**Isidore Singer** ([[German language|German]]: *Isidor Singer*, [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]]: ישראל זינגער; 10 November 1859 – 20 February 1939) was an [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]]\-born American encyclopedist, editor, and activist. He is best known as the managing editor of *[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]*.

## Biography

Isidore Singer was born to Charlotte ([[Birth name|née]] Eisler) and Joseph Singer in 1859 in [[Hranice (Přerov District)|Weisskirchen]], [[Moravia]], in the [[Austrian Empire]] (now Hranice, Czech Republic). He was raised in an observant [[Judaism|Jewish]] household with seven children, where [[Yiddish]] was the primary language. At the time of Singer's birth, the Jewish community in Weisskirchen comprised approximately 800 individuals, making up about 13% of the town's total population.[^1] He attended the [[Gymnasium (school)|gymnasia]] of [[Uherské Hradiště|Ungarisch-Hradisch]], [[Kroměříž|Kremsier]], and [[Opava|Troppau]].[^2]

Singer was later educated at the [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Universities of Berlin]] and [[University of Vienna|Vienna]], receiving his Ph.D. from the latter in 1884. Alongside his university studies, Singer pursued Jewish religious and textual studies at the [[Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums]] in Berlin and the [[Israelitisch-Theologische Lehranstalt|Rabbinical Seminary]] in Vienna, where he came under the influence of [[Adolf Jellinek]].[^3][^4] During this period, Singer also met [[Theodor Herzl]], who was at the time studying law at the University of Vienna.[^1]

In 1884, Singer established the *Allgemeine Österreichische Literaturzeitung*, which he edited and published in [[Vienna]].[^5] Singer discontinued the publication after being appointed secretary and librarian to Count [[Alexandre Foucher de Careil]], the French ambassador to Vienna, in 1887.[^5]

### France

After relocating to [[Paris]] with Count Foucher de Careil, Singer joined the [[Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (France)|French Foreign Office]]'s press bureau.[^6] While in France, he was active in [[Dreyfus affair|the campaign]] on behalf of [[Alfred Dreyfus]].[^7] In 1893–1894, Singer founded and served as editor-in-chief of *La Vraie Parole*, a biweekly journal created to counter the antisemitic narratives promoted by [[Édouard Drumont]]'s *[[La Libre Parole]]*.[^1][^8]

### New York

Singer moved to [[New York City]] in 1895 where he aimed to publish a comprehensive "Encyclopedia of the History and Mental Evolution of the Jewish Race".[^5] Despite facing numerous challenges in securing support, he eventually succeeded in launching the project. *[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]* was published in 12 volumes between 1901 and 1909 by [[Funk & Wagnalls]], with Singer serving as managing editor.[^7]

Singer later served as managing editor of the 7-volume *International Insurance Encyclopedia* (1910) and co-editor of the 20-volume *German Classics of the 19th and 20th Centuries*.[^7]

Over the course of his career, Singer proposed a large number of projects which never won backing. These included an Encyclopedia of the Holy Land, a Young People's Encyclopedia of Jewish Knowledge, an Encyclopedia of Prayers, and a 25-volume series of Hebrew classics. He corresponded with [[W. E. B. Du Bois]] about creating an encyclopedia of the [[African diaspora]].[^9] Singer also proposed creating a unified Jewish university in the United States by merging existing seminaries.[^6][^4]

## Religious views

Singer became disillusioned in his later years with what he saw as insufficient support for scholars within the American Jewish community.[^6] His "confrontational personality and wild ideas", including his vision for the future of Judaism, often put him at odds with American Jewish leadership.[^4]

Singer called for discarding traditional Jewish ceremonial practices and envisioned a [[Religious liberalism|liberal]], universalist Judaism. Singer believed this approach could form the basis for a global religion rooted in [[Humanism|humanism]] and scientific scholarship, fostering international peace.[^6] To advance these ideas, he founded the Amos Society in 1922, an interfaith, monotheistic organization aimed at promoting global understanding.[^4] Through messages sent under the banner of the Society, Singer promoted the idea that Jews and [[Protestantism|Protestant Christians]]—who both faced rising religious indifference and materialism as common threats—should focus on their core similarities rather than theological divisions, and embrace the ethical teachings of the [[Nevi'im|Prophets]] as a shared foundation.[^10]

## Selected publications

-   [*Berlin, Wien und der Antisemitismus*](https://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/titleinfo/177380) \[*Berlin, Vienna and Antisemitism*\] (in German). Vienna: D. Löwy. 1882.
-   [*Presse und Judenthum*](https://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/titleinfo/177459) \[*Press and Judaism*\] (in German). Vienna: D. Löwy. 1882.
-   [*Sollen die Juden Christen Werden?*](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100517210) \[*Should the Jews Become Christians?*\]. Vienna: O. Frank. 1884. Preface by [[Ernest Renan]].
-   [*Humanistische Bildung und der classische Unterricht*](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100365259) \[*Humanistic Education and Classical Instruction*\] (in German). Vienna: C. Konegen. 1884.
-   [*Briefe berühmter christlicher Zeitgenossen über die Judenfrage*](https://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/titleinfo/177460) \[*Letters from Famous Christian Contemporaries on the Jewish Question*\] (in German). Vienna: O. Frank. 1885.
-   *Am Grabe meiner Mutter* \[*On My Mother's Grave*\] (in German). 1888. Later translated into Hebrew.
-   [*Le prestige de la France en Europe : appel d'un étranger à la nation française*](https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5487612m.texteImage) \[*France's Prestige in Europe: A Foreigner's Appeal to the French Nation*\] (in French). Paris: Alcan-Levy. 1890.
-   *La question juive* \[*The Jewish Question*\] (in French). 1893.
-   *Anarchie et antisémitisme* \[*Anarchy and Antisemitism*\] (in French). Paris: F. Chatelus. 1894.
-   [*The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day*](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100883734). New York: Funk & Wagnalls. 1901–1909.
-   [*Der Juden kampf ums recht*](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/101818314) \[*The Jews' Fight for Justice*\] (in German). New York: E. Zunser. 1902.
-   [*Russia at the Bar of the American People: A Memoir of Kinship*](https://archive.org/details/cu31924028676827). New York: Funk & Wagnalls. 1904. Memorial volume for the victims of the [[Kishinev pogrom]].[^7] Introduction by [[Emil G. Hirsch]].
-   [*German Classics of the 19th and 20th Centuries*](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/006848592). The German Publication Society. 1913–1914. With [[Kuno Francke]], in twenty volumes.
-   [*Social Justice: Eight Chapters from the Social Gospel of the Prophets and of Their Successors Throughout the Ages*](https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/101818282). New York: Isaac Goldmann Co. 1923. Introduction by [[Edward Filene]]. Published in honor of the [[Golden jubilee|golden jubilee]] convention of the [[Union for Reform Judaism|Union of American Hebrew Congregations]].
-   [*A Religion of Truth, Justice, and Peace: A Challenge to Church and Synagogue to Lead in the Realization of the Social and Peace Gospel of the Hebrew Prophets*](https://archive.org/details/MN40176ucmf_9). New York: The Amos Society. 1924. Introduction by Edward Filene and epilogue by [[Israel Zangwill]].

## Notes

[^1]: Knörzer, Heidi (2019). ["Un Autrichien à Paris : Isidore Singer (1886–1895)"](https://www.cairn.info/revue-archives-juives-2019-1-page-47.htm). *Archives Juives*. **52** (1): 47–73\. [[Doi (identifier)|doi]]:[10.3917/aj1.521.0047](https://doi.org/10.3917%2Faj1.521.0047). [[ISSN (identifier)|ISSN]] [0003-9837](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0003-9837).
[^2]: Adler, Cyrus; Szold, Henrietta, eds. (1904). [*The American Jewish Year Book 5665*](https://archive.org/details/americanjewishye0000cyru_z6g7/page/188/mode/2up). Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America. pp. 188–189.
[^3]: Eisenstadt, Benzion (1903). [*Ḥakhme Yisrael be-Amerika*](https://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=46732&st=&pgnum=47&hilite=) (in Hebrew). New York. pp. 47–48.
[^4]: [[Shuly Rubin Schwartz|Schwartz, S. R.]] (1991). [*The Emergence of Jewish Scholarship in America: The Publication of the Jewish Encyclopedia*](https://books.google.com/books?id=bvaKDwAAQBAJ). Monographs of the Hebrew Union College. Vol. 13\. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] 0-87820-412-1. [[JSTOR (identifier)|JSTOR]] [10.2307/j.ctt16rpqt5](https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/j.ctt16rpqt5).
[^5]: Adler, Cyrus; Vizetelly, Frank H. (1905). ["Singer, Isidore"](https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13773-singer-isidore). In [[Isidore Singer|Singer, Isidore]]; et al. (eds.). *[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]*. Vol. 11\. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 384.
[^6]: ["Biographical Sketch"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120806160357/http://americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FindingAids/Singer.htm). *Finding Aid to the Isidore Singer Papers*. [[The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives|American Jewish Archives]]. Archived from [the original](http://www.americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FindingAids/Singer.htm) on August 6, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
[^7]: Temkin, Sefton D. (2007). ["Singer, Isidore"](https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/singer-isidore). In [[Michael Berenbaum|Berenbaum, Michael]]; [[Fred Skolnik|Skolnik, Fred]] (eds.). *[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]*. Vol. 18 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. p. 636\. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] 978-0-02-866097-4. [[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] [CX2587518642](https://go.gale.com/ps/anonymous?id=GALE%7CCX2587518642).
[^8]: Knörzer, Heidi (2023). "*La Vraie Parole* d'Isidore Singer". In Goldberg, Sylvie Anne (ed.). *Histoire juive de la France*. Paris: Éditions Albin Michel / Centre national du livre / Fondation du Judaïsme Français. p. 554\. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] 978-2-226-44803-3.
[^9]: Benjamin, Michael (2014). "In Search of the Grail: The Conceptual Origins of the 'Encyclopedia Africana'". *Information & Culture*. **49** (2): 204–233\. [[JSTOR (identifier)|JSTOR]] [43737486](https://www.jstor.org/stable/43737486).
[^10]: Mislin, D. (2016). [*Saving Faith: Making Religious Pluralism an American Value at the Dawn of the Secular Age*](https://books.google.com/books?id=EbhIDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA152). Cornell University Press. pp. 152–154\. [[ISBN (identifier)|ISBN]] 978-1-5017-0143-6.