MSS 417 Rabbi Nathan Zelizer Collection

              MSS 417 AV
Rabbi Nathan Zeiizer
Page 1
OHIO HISTORICAL'SOCIETY
Audiovisual Collections
MSS 41 7 AV
Rabbi Nathan Zelizer Collection
( 1 929- 2002)
OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION
Number: MSS 41 7 AV
Title: Rabbi Nathan Zelizer Collection
Creator: Rabbi Nathan Zelizer
Dates: 1929- 2002
Media: Paper, news clippings, printed materials,
photographs, computer disks, videotape,
audio tapes, reel- to- reel tapes, record and
bound books.
Quantity: Manuscript: 10 cubic feet
Audiovisual: 0.5 cubic feet
Location: Ohio Historical Society
Manuscripts: 3/ 24121GHI and 3/ 24/ 3/ Hl
Audiovisual: 3/ 116iH
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE COLLECTION
Born on September 22, 1905, Nathan Zelizer was raised in Stavask, Poland. In 1917,
his family immigrated to the United States, where they settled in Brooklyn, New York.
After attending a Jewish Yeshiva, Zelizer earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry
from New York University in 1929, obtained a graduate degree in history and philosophy
from Columbia University in 1930, and graduated from the Jewish Theological Seminary
in 1931. Zelizer's ordination made him a third- generation rabbi.
In 1931, Zelizer became rabbi of Tifereth Israel Congregation in Columbus, Ohio. At the
time of his arrival, the congregation consisted of 31 families and was suffering from the
effects of the Depression. Over the next three decades, Zelizer led Tifereth Israel's
transformation into a prominent congregation with over 750 families, daily worship
services, formalized educational programs, and one of the largest Jewish libraries in
Ohio.