TABLE OF CONTENTS


Introduction

Biographical Sketch

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement Note

Restrictions

Related Material

Administrative Information

Search Terms

Box Folder Listing

Series A. Papers. 1967-2000.

A Finding Aid to the Bernard H. Mehlman Papers. 1967-2000 (bulk 1978-1999).

Manuscript Collection No. 858

NHPRCFunding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Introduction

Repository: The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
Creator: Mehlman, Bernard H., 1937-
Title: Bernard H. Mehlman Papers
Dates: 1967-2000
Bulk Dates: 1978-1999
Quantity: 48.0 linear feet (48 record cartons)
Abstract: Collection consisting primarily of papers from Mehlman’s rabbinate at Temple Israel in Boston, Massachusetts, from his installation in 1978 until his retirement in 1999. Also included are papers from the Ethan Allan Brown Scholarship Foundation. This collection is restricted.
Collection Number: MS-858
Language: Collection material in English.

Biographical Sketch

Bernard H. Mehlman was born on January 6, 1937 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from New York University in 1957 and earned his masters and rabbinic degrees at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion's (HUC-JIR) Cincinnati campus in 1963. He began his rabbinate as an Army chaplain in Texas and Germany. He married Emily Shain in 1964; they had two sons, Jonathan and David.

In 1965, Mehlman became the assistant rabbi at Temple Shaaray Tefila in New York City. Two years later, he was hired by Temple Micah in Washington, D.C., a young congregation that expanded rapidly during his ten-year tenure. While in Washington, Rabbi Mehlman served as the Jewish coordinator for Interfaith Metropolitan Theological Education, Inc., an 'experimental, interfaith, interracial, urban centered seminary for men and women' of all faiths. In 1973, he earned a doctorate in Hebrew Letters from HUC-JIR.

In 1978, Rabbi Mehlman became the senior rabbi at Temple Israel in Boston, Massachusetts, serving for twenty-one years. Mehlman adopted a more inclusive team approach, broadened education opportunities for all congregants, and worked to address multiple constituent needs. After retiring in 1999, he became professor of Homiletics and Midrash at HUC-JIR's New York campus. Mehlman was also on the committee for the Ethan Allan Brown Scholarship Foundation from 1986-1999.

--Adapted from Becoming American Jews: Temple Israel of Boston. By Meaghan Dwyer-Ryan, Susan L. Porter, Lisa Fagin Davis.


Scope and Content Note

This collection consists primarily of papers from Mehlman's rabbinate at Temple Israel in Boston, Massachusetts, from his installation in 1978 until his retirement in 1999. Alphabetical files cover a wide range of topics relevant to congregational life, from sermons, services, and lifecycle events to social issues and programming activities. Topical files consist of correspondence, minutes, writings, and more. Also included are papers from the Ethan Allan Brown Scholarship Foundation.


Arrangement Note

This collection is arranged in a single series. Alphabetical files are arranged chronologically.


Conditions of Access and Use

Terms of Access

Access to the Rabbi Bernard Mehlman Papers will be restricted until January 1, 2025. Until that date, researchers seeking to gain access to the Rabbi Bernard Mehlman Papers must request special permission to do so, in writting, from the Executive Director of The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.

Terms of Reproduction and Use

Bernard H. Mehlman, by the act of donating this collection to the American Jewish Archives, assigned all property rights and literary rights to the American Jewish Archives. Literary rights may also be retained by specific creators of some materials.

Questions concerning rights should be addressed to the Executive Director of the American Jewish Archives. For more information, see the American Jewish Archives copyright information webpage.


Related Material

Related Collections

Mehlman, Bernard H., 1937-. Installation service, 29 April 1978. C-3688 to C-3689.

Mehlman, Bernard H., 1937-. Sermon. March 21, 1986. CD-112, C-4322.

Mehlman, Bernard H., 1937-. Discussion. May 7, 1975. TR-1059.

Mehlman, Bernard H., 1937-. Nearprint Biographies.


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Footnotes and bibliographic references should refer to the Bernard H. Mehlman Papers and the American Jewish Archives. A suggestion for at least the first citation is as follows:

[Description], [Date], Box #, Folder #. MS-858. Bernard H. Mehlman Papers. American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Provenance

The Bernard H. Mehlman Papers were received from Bernard H. Mehlman, Boston, Massachusetts in August 1999 and August, 2004.

Processing Information

Processed by Michelle Wirth Detroit, March, 2012.

This collection was arranged and described according to minimal-processing standards. Funding, in part, for the arrangement and description of this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.


Box Folder Listing

Series A. Papers. 1967-2000.
Scope and Content Note: The Hebrew year is given after the Gregorian date.
Box Folder
1 1-15 Temple Micah alphabetical files. 1967-1978.
1 16-45 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - D. 1977-1980 (5738-5740).
Box Folder
2 1-50 Temple Israel alphabetical files. E - Q. 1977-1980 (5738-5740).
Box Folder
3 1-36 Temple Israel alphabetical files. R - Ta. 1977-1980 (5738-5740).
Box Folder
4 1-12 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Te - Z. 1977-1980 (5738-5740).
4 13-44 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - M. 1980-1981 (5741).
Box Folder
5 1-42 Temple Israel alphabetical files. N - Tel. 1980-1981 (5741).
Box Folder
6 1-11 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Tem - Z. 1980-1981 (5741).
6 12-57 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - C. 1981-1982 (5742).
Box Folder
7 1-58 Temple Israel alphabetical files. D - K. 1981-1982 (5742).
Box Folder
8 1-95 Temple Israel alphabetical files. L - Tel. 1981-1982 (5742).
Box Folder
9 1-38 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Tem - Z. 1981-1982 (5742).
9 39-74 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - L. 1982-1983 (5743).
Box Folder
10 1-58 Temple Israel alphabetical files. M - Q. 1982-1983 (5743).
Box Folder
11 1-69 Temple Israel alphabetical files. R - Z. 1982-1983 (5743).
Box Folder
12 1-70 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - K. 1983-1984 (5744).
Box Folder
13 1-63 Temple Israel alphabetical files. L - Z. 1983-1984 (5744).
Box Folder
14 1-96 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - He. 1984-1985 (5745).
Box Folder
15 1-86 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Hi - R. 1984-1985 (5745).
Box Folder
16 1-59 Temple Israel alphabetical files. S - Z. 1984-1985 (5745).
16 60-87 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - Bro. 1985-1986 (5746).
Box Folder
17 1-84 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Bu - H. 1985-1986 (5746).
Box Folder
18 1-90 Temple Israel alphabetical files. I - Se. 1985-1986 (5746).
Box Folder
19 1-60 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Sh - Z. 1985-1986 (5746).
19 61-100 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - B. 1986-1987 (5747).
Box Folder
20 1-76 Temple Israel alphabetical files. C - Hi. 1986-1987 (5747).
Box Folder
21 1-89 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Ho - Se. 1986-1987 (5747).
Box Folder
22 1-64 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Sh - Z. 1986-1987 (5747).
22 65-88 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - B. 1987-1988 (5748).
Box Folder
23 1-78 Temple Israel alphabetical files. C - Ma. 1987-1988 (5748).
Box Folder
24 1-72 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Me - T. 1987-1988 (5748).
Box Folder
25 1-26 Temple Israel alphabetical files. U - Z. 1987-1988 (5748).
25 27-82 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - C. 1988-1989 (5749).
Box Folder
26 1-60 Temple Israel alphabetical files. D - M. 1988-1989 (5749).
Box Folder
27 1-68 Temple Israel alphabetical files. N - Union of A. 1988-1989 (5749).
Box Folder
28 1-22 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Union of S - Z. 1988-1989 (5749).
28 23-51 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - G. 1989-1990 (5750).
Box Folder
29 1-54 Temple Israel alphabetical files. H - St. 1989-1990 (5750).
Box Folder
30 1-23 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Su - Z. 1989-1990 (5750).
30 24-79 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - I. 1990-1991 (5751).
Box Folder
31 1-57 Temple Israel alphabetical files. J - S. 1990-1991 (5751).
Box Folder
32 1-24 Temple Israel alphabetical files. T - Z. 1990-1991 (5751).
32 25-85 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - K. 1991-1992 (5752).
Box Folder
33 1-48 Temple Israel alphabetical files. L - S. 1991-1992 (5752).
Box Folder
34 1-18 Temple Israel alphabetical files. T - Z. 1991-1992 (5752).
34 19-72 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - Med. 1992-1993 (5753).
Box Folder
35 1-60 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Meh - Z. 1992-1993 (5753).
Box Folder
36 1-74 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - N. 1993-1994 (5754).
Box Folder
37 1-45 Temple Israel alphabetical files. O - Z. 1993-1994 (5754).
37 46-67 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - E. 1994-1995 (5755).
Box Folder
38 1-68 Temple Israel alphabetical files. F - Z. 1994-1995 (5755).
Box Folder
39 1-63 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - Ma. 1995-1996 (5756).
Box Folder
40 1-52 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Me - Z. 1995-1996 (5756).
40 53-61 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - Bo. 1996-1997 (5757).
Box Folder
41 1-49 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Br - J. 1996-1997 (5757).
Box Folder
42 1-62 Temple Israel alphabetical files. K - Z. 1996-1997 (5757).
42 63-73 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - Bo. 1997-1998 (5758).
Box Folder
43 1-54 Temple Israel alphabetical files. Br - H. 1997-1998 (5758).
Box Folder
44 1-45 Temple Israel alphabetical files. I - R. 1997-1998 (5758).
Box Folder
45 1-30 Temple Israel alphabetical files. S - Z. 1997-1998 (5758).
45 31-56 Temple Israel alphabetical files. A - C. 1998-1999 (5759).
Box Folder
46 1-47 Temple Israel alphabetical files. C - I. 1998-1999 (5759).
Box Folder
47 1-48 Temple Israel alphabetical files. J - Q. 1998-1999 (5759).
Box Folder
48 1-33 Temple Israel alphabetical files. R -Z. 1998-1999 (5759).
48 34-45 Ethan Allan Brown Scholarship Foundation. 1986-2000.

Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the AJA Online Catalog.

Persons and Families

Mehlman, Bernard H., 1937-

Institutions

Congregation Adath Israel (Boston, Mass.)
Ethan Allan Brown Scholarship Foundation.
Temple Micah (Washington, D.C.)
United States. National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Genres and Forms

Jewish sermons, American.

Occupations

Rabbis -- Massachusetts -- Boston.