I am pleased to announce that the William A. Rosenthall papers have been processed. Alas, our digital services librarian is revamping the stylesheets for our EAD finding aids; therefore, we are not yet able to make the finding aid available through the library catalog.  A PDF version is available here.

The collection consists of biographical files, correspondence, sermons, articles, newspaper clippings, photographs, and other papers created and compiled by William

Page 1 of Rosenthall’s Rosh Hashanah sermon delivered during his rabbinate in Panama (1965).

Rosenthall. The materials chiefly relate to Rosenthall’s rabbinates, particularly his sixteen-year tenure at Charleston’s Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim. The collection also includes materials regarding Rosenthall’s involvement in numerous faith- or art-based organizations, such as the Charleston Jewish Federation, The Charleston Museum, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Christian-Jewish Council of Charleston, and the World Union for Progressive Judaism, of which Rosenthall was Executive Director from 1962 to 1973.

Article on the ordination of Debra Hachen, the first daughter of a rabbi to become a rabbi herself (1980).

Also present are Rosenthall’s expansive topical files on Jewish history and culture. Topics include Israel and the Arab-Israeli conflict, Zionism, Jewish practices and beliefs, various Jewish communities, Jewish history and individuals, Jewish relationships with other ethnic and religious populations, antisemitism, women and gender equality, and Jews in military service.

And while he is known for his prolific collecting of Jewish art (materials which comprise the William A. Rosenthall Judica collection), Rosenthall was quite an artist himself.

Sketch by Rosenthall.

Sketch of synagogues by Rosenthall.