Date: Tuesday, 25 November 1997Subject: Searching: William Greenburg, Rabbi? New York. He went to USA, probably New York where he practiced as some kind of Rabbi/Chazan, probably not orthodox. Does this ring any bells?
William Henry Greenburg - first Rabbi of Congregation Albert
In 1997, Edward Greenbury, who lives in Wales, fell ill and went into a coma for five weeks. On returning to consciousness he turned to his children and said, "I wonder what happened to Uncle Willy." To answer that question his son-in-law, Mark Michaels, initiated the following internet search.
Date: Tuesday, 25 November 1997
Subject: Searching: William Greenburg, Rabbi? New York. He went
to USA, probably New York where he practiced as some kind of
Rabbi/Chazan, probably not orthodox. Does this ring any bells?
In Albuquerque a netsurfer responded. A correspondence was begun and the following story emerged regarding William Greenburg, Edward Greenbury's great uncle, who came to New Mexico from London in 1897 to become the first Rabbi of Congregation Albert.
William Henry Greenburg was the son of Harris (Henry) Greenburg (1829-1895) and Rachel Moses (1825-1910), who were born in Russia and Poland. They immigrated to the United States where their child Morris was born, and then moved to England where they lived the rest of their lives. William, Alec, Rosetta, Edith and Coleman (Edward Greenbury's grandfather) were born in London. In the 1930s the family changed its name to Greenbury.
William Greenburg was born in London on April 27, 1868. As a child he was a talented violinist and was invited to join the Royal Amateur Orchestral Society. Greenburg attended public schools and received his undergraduate education at Jews College in London. He then won a scholarship to Montefiore College in Ramsgate, England where he did post-graduate work in philosophy, semitic languages and literature, and received his rabbinical degree. In 1896 he earned a Ph.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Heidelberg. He then returned to Ramsgate where he worked as a rabbi and as literary assistant to Dr. Moses Gaster, the Chief Shephardic Rabbi in Great Britain. On a visit to London Dr. Gotthard Deutsch of Hebrew Union College met Rabbi Greenburg. Recognizing Greenburg's "liberal" tendencies, Dr. Deutsch "suggested America as a fertile soil for [his] advanced opinions and said he thought he could arrange a 'call' to some pulpit in the US." Deutsch located a position for Greenburg in Albuquerque and he promptly accepted Congregation Albert's offer of a two year contract.
On February 23, 1898, Rabbi Greenburg sailed from England on the Teutonic and arrived in Albuquerque three weeks before Passover. In March he conducted his first service at Jolly Ten Hall to a "large and receptive audience." A local newspaper characterized his sermon as "a rare treat for those fortunate enough to hear him. His ideas are bright and original, his language beautiful, his views of life extremely optimistic." Rabbi Greenburg must have made quite an impression on the community. Three months after his arrival, UNM invited him to deliver its baccalaureate address.
In his memoirs Rabbi Greenburg wrote that in Albuquerque he "spent two of the happiest years of [his] life, and did not leave until [he] had built a suitable Temple of worship (during his tenure the Gold Avenue Temple was constructed)." He also wrote that "in this little town of the West [he] was absolutely amazed at the culture and education in so large a proportion of its citizens who came with their families to blaze a new trail in industry or commerce or because of the unusual climate."
Notwithstanding his success, Rabbi Greenburg resigned from Congregation Albert after two years, and in 1900 left Albuquerque for a pulpit in Sacramento, California. One year later he moved to Dallas, Texas to serve as the rabbi at Temple Emanu-El. However, his ties to Albuquerque were not completely severed. On December 18, 1910, Rabbi Greenburg married Janette (Mimi) Waldstein and Joseph I. Shor. Their son David became Rabbi David Shor, the longest-serving rabbi at Congregation Albert.
Rabbi Greenburg's post-Albuquerque life was impressive. He instituted many innovative reforms at Temple Emanu-El, including a volunteer choir, receptions after Shabbat services and a community Thanksgiving service. Rabbi Greenburg was also active in the community. He was an advocate for welfare services and childcare, founded the Dallas Symphony and was greatly respected in religious, educational and political circles. While in Dallas Rabbi Greenburg married Blanche Cahn from New Orleans and they had one daughter. Blanche was a highly educated woman for her time, having attended Soule College, Tulane University and the New York School of Social Work.
The Greenburgs left Dallas for New York City in 1919 after the members of Temple Emanu-El, unhappy with the Rabbi's liberal views, did not renew his contract. In New York Rabbi Greenburg became an insurance counselor and a member of the Free Synagogue. Blanche established the Association for Personality Training in 1927 and was its director for many years. The Greenburgs continued to be very active in service, intellectual and musical organizations in New York, and Blanche was the women's co-chair of the American Committee Against Fascist Oppression in Germany. William Greenburg died in 1951 and was buried in New Orleans.
Rabbi Greenburg's only living relatives are his family in Great Britain as he leaves no direct descendants. According to Mark Michaels the family is "Jewish in a fairly progressive way." Edward Greenbury, the Rabbi's nephew, is a member of The West London Reform Synagogue where Mark and Edward's daughter were married. The Michaels own and operate The Dragon, a 17th century Coaching Inn in rural Wales. They all send us their greetings as we enter our second century as a congregation.
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