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A Judge
and Hebrew
Scholar
Concerning the Career of a 'Brilliant Jurist
Moses Receiving The Commandments on Ml. Sinai
The Mosaic Law 2100 B. C.—70 A. 1).
Early Hebrew civilization was originally nomadic and pastoral, then
agricultural, and only later commercial. Each stage being reflected
m the laws. At the beginning it represented a much simpler and less
advanced stage of civilization than that of its neighbors and older
'icmitic relatives, the Babylonians and Phoenician. Through twenty
rnturies the home of the Israelites shifted from Arabia to Egypt to
Palestine to Babylonia and back to Palestine. Thus much of Judea’s
<n*s were selected from, and affected by, the laws of those countries
m which the Israelites sojourned. About 1300 B. C., the Ten Com
mandments “were revealed” to Moses, the greatest lawgiver of all
t-mc. They constitute the most comprehensive short moral code ever
formulated and although Jewish law had been developing for over 800
years prior, the Ten Commandments gave moral direction to its future
growth. The system thus built up imparted a softer, warmer tint to
the cold light of the law.
J l ST as in ancient Greece and Rome and in
countries of medieval Europe, the City of
Charleston, South Carolina, is experiencing
1 revival in the sentences occasionally meted out
m the city police court to persons who commit
itenres against the local government. Convicts
• 1rp given the choice of banishment for a definite
Period or a jail sentence. Extraordinary, isn’t it ?
l*ut not so far out of the ordinary when you con-
'ider the life and work of the man who holds this
P<»'ver of banishment over the head of persons who
apparently are contributing nothing to the welfare
't the city. Judge Joseph Fromberg is one of
’hovr remarkable persons who, through his bril-
;anr activities, is adding a great deal to the pres-
: P ,p f Southern Jewry. To really understand the
man sides of this interesting person it will be
necessary to review his life.
Ju Ige FVomberg was born in Augusta, Georgia.
r ' av 27, 1890, the son of Hyman Marks and
Mo; e Segal Fromberg, both of whom had emi-
r*' i to the United States from Poland in 1886.
met in New York and were married there
'* r ■ \ eshivah Aitz Chaim in 1887. Soon there-
rte they moved to Augusta. In 1893 the family
r ^°' J to Sumter, South Carolina, where the elder
, hromberg engaged in the mercantile business.
p age of five young Joseph was sent by his
ts to reside with his paternal grandfather in
^ °rk City, where he was placed in a Hebrew
‘ to receive instructions in Hebrew. Joseph
ned in New York until the close of the
s h-American War. He was then brought
At
Par
Nr
Sch
tetr
Spa
By A. Ellison
3 back to Sumter by his father.
There Joseph entered public
school. Hr was not given an
English education until he was
well grounded in Hebrew.
While he was in Sumter his
father continued to give him in
structions in Hebrew and Joseph
received special instruction in
Hebraic lore from Rabbi Jacob
Klein, then the Rabbi of the
Reform congregation in Sumter,
South Carolina. At the age of
twelve Joseph Fromberg t<x>k
up the study of law in the firm
of I>er & Moise, of Sumter. It
was noticeable that whenever
the Circuit Court was in ses
sion young Fromberg spent all
his leisure time observing court
sessions. During the summer school vacations he
took special instruction from private tutors, thus
enabling him at the age of thirteen years to be
admitted to the Sumter High School. In 1905
the Fromberg family moved to Charleston, South
Carolina.
In Charleston Joseph Fromberg was taken into
the law offices of the firm of Mordecai, Gadsden,
Rutledge Si Hagood, an outstanding law firm of
the State at that time. It was at this period of
Joseph’s life that he took great interest in affairs
of the Jewish community. Upon learning that
Jewish youth of Charleston had no cultural as
sociation or meeting place, he organized the
Hebrew Athletic Club, which flourished for sev
eral years. Joseph was also at that time a prom
inent member of the Jewish Young Folks Literary
Society of Charleston. In 1907 he became a clerk
in the law offices of W. H. Parker, then a prom
inent and scholastic lawyer in Charleston. In the
autumn of 1908 Joseph entered the Law College
of the University of South Carolina as a Junior.
In February, 1910, a special act of the Legislature
of South Carolina was enacted to enable Joseph
Fromberg to be admitted to practice law in the
courts of the State while under age. This was a
very rare honor and distinction to be conferred on
anyone. In June, 1910, after receiving his L.L.B.
degree from the University of South Carolina, he
was given his license to practice law by the Su
preme Court of the State. While attending the
University at Columbia, South Carolina, he took
a continued lively and active interest in the affairs
of the Jewish community of Columbia and in the
early part of 1910 he was selected as the principal
speaker at the dedication of the newly-erected
synagogue of the Orthodox Congregation there.
Immediately after being admitted to the bar he
returned to Charleston and tcxik up the practice of
his profession in that city. A few' months later
Joseph established offices with Captain St. Julien
Jervev, a former State prosecuting attorney. Early
in 1911 he began his political career by engaging
as a stump speaker in one of the mayoralty cam
paigns in Charleston and he turned out to be
come a very effective and eloquent speaker. There
after he participated in one political battle after
another. In 1912 he entered State politics and
was then appointed by the Governor as a Com
missioner for State and County elections in Char
leston County. Also in that year when only 21
years of age he was appointed a Lieutenant-
Colonel on the staff of the Governor of South Car
olina. In 1914 he was elected to the State legis
lature by a large popular vote to represent Charles
ton County in the House of Representatives and
in 1916 he was re-elected by a larger vote as a
Representative and was appointed Chairman of
the Committee on Railroads of the House, serving
four years in that body with much distinction.
During that period young Joseph and Davis D.
Moise were the only two Jewdsh men in the State
Legislature. Joseph F'romberg has also been ad
mitted to practice in the courts of Georgia and in
the United States Supreme Court.
In 1919 Judge Fromberg was appointed by the
Mayor of Charleston as a member of the Board
of Registration for Municipal Elections and in
1923 was made Chairman of this Board. He is
active in Jewish communal w'ork, both nationally
and locally. For twenty years Joseph Fromberg
has served most ardently in behalf of the B’nai
B’rith. In 1916 he was elected president of the
local lodge and in 1919 began attending conven
tions of the District Grand Ixxlge. He w-as elected
in 1929 at the convention held in Atlanta, Georgia,
as president of the Grand I^odge and w r as re
elected to that office the following year at the
convention of the Grand Lodge in Baltimore. For
several years he served eagerly and ardently as
Chairman of the Charleston Zionist District and
as Trustee of the Berith Shalom Congregation and
directed numerous National Jewish campaigns in
Charleston. From time to time Joseph Fromberg
attended various National Jewish Conventions,
such as the Seaboard (Please turn to page 16)
th
SOUTHERN ISRAELITE *
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