Guide to the Papers Rabbi Maurice L. Zigmond (1904-1998), Undated, 1943-1964
*P-112
Processed by Stephanie Call
American Jewish Historical Society, New England Archives
99-101 Newbury St.
Boston, Massachusetts
Phone: (617) 226-1245
Email: reference@ajhsboston.org
URL: http://www.ajhsboston.org
© 2015, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.
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 |
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. |
Footnotes
- 1Information used in this finding aid is from the following sources:
1910 United States Census. No Page. Web. 12 Apr 2012. <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MKWY-18G>.
1920 United States Census. No Page. Web. 12 Apr 2012. <https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MX2F-XCZ>.
Materials from the collection.
"Rabbi Maurice Zigmond Dies at 94." Harvard University Gazette. 17 Sept 1998: no page. Web. 12 Apr. 2012. <http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/09.17/Obituaries.html>. Accessed April 10 2012.
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).
Return to the Top of PageArrangement
The collection is arranged into five series as follows:
- Series I: Biographical Notes, undated
- Series II: Organizational Activities, undated, 1945-1964
- Series III: Correspondence, 1945-1964
- Series IV: Financial and Program Reports, 1945-1964
- Series V: Oversized, undated, 1947
Access and Use
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
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
Return to the Top of PagePreferred 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, New York, NY, and Boston, MA.
Acquisition Information
Accession information unknown.
Return to the Top of PageAccess Points
This collection is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.
Click on a subject to search that term in the Center's catalog.Subject Names:
Subject Organizations:
Subject Topics:
Subject Places:
Document Types:
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |