Max Wertheimer (1863-1941) was born in Kippenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and died in Ada, Ohio. From the age of five to fifteen he studied orthodox Judaism, after which his parents sent him to America to study at the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1889 and received a Ph.D from Martyn College in Washington, D.C. Wertheimer officiated as a rabbi at Kehillah Kodesh B'nai Yeshurun (now known as Temple Israel), a Reform synagogue, in Dayton, Ohio, and taught Sunday School there for ten years.
In 1893 he married Hanna Wertheimer (b. Affelder), who would pass away soon after giving birth to their daughter Rose in 1897. This led Wertheimer to experience a crisis of faith. His housekeeper gave him a copy of Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which he read and connected with. Wertheimer started corresponding with Eddy, who requested and paid for him to study Christian Science in Chicago, Illinois, with one of her students, Edward A. Kimball, in 1900. Wertheimer returned to Dayton afterwards, resigned from his synagogue, and converted from Judaism to Christian Science. In 1901 Eddy paid for Wertheimer to take the Normal class taught by Kimball in the Board of Education of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. When he returned to Ohio, he became First Reader at Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Dayton, Ohio, and later served as First Reader at First Church of Christ, Scientist, Dayton, Ohio. Wertheimer joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1900.
He married Ruby M. Wertheimer (b. Jewell), in Montgomery, Ohio, in 1902. He was listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Dayton from 1902 to 1903. Wertheimer again struggled with his faith, and he withdrew his membership from The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, in June 1903. In March 1904 he became a member of Dayton's Central Baptist Church. He graduated from Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and served as a pastor in Ada for five years, at The New Covenant Mission in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for almost three, and returned to serve in Ada in 1913. In 1916 he wrote the pamphlet "Why I Left Christian Science," which incorrectly referenced several passages from Science and Health that never appeared in any edition of Eddy's book. He also authored the pamphlet "Christian Science: A Master-piece of Satan."
See more letters.
Max Wertheimer (1863-1941) was born in Kippenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and died in Ada, Ohio. From the age of five to fifteen he studied orthodox Judaism, after which his parents sent him to America to study at the University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1889 and received a Ph.D from Martyn College in Washington, D.C. Wertheimer officiated as a rabbi at Kehillah Kodesh B'nai Yeshurun (now known as Temple Israel), a Reform synagogue, in Dayton, Ohio, and taught Sunday School there for ten years.
In 1893 he married Hanna Wertheimer (b. Affelder), who would pass away soon after giving birth to their daughter Rose in 1897. This led Wertheimer to experience a crisis of faith. His housekeeper gave him a copy of Mary Baker Eddy's Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, which he read and connected with. Wertheimer started corresponding with Eddy, who requested and paid for him to study Christian Science in Chicago, Illinois, with one of her students, Edward A. Kimball, in 1900. Wertheimer returned to Dayton afterwards, resigned from his synagogue, and converted from Judaism to Christian Science. In 1901 Eddy paid for Wertheimer to take the Normal class taught by Kimball in the Board of Education of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. When he returned to Ohio, he became First Reader at Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Dayton, Ohio, and later served as First Reader at First Church of Christ, Scientist, Dayton, Ohio. Wertheimer joined The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, on June 2, 1900.
He married Ruby M. Wertheimer (b. Jewell), in Montgomery, Ohio, in 1902. He was listed in the directory of The Christian Science Journal as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Dayton from 1902 to 1903. Wertheimer again struggled with his faith, and he withdrew his membership from The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts, in June 1903. In March 1904 he became a member of Dayton's Central Baptist Church. He graduated from Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and served as a pastor in Ada for five years, at The New Covenant Mission in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for almost three, and returned to serve in Ada in 1913. In 1916 he wrote the pamphlet "Why I Left Christian Science," which incorrectly referenced several passages from Science and Health that never appeared in any edition of Eddy's book. He also authored the pamphlet "Christian Science: A Master-piece of Satan."
See more letters.