Mother's milk segulah

Here's an interesting excerpt from a most interesting book, מעגל טוב, the travel diary of R. Hayyim Yosef David Azulay. The entry is dated 12 Iyyar, which correspondeded to May 1, 1776:



Señor Sabbetai Fano sent Giaronomo, a gentile, to escort us to Lugo. Also with us was the lad Señor Michael Solomon Hazaq. Two miles before our destination, people from the town came out to meet us. We arrived safely in Lugo and we stayed in the home of Señor Sabbetai Shemariah Fano, in a beautiful room, at the community's expense.

An elder named Rabbi Judah Fano told me that the Rem'a of blessed memory wrote on a small parchment שמע ישראל with the milk of mother and daughter that were nursing mixed with lemon juice.¹ Accompanied by fasting and immersion, this is a wonderful segulah for whomever swallows this parchment, that he should not apostasize. It is tried and tested.

¹ I don't know if this was the intention, but many a child knows that lemon juice makes for a fine invisible ink, which becomes readable when exposed to heat!

Artscroll: Modern scholarship buttresses the Rashbyic authorship for the Zohar

A חבר (in both senses of the term) pointed out to me an amusing bit in Artscroll The Rishonim,* (Brooklyn: 1982), p. 98.

The entry for R' Moshe de Leon:

"R' Moshe earned his livelihood as a traveling scribe, copying old manuscripts. Thus, he discovered and published the Zohar, the principal book of the Kabbalah, compiled by the Tanna R' Shimon bar Yochai. . . .

Modern scholars have pointed out that the kabbalistic ideas expressed in R' Moshe's own works do not accord with those of the Zohar, making untenable the supposition, first recorded in Yuchasin and echoed by subsequent generations of the Kaballah's opponents, that R' Moshe himself authored the Zohar."

Interesting in itself that the question of Ben Yochoic authorship should find mention in a book by Artscroll. More interesting is that it marshals "modern scholarship" (whom?) in implied defense of Ben Yochoic authorship (compileship?), while modern scholarship definitely opposes the idea that the Zohar is a true tannaitic work, that is, compiled or taught mainly in the 2nd century by R. Shimon ben Yochoi (friendly trends which credit the Zohar for containing pre-13th century material that may in fact be many centuries old is not the same thing).

Still, it's worth mentioning! Happy Lag Le-omer!

*This book, and it's sequal The Early Acharonim, is a biographical compendium of the Shem Ha-gedolim genre. It is unclear if another volume in this series was ever intended, but the second volume ends at the end of the 18th century. Once you get into the 19th century, the ideological purity headache begins, and perhaps the company wished to avoid it. Perhaps not. In any case, over at What's Bothering Artscroll? I had begun a series of posts on "controversial rabbis" as covered by the company, particularly in their Early Acharonim (link). I would have - and probably will - posted about R. Yehuda Aryeh Mi-Modena, R. Eliyahu Bachur and others . These books are an example of a type of openness which Artscroll exhibited in its early years, which it later learned to check. Thus, it is doubtful to me if today they would include De Rossi and Modena in such a collection. Incidentally, in this post I acknowledge that The Early Acharonim elucidated one of my Main Line posts - even if The Early Acharonim doesn't 'fess up to its sources. ;)

A blow to Maharatz Chajes's reputation put into the mouth of the Chasam Sofer by a seminal zealot of the 19th and 20th centuries

In the history of Hungarian Orthodoxy (and /or Ultra-Orthodoxy), the name Akiba Joseph Schlesinger (c. 1838-1922) is well known. He is credited with virtually creating a 'cult' of the Chasam Sofer. His father-in-law had been a student of the CS. He saw himself as following in the line and as totally faithful to the teachings and legacy of the CS (who died when he was only a year old).

He published a buch called Lev ha-Ivri (Lemberg, 1865), which includes the text of the Chasam Sofer's Last Will & Testament, along with a commentary. Although in his preface he writes that the work contains only the CS's teachings, one wonders how a short text (the Will) became a 330 page text if it truly contains none of Schlesinger's own ideas. But I digress.

After a discussion about how terrible it is that works of Torah content are being published in his generation by wicked people, there is the following interesting note on pg. 92 (text below)regarding "one of our contemporaries who wrote notes on the Talmud - all soulful people should not study Torah from it, because I know those who asked Rabbenu z"l why he would write to this individual with praises for him in the text of his responsa, and he told them a secret: this person has one foot chasing after Aher**, and if he didn't keep him close he too would join the assembly of the wicked with his scholarship - God forbid - and who knows what the end was? Therefore he put in efforts to draw him close.

Schlesinger is speaking here of none other than 'the Mahritz Chiyos,' ie, Maharatz Chajes (R. Tzvi Hirsch Chajes [1805-1855]) whose Talmud commentary (published first in 1850) is printed in practically every Talmud edition today. Accessible, if not essential, reading on him is the Ph. D. thesis of Bruriah Hutner link. Paranthetically, my impression of doctoral work is that generally the student is attracted to the topic, if not admiring. Hutner (David) must have been attracted to her subject, but ultimately he repels her, too, and this attitude predominates. I just found that interesting.



Oh, and is his charge true? Did the Chasam Sofer really write him in a respectful, praising manner only to keep him within the good group? In my opinion: maybe.

* The versions I am reading are that of Hebrewbooks.org - 1868 - and Otzar Ha-chochma - 1870. Apparently there are differences between the first and other editions. For example, in the first addition the acronym RMD is not fully explicated to mean "Rasha Moshe Mendelssohn." In later editions, M is even changed to read "Moritz." (Info courtesy of Meir Hildesheimer's exhaustive articles on the attitude of the Chasam Sofer and his disciples toward secular study, and his attitude toward Mendelssohn [in PAAJR]).

** Aher= 'Aharon Choriner Rabbiner,' ie, proto-Reform rabbi Aaron Chorin.

Witty philosophe-y self-awareness

"A philosopher who is a bad Catholic implores a philosopher who is a bad Protestant to grant a residency privilege to a philosopher who is a bad Jew. There is too much philosophy in all this; reason cannot but support the petition."*

- Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens to Frederick II the Great of Prussia, petioning the latter for permission for Moses Mendelssohn to reside in Berlin.

*("Un philosophe, mauvais catholique, supplie un philosophe, mauvais protestant, de donner le privilège à un philosophe, mauvais juif. Il y a dans tout ceci trop de philosophie, pour que la raison ne soit pas du côté de la demande". )

The most popular On the Main Line post ever is

No nun in Ashrei - in case you were wondering.

I know this because it is the one the receives the most hits and searches. Apparently there are a lot of people who want to know why the nun verse is missing in this psalm, a seemingly never ending stream for two years, a few a day.

(I should revise it to make it more clear and more accurate. I should do a lot of things.)

Acquiring and not acquiring Hebrew; A comparison with Latin's traditional role in education.

Here's an interesting excerpt from an essay by Shaul Stampfer called 'What Did "Knowing Hebrew" Mean in Eastern Europe?' printed in Hebrew in Ashkenaz, A Language in Exile, ed. Lewis Glinert. (From pp. 132-133, below):

"Not surprisingly, an analysis of how Latin functioned in Christian society sheds light on the place of Hebrew in Jewish society.The similarities between the role of Hebrew and that of Latin are many. The higher educational program of most European societies took a knowledge of Latin for granted. This was not a simple matter, for learning Latin was a long process which could take over eight years.12 However, it was necessary for the individual who wanted to go on to advanced study. The curriculum of the medieval university was based on texts written in Latin, and much scholarly work, depending of course on time and place, was done in Latin. Therefore, "Before the student could profitably attend university lectures, he must have learned to read, write, and understand such Latin as was used in the schools," ¹³ and this knowledge was the basic academic precondition for admission to the medieval university. University freshmen were "as a rule . . . between thirteen and sizteen"¹⁴ and most of their pre-university study was devoted to learning Latin.

"Much, if not all of this advanced education could have been in the spoken language. Indeed, the rapid spread of use of the vernacular in post-Renaissance periods shows how little education is dependent on knowledge of Latin. There is little doubt that the classical literature is well worth studying. However, for the level of understanding that most people reach, a translation is almost as good as the original. What the concentration on Latin did achieve was to weed out the number of students who reached advanced study. Tuition itself cost money. Moreover, it required long-term commitment, for the study of Latin was worthwhile only if the long course of study necessary to reach even an elementary proficiency in Latin was completed. This meant that only children of a certain level of society could in practice prepare themselves for admission to university and higher study. Access was restricted, by using language as a hurdle on the way to valuable knowledge. This in a sense is what kept up the value of the knowledge since it was not readily available to most people. To get information most people had to go to one of the individuals who had learned Latin and had access to the knowledge written in it. The change to the use of the vernacular as the language for scholarly and religious writing meant that one major barrier to the direct acquisition of information was eliminated.
. . .
"One of the virtues of Hebrew appears to have been the fact that a good knowledge of the language and of the literature¹⁶ was limited. The relative failure of the heder to produce graduates with a good knowledge of Hebrew was in this respect a very desirable goal from the point of view of the elite. It should be emphasized that both the elite and the masses were totally unaware of this function of education.<sup>17

13</sup> Rashdall 1936, 3:341-42; (RASHDALL, HASTINGS. The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages. F. M. Powicke and A. B. Emden, eds. New edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1936.)
¹⁴ Ibid, p. 353
¹⁶ I am well aware that the Talmud is written in Aramaic but at the time there was no distinction between the knowledge of the two languages - he who knew one knew the other.
¹⁷ For an explanation of this theme from a very original but somewhat different approach, see Funkenstein and Steinsaltz 1987. (FUNKENSTEIN, AMOS and ADIN STEINSALTZ. Sociology of Ignorance. Tel Aviv: University of the Air, 1987.)

See old post (which really could use some revision): 'Semi-talmidei hakhomim, or semi 'amei ha-'aretz: A unique modern challenge to rabbinic authority.'

Jameel and family visit Samaritans

Jameel at the Muqata has a fantastic series of posts on the trip he and his family took to visit Shomronim (Samaritans).

I
II
III

There are fantastic photos and commentary. Jameel also took a wonderful video of a fellow named Yefet Ha-cohen reciting the שמע in the Samaritan dialect of Hebrew (first post, or watch and listen below).

The half-century battle for new English translation of Jewish classics

On Shabbos I was perusing the Jewish Press and saw an ad for a new Artscroll edition of Avos De-Rabbi Nassan.* The ad noted that this classic is "now available in English."** Funny, I thought. It was also available in English a month ago, a year ago, forty years ago. There is the Soncino version in the Minor Tractates set (admittedly, hard to find now) and the Judah Goldin version. Searching on Google Books yields yet two more versions. (link)

Did Artscroll really mean to say that the work is available only now, for the first time in English? Or is the implication that the previous, existing versions are simply irrelevant? I must say, that I heard Nosson Scherman address this topic in a speech. Cognizant of criticism of the Artscroll oeuvre from the right, he attempted to demonstrate that they have the support of the gedolim at the highest level. He recounted his and Meir Zlotowitz's meeting with Moron Rov Chaim Kanievsky. They came merely to seek his blessing, but instead he (a) stood up when they walked into the room and (b) spoke to them for 15 minutes - highly unusual. He compared their Schottenstein Shas project to the projected German Talmud translation (Hebrew commentary, actually)** proposed by R. Yisrael Salanter in the 19th century. However, noted R. Kanievsky, that edition was necessary for the non-Jews to see what the Talmud was all about (so they could overcome their prejudice against it). Today - the Schottenstein Shas is necessary for Jews to see what the Talmud is all about, for the same reason. R. Scherman admitted he was surprised at such a powerful endorsement. He then noted that a lot of frum people don't realize the vast amount of classic Jewish material there is in translation, however they are faulty! Thus, Artscroll can correct this breach by presenting well translated classics to the Jewish (and non-Jewish) public.

In any case, once upon a time a book called Making of a Godol was banned and various denunciations of the book were written. Here is a piece of one missive (in translation):


As you can see, the writer of this piece is of the opinion that over the past half-century the gedolim have endeavoring to uproot foreign matter from the study of Torah.*** See above and see prior post: Soncino Talmud statistics. Now one will no longer have to read what Zunz opined, for example, when reading Avos de-rabbi Nathan in English.

* UPDATE: Well, as it turns out this isn't an Artscroll ADRN; it is by Judaica Press. In the newspaper, the full page had combined Judaica Press and Artscroll ads and to my tired eyes it looked like one ad!
** Suprisingly, the web site still does not have this book listed. It must be very new indeed. See the Pirkei Avos section.
*** There is a widespread perception that R. Yisrael Salanter intended to translate the Talmud into German. However, his vision was really for a straightforward Hebrew commentary to the entire Talmud, which would have made independent Talmud study possible for the non-learned (albeit, Hebraically literate). His vision was that 100 great Talmud scholars would pledge to write a comentary on 30 Talmud folios. He did, however, advocate the inclusion of Talmud into the curriculum of gymnasia and universities, hoping to raise the prestige of the Talmud in society in general so that Jewish youth would also become interested.
*** This doesn't only refer to printed matter, but surely it includes it.

An 'Index of Prohibited Books' from Satmar, Rumania 1927

Thanks to HebrewBooks.org I found an interesting Hebrew periodical published in Satmar (Satu Mare) in the 1920s, edited by one Shimon Pollack, called Beis Va'ad Le-chakhomim.

It looks like this:



In the 11-12 issue from 1927 the following appears:



As you can see, books by these authors are to be stored away so they cannot be read (and these are heavy duty heretical classics, not bush-league types like 'One People, Two Worlds, 'Making of a Godol' or 'The Science of Torah'):

1. Works by R. Abraham Isaac Kook.

2. Works by R. Aaron Chorin.

3. Works by R. Samuel Glasner.

4. Works by the rebbe of Muncacz, the Minchas Elazar.

5. The 'Bi'ur' of R. Moses Mendelssohn.

6. Works by R. Naphtali Hirtz Wessely.

Chorin's Chasam Sofer-coined euphemism אח"ר (for 'Aron Choriner, Rabbiner') is supplied. It is explained that the acronym רמ"ד for Mendelssohn means 'רשע משה דעסוי,' and, oddly yet somewhat understandably, the older Wessely is counted as a disciple of Mendelssohn.

It of course must be pointed out that it is eminently better to call for books to be 'put away' rather than to destroy them.

A German translation of a Hebrew book dedicated to Moses Mendelssohn

In 1771 German Bible scholar Johann Salomo Semler (1725-91) produced a German translation of R. Eliyahu Bahur's (Elias Levita) מסורת המסורת titled Übersetzung des Buchs Massoreth Hamassoreth.(Semler was the editor; the translation itself was done by an apostate Jew called Christian Gottlob Meyer; Meyer also eventually translated Moses Mendelssohn's prospectus to his Bible translation, the עלים לתרופה into German.)

Fortunately this edition of Massoreth Ha-massoreth is now available online (link).



A sample of the book:



Following the title page we find the following dedication:



Semler dedicated this to Moses Mendelssohn, a man he greatly admired. As a fellow Aufklärer, he assumed that Mendelssohn shared his views of modern Bible scholarship, the מסורת המסורת representing a key component of the modern view, namely that the nekkudot and te'amim were late additions to the Bible text (at least the graphic symbols, if not what they represented). In fact, Mendelssohn did not. He vigorously upheld the dominant Jewish traditional view that they were old (from Ezra, if not from Sinai). In Mendelssohn's Introduction to the Torah, the אור לנתיבה he defended the antiquity of the points and accents, citing the work of R. Azariah min ha-Adumim (de' Rossi) who was the foremost Jewish rebutter of Bahur's thesis (see here for a sample of that - in English - from 1860).

Paranthetically, it is worth pointing out that when I bring this up many are surprised Mendelssohn would uphold the more traditional, non-critical view - especially as Bahur's view would seem to cost nothing. But this is based on a misunderstanding of Mendelssohn's approach to the Bible (and the assumption that Bahur's view costs nothing!). Perhaps Mendelssohn was non-traditional, but his overall approach was not that of contemporary 18th century Biblical scholarship, but more closely resembled the peshat oriented exegesis of those rishonim who concentrated mainly on peshat.

In Semler's introduction he explains that he shares (so he believed) with Mendelssohn the struggle to rid the people - Christian and Jew alike - of superstitious sort of beliefs about the Bible. It is true, one might suggest, that Mendelssohn's peshatian orientation could be seen as closer to Semler's than whatever the superstitious Bible beliefs among Christians and Jews which Semler had in mind. But given the true nature of Mendelssohn's views about the Bible, views which actually ran counter to almost every modern and enlightened work about the Bible, it would seem to be ironic that this book specifically should be dedicated to him. It just goes to show how people can give off mistaken impressions.

R. Azariah de'Rossi in - or out of - Artscroll

link

Orthodox unity, Schmorthodox schmunity

Marc B. Shapiro prescribes "a complete break with the haredi halachic authorities and the establishment of religious courts that share at least some of the values and worldview of the community in which they serve" (link).

Re-illustrating the sensibilities of 16th century Jews; a great Holy Hyrax post:

Holy Hyrax has an excellent post about a modern facsimile of a 17th century Haggadah which censors many images in line with current Orthodox sensibilities. The reprinted Haggadah in his possession was distributed by the kiruv organization Arachim, however HH allows that he is not sure if they comissioned the changes, or if they simply distributed an already changed Haggadah. He did email to ask, but has of yet received no reply. In any event, it is very interesting; sleeves were added to women with rolled up sleeves in the original, statues and naked babies disappeared and more. See his post for images and explanation: link

Doing Daf Yomi in London, 1849*; along with a Christian theory as to the origin of Reform and modern Tanakh study among the Jews

Thanks to the New York Public Library Google has many issues of the mid 19th century periodical Journal of Sacred Literature, edited by John Kitto.

In the third volume, published in 1849, there is an interesting article called 'The Schools of the Hebrews,' translated from the French original by Dom. Augustine Calmet. 'The Schools of the Hebrews' purports to give an account of Jewish education and academies throughout the ages, and is supplemented by the translator's account of modern Jewish learning societies in Europe (beginning pg. 103).

First mentioned is the Chevra Shas. "Every member must read a folio every morning . . . Once in seven years the whole of the Talmud is concluded; when a grand feast is made null and void . . . (See pg. 104 for the interesting account given between my dots ( . . . )).

There is much more of interest, but let me just mention one note towards the end (pg. 106): "The fourth association is termed [Chevra Mikra] or Scripture Society . . . The members of the society have a profound knowledge of the Scriptures . . . Since the 'London Society for promoting Christianity amongst the Jews' began to accommodate the Jews abroad with cheap copies of the Old Testament free from all the above commentaries [ie, Rashi, Radak, Ibn Ezra, Abarbanel, Metzudoth, etc.] there is generally to be found in every large town inhabited by Jews in Poland and Russia, a society of young men called Chevrah Tanach, whose object is to read the Bible without any comment; for which purpose these young men have a room for themselves; for the Beth Hamedrash would not be allowed for that purpose. All these young men are sceptical about the Rabbinical oracles, and it is most probable that the present movements amongst the Jews, and the cry for reformation and 'no Rabbinism,' owe their existence, under God, to the London society, in giving free course to the oracles of God amongst the Jews, to whom they were first committed."

*Edit: tz"l 1843. MenachemMendel pointed out the following: This is actually from Moses Margoliouth's The Fundamental Principles of Modern Judaism Investigated, pp. 84 ff., which can be seen here (I hope). This was published in 1843. It was taken either directly from there or from the Rev. W. Ayerst's The Jews of the Nineteenth Century, which quoted Margoliouth and was published in 1847. I came across this last year while who knows looking for what.

Margoliouth's name came up in the post about the Rambam image the other day.

Haggadah of the Times of London, 1840: a civilised response to the Damascus Blood Libel.

The background to the Damascus Affair (ie, the 1840 blood libel against Jews that became famous around the world) is or should be well known. If not, click the link.

What is most interesting is that in reaction the Times of London printed a translation of virtually the entire Haggadah on page 3 (August 17, 1840 edition) titled "Celebration of the Passover by the Jews."

It begins "A correspondent has furnished the annexed very minute account of this ceremony, which will be exceedingly curious in itself to most of our readers, and has at the same time an evident bearing on the Damascus case. It repels strongly the barbarous notion that human blood, or blood of any kind, is essential to its celebration:-- (click below to enlarge)




It must be noted that shefoch chamoscha is not mentioned (nor Chad Gadya, the other songs at the end or the declaration of Lshana Habaah be-Yerushalayim). One cannot help but get the impression that it was not mentioned not because the editors of the Times were duped by whomever prepared this translation and account. It was a time of almost comical erudition about all sorts of obscure topics in the mainstream press.

As Simon Winchester writes of a slightly later period in "The Meaning of Everything: the Story of the Oxford English Dictionary," "[F]or very many they were also cultured and learned times besides. . . . It is perhaps worth recalling just how very well educated people were in those days - or at least to recall how very well educated the educated clases were. . . . [p]eople, or people of a certain kind in the Britain of the day, were quite simply possessed of much time and much learning, and in far greater abundance than many like people possess it today. Items from the newspapers of the time hint at the almost incidental, quite casual cleverness of the cleverest of the reading public. An illustration of the kind of things appears that day in the 'Telegrams in Brief' section of The Times, in which it reports, without explanation or adornment, that:

Further hostilities are reported between the Zaranik tribe and the forces of the Zaidi Imam Yahya of Sana'. The Zaranik attacked a Zaidi detachment at Mansuria, near Hodeida, and have been plundering caravans trading with Sana'.

No further details are offered to suggest where all this fighting was (Yemen, one imagines), nor the identities of the parties to the feud. The newspaper's editor presumes that readers, quite simply, had sufficient education to know.

In short, I suspect that the reason why the last hour of the seder is summed up in a paragraph mentioning birchas ha-mazon, but not what can legitimately be seen as a dark moment of the seder (shfoch chamoscha), or the messianic hopes of the Jews (leshana habaah be-Yerushalayim) was because the editor thought it best not to mention it, fearing that such moments would distract from the thesis the paper was trying to present: that what actually happens and what is actualy said by a Pesach seder "repels strongly the barbarous notion that human blood, or blood of any kind, is essential to its celebration."

Further reading: 1841 English translation of Effés Dammim: A Series of Conversations at Jerusalem Between a Patriarch of the Greek Church and a Chief Rabbi of the Jews, Concerning the Malicious Charge against the Jews of using Christian Blood by the maskil Rival (Yitzchak Baer Levinsohn), author of Teudah Be-yisrael. Appended to this particular book is a must-read: extracts from "Reuchlin's defense of the Talmud," pp. 201-208.

On that famous picture of the Rambam

There's a famous image portraying Rambam (Maimonides) that we've all seen. link

Perhaps you remember it from the cover of that blue 'Machberes' notebook you used as a child:



(Like the image above; sorry, I can't locate a picture of the older ones with the Rambam image).

Perhaps you remember it from Israeli currency:



There's a statue in Córdoba of the famous son of Córdoba:



This is from the 1906 Jewish Encylopedia:



The point is, this is the image you know. But where is it from? I certainly would not have imagined it to be very old, but considering the Jewish Encyclopedia, my guess was that it is from the 19th century.

In fact, it is from the 18th. I could have learned this by visiting the Yale Maimonides 800th yahrzeit exhibit (or site), but I came across the info in a more interesting way.

Apparently this image was 'discovered' in the mid 19th century by Italian scholar Yashar (R. Isacco Samuele Reggio, 1784-1855). Reggio found the following portrait in a 34-volume encylopedic work called ' Thesaurus antiquitatum sacrarum' (1744-69).

Here it is:



Read an excerpt from an interesting letter, dated 1847, by a Jewish Christian missionary living in England named Moses Margoliouth:

"I know you [ie, Rev. Dr. J. Horlock] are a profound admirer of that Hebrew sage. I think you will be pleased, therefore, with the accompanying miniature portrait of him. You may have seen it before, for I printed it as a heading to the prospectus of the Philo-Hebraic Society. If not, here it is. I do not think that anybody in England ever saw it before I introduced it. You will, however, wonder whether it is a real likeness, or merely a fictitious one. I will, therefore, give you all the information I possess about it, and judge for yourself. The famous Italian-Hebrew Scholar, Reggio, discovered it first in that masterpiece of a work, "Thesaurus Antiquitatum," published at Venice, by Blaseus Ugolinus. He sent a sketch of his discovery to his friend, Herr Solomon Stern, of Berlin. The latter was naturally anxious to know whether the representation was real or imaginary. Reggio, therefore, sent the following explanation; " In the celebrated work, ' Thesaurus Antiquitatum Sacrarum Blasie Ugolini, Venetiis, 1744,' in the first volume, p. 384, is found the likeness of Maimonides, which the author [of ' Thesaurus Antiquitatum'] says was taken, ' ex-antiqua tabula,' without, however, stating more fully and circumstantially how he came to the possession of this tabula, where it existed, and if any one bore testimony to the authenticity of the likeness. However, as Ugolinus is known as an industrious, honourable man, acquainted with his subject, and who cannot easily be suspected of fraud, there is nothing against assuming the probability that at the publication of his work he had really before him such a tabula."

"Herr Solomon Stern printed on one sheet of paper a few copies of the above miniature, accompanied by a copy of Reggio's letter. I was fortunate enough to get a copy of that document, sent to me by a kind friend from Berlin, who knows my partiality for such literary curiosities."

So there you have it. The image is certainly from 1744, but the editor of the Thesaurus antiquitatum sacrarum claimed that it was copied from an old image. Margoliouth must be believed that it was not common in England in 1847, even if it isn't literally true that it was he who 'brought' it to England - not that it needn't be. By 1906 it must have been widespread, thus it seems to have originated in the mid 18th century, been 'discovered' in the mid 19th by Reggio, and disseminated from there.

(If you want to read something really interesting, continue reading Margoliouth's account of the image, where he digresses to complain at ill-treatment by a Jewish scholar to whom he called the image's attention to:

"...did Dr. A. Benisch acknowledge publicly that he was indebted to me for Maimonides' likeness, as well as for Reggio's letter ? No, no. I am a Christian Jew ; it would be an acknowledgment that converted Jews have been misrepresented, as to their characters and principles. Besides, what would the Jews, at large, say? " Dr. Benisch was actually applying for information on Jewish literature to a M'shumad (an apostate), and we have all along maintained that converted Jews know nothing about our learned men, and that it is only the ignorant who are entrapped in the conversion nets." I can understand all this; but common justice asks, " Is it right?"

link).

Mordecai Kaplan and Louis Ginzberg discuss the relative merits of derashas vs ancient (and modern) laundry lists

Here's a record of a fairly interesting exchange between Louis Ginzberg and Mordecai Kaplan, recorded in the latter's diary (as published by Mel Scult; Communings of the Spirit: The Journals of Mordecai M. Kaplan, 1913-1934):

R. Nathan Marcus Adler's instructions for his family

Throughout the mid-19th century, one figure dominated the religious life of Jews in Great Britain, Chief Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler (1803-1891).¹ In addition to bearing such distinctions as being Europe's first Orthodox rabbi with a doctorate (1828; for his dissertation De idea summi Numinis), a personal friend of Queen Victoria's husband Albert from his youth, and generally successfuly navigating political minefields, he was also an accomplished talmid chochom, author of a valuable study of Targum Onqelos, Nesina Le-ger (his most famous work; he also wrote other scholarly works, many halakhic teshuvos and chiddushim on Talmud), and despite his British Hanover-origin, (ie, he was "German") he was veddy, veddy British; when he was appointed Chief Rabbi it was on condition that he learn to speak English within two years. He accomplished it in one. (Interestingly enough, another serious candidate was R. Samson Raphael Hirsch. Although he found his niche, one wonders what a Britified R. Hirsch might or might not have eventually accomplished and what his career might have looked like.)

Here are some interesting excerpts and summaries of his Last Will & Testament written for his descendants on "December 31, 5644 - 1883." The matters discussed here shed valuable light on his own priorities as well as what rabbinic concerns within Britain were at the time. His words alone are in inverted commas.

"I have been very ill and near death, but Almighty God in His mercy has so far restored me to health that I am able, although inadequately, to write. Being in Brighton, and no longer surrounded by members of my family, I feel bound to lay the following religious duties to the hearts of my children, grand- and great-grandchildren, with the earnest wish that they may always observe them, and thereby keep my memory fresh and green."

Adler goes on to explain why it may seem that he will speak less of "moral duties" than "religious duties." It is not because the former are less important - on the contrary, they are also mitzvos and thus commanded by God. However, in his time there is a greater spirit of laxity in the aforementiones religious duties, and therefore his family faces a greater temptation to neglect them. Adler then writes that the main principle of Judaism is conained in Deut 6. They must always remember "ushmartem va'asitem," (Lev.19.37).

Next Adler explains that Tanakh, our Bible, is our most precious book, because it "affords us guidance through life," and also "it teaches Israel his origin, his history, his mission to influence mankind in the knowledge of the only one God." Furthermore, it introduces the concept of the eventual arrival of the moshiach, when the whole world will know the one God. Given how important Tanakh is, Adler councils his family, cause your children to read one perek daily, perhaps after morning prayer.

Having mentioned the centrality of Tanakh, he then stresses the importance of Torah she-be-'el peh - Oral Law - giving by way of illustration the examples of tefillin and mezuzah. Then he asks them to read the weekly sidra with targum ("or an easy commentary"), or even with English translation should his descendants not know Hebrew sufficiently. (Interestingly, he does not stress the importance of Hebrew proficiency. Perhaps these are the words of a man resigned to the fact that not all of his descendants could be counted upon to know Hebrew. It should be remarked that Adler was party to the establishment of a society for the promotion of the revival of Hebrew, spearheaded by Eliezer Lipmman Silbermann, editor and founder of Ha-maggid.) Also - study rabbinical literature so that they would be acquainted with it - at the very least, on shabbat.

Next Adler turns to the home, which he says is the most important Jewish institution and the center of Jewish life. Parents must keep kashrut with rigor and they must teach their children to keep it just as strictly outside of the home. The wife must take care that nothing trefa enters the premises and - interesting! - she should not be ashamed to involve herself in the kitchen to ensure that the servants are keeping kashrut, especially basar ve-chalav (ie, the separation of meat and dairy).

"Do not listen, my dear children, as regards the Law 'Thou shall not seethe a kid in its mother's milk' (Ex. 23.19, 34.26, Deut. 14.21), to the criticism of the so-called Neologians (ie, Reformers. 'Neolog' was the term current among Hungarian Jewry. In Reform in general, but especially in Britian, there was a decided neo-Karaite tendency), who assert that the Law must be taken literally, for this would be senseless. Depend upon it, from the very time of its promulgation it was expounded and carried out in its extended sense." Adler emphasizes that the threefold repetition in the Bible teaches us to keep it scrupulously - "Depend upon it."

Furthermore, they should know that there are also the commandments called chukim, for which we do not know a reason for its command, whether such a reason is "spiritual, moral or sanitary or all three together" - but we do know that no mitzvah is without beneficient motive.

Next he discusses behavior for all week long: integrity and scrupulousness in business is a must. He reminds them that such behavior will give them a good name and make their reputation, but above all, it will constitute a kiddush Ha-shem.

He then tells them forcefully: shun usury! "Whatever your calling, shun, oh my dear ones, every kind of usury, for usury still constitutes, alas! the malignant canker which sullies the fair name of our nation."

Moving away from the week, he tells them that as industrious as they must be during the week, they must rest and keep the shabbat. The shabbat teaches the greatest truths of Judaism. It has been "the cause and moving spirit of Israel's preservation." (Ahad Ha'am may have coined the clever phrase that the Sabbath kept the Jews even more than the Jews kept the Sabbath, but you can see that the sentiment predated that.) What should their shabbat be like? It should be joyous, a day of joy and tranquility. They must "distinguish it with a better meal, better dress" and with exercise in the fresh air, but above all a "higher rest," which sanctifies God's name.

Although he already mentioned that they ought to study the sidra with Targum and also rabbinic literature, he reemphasizes this point. On shabbat they must show an even greater devotion to and more zealous study of Torah (than, presumably, during the week). He suggests that on the shabbat they give their children examinations to see how they've advanced in their Torah study.

What else mus they do for shabbat? They must keep shabbat holy - from beginning to end. There must be no business, writing or riding - no matter how early shabbat begins (presumably here we see that a tendency toward laxity with the beginning of shabbat, when it started early during winter, was rampant). Adler reminds his family to remember Neh. 13.15-23, wherein the profanation of the beginning of shabbat brought about great evil.

He assures them that if they lead a pious life, they could expect to escape the punishments which God warned sinners of, and they will instead partake of the choice blessings that he promised the individual and the nation. They can be assured that they will enjoy this world and the world to come. שֹׂבַע שְׂמָחוֹת, אֶת-פָּנֶיךָ; נְעִמוֹת בִּימִינְךָ נֶצַח - forevermore!" (Ps. 16.11)

He concludes "Most solemnly" that they are to "be good Jews and Jewesses," and are to keep in mind future reward and punishment, to lead a life of firm morality and strict observance!

I obtained the text of R. Nathan Marcus Adler's will from Ethical Wills: A Modern Jewish Treasury, by Jack Riemer and Nathaniel Stampfer.

Further reading, see the interesting tribute "The Late Chief Rabbi, Dr. N. M. Adler ‮זצ״ל‬," by M. Friedländer in JQR Vol. 2, No. 4. (Jul., 1890), pp. 369-385.

^{1 It should be noted that he pioneered an interesting technique for asserting his rabbinic authority: he all but banned other rabbis from operating as such in Great Britain. To such an extent did he personally enjoy hegemony over the rabbinate in Britain, that dayyanim serving under him were unable to even use the title "rabbi," - when they were being called to the Torah or otherwise!}