Leo Merzbacher

Leo Merzbacher (March 16, 1809 – October 21, 1856) was a German-American rabbi who ministered in New York City. He was the first ordained rabbi in New York City and the first Reform rabbi in America.

Life Merzbacher was born on March 16, 1809, in Fürth, Bavaria, the son of Salman and Rachel Merzbacher. His father ran a small grocery store. His mother died when he was two, after which his father married her sister Dina.

Merzbacher's father, a small grocery store operator, sent him to Moses Sofer in Pressburg, where he received a rabbinical degree. Bavarian law at the time required rabbis seeking a pulpit in the country to attend a university and submit to official examination, so in 1830 he registered in the University of Erlangen as a student in philosophy and theology. His registration was held up so he could finish matriculation from a high school. He successfully passed the examination after studying at either the University of Erlangen or the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, but later research suggested he never received a higher degree from either university. He immigrated to America and settled in New York City in around 1841. By 1842, he delivered the dedication sermon at the opening ceremony of Congregation Rodeph Sholom.

Merzbacher served as a teacher at Rodeph Sholom, and in 1843 Ansche Chesed appointed him preacher and teacher. The congregation didn't renew his appointment after he gave a sermon criticizing the practice of married women covering their hair. This led his supporters in the congregation, including its president Isaac Dittenhoefer, to combine with the Cultus Verein, a society of young German Jews unrelated to any congregation. Together, they established the first Reform congregation in New York City, Congregation Emanu-El, in 1845, with Merzbacher as its rabbi. He gave sermons in German, organized a religious school, installed an organ, and, in 1848, introduced the confirmation ceremony for boys and girls. An active member of B'nai B'rith, he was credited with suggesting its name and prepared its first burial ritual. He was also involved in the founding of the Independent Order of True Sisters. He was buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery.