Rebecca Gratz was influential in integrating Jewish Americans into the newly formed United States of America. Gratz founded the modern day American Hebrew School. Hebrew School was made possible as a result of work with women's charitable organizations. This institution became an integral part of Jewish American life.

Rebecca Gratz was born on March 4, 1781 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Gratz attended and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College. She was the seventh of ten siblings who survived into adulthood. Her family later moved to Philadelphia, which was the center of a growing, new nation.

Gratz's parents were merchants and they were accepted into their mainly Christian neighborhood. Nonetheless, her parents continued to honor Jewish customs. They were among the most prominent members of their temple, Mikveh Israel. This is one of Philadelphia's earliest synagogues.

Gratz's service to the community started early in 1801 when she was only 20 years old. She joined her mother and sister in founding Philadelphia's first nondenominational women's philanthropy. This brought women of all religions together, which was a major break with tradition.

Her group, Relief of Women and Children in Reduced Circumstances, became the model for her future groups. These were lead and managed completely by women. The role of treasurer was always filled by a woman so no man would be allowed to control their organization's funds.

With lots of new Jewish immigrants coming to Philadelphia, Gratz and some of her Jewish friends decided that the time was right to create a Hebrew School for the children of these new arrivals. Her new organization was called The Female Hebrew Benevolent Society in 1819. It was designed to provide aid and provide Jewish education separate from congregational life. This led to the creation of the first independent Jewish Sunday School. Rebecca based the name of the Hebrew School format on the Christian Sunday School model.

Before Gratz, Sunday schools were unavailable for Jewish children. She hoped that the Sunday School instruction for Jewish children would help educate the Jewish children about their culture and religion. It was also believed that the children who attended these Hebrew Schools would more readily cope with American life.

Gratz first developed the original curriculum of the American Hebrew School by teaching her sisters' children. This Hebrew School was taught primarily by women, not Rabbis. The school opened on Gratz's birthday, and she served as the superintendent for more than twenty years.

Though Gratz is not widely known by most today, she was influential in the integration of American Jews into the new nation. Jewish public school students would not have been able to know much about their religion unless parents taught them themselves or they chose to attended a private Jewish day school/yeshiva.

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