Guide to the Papers of Rabbi Samuel Geffen (1907-2002)
1925-1993
P-898

Processed by Kaitlyn Medley as part of the Leon Levy Archival Processing Initiative, made possible by the Leon Levy Foundation.

American Jewish Historical Society

Center for Jewish History

15 West 16^th Street

New York, N.Y. 10011

Phone: (212) 294-6160

Fax: (212) 294-6161

Email: reference@ajhs.org

URL: http://www.ajhs.org

© 2015, American Jewish Historical Society, Boston, MA and New York, NY. All Rights Reserved.

Machine-readable finding aid was created by Kaitlyn Medley and Rachel S. Harrison as MS Word and Excel 2000 documents in July 2010. Electronic finding aid was converted to EAD 2002 by Rachel S. Harrison in July 2010. Description is in English.

Biographical Note

Rabbi Samuel Geffen, born Febuary 17, 1907 in New York, NY, was the rabbi for the Jewish Center of Forest Hills West for many years. Prior to his ordination in 1942, Geffen was a concert violinist and lawyer. He served most his career at the Jewish Center of Forest Hills, from 1948 until his retirement in 1993. Rabbi Geffen was married to Ruth Lenore Rosenfeld, with whom he had one son, Peter Geffen. During his time at Forest Hills West, Rabbi Geffen taught for many years at the Hebrew school in addition to his role as a congregational and spiritual leader. Rabbi Geffen died March 15, 2002 in New York, NY.

Scope and Content Note

The Papers of Rabbi Samuel Geffen document his professional career as the rabbi of the Jewish Center of Forest Hills West in Queens. Series I: Professional Life contains those records directly corresponding to the Jewish Center. This includes correspondence, notes from teaching Hebrew school, bulletins, books of remembrance, records from religious ceremonies such as funerals and weddings, as well as information about community programs such as Boy Scouts and the Jewish Center of Forest Hills West's baseball team. Series II: Subject Files contains resources collected or received by Rabbi Geffen in his work as a religious leader and educator. These files are arranged alphabetically by subject. Series III: Organization Files is comprised of correspondence, circulars, and newsletters from organizations and religious institutions with whom Rabbi Geffen was associated. The majority of organizations included focus on Judaism and the rabbinical profession. Some of the more fully represented organizations include the United Synagogue of America, the Rabbinical Assembly of America, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the National Jewish Welfare Board, and the Hebrew Union College. Series IV: Publications contains daily publications, such as newspapers, serial publications, articles, and one book, Modern Hebrew by Harry Blumberg and Mordecai H. Lewittes. The publications, both national and local, are almost entirely related to Judaism and numerous periodicals are in Hebrew text.

Arrangement

Organized in four series as follows:

• Series I: Professional Life, 1938-1993
• Series II: Subject Files, 1925-1990
• Series III: Organization Files, 1942-1992
• Series IV: Publications, 1940-1969

Access and Use

Access Restrictions

The collection is open to all researchers by permission of the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society, except items that are restricted due to their fragility.

This collection contains audiovisual or electronic media that requires special equipment to access. Please notify reference staff at reference@ajhs.org 24 hours in advance of needing access.

Use Restrictions

Information concerning the literary rights may be obtained from the Director of Library and Archives of the American Jewish Historical Society. Users must apply in writing for permission to quote, reproduce or otherwise publish manuscript materials found in this collection. For more information contact:

American Jewish Historical Society, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

E-mail: reference@ajhs.org

Related Material

The American Jewish Historical Society has several books by and about Rabbi Tobias Geffen, Rabbi Samuel Geffen's father, as well as the Papers of Tobias Geffen, P-516. In addition, many other members of the extended Geffen family are represented in the AJHS library collection.

Preferred Citation

Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); Papers of Rabbi Samuel Geffen; P-898; box number; folder number; American Jewish Historical Society, New York, NY, and Boston, MA.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Peter Geffen.

Access Points

• Subject Names:

  • Geffen, Rabbi Samuel

• Subject Organizations:

  • Hebrew Union College
  • Jewish Center of Forest Hills West
  • Jewish Theological Seminary of America
  • National Jewish Welfare Board
  • Rabbinical Assembly of America
  • United Synagogue of America

• Subject Topics:

  • Bar mitzvah
  • Bat mitzvah
  • Boy Scouts
  • Jewish community centers
  • Jewish educators
  • Jewish religious education
  • Rabbis--United States--Biography

• Subject Places:

  • New York (N.Y.)
  • Queens (New York, N.Y.)

• Document Types:

  • Audiocassettes
  • Bibliographies
  • Bulletins
  • Clippings (information artifacts)
  • Correspondence
  • Fliers (printed matter)
  • Newsletters
  • Newspapers
  • Prayer books
  • Serials (publications)
  • Sermons
  • Songbooks
  • Speeches

Container List