Joseph Mayor Asher

Joseph Mayor Asher (September 23, 1872 – November 9, 1909) was a Jewish English-American rabbi and professor.

Life Asher was born on September 23, 1872, in Manchester, England, the son of Rabbi Aaron Asher and Betsey Jacobs.

Asher attended Owens College, graduating from there with a B.A. in 1898 and an M.A. in 1901. While attending Owens, he received the University Scholarship in Philosophy in 1898 and had the Langton Fellowship in Philosophy from 1898 to 1900. He was also an Advanced Student of Trinity College, Cambridge from 1898 to 1900. He was ordained a rabbi in 1893. The descendant of Russian rabbis, he went to study in the Yeshiva of Kovno in 1889. While studying in Cambridge after returning to England, he fell under the influence of Solomon Schechter and again left England to study at the University of Bonn. He returned to Manchester after he was ordained a rabbi, acting as dayan (judicial assessor) in cases involving Jews in Manchester courts and helping organize the Manchester Talmud Torah School system. His rabbinical diploma was granted by Rabbi David Tevel Katzenellenbogen of Suwałki.

Asher died at home from a weakened heart on November 9, 1909. His funeral took place in his synagogue, with Rabbi Henry Pereira Mendes officiating the ceremony. He was buried in Beth Olam Cemetery in the Shearith Israel section.