{{short description|Polish-born American rabbi}} {{Infobox person | name = Abram Wolf Edelman | image = Abram Wolf Edelman.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = August 17, 1832 | birth_place = Kutno, Poland | death_date = July 26, 1907 | death_place = Los Angeles, California, United States | death_cause = | resting_place = Home of Peace Cemetery | resting_place_coordinates = | other_names = | known_for = | education = | employer = | occupation = Rabbi | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = Hannah Pessah Cohn | children = Benjamin Edelman<br/>Abram M. Edelman<br/>Henry W. Edelman<br/>David W. Edelman<br/>Rachel Edelman<br/>Matilda Edelman | parents = | relatives = }} '''Abram Wolf Edelman''' (a.k.a. '''Abraham Edelman''') (1832–1907) was a Polish-born American rabbi. He was the first rabbi in Los Angeles, California,<ref name="samuelforward">Samuel D. Gruber, [http://forward.com/articles/3653/restoring-a-landmark-synagogue-if-you-rebuild-it/ Restoring a Landmark Synagogue: If You Rebuild It, Will They Come?], ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', June 10, 2005</ref> serving as the first rabbi of Congregation B'nai B'rith, from 1862 to 1885. It is now known as the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
==Early life== Abram Wolf Edelman was born on August 17, 1832, in Kutno, Poland. He had a classic Jewish education.<ref name="westernstates">Norton B. Stern and Wiliam M. Kramer, 'Rabbi Abraham Wolf Edelman: Jewish padre to the Pueblo (serving 1862-1885)', ''Western States Jewish History'', v. 38, no. 3/4, p. 235-249 (spring/summer 2006)</ref><ref name="jewishmuseumofthe">{{cite web |url=http://www.jmaw.org/rabbi-abraham-wolf-edelman-the-first-rabbi-of-los-angeles/ |title=Rabbi Abraham Wolf Edelman, The First Rabbi of Los Angeles |date=August 21, 2012 |publisher=Jewish Museum of the American West}}</ref> He married and immigrated to the United States with his wife in 1851, the year he turned nineteen.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/>
By 1858, they moved to San Francisco, California, where he studied Jewish theology and taught Hebrew.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/> He also learned Spanish well enough to speak it.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/>
==Career== After completing his education, Edelman was invited to move to Los Angeles to serve as the rabbi of its first Jewish, founded by Joseph Newmark.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/> As a result, he became the first rabbi in Los Angeles,<ref name="samuelforward"/> serving at Congregation B'nai B'rith from 1862 to 1885.<ref name="obituaryherald">'Rabbi Abraham Edelman Goes To His Last Rest', ''Los Angeles Herald-Examiner'', Volume 34, Number 299, 27 July 1907 [http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=LAH19070727.2.56# California Digital Newspaper Collection]</ref> He was also the cantor.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/>
According to Harris Newmark, another pioneer of the Newmark family, Edelman later resigned because he was an Orthodox rabbi and the congregation was slowly becoming Reform.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/> But his services were not ''stricto sensu'' Orthodox. They included "mixed seating, a mixed choir, Conformation, English prayers and English sermons."<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/>
Edelman acquired a building on the corner of 6th and Main streets in Downtown Los Angeles, across the street from the Pacific Electric Building, and collected rents from it.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/>
He became a Freemason,<ref name="obituaryherald"/> joining Masonic Lodge #42 in Los Angeles.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/> He was also a member of the fraternal Order of United Workmen and the Independent Order of Foresters.<ref name="obituaryherald"/>
==Personal life== He married Hannah Pessah Cohn in Warsaw in 1851, the year they immigrated to the United States.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/> They had four sons, Benjamin, Abram M., Henry W. and David W., and two daughters, Rachel and Matilda.<ref name="jewishmuseumofthe"/> Their son, Abram M. Edelman, became a prolific architect in Los Angeles.<ref name="samuelforward"/> Several of his buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.<ref name="database">{{cite web|url=https://digital.lib.washington.edu/architect/architects/124/ |title=Pacific Coast Architecture Database: Edelman, Abram |publisher=digital.lib.washington.edu|accessdate=2015-03-06}}</ref> Another son, David W. Edelman, became a doctor and later served as chief of staff at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, later known as the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.<ref>[https://www.jta.org/1933/08/08/archive/dr-david-w-edelman-dies-suddenly-in-los-angeles Dr. David W. Edelman Dies Suddenly in Los Angeles], ''Jewish Telegraphic Agency'', August 8, 1933</ref>
==Death== Edelman died on July 26, 1907, in Los Angeles.<ref name="westernstates"/><ref name="obituaryherald"/> He was buried at the Home of Peace Cemetery, a Jewish cemetery in East Los Angeles.<ref name="obituaryherald"/>
==References== {{Reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Edelman, Abram Wolf}} Category:1832 births Category:1907 deaths Category:People from Kutno Category:Rabbis from Los Angeles Category:Polish emigrants to the United States Category:Polish Orthodox rabbis Category:American Freemasons Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:19th-century American rabbis