“Disappointed with the program at the Padua seminary, Illowy left for Znaim (Znojmo), a medieval Moravian city where he accepted a position at a women’s gymnasium teaching French and German and tutoring the son of a high-ranking official of the city. Since Jews were not welcome at Znaim and permanent residence was only granted with special permission, Illowy returned to his native Kolin and began teaching at a local gymnasium. Shortly thereafter he married Kathryn Schiff of Raudnitz, Bohemia.
“In 1849 Illowy applied for the position of District rabbi (LandesRabbiner) of the Hesse region in Germany. After traveling to Kassel several times for interviews and receiving the endorsement of the Jewish community, his election was vetoed by the Minister of Interior who did not approve of Illowy’s support of the 1848 revolutions. The government apparently desired a rabbi with what they considered to be more conservative politics.” [ii]
America
In about 1852 Rabbi Dr. Illowy immigrated to America. He was the first ordained Orthodox rabbi with a Ph.D. to settle here. He had equipped himself with a wide array of important skills, since in addition to being an eminent Talmudist and scholar “he was an accomplished linguist, and besides a thorough knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, spoke fluently German, English, French, and Italian. His command of Hebrew was remarkable, and some of his polemical letters written in that language were cited as models of elegance of Hebrew composition.”[iii]
He settled in New York City where he taught and preached at Congregation Anshei Chesed, then New York’s largest Orthodox congregation. During the High Holidays he officiated at Congregation Shaaray Zedek. He then left New York to accept a teaching position in the newly formed Hebrew school of Philadelphia’s Congregation Rodeph Shalom. A year later he became the synagogue’s rabbi. From 1854 to 1856 he served as rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregation in St. Louis. He then accepted the position of rabbi of Congregation Kenessseth Shalom in Syracuse, NY. In 1859 he became rabbi of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, also known as Congregation Nidchei Israel or the Lloyd Street Stadt Shule. During the spring of 1861 Rabbi Illowy left Baltimore to become the rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Chesed in New Orleans. He was offered this position because of his open support of the South’s eventual secession from the Union. He remained in New Orleans throughout the Civil War and moved to Cincinnati where he served as rabbi of Congregation Shearith Israel, retiring in 1869 for health reasons.
Powerful Speaker
“He was a powerful and fascinating speaker and convincing preacher, and his ministrations were so successful that his synagogue on Sabbath and holidays was always crowded with worshipers, and many who had strayed away from the fold were brought back again. Many valuable gifts received by him attested the esteem in which he was held by his congregants. Many of his English sermons and addresses were published in both the denominational and the daily press.
“On the ordinary Sabbaths he usually preached for three quarters of an hour, and not infrequently an hour and even more. On the days when the prayers were longer than usual, [he spoke for] twenty minutes, or at most, half an hour. At no time was complaint made that he preached at too great length; on the contrary, he was not infrequently told that he had cut it too short. If, as occasionally happened, he preached a rather short sermon, his members would gather about him after the service and ask him if he were not feeling well.
“His fervor and his consistency carried conviction to others, and [he] brought back to Judaism many who had strayed far away.”[iv]