the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe, and from 1950-1969, he was the New England Regional Director of B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations. In 1955, for one year, he served as the Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Zigmond was also a member of the Central Conference of American Rabbis and its Editorial Board; the Book Committee of the General Theological Library in Boston, Massachusetts; the Civic Unity Committee of Cambridge, Massachusetts; and the Regional Board of the World University Service.

In 1940 he married Kate (Levy); they had two sons. Rabbi Zigmond died at the age of 94 on June 12, 1998 in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Chronology
March 5, 1904 Born in Denver, Colorado.
1925 Received B.A. degree from the University of Cincinnati.
1929 Ordained as a Rabbi from Hebrew Union College.
1935 Began counseling career with Jewish college students.
1940 Married Kate Levy.
1941 Received Ph.D. from Yale University.
Established Hillel Foundations at Yale and the University of Connecticut.
1947-1968 Director of the New England Hillel, Harvard and Radcliffe.
1948-1961 Lecturer in Anthropology, Yale University.
1950-1969 New England Regional Director, B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations.
1955-1956 Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
1957 Received Honorary D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) from Hebrew Union College.
June 12, 1998 Died at home in Belmont, Massachusetts.
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Scope and Content Note

This collection contains correspondence, program and financial reports, and information pertaining to the activities of a variety of organizations and Hillel foundations. The bulk of the material reflects Rabbi Zigmond’s tenure as the Hillel Director at Harvard and Radcliffe (1947-1969) and the New England Regional Director of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations (1950-1969).

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Arrangement

The collection is arranged into five series as follows:

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:
American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
email: reference@ajhs.org

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Related Material

Records of the Synagogue Council of Massachusetts, I-454

Records of the Combined Jewish Philanthropies, I-220

Records of Boston University Hillel, unprocessed

Records of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Boston, Account Books, I-120

Records of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Boston, Archival Materials, I-496

Records of Hebrew College, I-451

Records of the Boston Jewish Community Relations Council, I-123

Records of the Massachusetts Board of Rabbis and Addendum, I-56, I-56A

Papers of Philip Lown, P-162

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Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond (1904-1998), Papers; P-112; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY.

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Acquisition Information

Accession information unknown.

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Access Points

This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

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Container List

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

 

Series I: Biographical Notes, undated.
English.
Box 1, Folder 1.
Scope and Content:

This series contains one folder with Rabbi Zigmond’s resume.
Box Folder Title Date
1 1 Biographical Notes undated
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Series II: Organizational Activities, undated, 1945-1964.
English.
Boxes 1-5.
Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by organization.
Scope and Content:

This series contains memos and directives from the National Hillel office, and publicity materials of activities at the Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel, New England Regional Hillel, and other Hillel foundations in the United States. Colleges and universities represented include Simmons, Yale, MIT, Lesley, Princeton, Mount Holyoke, Bates, Bowdoin, Smith and Brown, among others. In addition, there are materials pertaining to a variety of Jewish organizations, including the Associated Synagogues of Greater Boston, Combined Jewish Appeal, American Zionist Council, and the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Box Folder Title Date
1 2 American Council for Judaism 1958
1 3 American-Israel Cultural Foundation 1962
1 4 American Zionist Council 1948, 1957
1 5 Anna Rosenbaum Trust Fund 1954
1 6 Associated Synagogues of Greater Boston 1957-1964
1 7-8 B’nai B’rith 1946-1964
1 9 B’nai B’rith Hillel 1945-1962
1 10 Boston University 1946-1963
1 11 Brandeis University 1949-1961
Box Folder Title Date
2 1 Brooklyn College 1951
2 2 Brown University 1959-1961
2 3 Central Conference of American Rabbis 1951-1964
2 4 Combined Jewish Appeal 1954-1959
2 5 Connecticut College for Women 1964
2 6 Eastern New England Conference of Liberal Rabbis 1953-1954
2 7 Friends of Harvard Hillel (Meyer Dana) 1948-1958
2 8 Greater Boston Hillels 1952-1957
2 9 Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley Colleges 1946-1964
2 10 Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley, MIT- Constitutions 1949
2 11 Harvard University 1950-1963
2 12 Harvard-Yale-Princeton Colloquium 1950-1961
2 13 Hebrew Teachers College of Boston 1953-1954
Box Folder Title Date
3 1 Hebrew Union College 1946-1947
3 2 Hebrew University Hillel 1946-1957
3 3 Hillel Foundation of Cambridge 1955
3 4 Hobart and William Smith College 1954
3 5 Intercollegiate Zionist Federation of America 1947-1951
3 6 Jewish Community Council of Boston 1955-1957
3 7 Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation 1946, 1962
3 8 Jewish Theological Seminary 1953-1955
3 9 Lesley College 1946
3 10 Los Angeles Hillel Council 1948-1954
3 11 Lowell Theological Institute 1951-1954
3 12 Maine (includes Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, University of Maine, and State of Maine B’nai B’rith Council) 1953-1964
3 13 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1946-1964
3 14 Mount Holyoke College 1949-1959
3 15 National Association of Hillel Directors 1949-1964
3 16 National Federation of Temple Youth 1946-1959
3 17 National Friends of Hillel 1953-1954
3 18 National Hillel 1949-195, 1961
3 19 New England Hillel, undated 1945-1962
3 20 New England Student Zionist Organization 1956
3 21 New Hampshire (includes Dartmouth and University of New Hampshire) 1951-1964
Box Folder Title Date
4 1 Northeastern University 1960-1964
4 2 Passover 1957-1960
4 3 Phillips Andover Academy 1957-1959
4 4 Phillips Exeter Academy 1953-1957
4 5 Press Releases 1946-1959
4 6 Princeton University 1950-1953
4 7 Publicity 1946-1963
4 8 Quinnipiac College 1957
4 9 Rabbinical Association of Boston 1955
4 10 Rhode Island 1953-1960
4 11 Simmons College 1944-1963
4 12 Smith, Amherst, University of Massachusetts at Amherst 1950-1964
4 13 Springfield College 1960-1961
4 14 Student Jewish Appeal 1946-1962
4 15 Synagogue Council of America 1950
4 16 Tufts University 1943-1960
4 17 United Ministry at Harvard undated
4 18 University of Bridgeport 1953-1958
4 19 University of Connecticut 1951-1964
4 20 University of Massachusetts- Fort Devens 1948
4 21 University of Michigan 1959-1961
4 22 University of Pennsylvania 1946-1953
4 23 University of Rhode Island 1957-1962
Box Folder Title Date
5 1 University of Wisconsin 1946-1948
5 2 Vermont 1953-1964
5 3 WHDH-TV Boston 1962
5 4 Wellesley College 1945-1961
5 5 Wesleyan University 1952-1953
5 6 Western Reserve University 1947
5 7 Wheaton College 1949-1951
5 8 Williams College 1951-1955
5 9 Worcester 1948-1962
5 10 World University Service 1951-1955
5 11 Yale University 1947-1964
5 12 Regional Activities 1960-1961
5 13 Zionist Organization of America 1953
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Series III: Correspondence, 1945-1964.
English.
Boxes 5-6.
Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by correspondent.
Scope and Content:

This series contains correspondence between Rabbi Zigmond and others, including Mordecai Kaplan, Philip Lown, Judah Shapiro, and Abraham Sachar. The correspondence file for Robert Oppenheimer contains a letter from Oppenheimer to David Lieber, expressing regret at having to decline a speaking engagement at Princeton University.
Box Folder Title Date
5 14 Bishop, Elsie 1951-1952
5 15 Essrig, Harry 1946
5 16 Feldstein, Charles 1947
5 17 Gold, Benzion 1959-1964
5 18 Goldin, Judah 1945-1946
5 19 Groner, Oscar 1961-1964
5 20 Helman, Rayfield 1949-1950
5 21 Heschel, Abraham 1956-1959
5 22 Hirschfield, Robert 1951
5 23 Isen, Maurice 1954
Box Folder Title Date
6 1 Jospe, Alfred 1950-1961
6 2 Kadushin, Phineas 1954-1955
6 3 Kahn, Benjamin 1951-1964
6 4 Kaplan, Mordecai 1950-1954
6 5 Lelyveld, Arthur 1947-1955
6 6 Lieber, David 1955
6 7 Lowell, Benjamin 1949-1950
6 8 Lown, Philip 1955-1961
6 9 Manger, Hzik 1961
6 10 Neuman, Louis 1953
6 11 Oppenheimer, Robert 1955
6 12 Rubenstein, Richard 1956
6 13 Sachar, Abraham 1946
6 14 Schoen, Myron 1953-1955
6 15 Scholem, Gershon 1964
6 16 Shapiro, Judah 1945-1959
6 17 Silver, Abba Hillel 1953
6 18 Stampfer, Judah 1950
6 19 Miscellaneous 1946-1963
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Series IV: Hillel Financial and Program Reports, 1945-1964.
English, Hebrew, Yiddish.
Boxes 7-13.
Arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by organization.
Scope and Content:

Financial and program reports contain numerous documents relating to the budget and activities of a variety of Hillel foundations.

Box Folder Title Date
7 1-2 Brandeis University 1951-1962
7 3-4 Boston University, Emerson College, Boston State Teachers College 1951-1959
7 5-6 Brown University 1951-1959
7 7 Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley 1946-1951
Box Folder Title Date
8 1-2 Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley 1946-1964
8 3 Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley, MIT 1945-1952
8 4 Harvard, Radcliffe, Lesley, Wellesley 1952-1954
Box Folder Title Date
9 1 Hillel Foundation of Cambridge 1948
9 2-3 Maine 1951-1961
9 4 Metropolitan Boston 1943-1945
9 5 McMaster University 1961
9 6 MIT 1947-1962
9 7 Harvard University 1946-1964
Box Folder Title Date
10 1 New England Regional Office 1953-1964
10 2-3 Simmons College 1945-1954
10 4-5 Smith College 1951-1958
Box Folder Title Date
11 1 Smith College 1958-1962
11 2-4 Tufts University 1945-1954
11 5 University of Connecticut 1947-1955
Box Folder Title Date
12 1 University of Connecticut 1951-1962
12 2 University of Massachusetts 1951-1962
12 3 University of New Hampshire 1951-1961
12 4 University of Rhode Island 1959-1961
12 5 University of Vermont 1954-1962
12 6 Wellesley College 1948-1957
12 7 Yale University 1951-1960
Box Folder Title Date
13 1-2 Yale University 1951-1963
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Series V: Oversized, undated, 1947.
English.
Box 13 and OS Folders 1-3.
Scope and Content:

One folder contains a scrapbook of clippings relating to the activities of the Simmons-Tufts Hillel. In addition, there are two oversized folders in a shared personal collections oversized box containing scrapbooks of clippings featuring a variety of Hillel activities.
Box Folder Title Date
OS 1-2 Scrapbook undated
OS 3 Simmons-Tufts Hillel Scrapbook 1947
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