Hebrew is generally considered to be, like ancient Syriac, Arabic, Greek
and Latin, a dead language, and yet it possesses so much flexibility, and
has, moreover, been enriched in modern times with so many new words,
phrases, and expressions that it has in some respects almost become
modernized. There are at the present day, both in the Old World and the
New, quite a respectable number of Hebrew periodicals, including a few
daily papers, which seem to enjoy considerable popularity and support
among a moderately large section of the Jewish reading public. These
constitute as a whole what may appropriately be termed modern Hebrew
journalism.
Modern Hebrew journalism has an interesting history of its own, and
likewise an intimate connexion with the rise and development of Neo-Hebrew
literature. It dates from the time when the sage of Berlin, as Moses
Mendelssohn is commonly called, began to issue his epoch-making German
translation of the Pentateuch, which made its first appearance in the year
1780. This translation was accompanied by an excellent Hebrew introduction
to the Bible, or rather to the five books of Moses, entitled
_O'r-La-netibah_ (אור לנתיבה), of which Mendelssohn was the author, and
likewise by an equally excellent commentary, now well known under the name
of _Biur_. Mendelssohn had several eminent Hebraists for co-operators in
the commentary, among whom may specially be mentioned Hartwig Wessely, the
renowned composer of the fine heroic poem, _The Mosaid_, called “Songs of
Glory” (שירי תפארת). The introduction and commentary were both
distinguished by their learning, as well as by the purity and freshness of
their style. They were thus a great advance on the earlier criticisms,
which were written in a Hebrew dialect that was a mere mumbling of a
decrepit tongue, and they attained great popularity among the cultured
community.
Among those who especially profited by these works were two clever young
Jewish students, called Isaac Euchel and Mendel Bresselau. They had both
enjoyed a Talmudical and academical training, and were tutors in the house
of the wealthy and cultured Friedländers, residing in Königsberg, in
Prussia, which city in those days stood in close literary relationship to
the Prussian capital. These young men, in 1782, resolved, in the interests
of Hebrew literature; to invite all the representative and cultured Jews
in the world to help to found and to support a Hebrew periodical, the
title of which was to be _The Gatherer_ (המאסף). This invitation was
readily accepted by many educated Jews living in Germany, Austria,
Holland, France, Italy, Russia and Poland. Thus encouraged they set to
work, and soon issued the first number of _The Gatherer_, which was the
progenitor of modern Hebrew journalism. This number contained a variety of
articles written almost exclusively in Hebrew, the most notable of which
were two biographical sketches, one dealing with Don Isaac Abrabanel
(1437–1509), and the other with Joseph del Medigo (1591–1655). There were
also a few charming Hebrew poems, including some anonymously contributed
by Moses Mendelssohn, and the well-known Hebrew wine-song by Solomon Ibn
Gabirol. Wessely contributed an article on Biblical exegesis, a subject
which had been sadly neglected by the Jews of that period. _The Gatherer_
thus started under happy auspices. It had been a bond of union between
Judaism and modern culture, so much so that some Christians of note saw in
it a powerful medium for educating the general mass of the Jewish people.
_The Gatherer_ continued to be issued for fourteen years (from 1783–97),
during which time it numbered among its contributors, in addition to those
already mentioned, several other masters of Hebrew style, among whom may
specially be mentioned Isaac Satanow, Ben-Zeeb, Joel Löwe, Aaron Halle,
Moses Ensheim, and David Franco Mendes, the author of the Hebrew
historical drama _Gemul Athalia_ (“The Punishment of Athalia”).
After its demise, nearly a quarter of a century elapsed before another
Hebrew periodical of the same stamp made its appearance. This was called
_Bikkurey Ha-Ittim_ (“The Firstling of the Times”), and was started in
Vienna (in 1820) by an able Hebraist, named Shalom Ha-Cohen. It had some
of the most eminent Hebrew scholars of the day among its regular
contributors, including Rapoport, Luzzatto, and Erter, the former of whom
published therein five biographies of prominent leaders of Judaism of the
Middle Ages, which gave an important impulse to the study of Neo-Hebraic
literature. Erter, the greatest of Hebrew humorists of modern times,
contributed some of his delightful sketches of Jewish life in the Ghetto.
After about twelve years the _Bikkurey Ha-Ittim_ ceased to appear, but a
little later another annual Hebrew magazine was first issued by
Goldenberg, and then by Senior Sachs, in Vienna and Prague respectively,
having _Kerem Chemed_ (“The Pleasant Vineyard”) for its title. This
publication was, like its two predecessors, largely devoted to the
promotion of the Hebrew language and literature, but its principal
interest was the study of Jewish history, which had been generally
neglected before. Its chief contributors were Rapoport, Zunz, and
Luzzatto, the last-named of whom published therein several valuable
extracts from rare Hebrew MSS. The _Kerem Chemed_ was, with regard to its
learned contents and the purity of its style, one of the best Hebrew
periodicals that has ever existed, but it only appeared for a period of
ten years, viz. from 1833 to 1843.
Noticeable also are the _Otzer Nechmad_ (“The Desirable Treasure”), which
was edited for a short time in Vienna by Ignatz Blumenfeld, and had Dukes,
Geiger, Steinschneider, Luzzatto, Carmoly, and Kirchheim as contributors;
the _Kochbey Yitzchak_ (“The Stars of Isaac”), issued for several years by
M. E. Stern, of Vienna; and the _Jeshurun_, of which the editor, Joseph
Kobak, of Lemberg, only published four insignificant numbers at irregular
intervals. But it cannot be said that their influence on Neo-Hebrew
literature had been very extensive. There were, however, two other
magazines, which, having some special characteristics of their own, and
being, moreover, of permanent literary value, are deserving of more than a
passing notice.
One of them was started (in 1852) in Vienna by O. H. Schorr, under the
title of _Ha-Chalutz_ (“The Armed One”), and it counted among its
contributors Krochmal, Geiger, Zunz, Steinschneider, and Erter. Though
chiefly dealing with the history of Jewish literature, the _Chalutz_ was,
as its title indicates, a Hebrew periodical with radical tendencies,
advocating extensive reforms in the Jewish ritual. The editor himself, a
highly learned man, devoted several articles to a consideration of certain
abuses and superstitions found in some of the Rabbinical writings, by
which pure Judaism was thought to have been disfigured. The essays were
distinguished by the vigour of their tone, their caustic humour, and their
amusing irony, and have served as a model to more than one writer of
modern Hebrew prose.
The other was called _Ha-Shachar_ (“The Dawn”), and made its first
appearance in Vienna in 1868, under the editorship of Peter (or Perets)
Smolensky, an excellent writer of classical Hebrew prose. His own sketches
were remarkable both for humour and pathos, and have a certain ring of
Thackeray about them. Among the contributors to _The Dawn_ may be noted
Rapoport, Jellinek, and Juda Löb Gordon (1830–92). The latter was an
excellent poet and humorist, whose collected Hebrew verses were published
in 1884 by Baron Ginsburg, of St. Petersburg, in memory of their deceased
author. Several of them had previously appeared in _The Dawn_, and as they
are pretty and rich in humour the following free prose translation of one
of them may serve here as an appropriate specimen. It has a highly
orthodox Russian Rabbi for its subject, and runs as follows:—
“On a sultry Sabbath afternoon a middle-aged Rabbi was sitting in his
study dozing over a large folio of the Talmud. Suddenly an extremely
religious member of his flock rushed in full of excitement, and told him
that a Jewish lad had just been caught in the act of desecrating the holy
Sabbath by carrying a watch in the open street. On hearing this shocking
news the Rabbi gave orders that the young culprit should at once be
brought into his presence, that he might receive his well-deserved
chastisement for openly breaking one of the Rabbinical laws. When the boy
was brought in, the Rabbi looked at him, and lo and behold! he was no
other than his own little son, who had furtively gone into the street,
carrying in his waistcoat pocket the watch which had been given to him as
a ‘Bar-Mitzwah^[178-1]’ present. The Rabbi was for a moment rather
perplexed, but soon a happy thought struck him, and turning abruptly to
the excited crowd of bystanders, he addressed them as follows:—‘Rabbothay’
(gentlemen), he said, ‘I have just come to the conclusion that my boy is
guiltless of the charge you have brought against him. For, had you been as
well versed in the Rabbinical writings as I am, you would have known that
a watch is but an ornament, which is allowed to be worn by a Jew or a
Jewess on a Sabbath day even in the open street. Thus my boy had only done
what was right, and therefore deserves no punishment whatever.’ When the
people left the Rabbi's house, a wit among them observed to his neighbour,
with a sly twinkle in his eye, that their ‘Rav’ was a cunning man, indeed,
and knew how to turn matters to his own advantage, or to that of his near
relatives. Thus, when a son-in-law of his ordered a cargo of citrons from
Corfu, the ‘Rav’ forbade the members of his flock on the Feast of
Tabernacles to use citrons grown in Palestine; and he also interdicted
them from buying any ordinary wine after one of his married daughters had
opened a shop for the sale of cheap raisin wine.”
As regards the numerous Hebrew periodicals, which appear in different
parts of the world, it is enough to say that, although they are not
without merit, it is impossible within the limits of a short sketch to do
more than mention a few of the more important. Three of them are here
selected as being specially worthy of note, on account of the fruitful
work which they have done and are still doing in various ways in the field
of Hebrew literature. The first to be considered are the three or four
volumes issued annually at Berlin (under the editorship of Prof. Dr. A.
Berliner) by the society _Mekitze-Nirdamim_, these being most useful
literary publications, though perhaps not exactly periodicals. This
society has, for instance, during the last few years brought out all the
admirable religious and secular poems of Jehudah Halevi^[179-1].
Equally useful and interesting is a monthly Hebrew periodical, entitled
_Ha-Shiloach_ (“The Messenger”), which was established in Berlin about
eight years ago by Asher Ginsberg, of Odessa. A good many articles have a
permanent literary value; others again, though less scientific, are
written in such excellent Hebrew that, like Erter's works, they may be
re-read with no diminution of pleasure.
The third Hebrew periodical that deserves special notice is _Ha-Magid_
(“The Narrator”), which has, however, lately ceased to exist. It was
started about half a century ago (in 1856) at Lyck, in Prussia, by the
late L. Silbermann, Rabbi of the Hebrew congregation of that town, who
issued it weekly with the laudable object of affording entertainment and
information on general topics to those of his co-religionists, who were
unable to read papers published in the vernacular^[180-1]. The number of
Jews of this description was, fifty years ago, fairly large, but has now,
thanks to the spread of general education, been greatly reduced. Several
Jewish _literati_ used to contribute articles, and the paper had in
consequence gradually become a medium for propagating a knowledge of
Hebrew literature among its numerous readers. Since then the Hebrew
vocabulary has been greatly developed and amplified in such a manner as to
be capable of describing not only the newest move in the politics of the
world, but also the latest invention in the field of practical science. It
is interesting to notice that there are at present three Hebrew daily
papers in circulation in Russia, viz. _Ha-Yom_, _Ha-Meliz_, and
_Ha-Zefira_, which were founded respectively by L. Kantor, A. Zedernbaum,
and C. Slonimsky.
Summarizing now the merits of modern Hebrew journalism it may be said that
they are far greater than is generally supposed. In fact, it has exercised
a beneficial and far-reaching influence upon a large section of the Jewish
community. For, not only has it enriched Hebrew literature with valuable
additions, but it has also familiarized its readers, through the medium of
translations, with some of the best-known ancient and modern works on
general science and literature.
Footnotes:
[178-1] ‘Confirmation.’
[179-1] Several other poems by the same author hitherto unknown have
recently appeared in a volume issued annually by another Hebrew literary
society, called “Achiasaph,” that was established some years ago in
Warsaw.
[180-1] To the _Magid_ several Jewish savants have contributed interesting
articles which have a permanent literary value. In the same Hebrew weekly
also appeared a number of humorous _makāmāt_ _à la_ Alcharizi, composed by
the author of the present volume. They were subsequently published in book
form by David Nutt, London, under the title of: _Zichronoth_, or
“Reminiscences of a Student of Jewish Theology.”