Dr. Salis Daiches

During its early years as the National Vigilance Association (Eastern Division) the organisation had a strong association with religion.  For example, the Ladies Committee Minute Book records that each of their meetings was opened in prayer (ACC 11191/2).  Having said this, while many involved with the NVA were religious, it does not seem that this was a requirement to work or volunteer at the NVA, and the organisation never described itself as a faith-based agency.   

Nevertheless, numerous individuals on the Committee held official positions in organised religion.  Interestingly, these individuals came from a wide range of faith groups, including the Church of Scotland, United Free Church, Free Church of Scotland, Scottish Episcopal Church and the Edinburgh Hebrew Community.  It seems that their similarities in working together to address vice and promote the moral protection of women and children outweighed differences in faith doctrines.   

Dr. Salis Daiches (1880- 1945) served as a General Committee Member of the NVA.  Born in 1880 in Lithuania when it was part of the Russia Empire, he undertook his rabbinical studies in Berlin and then gained a PhD from the University of Leipzig (Wikipedia, 2024).  He came to Scotland in 1919 and was appointed Rabbi to the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation, serving there as Rabbi until 1945.   

He was arguably the most significant Rabbi in Scotland during the 20th century and played an important role in bringing together the Orthodox Jewish community with the wider community in Edinburgh.  He was so effective at doing this because he understood the experience of immigrants (as he himself was an immigrant) and he was also able to use his personality and the fact that he was well educated to make connections with the wider community, promoting unity and cross- cultural understanding (Holtschneider, 2015).  He not only served as a General Committee member of the NVA but he also represented the Jewish Community among the Religious Bodies in Scotland on the Scottish Council of Social Service in the early 1940s (Scottish Council of Social Service, 1944).

References:

Holtschneider, H. (2015) ‘Salis Daiches – Towards a Portrait of a Scottish Rabbi’, Jewish Culture and History, 16, 142-156. 

Scottish Council of Social Service (1944) First Annual Report 1943-1944: Scottish Council of Social Service. Edinburgh: Scottish Council of Social Service. 

Wikipedia, (2024) Salis Daiches. Available at: Salis Daiches – Wikipedia