A 1929 appeal for easing the Slabodka Yeshiva's $50,000 deficit

From the American Israelite March 29, 1929. Note the very interesting remark that at times the Hildesheimer Seminary relied on support from Russian Jews, even though German Jews certainly could have sustained all its economic needs. Also, the author of this appeal, frames the support for the yeshiva as a debt which American Jews owe to it, having received much spiritual sustenance from the alumni of the European yeshivas.

Mrs. Julian Nathan's meeting with R. Chaim Leib Auerbach in 1922

This is excerpted from Mrs. Julian Nathan's two-part article "A Woman's Impressions of Palestine," which appeared in the American Hebrew on Dec. 15 and 22, 1922. This being 1922, unfortunately Mrs. Julian Nathan's own first name is not supplied. The Miss Landau to which she refers is Annie Edith Landau. She describes her meeting with Rabbi Chaim Leib Auerbach, R. Shlomo Zalman's father. Since she refers to her "father's book "Tub Taam," I assume she was R. Aharon Zvi Friedman's daughter, although I suppose there may be other works by that name and thus other possible candidates.

Note that she says that Rabbi Auerbach predicted that in 80 years the exile would be over. And read the rest.

Israel Davidson, a 19th century Hebrew translation of "Yankee Doodle" and Michael Rodkinson's lack of English

Here's part of a great exchange in the pages of the American Hebrew in 1899, notably because one protagonist was a young Israel Davidson, and the other's rejoinder included a pretty amusing Hebrew translation of Yankee Doodle.

What had happened was, Jacob Goldstein (1855-19? well, he was alive and a chaplain in the US army in 1918), an English-born, Australia-raised rabbi in Newark, and also a one-time editor of the American Hebrew, had written a review of Menachem Mendel Dolitsky's book of Hebrew verse Kol Shirei Menachem.... In the review, Goldstein made several unpardonable sins. For example, he had not read each and every poem carefully, and treated one, a piyyut for Yom Kippur, that was actually satire, as if it were the real thing. Secondly, he wrote something about rhymes in Hebrew that Davidson considered to be an error. Thirdly, he approved of the poems being published with nikkud, making it useful to a student of Hebrew who, with the aid of a dictionary, will be able to enjoy the book. Here Davidson takes a really low blow and says that Goldstein personally needs the vowel points and a dictionary, i.e., he is a novice in Hebrew! 

Davidson is merely reiterating a sarcastic point he made early in the letter, claiming that "Hebrew is the most difficult language to acquire at a mature age, [so] if a man, old enough to write such a facile English as the reviewer does, begins to study Hebrew and in a short time presume to judge of the character of a Hebrew poem from the title [Piyyut Le-yom Ha-kippurim], he must indeed be a phenomenal being. Nay, it occurs to me just now, that we should regard one with awe, who attempted to divine the meaning of any kind of poem without first reading it." As you can see, he also criticized Goldstein's English - something that seems to have been something of a past-time among the scholarly immigrant crowd in those days. By the end - it seems to have passed sarcasm, and Davidson seems to believe that Goldstein doesn't know what he is talking about.

Israel Davidson, of course, knew a thing or two about Hebrew poetry, going on to compile the magnificent and still amazing Thesaurus of Hebrew Poetry/ Otzar Ha-shirah ve-ha-Piyyut. But he was young, and got carried away with sarcasm.

Goldstein rejoindered that Davidson is correct that he is guilty of not reading the book carefully, as far as that goes, although he said so in the review itself, that he was asked to write a "notice" not a review, of the book. But he takes serious issue with the other criticisms, correctly taking him to task for his nasty (and ungrounded) assertion that he is a Hebrew beginner. Finally, his response to Davidson's critique about rhymes is to print a few lines of his poem Yanki Dudel Ba Le-ir.

Incidentally, parts of these letters concern the Rodkinson Talmud, Goldstein having written critically of it the week before (Davidson approves, calling Goldstein's review a "eulogy"). Goldstein's letter is actually a response to Rodkinson's displeasure with the review. Since there is a current post at the Seforim Blog by Marvin J. Heller on the Rodkinson Talmud - link - I thought it worthwhile to post a comment made by Goldstein in the present letter. Rodkinson had charged that Goldstein only knows the Talmud "from an English translation"! Here is part of Goldstein's rejoinder:

It would be impudent for me to undertake a "new critical edition of the Talmud" because I have not the necessary equipment for the task. It is just as improper for Mr. Rodkinson to undertake a translation into English - simply because he does not know English. (emph. in the original.)

Finally, since Heller wrote concerning Rodkinson's surname as follows -

He was born to a distinguished Hasidic family; his father was Sender (Alexander) Frumkin (1799-1876) of Shklov, his mother, Radka Hayyah Horowitz (1802-47). Radka died when Rodkinson was an infant, and he later changed his surname from Frumkin to Rodkinson, that is, Radka’s son.

- I thought it would be fitting to post something that by coincidence I had come across a couple of days ago: Rodkinson himself gave his story of his surname in the pages of the American Hebrew (Nov. 13, 1903. Here it is, for posterity:

"...my father's name was Alexander Frumesch (see Toldath Besht, p. XXXVI), after his father, that grand man, Nacheur [sic?] Frumesch, and only his sons adopted the name Frumkin, for they were so called by the people. My name Rodkinson, after my mother, Rodke, who died one year after my birth, was given to me in childhood to save me from military duty, as was also done to my brother, Leib Hirsch, who lives in Jerusalem. In spite of this, being in Russia, we used to sign in private our renowned family name, "Frumkin."  

I, however, used to add my mother's name in private letters as well as in my publications, which can be proven by my books, published previously to 1876, when I emigrated to Konigsberg, Prussia." 

In the aforementioned "Toldath" he writes his grandfather's name as follows: מנחם נחום פרומעש משקלאוו. And he also gives his mother's name as: ראדא חאסיא.

A 1903 critique of the RJJ yeshiva's dual Torah and Madda curriculum

Here's a fascinating editorial note in the Nov 27, 1903 issue of the American Hebrew. As you can see, it opposes one element of the appeal for funds for a larger building needed by the Rabbi Jacob Joseph Yeshiva, then very new: that the yeshiva provides secular education under the same roof as its religious education. This is in effect the very critique most often leveled from the right at the Torah U-madda idea of Yeshiva University, albeit here the argument is very different - it desires the secular education to take place in public schools as anything less is incompatible with democractic ideals.

A 'Conservative,' Reform, and Orthodox rabbi (so to speak*) on the possibility of teaching old school piety and Torah scholarship in America in the late 19th century

Here's an interesting part of Gotthard Deutsch's obituary for David Rosin in the American Hebrew (Jan. 22, 1895). Rosin taught in the Breslau Rabbinical Seminary established by Zechariah Frankel, and is best known for his edition of the Rashbam's commentary to the Torah. To give some context to the Deutsch's remarks below, in the same article Deutsch cites an alleged quote by Samson Raphael Hirsch, that the Right and Left sides of the street are for men, the middle of the road is for horses. 

As you can see, Deutsch, an American Reform rabbi, had maintained that it was impossible to "restore the old Jewish piety with its ideal of conforming to the law" - halacha. Not that Deutsch wanted to, mind you. Rosin, however, strenuously objected that this was "a policy of despair" and that individuals could be brought to strict observant, even if this could not work on a communal level.

Deutsch, incidentally, wrote the following in September of 1905: 

"Our women will not submit to the "Sheitel:" our men will not banish ghosts by Cabbala: our boys and girls will read novels in spite of Joseph Caro, etc."

And he continued to say that across the spectrum, what needed to be fought was indifference.

Since we are talking about religious Jewish life in America at the turn of the 20th century, it would be interesting to produce a page from a book that was first called attention to the world by Mendel Silber in his 1916 article "America in Hebrew Literature." The book, published by R. Chaim Shlomo Silbermann in Jerusalem (1899; not 1859 as per Silber) is called Or Yaakov, and the bulk consists of various unpublished commentaries by the Vilna Gaon, for example, there is a piece explaining the aggadot of Rabbah bar bar Hannah. 

Appended to the end are two pages of a bar mitzvah derasha given by Silbermann's nephew, Yitzhak. The reason why this was important, says Silbermann, is that the boy, whom he is exceedingly proud of, grew up in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. When he received the text of the derashah it was to him like the day the Torah was given at Sinai. This boy is a "tzaddik ben tzaddik" - the boy's father was an alumnus of Volozhin; a student of R. Hirsch Leib (=the Neziv) - Silbermann gives two examples of the lad's boyish piety: he answered "amen" at age 4, and would not eat without making a berachah at age 7 or 8. And there is the derashah itself, which shows that it is possible to raise a ben Torah in America. Most interesting is his dichotomy between raising a child to learn Torah and teaching a child parnassah ke-minhag America.

* The reason I wrote "so to speak" about these rabbis is because, technically, only Gotthard Deutsch was a practicing rabbi. The others were scholars, one affiliated with an institution (the Breslau Seminary) and the other, apparently, an independent talmid chochom. However, for the purpose of that snappy, snappy title - these were all three learned Jews, each with a vision about the apathy and unlearnedness of Jews of their time, and the potential for restoration.

Turkish censors of Armenian Bible, remove the tale of Joseph "out of consideration for Mrs. Potiphar," in 1893

This fascinating article is from the NY Herald, 1893. It must be noted - since not everyone reads to the end - that on protest by the British, the Grand Vizier reversed the order.

Who was the 6' 3" tall, 103 year-old, clear-sighted, ascetic rabbi in Dublin in 1771?

Any ideas?

From Hoey's Dublin Mercury Dec 5, 1771.

Happy Anniversary, me

May is about the time of year when I started On the Main Line. I don't know the exact date, because the April before is when I started blogging someplace else. And when I switched, I moved some of the old posts, recopied them. So either May 9 or 10 is the day I started On the Main Line. A pretty long time ago in the blogging world. To see an infant with eyes fused shut, soft and pink and squishy, covered in down and adorable turn into an immature, bright 8-year old! I love it.

in which I may present my thoughts and my own particular mishuggassen

Friday, 24 May 2005 I've moved I can be found at http://onthemainline.blogspot.com">On the Main Line Thanks, if anyone is reading.

I suppose I should reflect once a year. I'm not sure what to say. A lot of good things came about for me because of blogging. I got to know so many of you via email, and also in person, and made some dear friends. I have had my eyes and mind opened in so many ways. I learned a lot. Discovered some interesting research methods. You know, independently inventing the Digital Humanities. Kidding, a little. 

I want to thank everyone, the hundreds of people who read every day, on every continent (except the proverbial Antarctica, at least so far). It's especially gratifying to me when I can see a referrer and that a person was looking at one of my posts through Google Translate. I'd like to thank the people who find the blog using funny keywords, the people who ask questions with some kind of confidence that I know or could find the answer. I have learned so much from readers, anonymous commenters, emailers - some of you don't realize how intimidating your depth and breadth of knowledge is!  I'm sorry about the drowning in email problem, and my resolution for the next 8 years is to try to become better with that. In my defense, generally I want to give queries the attention it deserves and sometimes I get overwhelmed. I will try better. I also want to thank each and every one of you who came to help when I was drowning in financial woes. I am sometimes shy, but I want to tell you very clearly: you helped me and my family survive at times. Literally. And I will never, ever forget that. 

I also want to thank those of you who keep pointing out when I did a post with a Part I, and never got around to doing a Part II. The explanation is that when I post like that, I'm trying to set a goal for myself, trying to make a placeholder. Sometimes the Part II happens, sometimes not. Part IIs may always end up happening, even it takes a long time! I also want to thank readers who have never failed to inform me when I am quoted, cited or - yup, ripped off - in various periodicals or blogs, in which I may never have realized. 

I want to reflect a little on why I blog, and why I pushed myself through funks, moments completely lacking in inspiration, and times where my interests shifted from the topics I blog about. The reason is quite simple: so I could sit here today and write this! Most blogs are short-lived, even the ones that burn bright for a time. Blogging itself may be, or supposedly is, dead. And I know that I have to adapt. My vast numbers of comments dried up years ago, even as each year my daily hits increase. So look for some changes, at least aesthetic changes, to come - hopefully soon. I have plans, publications, etc. We'll see what happens. In the meantime, I am glad I persevered. To give myself a pat on the back, I learned that I have good instincts for what others' find intriguing: it's what I find intriguing! And there are all sorts of little crumbs, some just bits of gold dust, others well-known gems, and still others rare, unknown gems which are scattered all over our vast literature, the treasures of the Jewish people. So it's been very gratifying to discover some of them, and popularize them and bring them to light. 

A few things I have learned: 

- there is no end to such treasures.

- truth is as strange as fiction.

- things were on the one hand very different in the past,

- and on the other, they were and remain exactly the same

And I almost forgot! Thanks to all the libraries and companies that digitize books and journals in free and other kinds of databases. I of course especially mean Google and Hebrewbooks.org, but there are many, many others. Growing up, I never dreamed that I would have a library with easily tens of thousands of books and/or sforim, each one highly interesting to me. And now I do. Millions actually, only some more or less interesting.

I also want to thank two individuals who helped me gain access to - well, I don't know if I can talk about it openly - but their confidence in me enabled an endless flow for me, to be able to access resources which I need and which I was only able access before their help, in inconvenient ways. We may not have communicated about it for a long time - but thank you.

ETA: (I wish I had remembered that I planned to include this!) I have to give thanks and public recognition to three individuals. Two of them have helped me personally, and inspired me in different ways, and one died more than a century before I was born. I mean to thank (in age order) Shadal himself, a great man whose example taught me much about intellectual honesty (striving for) and most importantly, the importance of helping others' in their scholarship. Secondly, Professor Shnayer Leiman, who while he could not teach one to be a genius, taught me something about humility, something about critical thinking, and something about checking sources, always. In addition, he has personally helped me in a very significant way. Thirdly, Prof. Marc Shapiro, who in addition to helping me more than one time in a significant way, has been a very good friend.

Oh, and Google AdSense, please explain to me how exactly I violate copyright and why you don't let me place ads on the blog? Thank you. Your automated reply won't tell me a thing.

Well, keep reading. I'd like to think that as long as there is someone to read, I will keep researching and posting. Thank you, and enjoy!

A pair of ads about New York's bleeding cattle controversy, 1861

Here are a pair of ads from The Jewish Messenger in 1861, concerning a famous episode in the history of kashrut in America, that arose in the 1850s. 

As you can see, the first ad is a public notice that anyone casting doubt on the kashrut of calves slaughtered after having been bled (see below) has only the right to be machmir on himself, but great authorities permit it. Anyone violating this is causing a loss to butchers, is liable according to the Shulchan Aruch - and the law of the land (they can be sued). It is signed J. Middleman. 

Below it is an unsigned ad stating that Middleman is wrong about the view of the Chasam Sofer, and so is R. Yosef Shaul Nathansohn, if that's what he said: ""Rabbi Nathanson may be, nevertheless, a very illustrious man, but errare est humanum..." It continues to say that it considers the threat of recourse to the laws of the United States in preventing him from speaking out is - mesirah, and furthermore Middleman shall be remembered in the blessing Velamalshinim.

Explanation below:

The issue concerned the lovely practice of bleeding cattle, which amounted to draining them of most of the blood in their body from the jugular - while alive - before slaughter.  Descriptions of the process are horrible. The better to have whiter veal. Cruelty aside, naturally, the question was whether the practice renders the animal trefa. A shochet of pious reputation named Aaron Tzvi Friedman (1822-76), newly arrived in America, discovered that this was a regular procedure here, and was shocked. 

So he asked R. Judah Middleman in New York ("Yudel"; an interesting figure who, among other things, wrote a reply to Alexander M'Caul's infamous missionary tract Netivot Olam-Old Paths; Mittleman's book was called Netivot Emet-True Paths, and was translated into English in the 1840s). Mittleman was originally from Lemberg, and he asked a friend of his, perhaps Galicia's greatest posek, R. Joseph Saul Nathansohn, who replied that it is permissible, and the Chasam Sofer already permitted it, but it can only be done by an expert, so it doesn't render the animal trefa. I admit here that I didn't do my homework yet (=look in the primary sources), but according to others who have, the Chasam Sofer only permitted bleeding cattle for the health of the animal itself, not indiscriminately. 

Here is Rabbi Friedman's account of it in his Chein Tov, including the letter from R. Yoseph Shaul (note that Friedman cites the heter he received from "Rabbi Shlomo Adler of London," but he almost certainly meant Rabbi Nathan Marcus Adler):

The above work was part of a series of pamphlets on shechita author by Friedman, best known as Tuv Ta'am, the first part of which was translated to English, written as and used as a defense of shechita from attack (English, here).

Here is, incidentally, a wonderful blog by a descendant of R. A. Z. Friedman, the shochet in this story, who posted many facts about his ancestor, as well as these two wonderful portraits kept in the family, of Friedman and his second wife (link).

Apropos, there are a number of responsa from R. Nathanson to R. Middleman, including one interesting one regarding whether or not a church can be converted into a synagogue. For those interested in seeing an English name of a Church explained in a teshuva, here it is, "Written in English 'Welsh-Scottish Methodist Church.' This means, of those from Wales, joined with people of Scots Land, Lutheran church." Then he describes their service, and the beliefs of Protestants generally. See Otzar Yisrael Vol. 2 pg. 246, entry on R. Avraham  Yoseph Asch (link).

The Shabbos Goy in an English-Dutch dictionary from 1766

Here's a fine entry in Sewel's Compleat dictionary English and Dutch (Amsterdam 1766 ed.).

A 1793 review of a Jewish prostitute in London

This account of a Jewish prostitute in London is from the 1793 edition Harris's List of Covent-Garden Ladies: Or, Man of Pleasure's Kalendar, the notorious guidebook giving addresses and reviews of the London, err, nightlife. 

A different kind of Lag B'omer yahrzeit celebration in 1865

R. Moshe Issserles. From The Jewish Messenger, Sep. 8, 1865.

c.f. this footnote in Lev Ha-ivri (Ungvar 1864) by R. Akiva Joseph Schlessinjer.

And in Y. M. Zunz's Ir Ha-zedek (Lemberg 1864):

Intellectual honesty - making a public correction to a book in 1876

This appeared in the June 16, 1876 issue of The Jewish Times; the author of this book wished to call attention to an error - a"blunder" as he put it - in his book, concerning the identity of the Rabbi Hillel  mentioned in the Talmud who taught that there would be no future Messiah, as he had already come in the days of King Hezekiah. The author writes that he omitted the title "Rabbi" and so presented this Talmud figure as if he were Hillel the Elder.

Here's the footnote to which the author, Max Schlesinger, was referring. And I have to say - I am impressed that Schlesinger noted that he thought it was the 1st century Hillel, not the 3rd - he could have only said he omitted the honorific. Admitting this degree of error in so public a fashion is a breath of fresh air, fresh, 137-years old air.

A 19th century letter concerning the Baal Shem of London

Here's my almost-but-not-quite-perfect transcription of a letter to Hermann Adler, Chief Rabbi of Great Britain concerning the Baal Shem of London. Adler wrote a fascinating paper on Chaim Shemuel Yaakov Falk, the aforementioned Baal Shem (of Dr. Falk, as he was known). Evidently this letter was part of his research - fully 8 years before he read the results of his research, which you can read here - consisting of various inquiries that he made of old timers and people with connections to those who did remember Jewish London in the 18th century. 

Unfortunately, I cannot make out the signature here, but I believe the man is surnamed either Myers or Alexander on the basis of some hopeful searches of his street address. He refers to his grandfather, evidently a rabbi, active in the 1850s 1820s (see plausible correction in the comments). Alexander seems the likelier candidate, perhaps because a Rabbi Michael Myers (d. 1814) actually knew the Baal Shem, and while not all Myers would be related, one surmises that this writer would surely have mentioned the aforementioned Myers who knew the Baal Shem personally. And if I am wrong, and if I've made mistakes in the transcription - please let me know.

ETA: I would like to thank Simon, Marc Kirschbaum, and David Wolfson for their helpful corrections and suggestions. Go crowdsourcing!

24 Sandy's Row

Bishopsgate. E 

Nov 8, 1895 

Dear Rev Sir 

In answer to your enquiry regarding facts connected with Dr. Falk the בעל שם I am sorry that I cannot furnish you with any that I can rely upon as such. I have heard the late Dr. Hirschell ז'ל refer to him but he seemed very reticent to state anything of him as facts. 

,,Facts are stubborn things" is the common Aphorism. They are sometimes so stubborn that [they?] cannot be easily brought out from their hidden places, such I believe to be the case with respect to Dr. Falk - the legend of his repleneshing his Coal Cellar without any of his servants knowing how they came there, you know doubt have heard before now. My grandfather ז'ל did speak of him

P.T.O. (=Please Turn Over.) 

as having been in his house in Devonshire Square and that no one knew from where he obtained the means up living up to the stile of a respectable Merchant - of course suspicions of his having discovered the Philosopher's Stone &c. gained hold upon some minds, but Dr. Hirschell himself generally spoke of his, Dr. Falk's performance with a decided sneer - If I recollect rightly Dr. Hirschell did not obtain the כתבים but found them among his father ר' הירש בערלינרs books and manuscripts. In my own time about 40 years ago I went with my grandfather to visit a dying man named ר' שמואל שעטע who was a former משרת of the בעל שם  When we left him he gave my grandfather a slip of paper with the verse ולבני הפילגשים אשר לאברהם נתן אברהם מתנת וישלחם וגו which was a permit for us to be מתעשק ? unto him when he died. This man was reputed to have known most of the בעל שםs performances. In fact he stood in the same station to the בעל שם as the Scriptural גיחזי stood to אלישע but I never recollect meeting any one who could state any thing of the בעל שם as First hand Facts. 

I am sorry that I cannot furnish you with anything more tangible on the subject but I think that the majority of his reputed miracles are like the Epitaph on his מצבה neither legible nor plausible. 

with profound respect

I beg to remain

Dear Rev. Sir

Yours truly

J. (?) Myers (?)

Couple of notes. It's interesting how Falk's writings wound up in possession of Chief Rabbi Solomon Hirschell - through his father, no less. This rabbinic family was closely related to R. Jacob Emden, who condemned Falk as a Sabbatian (see here). It is hardly surprising, yet interesting, to see Hirschell remembered referring to Falk with "a decided sneer." Secondly, it is also interesting that the writer names a servant of Falk, R' Shmuel Schotte (?), whom he says died about 1855. Falk died in 1782! So an old man this Shmuel Schotte must have been - and to be compared to Gehazi no less! If anyone can make heads or tails out of the strange amulet this Schotte gave the writer's grandfather, please do tell.

The source for this letter is here.

The En Kelohenu is trefah - a Reform polemic against Orthodoxy's Inconsistency from 1919

"Amendment one of the Constitution of the United States guarantees to every citizen full freedom to decide whether En Kelohenu shall be babbled off or sung." So allows the writer in the American Israelite, even as he critiques the decision against singing En Kelohenu by Rabbi Avraham Gershon Lesser (1834-1924) an American Orthodox rabbi in Cincinnati, president of the Agudas Harabbonim, and active Mizrachi leader.

Attacking Orthodoxy for inconsistency in fealty to halacha was a typical and constant Reform polemic against Orthodox Judaism. Sometimes the argument would be, our people profane the Sabbath, and so do the Orthodox laymen - but only the Orthodox laymen are opposed to omitting a piyut. This was a charge constantly leveled at the types of modern or Neo-Orthodoxy which did make some compromises against the strictest possible approaches, while remaining strict about other things (e.g., head-covering). 

Interestingly, here the attack is on this stringency - not to sing En Kelohenu because it may lead to... English - because in other cases, this same rabbi was lenient or permitted or ignored things blatantly against halacha. In this case, the argument is that the same synagogue presided over by a rabbi who decided against singing En Kelohenu hosts mixed dances. 

He goes on to expose other inconsistencies, where Rabbi Lesser had permitted mild Reforms of the type vehemently opposed by authorities like the Chasam Sofer. And as you can see, by the sources he quotes, this particular writer was keeping very much abreast of current rabbinic scholarship, quoting rabbinic journals of the time, such as Veyelaket Yoseph of Bonyhad, Hungary where current rabbinic scholarship was constantly published.

Finally, he closes by claiming that "even the so-called strictest orthodoxy that boasts of its consistency, that invents constantly new laws on Shehitah or on Mazzot is expediency, measured by the standards of the codes and the authorities which it never tires of proclaiming as infallible guides."

מלחמות השם

A JTA release from April 22, 1927 concerning the battles between the Chassidim and the rebbes of Muncacz and Belz. M. A. Tennenblatt was the Vienna correspondent for the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

Click to enlarge, or try this. 

Bar Yochaiiana in honor of Lag B'omer

This content is being reposted.

Here is an interesting letter from H. Guedalia to the Jewish Standard (December 7, 1888) concerning the hymn Bar Yochai. He asks whether anyone knows if it was ever translated into another language. So after five generations I answer H. Guedalia's question and I say, yes, it was. Oluf Gerhard Tychsen translated it to Latin in 1763, an "Elegia elegans e terra Israel" in honor of "R. Schimenois Filii Iochai,"and he should see my post (link).

He also has some interesting comments about how he supports memorial celebrations like Lag B'omer.

Comments

As you can see, I changed commenting platforms to Disqus. I hope this will solve the spam problem. Old comments are still importing, and I hope that everything will be retained. Thank you for bearing with me in this trying time. I mean, I'm working on it.

A defense of Cecil Roth against the charge of heresy

Here's an interesting article about the Cecil Roth heresy scandal at Bar-Ilan University in 1964. The author is Rabbi Louis Rabinowitz, former Chief Rabbi of South Africa. Jerusalem Post, Nov. 11, 1964.

I once picked up a Jewish Observer for sale at Pinter's for something like fifty cents, attacking Cecil Roth. I don't know where my sense was, because I didn't buy it.

Lewis Dembitz's 1892 article on Yiddish-Zhargon

Here is an interesting article about Yiddish from the American Hebrew (May 6, 1892). It's got everything you could want; condescension toward "Jargon," historical and contemporary social information. The author - more about him in a moment - endorses the proposal that the eastern Yiddish word for prayer, to daven, comes from the Aramaic daf (folio). He also gives an etymology for nebbich. Finally, despite Yiddish's "degrading ugliness," he sees the bright side that it has done for the Jews. Even though being bred on Yiddish makes it extremely difficult to learn a correct, unaccented German, when a Polish or Russian Jew emigrates, he finds himself well off with his "poor German" where he can better succeed in either western Europe or America; if he spoke only Russian or Polish, not so much. However, because his German is so poor, it induces him to learn English and speak it at home right away.

The author is Lewish Nathan Dembitz (1833-1907) of Louisville. Among other things, like a distinguished legal career, the Posen-born Dembitz is also known for his German translation Onkel Tom's Hutte.