A Bridge between Worlds: The Legacy of Rabbi Joseph H. Hertz

Born in Slovakia, educated at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS), and ordained by leading Orthodox rabbis, Joseph H. Hertz served posts in Manhattan, upstate New York, and Johannesburg before becoming chief rabbi of the British Empire. A fierce critic both of both Reform Judaism and of an Orthodoxy closed off to the modern world, he was also an ardent and outspoken Zionist. Today, Hertz is known mainly for his edition of the Pentateuch, to which he also contributed a commentary. Benjamin Elton writes: