

The first meeting for the formation of a society whose purpose was the education of Jewish youth in the city of Philadelphia was held on March 7 1847. On June 4 1848, a Constitution and By Laws were adopted, and on July 16th the first regular meeting of the Society took place. At the annual meeting of the Society held March 13 1898, it was decided to commemorate the close of the first half century of the existence of the Society by the publication of a memorial volume. A brief but comprehensive history of the inception and growth of the Society is accordingly presented in the following pages, compiled almost exclusively from its official records.