Call Number:

SCRC 642

Repository:

Temple University Libraries: Special Collections Research Center

Extent:

27.52 linear feet (44 boxes)

Language:

English, German, and Hebrew

Preferred Citation:

[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], David H. Wice Papers, SCRC 642, Special Collections Research Center, Temple University Libraries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Date:

1864-2003, undated (inclusive)

Creator:

Wice, David H., 1908-2002

Form:

Correspondence and Manuscripts

Abstract:

David Herschell Wice was born on February 1, 1908, to Henry and Rose (Cooper) Wice in Petersburg, Virginia. He received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA in 1927 and 1928, respectively, and later received an honorary doctorate degree in 1948 from the same institution. In 1933, he was ordained by the Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio, which also granted him an honorary degree in 1952. In 1934, Wice wed Sophie Salzer, to whom he was married until her death in 1987, and they had two children, David and Carol.

Shortly after becoming ordained, Wice became the rabbi for Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska, where he served until 1941. He then moved to New Jersey to serve the B'nai Jeshurun congregation in Newark. It was there that the rabbi solidified his place as a prominent member in Reform Judaism. In 1945, he joined the World Union of Progressive Judaism—Reform Judaism's organizing institution—as its American director, serving until 1955. Then, in 1973, he returned to the organization as its president until it moved its headquarters from New York City to Jerusalem.

He left B'nai Jeshurun in 1947 to move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to become the senior rabbi for Congregation Rodeph Shalom and take over for Rabbi Louis Wolsey. While there, he led the congregation through expansions and projects to grow their community. Even after accepting emeritus status in 1981, the rabbi remained active in the congregation's rabbinical duties until the mid-1990s.

Along with his rabbinical duties, Rabbi Wice served as a board member for the Hebrew Union College, Gratz College Board of Overseers, Federal Jewish Agencies, and the Family Service Association of America among other institution. He also served as the founding president of the Jewish Chaplaincy Services of Philadelphia and as president of Planned Parenthood's Marriage Council, and was the founder and director of the Museum of Judaica in Philadelphia, now the Museum of Jewish Art within Rodeph Shalom. Wice was also a collector of antique Judaica. Wice passed away on February 16, 2002, at the age of 94 in his Philadelphia home.

The David H. Wice Papers consist of Wice's personal and professional papers. Among his personal papers are correspondence, writings, notes, books, commentary, and documents and artifacts pertaining to his collection of antique Judaica. Professional papers detail his time serving as rabbi at Temple Israel in Omaha, Nebraska, B'nai Jeshurun in Newark, New Jersey, and Rodeph Shalom in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Rodeph Shalom papers detail Wice's work as religious teacher and as community leader who oversaw expansion projects for the congregation into the suburbs of Philadelphia. Along with rabbinical papers and records, professional papers also detail Wice's activist work that he incorporated into all aspects of his life and his teachings as rabbi, including civil rights and access to family planning services among other movements.

This collection is arranged into 4 series:

• Series 1: Professional papers: 1921-1994, undated
• Subseries 1.1: Temple Israel records, 1937-1941
• Subseries 1.2: B'nai Jeshurun records, 1941-1947, undated
• Subseries 1.3: Rodeph Shalom records, 1947-1994, undated
• Subseries 1.4: Correspondence, 1929-1994, undated
• Subseries 1.5 Family Service Association of America records, 1964-1969, undated
• Subseries 1.6: Religious services, sermons, and events records, 1921-1994, undated
• Subseries 1.7: World Union for Progressive Judaism records, 1946-1988, undated
• Series 2: Personal papers: 1864-2002, undated
• Subseries 2.1: Education papers, 1924-1932, 1986-1987
• Subseries 2.2: Family papers, 1944-2002, undated
• Subseries 2.3: Correspondence, 1929-1990, undated
• Subseries 2.4: Publicity and articles, 1920s-2001, undated
• Subseries 2.5: Writings, 1955-2001, undated
• Subseries 2.6: Wice's Judaica Collection, 1864-1914, 1979, undated
• Subseries 2.7: Awards, honors, and certificates, 1943-1992, undated
• Series 3: Research and Writings: 1928-1994, undated
• Subseries 3.1: Essays, 1928-1967, undated
• Subseries 3.2: Research and notations, 1932-1988, undated
• Subseries 3.3: Sermons and speeches, 1930-1994, undated
• Series 4: Audiovisual materials: 1927-2003, undated
• Subseries 4.1: Photographs, 1927-1990, undated
• Subseries 4.2: Cassettes and CDs, 1979-3003, undated
• Subseries 4.3: Videotapes, 1987-2003, undated