Instruction in the Mosaic Religion, by Joseph Johlson, translated by Isaac Leeser. Philadelphia: Adam Waldie, 1830. English and some Hebrew. First edition. The work, by the German-Jewish theologian and educator Joseph Johlson (1777-1851), was written with the aim of instructing the wider Jewish public on the principles of the Jewish religion, its practices and customs. The book was translated to English by Isaac Leeser, who wished to thereby increase the supply of English books for basic instruction of Judaism in the United States. This is Isaac Leeser's first printed work . Isaac Leeser (1806-1868), German-born American rabbi and intellectual. An opponent of the American Reform movement (although he supported it at the beginning), he led the Mikveh Israel congregation in Philadelphia, and later Congregation Beth El Emeth. He was one of the first leaders of American Jewry, and devoted himself to establishing Jewish institutions and transmitting the Jewish religion and history to the wider Jewish public. He published many books, including the first Jewish English translation of the Bible ("The Leeser Bible"; 1853), and many sermons and essays. He was also the publisher and editor of "The Occident", and helped establish Maimonides College – a rabbinical seminary in Philadelphia. VIII, 139 pp, 22.5 cm. Fair condition. Many stains. Several browned pages. Marginal tears and minute holes to some leaves. Long tear to one page. Repairs to several leaves. Margins trimmed unevenly. New binding. Singerman 489.