• A Note From The Editors

The editors of American Jewish History occasionally conceptualize and produce issues organized around a specific theme. One might assume this to be the case for our current issue, since all three scholarly articles feature, to varying degrees, the editor, publisher, and lay minister, Isaac Leeser (1806–1868). But in fact, Leeser's overarching presence in this issue is a happy accident. It's also indicative of his unabated relevance for historians of American Jewish religion and culture.

The three articles herein engage with Leeser's work, and his legacy, in various ways. While David Weinfeld offers a thorough reappraisal of Leeser's view of race and slavery in the United States, Jeffrey Marx and Laura Yares highlight Leeser's role within nineteenth century debates over how American Jews should worship, how they should educate their young people, and how they were perceived by their non-Jewish neighbors. Together, these essays provide an opportunity to consider (and to reconsider) Isaac Leeser's towering presence as a Jewish leader in his time. [End Page vii]

• 编者的话

《美国犹太历史》的编辑们偶尔会构思和制作围绕特定主题组织的问题。人们可能会认为我们当前的问题就是这种情况，因为所有三篇学术文章都在不同程度上介绍了编辑、出版商和外行牧师艾萨克·利瑟（Isaac Leeser，1806-1868 年）。但事实上，Leeser 在这个问题上的压倒性存在是一个幸运的意外。这也表明他对美国犹太宗教和文化历史学家的重要性有增无减。

本文中的三篇文章以各种方式涉及 Leeser 的工作和他的遗产。David Weinfeld 对 Leeser 对美国种族和奴隶制的看法进行了彻底的重新评估，而 Jeffrey Marx 和 Laura Yares 强调了 Leeser 在 19 世纪关于美国犹太人应该如何敬拜、他们应该如何教育他们的年轻人以及他们如何他们的非犹太邻居认为。总之，这些文章提供了一个机会来考虑（并重新考虑）艾萨克·利瑟作为他那个时代的犹太领袖的卓越存在。[尾页vii]