Drachman Family

Bernard Drachman was born on June 27, 1861, in New York City, New York, the third of seven children of Benjamin Drachman and the former Matilda Stein. His boyhood years were spent in New Jersey, where he attended Jersey City high school and developed a love for education and his religion (his own memoirs concerning these early years and related family matters were preserved in his autobiography, "The Unfailing Light"). In 1882, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Columbia University's Yeshiva branch, and then he continued his education in Germany - he studied at the University of Breslau, the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau (where he received his Rabbinical degree), and at the University of Heidelberg (where he received a Ph. D., Magna Cum Laude).

Upon his return to America, he served as rabbi in Newark, New Jersey, before moving and winning election to

Memories from the Zichron Ephraim and Park East Synagogue

(email from Dr. Dolph Klein, 9/17/01)

As a sickly child due to chronic bronchitis, I was not very attentive to what was going on either in cheder or whenever the Rabbi spoke to us during assembly. If he had a stern personality, it surely was not evident to me or my classmates. The cheder consisted of two classrooms located on the right hand side of the synagogue's basement. To enter the classrooms we had to open a wrought iron gate on the street side of the building and descend a flight of wrought iron stairs to an alley walkway where the door was located toward the rear of the building. One could also gain entrance this way to the small social-assembly hall in the basement, or by going through one of two doors located on either side of the Aron Hakodesh at the back of the main sanctuary (see attached photo).

Miss Harris, a spinster of advanced years, taught the age 7-10 group. She taught the alefbet and the reading of Hebrew words without teaching us the meaning of the words. Mr. Rosenberg taught in an adjourning room for the 11-13 age group. We read mainly from the Pentateuch and tried to translate the Hebrew without getting into the grammatical structure. He would also teach us daily prayers, laying t'fillin, and prepared the boys for their upcoming Bar Mitzvahs. I remember a large map on the wall that showed the lands of Palestine and Trans Jordan. The one comment that stuck in my memory of Mr. Rosenberg was regarding the location of the Middle East. He pointed out to us that this region was at the crossroads of the civilized world that linked the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. He emphasized the conflicts that had ensued and would continue to occur because of the strategic location. Whether his reason was correct or not, we continue to see a struggle for control of that region. Now, that struggle has transcended sadly to our homeland in no uncertain terms.

I was never a model student and never did master Hebrew, nor understand the prayers I was reciting by rote. Yet as a father of four sons, they all became orthodox Sabbath observers and proficient with the language. In fact, two of them live in Israel with their own families. Where did I go wrong? Kidding aside, I am very proud of them.

As for Dr. Drachman, he spoke with a soft, cultured voice. Though his sermons were lost on me, I was impressed with the dignified manner by which he delivered those sermons. Having been raised in a neighborhood of blue-collar Eastern European immigrants with their heavy accents, I looked up to Dr. Drachman as someone distinctly different than the rest of us. Other than this, I regret that I cannot add much more about Dr. Drachman. Indeed, I must confess that I was interested more in the 19th Precinct police station and the adjacent fire house which were situated nearby the Synagogue than getting a religious education. As for the limp, perhaps Dr. Drachman was suffering from gout, an ingrown-toe nail, arthritis or a bad knee or hip for which replacement surgery had not yet been developed. What ever the cause, he never seemed to reveal that he was in pain or discomforted by it.

the same position at the Zichron Ephraim Congregation in New York City in 1890 (note: that web site has some before-and-after renovation pictures of the synagogue, which can be enlarged by clicking on them. It also incorrectly notes Bernard as the congregation's founder). This synagogue was founded through the largesse of Jonas Weil, in memory of his father Ephraim; Bernard's election chances were certainly not hurt by the fact that he had married Jonas Weil's daughter Sarah in New York on February 8, 1888 (the Park East Synagogue itself, at 163 East 67th Street, N.Y., was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 8/18/1983).

Bernard Drachman was actively involved in numerous Jewish causes, mostly in leadership roles, even as he tended to the flock at Zichron Ephraim. To list a few:

Bernard and wife Sarah found time to produce eight children, 6 boys and two girls - Beatrice (b. 1890), Edgar (b. 1892), Julian (b. 1894), Albert (b. 1896), Mathilde (b. 1899), Myron (b. 1901), and Theodore (b. 1904)[see picture below]. Son Sidney was the first born, but died at the age of 6 months - his death was ascribed to the cat jumping in his crib and sucking the breath from him, according to Theodore Drachman. Bernard as a father was known as an unbending character, strict in his discipline, with a single-minded devotion to his religion sufficient to cause some amounts of rebellion in his offspring. Sarah died after their children reached maturity, in 1925, and two years later Bernard married Hadassah Levine, who would outlive him. Bernard Drachman lasted almost to his 84th birthday, dying in New York City on March 12th, 1945, of natural causes. By his death certificate, he was a resident of 245 E. 72nd Street, Manhattan, N.Y.C. at the time of death, and he was interred in the Mt. Zion Cemetery. (View text of Bernard Drachman's will).

Bernard Drachman and Sarah Weil's children. Left to right: Beatrice,
Julian, Mathilde, Albert, Theodore, Edgar, Myron