Invitation, Nineteenth Anniversary of the Hebrew Benevolent Society, Elias L. Philip and M[orland] Micholl, New York: Friend & Co., 1841

1 leaf (12 x 6 in.; 305 x 153 mm). Lithograph, English with biblical verses and society name in Hebrew; with a decorative vignette extolling charity. Trimmed close all around, costing only two letters, shaving a few more. Several tears repaired with tape on verso; minor losses at foot; lightly stained. Mylar sleeve.

Singerman 0754.

During the period following the Revolutionary War, one of the ways in which the growth of the Jewish communities in the United States was manifested, was in the establishment of mutual-aid societies. Many of these originated as burial societies (hevra kaddisha) with the first such group being was established at Charleston in 1784, followed in relatively short order by a similar group which served New York Jewry, in 1785. These pioneering efforts led to the formation of numerous similar societies and fraternal organizations with a diverse range of charitable purposes. One of these, the Hebrew Benevolent Society of New York was organized in 1822, with a fund of $200, the unexpended balance of a collection which had been obtained for the benefit of a Jewish veteran of the Revolution. Its Hebrew name, Meshivat Nefesh (Restoration of the Soul,) is indicative of its stated aims to provide material relief to the poor and needy Jews , whether residents or transients.  Groups like these proved so successful in their efforts to provide succor for their poor and indigent coreligionists that by the time The Hebrew Benevolent Society and German Hebrew Benevolent Society united just prior to the Civil War, few, if any, Jews had to apply to city institutions for aid.

Like all fraternities of this nature, the New York group met together socially to commemorate the anniversary of their founding. These celebratory dinners, characterized by numerous speeches, toasts, and the consumption of copious amounts of food and drink, also provided a large portion of the societies’ annual income. The vignette which appears atop the invitation to the 1841 dinner depicts several figures representing the poorest elements of the community, and those most in need of the society's largesse.