The Life of Rabbi Julius T. Loeb, Part 1 (1869–1901)

In my research into the history of the Jewish Community of Washington, DC, I have surveyed several newspapers from the early 20th century looking for any information about the era. One character, who made a real impression on me, was a clergyman named Rev./Dr./Rabbi Julius T. Loeb. He served as the rabbi of three separate synagogues in the district. He was a relentless advocate for the political interests of his community. Despite his firm Orthodox affiliation, he was dedicated to facilitating interdenominational relations, often performing public ceremonies alongside Rabbi Abram Simon of the Washington Hebrew Congregation. Though he has largely faded from public memory, his name is preserved in the Hebrew name of the Berman Hebrew Academy, ישיבת בית יהודה. I want to try to write a biography of his life based on the research that I have collected from published memoirs, newspapers, and public records.

Julius T. Loeb was born on April 22, 1869 in the village of Lyakhavichy (Lekhovitch) to Aron and Tauba Tukachinsky. His parents named him Yehuda, and he went by the nickname Leib¹. His father Aron passed away in 1876, leaving behind his widow, Tauba, and his two sons Leib and Mikhl (who was born in 1872). The family continued to live in Lekhovitch until 1879 when they moved to the city Brest-Litovsk (Brisk.) Tauba married Yehoshua Rabinowitz in 1880, and the family moved to Yehoshua's home in Nyasvizh² (Nesvizh.) Leib was sent to a Russian crown school for his primary education in 1881 and graduated in 1885³. His younger brother Mikhl was sent to Jerusalem in 1882 to live with his maternal grandfather while he attended the Etz Chaim yeshiva system. These educational arrangements imply that there wasn't money available to pay for the boys' education. The government crown schools were free high schools that offered a dual curriculum secular Russian and Jewish education. Most traditional families avoided these schools, since they were weary of the Russifying intentions behind the public funding, but poor families often had no choice if they wanted to give their children an education. Clearly Mikhl or one of his family members felt that he would be better off in a traditional Yeshiva setting, so he was sent to live with his grandfather who was able to support his education. Mikhl continued to study in the Etz Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem and eventually attained the status of Rosh Yeshiva, (Rav Yeḥiel Mikhl Tukachinsky.)²

After Leib graduated high school he attended his step-father's yeshiva in Nesvizh and studied for his Semikha (rabbinic ordination) there. He attained his Semikha in 1889 at 20 years old³. Around 1889-1890 he married Gitel (I don't know her maiden name.) In the Autumn of 1890 he and his wife set out for the United States. Their ship departed the port of Hamburg on November 16, 1890⁴. Leib stated that he was an accountant (buchholder) by trade and was intending to settle in Philadelphia⁵.

An 1891 directory of New York City recorded that Leib (now Louis) Tukachinsky was working as a grocer on Clinton street in the Lower East Side⁶. The next year Louis and Gitel were recorded in the 1892 New York census as living on Linden street in Brooklyn with Louis working in Real Estate⁷. As early as 1892⁸, Louis Tukachinsky was hired as the rabbi of congregation Bikkur Cholim located at 74 Wyona street in Brooklyn. By 1895, Louis Tukachinsky began going by the name Julius T. Loeb⁹ and was living at 74 Wyona street in the Synagogue building¹⁰. His wife Gitel likely changed her name to Gertrude around this time. In 1897 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee to work as the rabbi of Congregation Adath Israel there¹¹. Julius T. Loeb returned to Brooklyn in 1900 and began working as the rabbi of congregation Bnai Jacob in Park Slope¹². He also worked in the Bnai Jacob Hebrew School and was reported as taking part in the graduation ceremony of the school in The Hebrew Standard¹³. 

On August 1, 1901, Julius T. Loeb and his family moved to Washington, DC to work as the rabbi of Adas Israel³. This began Loeb's first foray into serving the District's Jewish community. His eventful and productive tenure as the rabbi of Adas Israel is deserving of its own post and I will continue his life story in a part 2.

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1. 1874 Lyakhovichi Revision Lists, JewishGen, https://www.jewishgen.org.
2. Yeḥiel Mikhl Tukachinsky, "leḥovitz milifnei shiv'im shana," in leḥovitz sefer zikaron, ed. Yisrael Rubin (Tel Aviv, 1949), 15–19. https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yizkor-books/yzk-nybc313846/rivkai-israel-lahovits-sefer-zikaron.
3. "Oldest Synagogue in Washington and Its History," The Washington Times (Washington, DC), July 26, 1903. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84026749/1903-07-26/ed-1/seq-23/
4. Staatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 069; Page: 1227; Microfilm No.: K_1742. Ancestry.com
5. New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists, Year: 1890; Arrival: New York, New York, USA; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Line: 22; List Number: 1771. Ancestry.com
6. Trow's New York City Directory (New York: Trow City Directory Company, 1891), Page 1384. familysearch.org
7. New York State Census, 1892, Brooklyn Ward 18, Election District 40, Page 13. Ancestry.com
8. "Community of Israel: House of Worship of Adherents of Ancient Faith," Washington Post (Washington, DC), August 8, 1903.
9. The name Julius T. Loeb is likely a reworking of his birth name to sound more German-Jewish-American. The middle initial 'T' stands for Tukachinsky, which he moved from being his last name to his middle name. The last name Loeb is from the German spelling of his Yiddish nickname Leib. His first name Julius is probably based on his Hebrew name Yehuda though there isn't a direct translation.
10. Lain & Healy's Brooklyn Directory for The Year Ending May 1st, 1896 (Brooklyn, NY: Lain & Healy, 1895), Page 817. familysearch.org
11. Joel Davis ed., Nashville City Directory (Nashville, TN: Marshall & Bruce Co., 1898), Page 658. familysearch.org
12. Cyrus Adler ed., American Jewish Yearbook 5661 (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1900), Page 329–330. https://www.ajcarchives.org/AJC_DATA/Files/1900_1901_5_LocalOrgs.pdf#page=145
13. "Borough of Brooklyn: Hebrew School Examination," The Hebrew Standard (New York, NY), July 19, 1901. https://www.nli.org.il/he/newspapers/hebstd/1901/07/19/01/article/17