What was the "Jewish hat" as late as 1824?

Here's an interesting little aside in a book called Incidents of Social Life Amid the European Alps, an English translation from 1844 of  Zschokke's Bilder aus der Schweiz (1824).

Note, he is not talking about a Jew here, but he is describing the hat itself, the tricorne hat so familiar to us from the 18th century, as the "three-cornered Jewish hat."

See this old post about Jews and three cornered hats into the 19th century.

Ber of Bolechow on Torah im derech eretz and Humphrey Prideaux

Here's an interesting and well-known, I think, passage in the memoirs of Ber Birkenthal of Bolochow (1723-1805), a person most famed because of his role in the disputations with the Frankists and obviously the memoir itself:

So he's going on explaining how he thinks that the biblical Gehazi established Zoroastrianism, and he was reminded of this because he observed that Hungarian peasants were accustomed to always keep a fire burning. This led to a digression on the dualists (Zoroasters) mentioned in the Talmud, and how he thinks the Hungarians are descended from them, and how the name 'Magyar' is a hint toward that (sounds like Magi - why, you can even spell them the same way in Hebrew as he chose to do). In any event, he says that Gehazi established this dualist religion - but he was called Zoroastrus in the books of the Greeks - and that he saw this idea in gentile books.

Then comes a fascinating digression about a book he read by the Englishman Hunphrey Prideuks [sic], from London, who wrote about Gehazi in the first part of his book. He explains that Prideaux wrote all about the history of the nations which bordered ancient Israel and how all the prophecies were fulfilled. In fact, he translated much of the book into Hebrew, and he hopes with God's help to print it, and it will be very enlightening for the Jewish scholars to read.

He then says that he hopes especially his own descendants would read Prideaux (the 'Englander Hunphrey') in the German translation as well as in his Hebrew translation [my guess is that he enlarged it and included his own notes and rabbinic references], they will learn some great matters, for not only the Holy Scripture, but also many worldy matters were known to him, but not to the Jews - and us Jews are obligated to know all, so in them can be fulfilled the verse from Deut. 4:6, "for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples." Even though this verse was applied by Hazal to our holy Torah, but they did also say that Torah is good with derech eretz, and also it is good for every Jew to be wise and understanding, to know also what the gentiles know. Through this he [=Ber] was been able to at times properly answer their confrontational and negative questions about the Jewish faith and religion, with the replies which he thought of when conversing with nobles and priests, and he found that most of the time his replies were correct and perceived as convincing.

Here's the first part of this passage in the original manuscript published by Wischnitzer:

And for fun, here is the entire passage in the facsimile published in Joseph Geller's fascinating dissertation The Manuscript Version of the Memoirs of Dov Ber Birkenthal (Ber of Bolechew) (Montreal 1989), which meticulously corrected Wischnitzer's transcription errors (no opinion on whether Geller is always right and so on).

By the way, in case you are wondering about his spelling "Hunphrey" (with a nun) my theory is as follows. You can see in the manuscript that the first name was added later or as an afterthought, because it was inserted above the ruled space, on top of his transcription of Prideaux (which is accurate, although it implies that he did not pronounce it "Prido"). So he must not have had the book and didn't check twice, although maybe you'd think he'd have recalled the author's name given that he was engaged in translating his work! In any case, this is probably the edition of Prideaux that Ber was using - link.

Finally, here is a nice post where you can see pictures of his tombstone and read about it.

Orphaned English in non-English books

As an inveterate fan of the English language, I love spotting English - the more broken or misspelled the better - in books written in other languages, whether it's letters by Heinrich Graetz which keep spelling English words with "sch" for "sh" ("I schall take the honour to send the englisch translation of my "History of the Jews," as soon as it will be completely finisched.")[1] or anything else, really. I have an extraordinary and wonderful example, which will be the subject of a future post, but in the meantime here's a nice one from מסורת התורה והנביאים (Vilna 1906) by Rabbi Pesach Finfer [sp?], מו"ץ on the rabbinic court of that city.

A different example, which I enjoyed very much although it is almost quite correct, can be found in the introduction to Samuel Romanelli's Grammatica ragionata Italiana ed Ebraica: con tratto, ed esempj di poesia, in which we find the following as a motto:

Note that there is no letter "W" in Italian (see here).

[1] See Founders of "Wissenschaft des Judentums" and America by Guido Kisch,  p. 168 in Essays in American Jewish History (Cincinatti 1958).

A Short-Lived Relic of Rabbi Jonathan Eibeschuetz - a guest post by Prof. Shnayer Z. Leiman

I am pleased and excited to present this guest post by Prof. Leiman. While I don't think he needs an introduction in this venue, and I don't believe he wants one, duty obliges me to apply the statement כל הבורח מן הגדולה גדולה מחזרת אחריו. - S.

A recent issue of Kehilot, the Wednesday supplement to Ha-Mevasser, a Haredi newspaper published in Israel, featured on its front page a photograph of a Jewish relic. The relic was a decorated ceramic plate that was identified as belonging to Rabbi Jonathan Eibeschuetz, the venerable eighteenth century rabbi and talmudist who served with distinction as Rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva in Prague, Metz, and Altona-Hamburg.

A brief note accompanying the photograph explains that the plate had been used by R. Jonathan Eibeschuetz and was then passed down in his family from one generation to the next. It came into the possession of R. Leibush Eibeschuetz, a direct descendant who settled in Jerusalem early in the twentieth century. In turn, his daughter, Rebbetzin Samet inherited it from him. It was her practice to use the plate for the Seder plate on Passover eve. A grandson from her second marriage (to R. Abraham Joshua Heschel), Rabbi Menahem Shlomo Bekerman – the well known head of  מוסדות טשכנוב in Israel – owns the plate today.

Alas, even a glance at the photograph of the plate indicates that it is a commemorative plate celebrating the setting and life of a hero who does not appear to be Jewish. More importantly, an inscription in Cyrillic script in the center of the plate raises an obvious question. Why would R. Jonathan Eibeschuetz possess a commemorative plate with an inscription he almost certainly could not read? It gets worse. The Russian inscription under an iconic statue clearly reads (in translation): Monument of Prince Vorontsov.

Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov’s monument stands today in Odessa, at the very place it stood when it was first erected in 1863. Vorontsov (1782-1856) was a Russian prince and field marshal, famous for his exploits in the Napoleonic wars and in the Caucasian wars. He died and was buried in Odessa.

The commemorative ceramic plate, with its depiction of the Vorontsov monument, is often replicated and reissued. No issue of the ceramic plate could have appeared prior to November 9, 1863, when the monument was unveiled for the first time in Odessa. Despite his rich imagination and mastery of kabbalistic teaching, it does not appear likely that R. Jonathan Eibeschuetz  (d. 1764) owned a commemorative plate that was issued in 1863 or later.

 I am deeply grateful to Rabbi Menachem Silber for bringing the Ha-Mevasser Kehilot account to my attention.

(All images may be enlarged by right-clicking and opening a new window. -S.)

 

A book burning in Galicia, Purim 1859

Here's an account of a book burning in Dobromil in the American Israelite (March 2, 1860), taken from Hamaggid (Jan. 5, 1860/10 Tevet 5620).

Interestingly, one of the books that is mentioned in the original Hebrew, but not the English, which only mentions books by Mendelssohn, is Agadat Arba Kosot by R. Solomon Pappenheim (and this one too).

Trivia

Where in rabbinic literature does the word "response" as in "responsum" occur? (And, it seems to me, ever so slightly, a hair inaccurately.)

'A Bon Mot of Mendelssohn' concerning a shul window donated by a less-than-honorable wealthy man.

From the Voice of Jacob December 23, 1841.

Revel on the "Signifigance of [a] Yeshiva in America"

In early 1924 Rabbi Dr. Bernard Revel published a piece called Signifigance of Yeshiva in America, meant to appear, I am sure, in as many media sources as would print it. Here is the article as printed in Newark's Jewish Chronicle, February 8, 1924.

Open pdf.

And thus we see that you could not get kosher veal in Holland in the late 18th century

Here's the story of a Dutch Jew named Levi and his cousin, a Jewish servant girl named Katrina, who converted to Christianity in or around 1799. Katrina worked for "respectable" Sephardim.

Look at Levi's brother's problem with kashrut.

From the 1817 issue of The Jewish Expositor, and Friend of Israel.

Have you seen that Jewess?

Here's a rather interesting 'missed connection' type of ad from 1869 in the New York Herald.

Pressburg reacts to the appointment of R. Samson Raphael Hirsch as Chief Rabbi of Moravia

Jewish Chronicle Nov. 12, 1847.

Can a man divorce his wife for wearing a sheitel cut in a flapper's style? From 1927.

One more.

This little piece, which is from the Jewish Chronicle via the JTA newswire, states that a man in Warsaw tried to divorce his wife on grounds that she did not dress tznius. She wore a sheitel, but it was cut in a 'boyish bob.' And her sleeves were too short. No dice, ruled the rabbi.

And in the tarte de-sasrei department, here is another JTA piece from 1924, recounting how an antisemitic French newspaper declared that the new fashion of the Flapper's bob is a Jewish conspiracy modeled on the sheitel and that head-shaving for gentile women was no doubt soon in store. I guess the aforementioned rav agreed with the Libre Parole.

The Chofetz Chaim as pogrom victim

This is Newark's Jewish Chronicle's account of a pogrom in Radin in 1922, and how it personally affected the Chofetz Chaim, who was dragged outside from his sickbed, and his pillows stolen by marauders.

On Litvaks

Here's a couple of interesting excerpts from the Jewish Chronicle - of Newark, New Jersey - from Nov. 16, 1928. The article was called "Lithuanian Jews Have Rich Culture As Their Heritage."

It also points out that "Lithuania, it is important to remember, is the only country in Europe where that are no assimilationists, so that it is no wonder that Zionism should have a stronghold there. . . . Today, despite enormous economic handicaps, Lithuanian Jewry retains its intellectual morale. It is the only country in the world where 95 per cent of the Jewish children are educated in Jewish schools, where they receive not only a Jewish but a general education as well." It also points out that 800 boys and girls study in Kovno University.

Be back soon

Don't worry!

The Hafla'ah's cherem on a bootlegged machzor

Here's a nice little interesting pamphlet published in Frankfurt AM in May 1805, publicizing the cherem on a man called Lemle Geiger's plan for a bootlegged version of Heidenheim's machzor, by order of the Hafla'ah, Frankfurt's Chief Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz (and seconded by various rabbis of other cities), complete with fiery curses. (link)

For more - or actually, less - on this fascinating episode, see p. 133 in Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums, Volume 44, in 'Materialen zu einer Biographie Wolf Heidenheims' by Louis Lewin (the rabbi, not the expert on peyote).

A Kol Nidrei alternative from the 1850s.

Are you still thinking about Kippur?

I forget to post Abraham Geiger's Kol Nidrei. Does anyone with a nice set of pipes (or even a not nice set) want to record a version of Kol Pishoai and post for us?

The original R. Zalman Leib Teitelbaum's rabbinic contract from 1841 ("בתוך הדרשה קיינען ניכט מקלל צו זיין או מבזה צו זיין הן בכלל והן בפרט")

Here is a translation of the 1841 rabbinical contract given by the community of Ujhely, Hungary to Rabbi Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, (1808-1883), also known as the Yetev Lev and the grandfather of the Satmar Rav, Rabbi Joel Teitelbaum. Apparently offered this seat at the time more out of respect for his grandfather then his own qualities (he was a young men then) this contract contains some interesting clauses (see, e.g, 4, 9 and 12).

From the article Rabbones Briefe by Rabbi Julius Rapoport in the April 11, 1914 issue of The Advocate: America's Jewish Journal (link). The article also included a translation of Rabbi Akiva Eger's rabbonus briefe from Posen, dated 100 years earlier.

At the end of this post is the original Hebrew, as well as its source and some discussion of it. Note how loose Rapoport felt he was entitled to play with this translation, renumbering, etc.

An interesting assortment of hand-picked chosen cities in an 18th century shul tool

Here's an interesting page from this calendar tool, printed in Leiden in 1756, for use in calculating the molad for kiddush ha-chodesh. What I find particularly interesting are the chosen cities, from Alexandria in Egypt to London to Lima, Peru to Siam to Paris. Warsaw and Stockholm are there, but not Vilna. Also of note is that the designation Yavan "Greece" is used instead of Russia (or Rusland).

Here is the title page, which gives the author as Raphael Halevi Hanover. From the stamps you can also see that while it ended up in the YIVO Library (and made it to New York, where it was scanned by hebrewbooks.org) but prior owners included the Library of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, S. J. Fuenn - it is inscribed as a gift from his father-in-law Mordechai Nathansohn - and another stamp which is hard to read, but I think may plausibly read Daniel Jaffeh, who is otherwise known as Daniel Itzig, famous 18th century Court Jew and patron of Jewish learning; he founded the Berlin beit hamidrash frequented by the Pri Megadim, Isaac Satanow, and others. But of course I can only read "Daniel," the fact that the Latin initials are "D. J." and that it looks like the Hebrew surname is three letters, which may be yud-heh-feh.

A Capuchin monk and a Jew walk into a bar; a joke from 1837.

Okay, maybe there was no bar. From Fraser's Magazine.

It is necessary to read about Saint Ursula.