Solomon Schechter
Solomon Schechter was a Romanian-born scholar who became a pivotal figure in the development of Conservative Judaism in the United States. Born on December 7, 1847, in Focșani, Romania, he was educated in Vienna and Berlin, and later moved to England where he worked at Cambridge University. His work there led to the discovery and publication of the Cairo Geniza documents, a collection of over 300,000 Jewish manuscript fragments.
Schechter's contributions to Jewish scholarship were immense, particularly in the study of rabbinic literature and Jewish mysticism. He was instrumental in the establishment of the United Synagogue of America, which became a central organization for Conservative Judaism. Schechter emphasized a philosophy that embraced traditional Jewish law and customs while adapting to modern circumstances, which has continued to influence Conservative Jewish thought and practice.
In 1902, Schechter moved to the United States, where he became President of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. Under his leadership, the seminary became a premier institution for Jewish higher education in America, promoting the academic study of Judaism and training rabbis in the Conservative tradition. Schechter's intellectual legacy and organizational leadership helped shape the character of American Jewish religious life in the 20th century. He passed away on November 19, 1915, in New York City.