A portrait of Rebecca Gratz by Thoma Sully. Wikipedia Public Domain. According an online article by Dianne Ashton from the Jewish Women’s Archives: “Rebecca Gratz believed that with an ‘unsubdued spirit’ she could overcome all of life’s difficulties. A pioneer Jewish charitable worker and religious educator, Gratz established and led America’s first independent Jewish women’s charitable society, the first Jewish Sunday school, the Philadelphia Orphan Asylum and the first Jewish Foster Home in Philadelphia. She surmounted the grief caused her by the deaths of many family members and loved ones, confronted Christian evangelism and became a civic leader. Gratz’s accomplishments grew out of her own indomitable spirit and her commitments to both Judaism and America.” Zoom. The histories of the first Jewish immigrants to America Albert Wisner Public Library will host a virtual program on the early history of Jewish immigrants to the Americas on Thursday,... Entertainment 13 Apr 2021 | 01:33
