Brickner, Barnett R. (Barnett Robert), 1892-1958

New-York born Zionist, educator, orator, and Rabbi of Cleveland's Anshe Chesed Congregation (1925-1958). He was involved in numerous local, national and international organizations, both Jewish and non-sectarian. To realize his goal of promoting and enhancing Jewish family life he created a Young People's Congregation at Anshe Chesed. He also directed the congregation into a more traditional Reform observance and the Zionist movement. Brickner was also extremely active in local Jewish organizations, including the Cleveland Zionist District, the Bureau of Jewish Education, and the Jewish Welfare Fund. Nationally, he served on the Executive Committee of the Zionist Organization of America, chaired the Committee on Chaplains of the Central Conference of American Rabbis during World War II, and in 1943, was selected by the National Jewish Welfare Board to serve as executive chairman of the Committee on Army and Navy Religious Activities. In 1953, he was elected president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He married Rebecca Aronson Brickner in 1919.

From the description of Barnett R. Brickner papers, 1919-1971. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 17533417

Barnett R. Brickner was a New-York born Zionist, educator, orator, and Rabbi of Cleveland, Ohio's Anshe Chesed Congregation (1925-1958). He was involved in numerous local, national and international organizations, both Jewish and non-sectarian. To realize his goal of promoting and enhancing Jewish family life he created a Young People's Congregation at Anshe Chesed. He also directed the congregation into a more traditional Reform observance and the Zionist movement. Brickner was also extremely active in local Jewish organizations, including the Cleveland Zionist District, the Bureau of Jewish Education, and the Jewish Welfare Fund. Nationally, he served on the Executive Committee of the Zionist Organization of America, chaired the Committee on Chaplains of the Central Conference of American Rabbis during World War II, and in 1943, was selected by the National Jewish Welfare Board to serve as executive chairman of the Committee on Army and Navy Religious Activities. In 1953, he was elected president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He married Rebecca Aronson Brickner in 1919.

From the description of Barnett R. Brickner papers, series II, 1931-1957. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 43428801

Rabbi, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

From the description of Papers, 1918-1959. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 70960589

Rabbi Barnett Robert Brickner (1892-1958), religious leader, Zionist, educator, and orator, was rabbi of Anshe Chesed Congregation in Cleveland, Ohio, for 33 years. Brickner was born in New York City, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He became active in the Zionist movement as a youth when he joined the Herzl Zion Club, an organization founded by Abba Hillel Silver. In 1910, Brickner was among the founders of the National Young Judea Movement and served as vice-president of its World Action Committee on Zionism.

Brickner received his Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University and Columbia Teachers College in 1913 and earned a Master of Arts in education from the Teachers College the following year. From 1910-1915 he studied at the Teachers Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He entered rabbinical school at the Hebrew Union College, the Reform movement's seminary, and was ordained in 1919. In 1920, he received a Ph.D. in social science from the University of Cincinnati.

In 1910, Brickner became director of extension education at the Bureau of Jewish Education in New York City. He remained in that position under the supervision of Samson Benderley, the founder of the Bureau, until 1915. With Benderley, he was a founder of the National Jewish Education Association, a national umbrella organization for teachers and administrators in Jewish education. During World War I, Brickner served as director of the training school for Jewish Welfare Workers in the armed services, a position under the auspices of the National Jewish Welfare Board.

Brickner was hired as executive director of the United Jewish Social Agencies of Cincinnati following his ordination in 1919. However, he remained in that position less than two years before accepting the rabbinate at Holy Blossom Congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During his five year tenure at Holy Blossom, Brickner guided the congregation from liberal Orthodoxy into the Reform movement. In 1921, he was co-founder of the Canadian Jewish Review and was a contributing editor for four years. From 1922-1925 he was president of the Toronto Federation of Jewish Charities. And he was generally credited with persuading the Canadian government in 1923 to allow 5,000 Russian Jews who were stranded in Rumania to immigrate to Canada.

When Rabbi Louis Wolsey decided to leave Anshe Chesed Congregation in Cleveland, known then as Euclid Avenue Temple, Brickner was hired as his replacement. Unlike Wolsey, Brickner came from an East European background and was a political Zionist. Although Anshe Chesed was principally a German Jewish, non-Zionist congregation, Brickner's skills as an orator and his forceful, but warm personality won the loyalty of the congregation. Under his leadership, the congregation gradually became more involved in the Zionist movement. The improvement of inter-faith relations was one of Brickner's goals. Among his activities in this arena were the Euclid Avenue Temple Institute on Judaism for the Christian clergy and programs for Christian Sunday school teachers. In addition, Brickner occupied the pulpit of the Boston Community Church on Easter Sunday for over a quarter of a century.

During his tenure at Anshe Chesed, the congregation attained the largest membership of any Reform congregation in the country. In 1948, Brickner established the Young People's Congregation, an autonomous congregation within the larger body and subsidized by the senior congregation, for married couples up to the age of 36. It was created for the purpose of instilling and ensuring a Jewish religious identity in the families of the future. The YPC at Anshe Chesed was the first of its kind in the United States and served as a model for other congregations.

As the membership moved further east away from the location of the Euclid Avenue Temple, Brickner and the congregation's leadership recognized the need to relocate. Brickner was active in planning and fundraising for the construction of the Fairmount Temple which was dedicated in Beachwood, Ohio, in May 1957.

Brickner was trained in the Classical Reform tradition, but like many of the young rabbis of his generation, his religious philosophy was tempered by a desire to return to some of the more traditional observances that had been dropped by Rabbi Wolsey. He reinstituted the Kiddush at Friday night services, Kol Nidre at Yom Kippur, the yizkor service, blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, and the celebration of Simhat Torah. In addition, as a Hebraist, he placed greater emphasis on the study of Hebrew in the synagogue religious school than had his predecessor. In the area of religious education, Brickner built the religious school into a program serving over 1,100 students. In 1927 he created the position of Director of Education and hired Nathan Brilliant who held the position until 1946 when he became director of Cleveland's Bureau of Jewish Education.

Brickner was a Jewish communal leader second in importance, especially in the 1930s, only to Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver. He was a long-time leader of the Cleveland Zionist District, the local arm of the Zionist Organization of America. His East European roots and his Zionist fervor allowed him to make great inroads in obtaining support from the East European Jews of Cleveland. Between him and Silver, who in 1936 established his own and ultimately larger local Zionist organization, the non-Zionist and anti-Zionist forces in the Jewish community lost all influence. Brickner's work as a Zionist took on a national scope as he served on the Executive Committee of the Zionist Organization of America.

In 1932, Brickner succeeded Silver as president of the Bureau of Jewish Education. He served eight difficult years that witnessed financial problems and intense criticism that the Bureau was not supporting traditional Jewish education but was an agent for Jewish nationalism. However, through the personal influence of Brickner, Silver, and Bureau director Abraham Friedland, the Bureau managed to survive and even receive solid support from the Jewish Welfare Fund, the community's fundraising agency.

In the mid-1930s, Brickner suggested that the Jewish Welfare Fund be divorced from the Jewish Welfare Federation as a way to streamline and improve fundraising. He believed it should be operated by an independent agency, perhaps the newly formed Jewish Community Council. Although his suggestion was not adopted, he and Silver were chosen to act as co-chairs of the Welfare Fund drive in 1935.

During World War II, Brickner chaired the Committee on Chaplains of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He was responsible for overseeing the ecclesiastical certification of Reform Rabbis who applied to serve as chaplains in the military. In 1943, the National Jewish Welfare Board selected Brickner to serve as executive chairman of the Committee on Army and Navy Religious Activities. With Rabbi Philip Bernstein, the executive director of CANRA, Brickner was responsible for the certification and placement of chaplains from the Orthodox and Conservative movements, as well as Reform.

In 1947, Brickner undertook an extended overseas tour to study the needs and problems of American servicemen and to report on the situation faced by Jews in Europe and the middle east. In the same year, President Truman awarded the Medal of Merit to Brickner for his service to the military both during and following the war.

In 1953, in honor of his long service to Reform Judaism, as well as his work in the general Jewish community, Brickner was elected president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the professional organization for the Reform Rabbinate.

In 1958, while on a tour of Israel and Europe, Brickner died in an automobile accident in Lorca, Spain.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Barnett R. Brickner

From the guide to the Barnett R. Brickner Papers, 1919-1971, (Western Reserve Historical Society)

Rabbi Barnett Robert Brickner (1892-1958), religious leader, Zionist, educator, and orator, was rabbi of Anshe Chesed Congregation in Cleveland, Ohio, for 33 years. Brickner was born in New York City, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants. He became active in the Zionist movement as a youth when he joined the Herzl Zion Club, an organization founded by Abba Hillel Silver. In 1910, Brickner was among the founders of the National Young Judea Movement and served as vice-president of its World Action Committee on Zionism.

Brickner received his Bachelor of Science degree from Columbia University and Columbia Teachers College in 1913 and earned a Master of Arts in education from the Teachers College the following year. From 1910-1915 he studied at the Teachers Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. He entered rabbinical school at the Hebrew Union College, the Reform movement's seminary, and was ordained in 1919. In 1920, he received a Ph.D. in social science from the University of Cincinnati.

In 1910, Brickner became director of extension education at the Bureau of Jewish Education in New York City. He remained in that position under the supervision of Samson Benderley, the founder of the Bureau, until 1915. With Benderley, he was a founder of the National Jewish Education Association, a national umbrella organization for teachers and administrators in Jewish education. During World War I, Brickner served as director of the training school for Jewish Welfare Workers in the armed services, a position under the auspices of the National Jewish Welfare Board.

Brickner was hired as executive director of the United Jewish Social Agencies of Cincinnati following his ordination in 1919. However, he remained in that position less than two years before accepting the rabbinate at Holy Blossom Congregation in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. During his five year tenure at Holy Blossom, Brickner guided the congregation from liberal Orthodoxy into the Reform movement. In 1921, he was co-founder of the Canadian Jewish Review and was a contributing editor for four years. From 1922-1925 he was president of the Toronto Federation of Jewish Charities. And he was generally credited with persuading the Canadian government in 1923 to allow 5,000 Russian Jews who were stranded in Rumania to immigrate to Canada.

When Rabbi Louis Wolsey decided to leave Anshe Chesed Congregation in Cleveland, known then as Euclid Avenue Temple, Brickner was hired as his replacement. Unlike Wolsey, Brickner came from an East European background and was a political Zionist. Although Anshe Chesed was principally a German Jewish, non-Zionist congregation, Brickner's skills as an orator and his forceful, but warm personality won the loyalty of the congregation. Under his leadership, the congregation gradually became more involved in the Zionist movement.

The improvement of inter-faith relations was one of Brickner's goals. Among his activities in this arena were the Euclid Avenue Temple Institute on Judaism for the Christian clergy and programs for Christian Sunday school teachers. In addition, Brickner occupied the pulpit of the Boston Community Church on Easter Sunday for over a quarter of a century.

During his tenure at Anshe Chesed, the congregation attained the largest membership of any Reform congregation in the country. In 1948, Brickner established the Young People's Congregation, an autonomous congregation within the larger body and subsidized by the senior congregation, for married couples up to the age of 36. It was created for the purpose of instilling and ensuring a Jewish religious identity in the families of the future. The YPC at Anshe Chesed was the first of its kind in the United States and served as a model for other congregations.

As the membership moved further east away from the location of the Euclid Avenue Temple, Brickner and the congregation's leadership recognized the need to relocate. Brickner was active in planning and fundraising for the construction of the Fairmount Temple which was dedicated in Beachwood, Ohio, in May 1957.

Brickner was trained in the Classical Reform tradition, but like many of the young rabbis of his generation, his religious philosophy was tempered by a desire to return to some of the more traditional observances that had been dropped by Rabbi Wolsey. He reinstituted the Kiddush at Friday night services, Kol Nidre at Yom Kippur, the yizkor service, blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah, and the celebration of Simhat Torah. In addition, as a Hebraist, he placed greater emphasis on the study of Hebrew in the synagogue religious school than had his predecessor. In the area of religious education, Brickner built the religious school into a program serving over 1,100 students. In 1927 he created the position of Director of Education and hired Nathan Brilliant who held the position until 1946 when he became director of Cleveland's Bureau of Jewish Education.

Brickner was a Jewish communal leader second in importance, especially in the 1930s, only to Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver. He was a long-time leader of the Cleveland Zionist District, the local arm of the Zionist Organization of America. His East European roots and his Zionist fervor allowed him to make great inroads in obtaining support from the East European Jews of Cleveland. Between him and Silver, who in 1936 established his own and ultimately larger local Zionist organization, the non-Zionist and anti-Zionist forces in the Jewish community lost all influence. Brickner's work as a Zionist took on a national scope as he served on the Executive Committee of the Zionist Organization of America.

In 1932, Brickner succeeded Silver as president of the Bureau of Jewish Education. He served eight difficult years that witnessed financial problems and intense criticism that the Bureau was not supporting traditional Jewish education but was an agent for Jewish nationalism. However, through the personal influence of Brickner, Silver, and Bureau director Abraham Friedland, the Bureau managed to survive and even receive solid support from the Jewish Welfare Fund, the community's fundraising agency.

In the mid-1930s, Brickner suggested that the Jewish Welfare Fund be divorced from the Jewish Welfare Federation as a way to streamline and improve fundraising. He believed it should be operated by an independent agency, perhaps the newly formed Jewish Community Council. Although his suggestion was not adopted, he and Silver were chosen to act as co-chairs of the Welfare Fund drive in 1935.

During World War II, Brickner chaired the Committee on Chaplains of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He was responsible for overseeing the ecclesiastical certification of Reform Rabbis who applied to serve as chaplains in the military. In 1943, the National Jewish Welfare Board selected Brickner to serve as executive chairman of the Committee on Army and Navy Religious Activities. With Rabbi Philip Bernstein, the executive director of CANRA, Brickner was responsible for the certification and placement of chaplains from the Orthodox and Conservative movements, as well as Reform.

In 1947, Brickner undertook an extended overseas tour to study the needs and problems of American servicemen and to report on the situation faced by Jews in Europe and the middle east. In the same year, President Truman awarded the Medal of Merit to Brickner for his service to the military both during and following the war.

In 1953, in honor of his long service to Reform Judaism, as well as his work in the general Jewish community, Brickner was elected president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the professional organization for the Reform Rabbinate.

In 1958, while on a tour of Israel and Europe, Brickner died in an automobile accident in Lorca, Spain.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Barnett Robert Brickner

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for Anshe Chesed Congregation

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Bureau of Jewish Education

From the guide to the Barnett R. Brickner Papers, Series II, 1931-1957, (Western Reserve Historical Society)