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

Processed by Stephanie Call

Jewish Heritage Center at NEHGS

99-101 Newbury St.

Boston, Massachusetts

Email: jhcreference@nehgs.org

URL: jewishheritagecenter.org

© 2018,  Jewish Heritage Center at NEHGS, Boston, MA. 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.

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.

• 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).

Arrangement

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

Papers of Philip Lown, P-162

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; Jewish Heritage Center at NEHGS.

Acquisition Information

Accession information unknown.

Access Points

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

• Subject Names:

  • Kaplan, Mordecai Menahem, 1881-1983
  • Lown, Philip W., 1890-
  • Sachar, Abram Leon, 1899-1993
  • Shapiro, Judah Joseph, 1912-
  • Zigmond, Maurice L.

• Subject Organizations:

  • Brandeis University
  • B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundations
  • Harvard University
  • Radcliffe College
  • Simmons College (Boston, Mass.)
  • Tufts University
  • University of Connecticut
  • World University Service
  • Yale University

• Subject Topics:

  • College students--Religious life--United States.

• Subject Places:

  • Boston (Mass.)
  • Cambridge (Mass.)
  • New England
  • New Haven (Conn.)

• Document Types:

  • clippings (information artifacts)
  • correspondence
  • financial statements
  • newsclippings
  • reports
  • scrapbooks

Container List

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

Click the box in the request column to learn more about viewing materials at the Jewish Heritage Center at NEHGS.

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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
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	Request
11	1	Smith College	1958-1962
11	2-4	Tufts University	1945-1954
11	5	University of Connecticut	1947-1955
Box	Folder	Title	Date	Request
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	Request
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	Request
OS	1-2	Scrapbook	undated
OS	3	Simmons-Tufts Hillel Scrapbook	1947