Collections : [Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford]

In Hartford, as elsewhere in the early part of the 20th Century, Jewish physicians were barred from practicing at most hospitals. This wide spread "gentleman's agreement" kept Jewish doctors out of the network of referrals, and forced them to put their patients on admittance waiting lists until a gentile colleague could take over. This situation created substantial financial hardships for the physicians. Once admitted to Gentile-run hospitals Jewish patients faced language barriers and lack of access to kosher food. Moreover, the wide spread discrimination in the medical profession meant that Jewish interns had difficulty obtaining training. To correct this situation locally, a group of concerned physicians and citizens established an association in 1918 called "The Abraham Jacobi Hospital." Although an option to purchase land for the hospital was obtained from the Keney Estate at the corner of Love Lane and Westland Street, the war delayed progress on the hospital for several years. In 1922, the association changed its name to Mt. Sinai Hospital and purchased the Morgan Brainard mansion at 119 Capitol Avenue. The first hospital facility opened in 1923 with 75 beds. Another problem faced by Jews was the difficulty of getting nurses to visit Jewish patients. In 1925, Mt. Sinai opened a nursing school to address this need. The school closed in 1936. In 1940, Mt. Sinai was able to obtain the former Hebrew Home for Children building on Blue Hills Avenue. It began a campaign to remodel and expand the site, but progress was again delayed by war until 1950. By the mid-1960s, Jewish residents were leaving the North End of Hartford in large numbers and moving to West Hartford and Bloomfield. Most other Jewish institutions followed their constituents, but Mt. Sinai continued to commit itself to its neighborhood and it expanded. This choice, though beneficial for the Hartford community as a whole, was nearly disastrous for the hospital. As the income-per-capita of the surrounding area declined, the percentage of Mt. Sinai's unreimbursed medical care rose dramatically. Though Hartford Hospital and St. Francis Hospital contributed funds to cut the shortfall, Mt. Sinai's financial problems grew more and more severe each year. In the late 1980s, Mt. Sinai started exploring opportunities to merge with another hospital. Mt. Sinai and St. Francis affiliated in 1990 and formally merged, under the name of St. Francis, in 1995. The great strength of the Mt. Sinai collection is the compilation of key documents made by Dr. Isidore S. Geetter for the 50th anniversary of the hospital. These include minutes for the early establishment of Abraham Jacobi Hospital and Mt. Sinai Hospital. Dr. Geetter also preserved annual reports and staff memos from the 1940s, 50s, and 60s that provide a continuous narrative during its major growth and decline cycle. Though compact, this collection offers a substantial amount of vital historical data.

Abraham Jehiel Feldman, born in 1893 in Kiev, was one of the leading Reform rabbis in the country. He came to the New York in 1906 and received his ordination in 1918 from Hebrew Union College. He was invited to return to New York where he served for almost two years under Rabbi Stephen S. Wise. Following that, Feldman became the assistant of Joseph Krauskopf for five years at his congregation in Philadelphia. In an oral history recorded in 1974, Rabbi Feldman commented on the influences he received from serving under two extremely prominent rabbis who were so different in approach. From Wise, he learned to use the pulpit as a "completely free forum" to espouse his views without control from the congregation. Under Krauskopf, he learned skills for building and maintaining a congregation. Feldman was selected in 1925 to lead at Beth Israel in Hartford. From his boyhood, Feldman was an ardent Zionist, and he spoke out on the matter from the Beth Israel pulpit to his decidedly non-Zionist congregation. During the next few decades, Feldman was unable to convert many of his congregants to Zionism, but he did neutralize opinion and prevent them from joining anti-Zionist groups. He also played a leading role in changing the general attitude among Reform leaders nationally. Feldman acquired a national reputation as a major leader of Reform Judaism and served on the Board of the Hebrew Union College, the Executive Council of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and as President of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He retired in 1968 but continued serving as Rabbi Emeritus until his death in 1977. Rabbi Feldman was also very active in the local secular community. He served as Chaplain to the Connecticut State Guard, the Connecticut State Police, and the Veterans' Hospital. Feldman was involved with various other governmental agencies including the local Selective Service Re-employment Board, the National Recovery Administration in Connecticut, and Department of Defense post-war missions to the Pacific Rim. He was active in inter-faith activities that included the Connecticut Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, lectures at the Hartford Seminary, and the founding of the Hartford Inter-Faith Committee. Rabbi Feldman was a prolific writer of numerous books and articles. He also co-founded the Jewish Ledger in 1929 and edited it for 48 years. In addition, Feldman was a member of the Publications Committee of the Jewish Publication Society, on the Executive Board of the Jewish Book Council of America, and a contributing editor of several Jewish encyclopedias. This is far too small a collection to provide an in-depth look at Rabbi Feldman's life and profession, but, together with material in the Beth Israel Collection, it provides insight into his relationship with the non-Jewish community.