Every May brings about the arrival of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM). Unfortunately, with so much happening in our world and an exponential rise in antisemitism, JAHM is often overlooked if not vilified, as in the recent Sesame Street incident. As American Jews, however, we need to share our own history in America so others will come to know how we have helped shape our country.

I often look back on the Jewish women who have been foundational in the development of American society and Jewish/Zionist activism. The one woman who always springs to mind is Henrietta Szold. Those of us involved in Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America, know her name as the founder of our organization. However, there are many who do not and JAHM is the perfect time to extoll her virtues.

Henrietta Szold was born in 1860, in Baltimore, Md. Her father, a Hungarian Jew, Rabbi Benjamin Szold, was hired to be the leader of Temple Oheb Shalom.

Henrietta was the oldest daughter in a family of all girls. Her father, ahead of his time, believed in educating his daughters, and Henrietta excelled in every educational pursuit she followed.

Henrietta had a strong American upbringing. It has been told that Henrietta’s first memory was of President Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession through Baltimore in 1865 when she was just a little girl. Thus, her American heritage began forming from a very early age. She knew she was an American and she knew she was fortunate to live in America, where she did not face the same levels of antisemitism her co-religionists faced in Eastern Europe.

While Henrietta graduated as valedictorian from Western High School (her academic record there has never been equaled), she did not go on to college because her only option, as a woman, was Vassar in Poughkeepsie, NY, and due to financial issues and distance, she could not attend. While another university, Johns Hopkins was in Baltimore, women were not allowed to enroll. As a result, she continued her education on her own and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)