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HISTORY OF THE JEWS
by
HEINRICH GRAETZ
VOL. VI
CONTAINING A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR BY DR. PHILIP BLOCH
A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF JEWISH HISTORY
AN INDEX TO THE WHOLE WORK
[Illustration]
Philadelphia
The Jewish Publication Society of America
5717-1956
Copyright, 1898, by
The Jewish Publication Society of America
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be
reproduced in any form without permission in
writing from the publisher: except by a reviewer
who may quote brief passages in a review to be
printed in a magazine or newspaper.
Printed in the United States of America
PREFACE TO THE INDEX VOLUME.
With the Index Volume, the _Jewish Publication Society of America_
brings to a close the American edition of the “History of the Jews”
by Professor H. Graetz. A glance at the title-page and the table of
contents will show, that the celebrated historian cannot be held
directly responsible for anything this volume contains. The History
proper, as abridged under the direction of the author and translated
into English from the eleven volume German edition, is complete in five
volumes. In compiling this additional volume, the Publication Committee
was prompted by the desire to render the work readily available for
pedagogical purposes. To be of value to the general reader as well as
to the scholar, a work containing upwards of three thousand pages needs
to be equipped with indexes, tables, and helps of various kinds.
The importance of indexes can hardly be over-estimated. The English
jurist and writer who considered them so essential that he “proposed to
bring a Bill into Parliament to deprive an author who publishes a book
without an Index of the privilege of copyright” was not too emphatic.
In books of facts, such as histories, indexes are indispensable.
This has been fully recognized in the Society’s edition of Graetz’s
“History of the Jews.” Each of the five volumes, as it appeared, was
furnished with an adequate index. Yet there are two reasons justifying
and even requiring the compilation of a general index to the whole
work. The first is the reader’s convenience. All who use books to
any extent know the annoyance of taking volume after volume from the
shelf to find the desired information only in the last. In fact, the
separate indexes were compiled only because circumstances compelled the
publication of the single volumes at rather long intervals. The other
consideration is that Professor Graetz is the historiographer _par
excellence_ of the Jews. His work, at present the authority upon the
subject of Jewish history, bids fair to hold its pre-eminent position
for some time, perhaps decades. A comprehensive index to his work is,
therefore, at the same time an index to the facts of Jewish history
approximately as accepted by contemporary scholars--a sufficient reason
for its existence.
To make it a worthy guide to Jewish history in general, the index
necessarily had to be more than a mere compilation of the five separate
indexes. In the matter of the names of persons and places, accordingly,
the general index excels the others in the fullness and completeness
of the references. But its chief title to superiority over them lies
in its character as an Index of Subjects, illustrated by such captions
as _Blood Accusation_; _Conversions, forced_; _Coins_; _Emancipation
of the Jews_; _Bulls, Papal_; _Apostasy_ and _Apostates_; _Messiah_
and _Messianic_; _Bible_ under the headings _Law_, _Old Testament_,
_Pentateuch_, _Scriptures_, _Septuagint_, _Translations_, and
_Vulgate_; _Education_ under the headings, _Colleges_, _Rabbinical_
and _Talmudical_, _Law_, _Schools_, _Talmud_, and _Talmud Torah_.
These summaries will be suggestive, it is hoped, to the teacher of
Jewish history and to the student with sufficient devotion to the
subject to pursue it topically and pragmatically as well as in its
chronologic sequence. As an illustration of what use may be made of it,
the compiler has prefixed to the index a guide to the study of Jewish
history by means of the biographies of its great men, an apostolical
succession, as it were. Under the class-names there given, the names of
all persons of each class will be found grouped in the index. Again, if
it is desirable to trace out a topic, as, for instance, the development
of Hebrew grammar, or the cultivation of medicine among Jews, etc.,
the index is helpful by means of its lists of names of grammarians,
physicians, astronomers, historians, poets, etc., under these and
similar heads.
To facilitate its use, the student is urged to read the directions
preceding the index. Great difficulties attach to the systematic
arrangement of the names of persons connected with ancient and mediæval
history of all kinds. In Jewish history, even down to recent times,
these difficulties are largely increased by the comparatively late
introduction among Jews of family names in the accepted modern sense,
and by their introduction among Spanish Jews earlier than among the
others. The scheme adopted by Zedner, in his British Museum catalogue,
has been followed as far as the peculiarities of our author and his
subject, and its presentation in a modern language, permitted it. The
arrangement is not ideal, but every effort has been made to minimize
the difficulties.
In this preface, precedence has been given to the index, because, in
spite of the consensus of opinions among connoisseurs, the importance
of indexes and their usefulness are in some quarters still held to
stand in need of vindication. In the book, however, the first place
is occupied by a contribution whose value will be disputed by none,
namely, the Memoir of the author, the greatest historian of the Jews.
The Committee believes, not only that the public has a taste for
biographical studies, but that in this instance it will be pleased
with the choice of biographer, Dr. Philipp Bloch, rabbi of Posen,
a disciple of Graetz and for more than a quarter of a century his
intimate friend. Although not quite seven years have elapsed since
Graetz passed away, and many that were closely associated with him
are still among the living, it was not easy to find the man qualified
for the task of writing his biography. Graetz was not inclined to be
communicative about his early life or his emotional experiences. He had
met with disappointments that emphasized the reticence of his nature.
The venerable wife of the deceased historian was kind enough to put
all her husband’s literary remains at the disposal of the biographer,
who herewith acknowledges his deep obligation to her for the help
thus afforded his work. The greater part of material of this kind,
especially in the form of letters, Graetz burnt before his last change
of residence. But his interesting diary was spared. It was kept with
more or less regularity from 1832 to 1854, though for the latter part
of this period it is hardly more than a bald summary of events, and
the disappearance of loose leaves curtails the information that might
have been gathered from it. The biographer’s thanks are due also to the
Board of Curators of the Fränkel Bequests for kindly putting at his
service the documents in their archives bearing on Graetz’s connection
with the Breslau Jewish Theological Seminary, thus enabling him to
verify facts long in his possession. Dr. Bloch furthermore availed
himself of Dr. B. Rippner’s interesting brochure, “Zum siebzigsten
Geburtstage des Professors Dr. Heinrich Graetz,” and of Professor
Dr. David Kaufmann’s eloquent eulogy of his teacher, “H. Graetz, der
Historiograph des Judenthums.” The Committee believes, that in securing
the co-operation of Dr. Bloch it has been the instrument of eliciting
an important original contribution to Jewish biographical literature.
The Chronological Table is another feature of the volume to which
attention must be called. In the eighth volume of the German edition of
the “History,” Professor Graetz introduced a similar table, reciting
the succession of events from the Maccabæan struggle to the Expulsion
of the Jews from Spain and Portugal. The present analysis includes the
whole of Jewish history up to the year 1873 of this era. It assumes to
be nothing more than a summary of the “History of the Jews” by Graetz.
As no attempt has been made to indicate whether his conclusions are
endorsed by the scholars of our day, it becomes a duty to refer to the
vexed question of Biblical chronology. Since the time of Archbishop
Ussher (1580-1656)--not to mention the Talmudic _Seder Olam Rabba_--it
has been the subject of dispute, which is complicated by the various
eras, the Seleucidæan, the Roman, and the Era of the World, in use
among the Jews at different times. Even now the most diversified
opinions are held by scholars, and no system has met with general
acceptance. Graetz discusses the matter exhaustively in Note 19 of Vol.
I of the German original of his “History.” His researches led him to
oppose the results of the historians Niebuhr, Ewald, and Movers, and
of the Assyriologists Brandes, Smith, and Schrader. He inclines to the
views of Oppert, who applied the information derived from the Assyrian
inscriptions to the vindication of the Biblical chronology nearly
as determined by Ussher. Since Graetz wrote his note (1873), almost
amounting to a treatise, evidence for the one or the other opinion has
been strengthened or invalidated by the more minute and extended study
of the monuments, inscriptions, and other records of Egypt, Babylonia,
and Assyria. The reader interested in the subject is referred to the
works of such scholars as Duncker, Oppert, Kamphausen, and Eduard Meyer.
Finally, it is hoped, that the four maps accompanying the Index Volume
will meet with favor and frequent use. They have been inserted in
a pocket and not bound with the book, so that they may be removed
readily for reference in connection with any volume the student may
be reading. The two maps of Palestine and that of the Semitic World
are reproduced, with modifications, from Professor George Adam Smith’s
forthcoming Bible Atlas. The one of the Jewish-Mahometan World was made
for the Society by Mr. J. G. Bartholomew of the Edinburgh Geographical
Institute, the cartographer who drew the other three maps. The maps of
the Jewish-Mahometan World and the Semitic World are general reference
maps; the two of Palestine represent the political divisions of the
land, the one at the time of the Judges, the other at the time of Herod
the Great.
The Committee expresses the hope that this sixth volume, an epitome of
Jewish history, may “manifest its treasures,” “facilitate the knowledge
of those who seek it, and invite them to make application thereof.”
_March, 1898._
CONTENTS.
MEMOIR OF HEINRICH GRAETZ 1
TABLES OF JEWISH HISTORY.
Chronological Table 89
Table of the Kings of Judah and Israel 127
Table of the High Priests (from the Captivity to
the Dispersion) 128
Genealogical Table of the Hasmonæan Dynasty 130
Genealogical Table of the Herodian Dynasty 134
INDEX.
Index to the whole work 139
HISTORY OF THE JEWS.
MEMOIR OF HEINRICH GRAETZ.
I.
YOUTH.
The disruption and final partition of the Polish kingdom by its three
neighboring states occurred in 1795. With its dissolution a new era
began in the history of the numerous Jewish communities in that part
of the Polish territory which passed under Prussian and Austrian
sovereignty. The event that thus ushered them into the world of
Western civilization may justly be considered as marking for them the
transition from the middle ages to modern times. Prussia allowed no
interval to elapse between the act of taking possession of her newly
acquired domain and its organization. It was incorporated into the
state as the provinces of South Prussia and New East Prussia. But after
1815 the Prussian crown remained in possession only of the Grand Duchy,
or the Province, of Posen, the district that had constituted the kernel
of Great Poland. This piece of land was of extreme importance to the
Jews, being the home of the most numerous, the oldest, and the most
respectable congregations. It was situated at only a short distance
from the Prussian capital, to which it appeared to have been brought
still nearer by the organic connection established with the older parts
of the state. It was natural to expect that, in consequence of the
political union, the economic relations with Berlin, always close,
would become more intimate and more numerous, and would develop new
business advantages. On the other hand, the capital was viewed with
distrust as the home of the movement radiating from Mendelssohn and his
school, which aimed at something beyond the one-sided Talmud study then
prevalent, and strove to bring modern methods of education and modern
science within reach of the younger generation.
The rigorous system of organization by which the Polish districts were
placed upon a Prussian basis induced so radical a transformation of
all the relations of life that the Jews experienced great difficulty
in adjusting themselves to the new order of things. Opposition to the
state authorities and the economic conditions was futile; there was
nothing for it but to try to adapt oneself without ado. By way of
compensation, the efforts to keep religious practices and traditional
customs pure, untouched by alien and suspicious influences, in the
grooves worn by ancient habit, were all the more strenuous. Talmudic
literature was to continue to be the center and aim of all study and
science, and religious forms, or habits regarded as religious forms,
were not to lose an iota of their rigidity and predominance. The urgent
charge of the Prussian government to provide properly equipped schools
to instruct and educate the young in a manner in keeping with the
spirit of the times was evaded, now by subterfuges, now by promises.
But in the long run the influences of the age could not fail to make
themselves felt. Sparks from the hearth of the emancipation movement
were carried into the Province, and burst into flame in one of the
great congregations, that of the city of Posen, particularly proud and
jealous of the Talmudic renown and the hoary piety of its Ghetto.
The position of rabbi in Posen had become vacant, and in 1802 it
was proposed to fill it with Samuel ben Moses Pinchas from distant
Tarnopol, the brother of the deceased rabbi. He was the author of
בית שמואל אחרון {Hebrew: Beyt Shmuel Acharon}, and an arch-Talmudist of
the old stamp. Under the shelter of assumed names, a number of the
younger men ventured to send the government a protest against the choice
of an “uncouth _Polack_.” It was alleged that the mass of the people
favored him on account of
“the Kabbalistic fable which constructs a genealogy for this
Podolian that makes it appear that he belongs to the stock from
which the Jewish Messiah is to spring, etc.”
The government took the petition into consideration, and so informed
the signers. On account of the fictitious names the answer went astray.
Instead of reaching the petitioners, it fell into the hands of the
directors of the congregation and into those of the deputy rabbis, the
_B’ne Yeshiba_.
“They immediately assembled all so-called scholars and Talmud
disciples after the manner of the ancient Synhedrin, and invited
the parents, parents-in-law, and relatives of all persons suspected
of harboring heterodox ideas. Then they summoned each of us singly,
put him into the center of a terrifying circle of rough students,
and upbraided him in the following words, accompanied by the most
awful curses: ‘Thou devilish soul that hast vowed thyself unto
Satan! Thy appearance gives evidence of thy antipathy to our
statutes; thy shaved beard, thy apparel (thy Jewish garb is only
a sham), everything proves thee, thou impious one, a betrayer of
Jewish mysteries to Christians. Thou readest German books. Instead
of holy Talmud folios, thou keepest maps, journals, and other
heathenish writings concealed in thy attic. Therefore, confess thy
sin, that thou art one of the authors of the accursed memorial!
Do penance as we shall direct. Deliver up to us thy unclean books
immediately. Subscribe without delay to this sacred election of our
rabbi; else, etc., etc.’”[1]
The hotly contested election of the rigidly Talmudic yet none the less
gentle rabbi was carried, but no effort availed to check the spread
of the new spirit. Steadily though slowly modern views gained the
upper hand, and in 1816 a Jewish private school of somewhat advanced
standing was successfully established in Posen. Now and again men of
independent fortune mustered up courage to send their children to the
_Gymnasium_ or to the higher Christian schools, of which, to be sure,
not a large number existed at the time. In 1824 the state interfered,
and ordered the establishment of German elementary schools in all the
Jewish communities of the Province giving evidence of vitality. The
situation now assumed a peculiar aspect. General culture, acquaintance
with the classic literature of Germany, France, and England, came to be
esteemed an accomplishment and a personal charm; yet beyond the three
R’s the rising generation was not given the opportunity of acquiring a
general education. On the contrary, the desire was to limit study to
that of rabbinic and Hebrew writings. In the larger communities, like
Posen and Lissa, the centers of Talmud study, a conscious effort was
made to frighten off young people, especially Talmud disciples, from
the acquisition of secular culture. It should be mentioned, however,
that in many of the smaller communities the longing for education
was encouraged as much as possible. So it came about that the highly
endowed, ambitious spirits of that generation in the Province had
to struggle most bitterly and painfully to make headway. But their
hardships were counterbalanced by the advantages they derived from the
conflict. Their intellectual energy and self-reliance came forth from
the contest steeled. Impregnated as almost all of them were with the
spirit of the Talmud, they had pierced to its essence, and, filled with
enthusiasm for the rabbinical heroes, they had breathed in devotion to
the ideals of Judaism.
This was the soil upon which Heinrich Graetz grew up, and such were the
conditions and agencies moulding the development of a man destined to
create an historical work, at once monumental and popular; embracing
thousands of years, the most widely separated regions, and the most
diversified fields of human activity; retracing with all the resources
of learning and ingenuity the magic, faded, illegible characters of the
evolution of Judaism, and illuminating them with colors of fairy-like
brilliance;--an historical work, which, by reason of the warmth of its
narrative style, has come to be a book of edification, in the best
sense of the word, unto the author’s brethren-in-faith.
Heinrich Hirsch Graetz was born October 31 (Cheshwan 21), 1817, in
Xions (pronounced Kshons), a wretched little village of 775 inhabitants
in the eastern part of the Province of Posen. In a family of two
brothers and one sister he was the first-born. His father, Jacob
Graetz, was a man of tall stature, who, dying in 1876, reached an age
of over ninety years. His mother, Vogel, of the family of Hirsch of
Wollstein, was of average height and robust physique, with lustrous
gray eyes. She died in 1848 only fifty odd years old. To her the son
showed most resemblance, both spiritually and physically. A little
butcher-shop yielded them an honest but paltry livelihood. In the
hope of improving their material condition, the family removed to
Zerkow, a few miles off, some years after Heinrich’s birth. At the
time the village contained not more than 800 inhabitants, among them a
single person able to read, a real estate owner, to whom all letters
were carried to be deciphered on the open street in solemn public
assembly.[2] But the Jewish congregation consisted of one hundred
members, and a remarkable increase in the population of the little town
seemed to give fair promise of a prosperous future. It is worthy of
mention, besides, that the scenery of Zerkow, wreathed round with hill
and stream, forest and meadow, is not so flat and unattractive as that
of most parts of the Province.
Here the boy received his first impressions, and here he enjoyed his
first instruction in a school distinguishable from a genuine _Cheder_
only inasmuch as it began in a measure to accommodate itself to the
modest demands made by the government upon a Jewish primary school.
He was taught reading, writing, ciphering, and the translation of the
Bible. Great love of study and marked talent became apparent in him;
he was therefore introduced to a knowledge of Hebrew and the Talmud.
When he was confirmed at thirteen, the age at which the boys of that
period were in the habit of deciding definitely on their careers, his
parents did not for a moment question the propriety of continuing
their son’s intellectual training. It would have been most natural to
send him to Posen, where a popular Talmud school was flourishing under
the direction of the highly esteemed Chief Rabbi Akiba Eger. But his
parents’ means were too slender to suffice for his maintenance, and
shyness and pride prevented young Graetz from making his way after the
fashion of beggar students. There was but one course, to send him to
Wollstein, where his mother had sisters and other relatives. Though
by no means possessed of great wealth, they were willing to give him
assistance. The Wollstein sojourn proved eminently favorable to his
development. The town, situated in the western part of the Province,
was not destitute of natural charms, to which the boy’s impressionable
mind eagerly responded. The population, chiefly German, numbered
2258 persons, among them 841 Jews,[3] by no means an inconsiderable
congregation. Besides, it was in fairly comfortable circumstances. It
had always taken pride in maintaining a Talmud school, which, at the
time of Graetz’s advent, was distinguished for the liberal, enlightened
spirit pervading it and the active encouragement accorded its students
in their desire for culture. Rumor had it that the rabbi, Samuel Samwel
Munk, who had been called from Bojanowo to Wollstein at the beginning
of the century, knew how to read and write German, and was in the
habit of reading German books and even journals in the hours that are
“neither day nor night.” At all events, he did not put obstacles in
their way, when his disciples, spurring each other on in the impetuous
rivalry of youth for pre-eminence, sought to slake their thirst for
secular knowledge.
Graetz arrived in Wollstein at the end of the summer of 1831, fourteen
years old. At that youthful age, the _Bachur_ had ventured to
undertake, in a Hebrew far from perfect, it must be confessed, a work
on the calendar entitled, “חשבון העתים {Hebrew: Cheshbon Ha’itim},
Jewish and German Chronology.”[4] He was a zealous attendant upon the
rabbi’s Talmudic lectures, and derived great profit from them. His
teacher conceived a lively and kind interest in him, as well as a high
opinion of his ability, though he did not suspect his future eminence.
Rabbinic studies did not occupy his mind to the exclusion of other
pursuits. Inextinguishable thirst for knowledge had taken possession of
him, and all books that fell in his way were read with avidity. Most of
the available literature consisted of romances of chivalry, of the kind
in vogue at that time. Among them “Raspo of Felseneck,” now completely
forgotten, made a particularly deep impression upon him. Reproved by
one of his patrons, and provided with more suitable books by him, he
read with keen enjoyment Campe’s narrative and moral writings. At the
same time historical books began to attract him strongly. Though he had
to confess to himself, somewhat crestfallen, that he did not understand
the greater part of what he read in them, he studied Bredow’s short
compendium of universal history, Becker’s large work on the same
subject, and a biography of Napoleon. He soon realized the necessity
of acquiring Latin and French. Without teacher, without guidance,
without counsel other than that afforded by like-minded companions, he
devoted himself to Meidinger’s French grammar and later to Bröder’s
Latin grammar, until he had gotten all between their covers by heart.
He was overjoyed when he could begin to read the classic writers of
foreign countries in their own languages. In his zeal, he permitted
himself to be governed by chance. Whatever fortune played into his
hands, he grasped at with instantaneous ardor, and pursued with
sporadic industry. He picks up a translation of Euclid, for instance.
At once he devotes himself to it heart and soul, difficult though he
finds it to gain a clear notion of geometric concepts and methods.
An itinerant rabbi from Poland, offering his own commentary upon the
Book of Job for sale, comes to Wollstein, and meets with appreciation
and respect. Reason enough for the enthusiastic and ambitious Talmud
disciple to take interest in nothing but Bible exegesis and Hebrew
grammar for months thereafter. Keen, discriminating love of nature,
to whose attractions he remained susceptible until his last days,
develops in him. He spares no effort to acquaint himself with the flora
of his native province and with the mysteries of the starry heavens.
Success was a foregone conclusion with one whose equipment consisted
of miraculously quick comprehension, a retentive memory, and industry
oblivious of all but its object; coupled with an iron constitution and
indestructible working powers, not in the least impaired by lack of
food and sleep.
Despite his modest demands, he constantly had to battle against want
and distress. His nature was proud, self-reliant, and, it must be
admitted, unpractical. An exaggerated sense of honor forbade his
seeking help even when a petition would have been justified. He
preferred to conceal his troubles. For example, he ate dry bread
on many a Sabbath, a day on which it was considered a privilege to
entertain Talmud disciples. Regardless of wind and weather, he would
slip off into the country, a book in his pocket, in order not to reveal
his helpless condition. Finally, in spite of his secretiveness, some
friend or other discovered his plight, and found ways and means of
relieving his distress. Of sanguine temperament, he sought and found
consolation in books. Graetz managed to read and study an amazing
quantity in the four years and a half of his Wollstein sojourn. His
most determined efforts were applied to the acquisition of the French
language and literature, his favorite studies, at that time ranking
high in the scale of accomplishments. The more important works of
Fénelon, Voltaire, Rousseau, and others, and the dramas of Racine and
Victor Hugo he knew thoroughly. He had read Lessing, Mendelssohn,
Schiller, and other classic writers of Germany, and was attracted
particularly to Wieland, to whose works he devoted earnest attention.
It is curious that the diary which he then kept does not contain a
single reference to Goethe, as if by chance or for some reason he had
remained in ignorance of the great poet’s works. On the other hand,
he became acquainted towards the end of the Wollstein period with the
writings of Börne, Heine, and Saphir, which vivified the proneness
to irony and satire dormant in him. The Latin authors gave him most
trouble. Yet he mastered Cornelius Nepos, Curtius, and several books
of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and of Virgil’s Æneid. That he accomplished
extensive reading of rabbinic literature at the same time, and did
not neglect his Talmudic studies, is attested by the distinction with
which Rabbi Munk honored Graetz, much to his surprise. At New Year
5595 (October, 1834), he was invested with the title _Chaber_, a
degree conferred only upon most worthy and most rarely endowed Talmud
disciples of his youthful age.
But now fermentation set in, and white flakes began to rise to the
surface of the young wine. Wholly self-taught, he had devoted himself
to reading without plan or method, following blind chance or humoring
his whims. In this way he had laid up a store of knowledge, promiscuous
as well as rich. A chaotic mixture of irreconcilable, disparate ideas
and opinions surged through his head, and excited tumultuous commotion
in his world of thought and feeling. In November, 1835, the following
entry was written in his diary:
“By the various contradictory ideas that perplexed my
brain--heathen, Jewish, and Christian, Epicurean, Kabbalistic,
Maimonidian, and Platonic--my faith was made so insecure that, when
a notion concerning God, eternity, time, or the like, assailed me,
I wished myself into the abyss of the nether world.”
Although his humor and his opinions were somewhat unsettled, he by
no means had drifted from his moorings. The existence of God and the
immortality of the soul were the fixed poles of his emotional world to
which he clung. Another entry a little further on in his diary says:
“Like furies such thoughts tugged at my heart-strings, when, as
often happened, they arose, suggested by my poverty as well as by
certain classes of books. Only the clear, star-studded sky, upon
which my eyes were wont to rest with delight on Saturday evenings
after sundown, renewed the blessed comforting consciousness in me:
Yes, there is a God beyond the starry canopy!”
On the other hand, he began to chafe against the daily religious
practices of Judaism, which he had always observed with scrupulous
conscientiousness, as he had been taught to do. Even then he did not
neglect them, but he was offended by the multiplicity of ceremonies and
still more by the petty, poor-spirited, unæsthetic manner in which the
people among whom he lived observed them. They no longer were religious
observances; they were habits. Attributing the responsibility for these
conditions to the Talmud, he bore it ill-will. His repugnance grew
whenever he contrasted its style and method with those of the great
works of literature with which he had recently become conversant.
Comparisons of this kind did not serve to enhance the credit of the
rabbinic collection with him. There was another cause for irritation.
Up to that time he had lived, or rather studied, heedless of practical
concerns. Now his parents and relatives were probably beginning to
urge upon him the necessity of considering the choice of a vocation
or of turning to professional studies. So just a demand he could not
disregard, especially in the sensitive state of mind in which he then
found himself. Often he brooded over the question, “What next?” and
elaborated the most bizarre plans only to reject them. A seemingly
slight incident occurred which quelled the commotion in his breast. His
craft, helplessly driving among perilous crags, was guided into smooth
waters by a little book appearing just then under the title, “אגרת צפון
{Hebrew: Igeret Tzafon}, Nineteen Letters on Judaism, published by Ben
Usiel.”[5]
The partisans of the reform movement, who proposed to remodel or set
aside religious customs and traditional observances of historical
Judaism as incompatible with modern life, had up to that time
maintained the upper hand in the literary discussion of religious
affairs. They were exerting constantly increasing attraction upon
the younger generation, and were growing bolder and more impetuous
in their propaganda for the obliteration, as far as possible, of
religious peculiarities. Bent upon the preservation of old faith and
custom unimpaired, their opponents had at first refused to make any
concession whatsoever to the modern demands, and had even failed to
provide themselves with new weapons of defense. When the movement
assumed threatening dimensions, the conservatives faced it unprepared
and impotent. Bewildered strangers in the great world, habituated
to the social forms of the Ghetto, enmeshed in the web of Talmudic
ideas, they were wholly unable to put up an efficient leader or
regenerator. Suddenly that which had long been painfully lacking seemed
to incorporate itself in a young theologian. In the above-mentioned
anonymous work, “Nineteen Letters,” Samson Raphael Hirsch, rabbi at
Oldenburg, championed the undiminished value of all religious usages
with skill, eloquence, and intrepidity. His manner held out the hope
that he would breathe a new spirit into the old forms. The boldness
of the work in frankly presenting this point of view with all the
consequences springing therefrom produced the effect of a sensational
occurrence upon the Jewish public. Into the mind of Graetz, casting
about for an anchor for his disturbed feelings, it fell like a flash
of lightning, revealing the path to be followed in the search for his
ideals. He reports:
“Often I spoke of it [religious doubt] to B. B., the only one to
whom I could tell my thoughts on such subjects. Then he would
allege the urgent necessity for reforms in view of the gradual
decay of religion. But I realized, that reform, that is, the
omission of a number of laws organically interwoven with the rest,
would abrogate the whole Law. How delighted I therefore was with
a new book, ‘אגרת צפון {Hebrew: Igeret Tzafon}, Nineteen Letters
on Judaism, _anonymous_,’ in which a view of Judaism I had never
before heard or suspected was defended with convincing arguments.
Judaism was represented as the best religion and as indispensable
to the salvation of mankind. With avidity I devoured every word.
Disloyal though I had been to the Talmud, this book reconciled me
with it. I returned to it as to a mistress deemed faithless and
proved true, and determined to use my utmost effort to pierce to
its depths, acquire a philosophical knowledge thereof, and, as many
would have me believe that I might become a so-called ‘rabbi-doctor
of theology’ (_studirter Rabbiner_), publicly demonstrate its truth
and utility. I set about my task at once, beginning with the first
folio ברכות {Hebrew: Berachot} and the first Book of Moses. I dwelt
upon every point with pleasure, treating them not as remnants of
antiquity, but as books containing divine help for mankind. My
endeavor was materially advanced by the knowledge I had acquired
here, among other things of theology, which only now I learned to
esteem as a branch of science; of geometry--I had studied nearly
the whole of the first three books of Euclid; and of history.”
After that he could not content himself with life in Wollstein; the
place had nothing more to offer him. The resolution to quit the town,
which had grown into his heart as his second home, was facilitated by
the removal of an uncle, depriving him of his strongest support; by
the usual disappointment and revulsion of feeling following the usual
extravagance of a youthful, fantastic love-affair; and by conflicts
with companions and patrons, caused to some extent doubtless by the
disharmonious state of his mind and aggravated by tittle-tattle. But
whither was he to turn to satisfy the yearnings of his soul? He decided
on Prague, the Mecca of the young Jewish theologians of the day, “a
city most famous for learning, hospitality, and other virtues.”
II.
THE APPRENTICE.
Graetz left Wollstein in April, 1836, and went to Zerkow to acquaint
his parents with his intentions and consult with them. Letters of
recommendation to families in Prague were obtained, and his parents
and other relatives made up a small purse for him. Graetz secured a
passport, packed his modest belongings in a handbag, and set out on his
journey in high spirits. Partly afoot, partly by stage when the fare
was not forbidding, he made his way to Breslau, and thence through
the Silesian mountains to the Austrian boundary, which he reached not
far from Reinerz. Here, though he was fortified with a passport, the
frontier inspector, like a cherub with a flaming sword, opposed his
entrance into Austria. He was unable to produce ten florins ($5) cash,
the possession of which had to be demonstrated by the traveler who
would gain admission to the land of the double eagle, unless he came
as a passenger in the mail-coach. Dismayed our young wanderer resorted
to parleying, and appealed to his letters of recommendation. In vain;
the official would hear of no compromise. Too proud and inflexible to
have recourse to entreaty or trickery, Graetz grimly faced about, and
much disheartened journeyed as he had come, over the same road, back
to Zerkow. His parents were not a little astonished at his return, and
equally rejoiced to have their son with them for some time longer. The
adventure may be taken as typical of the curious mishaps that befell
him in practical life, particularly at the beginning of his career.
They often cut him to the quick, but never shook his belief in his
lucky star. His originative and impressionable nature carried with it
the power of discerning important points of view and valid aims, but he
seems to have been too far-sighted and impetuous to lay due stress upon
the means and levers necessary for the attainment of ends.
For the moment he sought to drown remembrance of his abortive journey
in study. He became absorbed in Latin works; he read Livy, Cicero’s _de
natura deorum_, which compelled his reverential admiration, Virgil’s
Æneid, and the comedies of Terence. Besides, he busied himself with
Schrökh’s universal history and with his Wieland, whose “Sympathies,”
“Golden Mirror,” and other works “delighted, refreshed, and fascinated”
him “inexpressibly.” The Talmud and Hebrew studies claimed no less
attention; he was especially zealous about the exegesis of the Earlier
Prophets. Downcast by reason of the uncertainty of his future, and his
scorn piqued by the pettiness and narrow-mindedness of his provincial
surroundings, he found an outlet for his restlessness in all sorts of
wanton pranks, such as high-spirited youths are apt to perpetrate in
their “storm and stress” period. He ridiculed the rabbi, played tricks
on the directors of the congregation, annoyed the burgomaster, always
escaping unpunished, and even horrified his parents by accesses of
latitudinarianism, such as the following. On the day before the eve
of the Atonement Day, it is a well-known custom for men to swing a
living rooster and for women to swing a living hen several times about
their heads. At the same time a short prayer is recited, pleading
that the punishment due for the sins committed by the petitioner be
transferred to the devoted fowl. At the approach of the holy season,
Graetz announced that he would certainly not comply with the _Kapores_
custom, but his words were taken to be idle boastfulness. The fateful
evening came, and the seriocomic celebration was long delayed by the
non-appearance of the eldest son. The father’s wrath was kindled,
and he threatened to burn all books other than Hebrew found in the
possession of his heretic offspring. The mother set out to search
everywhere for her erring son. When she finally found him, he went home
with her in affectionate obedience, but nothing could induce him to
manipulate the rooster in the customary way. Unswung and uncursed the
bird had to be carried to the butcher, and only on the following day a
touching reconciliation was effected.
After the Fast, a bookdealer at Wollstein, a friend of his, who usually
kept him informed about new books on Jewish subjects, sent Graetz the
“Nineteen Letters by Ben Usiel,” which he had longed to possess. The
book again electrified him, and he conceived the idea of offering
himself as a disciple to its author, whose identity had meantime been
revealed. Samson Raphael Hirsch appeared to him to be the ideal of a
Jewish theologian of the time and of the confidence-inspiring teacher
for whom he had yearned, to obtain from him guidance and, if possible,
a solution of the manifold problems occupying his mind. Accordingly,
Graetz wrote to the District Rabbi (_Landesrabbiner_) of Oldenburg. He
did not conceal his views, but clearly and frankly laid bare the state
of his feelings and the course of his intellectual development. He was
successful. After a short time, Hirsch addressed the following letter
to him:
“My dear young Friend:--With pleasure I am ready to fulfill, as far
as in me lies, the wish expressed in your letter to me. You know
the sentence of our sages, יותר משעגל רוצה לינק הפרה רוצה להניק
{Hebrew: Yoter mishe’egel rotzeh linak, haparah rotzah l’hanik},[6]
and if, as I should gladly infer from your letter, the views
therein expressed are more than an evanescent mood; if it is your
resolute determination to study _Torah_ for its own sake, you are
most cordially welcome, and I shall expect to see you after
פסח הבע''ל {Hebrew: Pesach haba aleynu l’tovah}.[7] But I have one
request to make. In the ardor of your feelings, you have conceived
an ideal picture of the author of the ‘Letters’ by far exceeding
the real man in size. Reduce the picture by half, by three-fourths,
indeed, and ask yourself whether you are still attracted by it. Do
not expect to find an accomplished master, but a student occupied
with research. If your heart still says _yes_, then come. I should
like to be informed as soon as possible, whether I may expect
you after _Pessach_, as I shall have to modify another relation
accordingly. Be kind enough, too, if you have no objection, to
let me know how you expect to support yourself here. I trust that
you will neither take umbrage at this question nor misconstrue
it. It was put only because I wanted to express my willingness to
assist you as much as I can during your stay here, if it should
be necessary. Therefore, I beg you to be as frank and unreserved
in your answer as I ventured to be in my question. With kindest
regards, etc.
OLDENBURG, December 26, ’36.”
To this letter Graetz replied, that he did say “yes” from the bottom
of his heart; that it was his dearest ambition to devote himself to
genuine Judaism and its doctrines; that he especially desired to learn
the methods of Talmud study, particularly of the _Halakha_, pursued
by a man whom he admired profoundly; that as for his livelihood, the
satisfaction of the most elementary needs sufficed for him; and that
his parents would give him a small allowance.
In answer thereto, the formal invitation to come to Oldenburg was
extended by Hirsch on February I, 1837. He offered Graetz board and
lodging in his own house, with the understanding that his parents would
provide for other needs, and he expected his disciple after Passover
(in May). Wishing to visit relatives on the way and see the sights of
Berlin and Leipsic, Graetz set out as early as the beginning of April.
In Berlin the museum and the picture-gallery made a deep impression
upon him. That he was a remarkably sharp observer is shown in the
following accurate characterization of the preacher Solomon Plessner,
with whom he became acquainted in Berlin:
“This famous man I also visited, and I found attractive features
indicative of acuteness, but a neglected exterior and careless,
ungrammatical speech, not guiltless of the Jewish sing-song
(_mauscheln_). This surprises me, for his language in his sermons
is pure and choice. He is between forty and fifty years old, wears
a beard, and seems to be honestly and genuinely religious. But his
manner is excited; he speaks with rapid utterance, all the while
running to and fro and arranging his books absent-mindedly.”
In Leipsic he visited his countryman Fürst, concerning whom he reports:
“A little man whose face was familiar to me from my childhood days
came towards me. I handed him the letter given me by his mother.
He said indifferently: I shall write in a few days. But when I
told him the goal and purpose of my journey, and showed him the
letters [from Hirsch], his attitude changed, and he talked with
me in a very friendly way. Finally, when he recognized that I
was not an ignoramus, he confided several matters to me, told me
about his scientific adversaries, and boasted that he had taught
Gesenius, that he had become reconciled with Ewald, that the
greatest scholars corresponded with him, etc.... Our conversation
grew more and more confidential, and finally we parted as friends.
He invited me to visit him again, if I changed my mind and staid
over פסח {Hebrew: Pesach}.... In case I did not remain, I had
to promise that I would enter into correspondence with him....
I was particularly pleased to find, that Fürst has no intention
of accepting baptism, and that he means to promote the cause of
Judaism.... To work for Judaism, he says, is the prime obligation
of every Jew that devotes himself to study, by which he means
strictly scientific, possibly also philologic study.”
In order not to fritter away all his time while traveling, Graetz
began to study Greek, and the Greek conjugations served to beguile
dreary hours, banishing remembrance of the mishaps that could not
fail to befall one with straitened means on so long a journey, and
counteracting the despondency which in consequence often seized upon
him. In a miserable village, in which he was forced to spend a whole
day on account of the Sabbath, he found a copy of the New Testament,
and read it for the first time. He describes the impression made upon
him by this first reading in the following words:
“Despite the many absurdities and inconsistencies, the mildness
of the character of Jesus attracted me; at the same time I was
repelled, so that I was altogether confused.”
On May 8, finally, he arrived in Oldenburg, where a new world opened
before him.