Association of Hebrew Theosophists
The Association of Hebrew Theosophists formed in 1925 during the 50th anniversary jubilee convention of the Theosophical Society. The founding officers were Gaston Polak of Belgium, A. B. Salem of Cochin, and S. S. Cohen of Adyar, with members from Bulgaria, Egypt, Iran, Italy, and several parts of India. Branches formed in India, England, The Netherlands, and the United States. A cornerstone was laid for a synagogue at the Theosophical Society's Adyar headquarters, but the building was never completed due to insufficient funding.
The Dutch branch of the organization was called the Vereeniging voor Joodsche Theosofen, or VJT, with Louis Vet serving as president.
The American branch emphasized publishing, under the leadership of president Henry C. Samuels, vice-president Bozena Brydlova, secretary E. F. Silberman, and treasurer Louis B Ball. They published The Jewish Theosophist and several books and pamphlets.
Publications
Full-text PDFs of The Jewish Theosophist are available at IAPSOP. The AHT also published books and pamphlets:
- Horne, Alexander. Spiritualizing Unspiritual Judaism. Seattle, Wash.: Association of Hebrew Theosophists, American Section, 1926.
Additional resources
Articles
- Huss, Boaz. In Search of the Jewish Theosophists. Posted on Academia.edu. The paper was published in The Newsletter of the Friends of the Theosophical Archives, FOTA no. 6, Spring - Summer 2016, which is available at this website.
- Nagel, Alexandra. The Association of Jewish Theosophists in the Netherlands: The Efforts of Louis Vet and Others to Revive Judaism". Correspondences 7 no.2 (2019): 411-439.
- Nagel, Alexandra. Inventory of Dutch Jews Registered at the Theosophical Society Between 1875-1942. Supplement to the article "The Association of Jewish Theosophists in the Netherlands: The Efforts of Louis Vet and Others to Revive Judaism," which will be published in Correspondences 7, no. 2 (2019): 411-39.
Books
Huss, Boaz. The Secret Doctrine of the Jews. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2025. See Chapter 5.
