Fables in Jewish Culture: The Jon A. Lindseth Collection [second edition] 9781501775833, 9781501775840

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FABLES IN JEWISH CULTURE: THE JON A. LINDSETH COLLECTION

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[f-0178] Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula, The Fable of the Ancient. A book containing beautiful sayings named the fable of the ancient. Venice: Meir ben Jacob Parenzo, [1546], fol. 6r, depicting above the king (the lion) and his courtiers, the stag and the fox.

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FABLES IN JEWISH CULTURE JEWISH CULTURE THE JON A. LINDSETH COLLECTION Emile Schrijver and Lies Meiboom In cooperation with Sabine Arndt, Arndt, Hadewijch HadewijchDekker, Adri Offenberg (1938–2019), DorothéeDorothée Irving, Dekker, Adri Offenberg (1938–2019), David Kromhout, and Falk Wiesemann Irving, David Kromhout, and Falk Wiesemann With contributions by (1909–1999), Marion Aptroot, David Daube (1909–1999), Simona Gronemann, Raphael Loewe (1919–2011), Emile Schrijver, David Stern, Heide Warncke, and Irene Zwiep

Cornell University Library Ithaca, New York 2023 2022

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Copyright © 2023 Cornell University All essays copyright © the authors or their estates. All other material copyright © Emile Schrijver and Lies Meiboom All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, contact: Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library, 2B60 Kroch Library, Ithaca, New York, 14853-5302. Attention: Cornell University Library Publications Title page illustration: [f-1265] Unsigned illustration from H. Hirsh, Fables. Montreal (Canada): “Keneder Odler” Publishing Company, 1918. Cover illustration [f1296] Title page illustration from Fox Fables by Berechiah ha-Nakdan. Berlin (Germany): n.p., 1756. Cover illustrations from item 72: Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula (b. 1244), ‫משל†הקדמוני‬Ɔ‫[ †ספר†סופר†אמרי†שפר†נקרא משל†הקדמוני‬The Fable of the Ancient. A book containing beautiful sayings named The Fable of the Ancient]. Venice (Italy): Meir ben Jacob Parenzo [1546]

second edition First published 2023 by Cornell University Library Printed in the United States of America isbn 978-1-5017-7583-3

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Dedicated to the Memory of

ERNEST L. STERN Cornell Class of 1956 His family escaped Germany just in time.

And to the Memory of

YOSEF GOLDMAN The bookseller who found most of the books in this collection. He was a great bookman.

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“To give prudence to the simple, to the young knowledge and discretion” Fox Fables. By Berechiah ha-Nakdan. Mantua, 1557. From Proverbs 1:4

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Table of Contents Editorial Note 9 Jon A. Lindseth, Collector’s Foreword Emile Schrijver, Preface 14

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ESSAYS Emile Schrijver, Reflections on Fables and Jewish Literature 17 David Stern, Fables in the Hebrew Bible and in Rabbinic Literature 28 Raphael Loewe, Foxes, Fables, and Gender-Change—Mashal and Paroimia 39 Marion Aptroot, Fables in Yiddish Literature 45 Irene Zwiep, The Fable and the Problem of Jewish Literature 54 David Daube, Ancient Hebrew Fables: The Inaugural Lecture of the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies 66 Simona Gronemann, The Sephardic Meshal ha-Kadmoni as an Ashkenazic German Manuscript (ms. Heb. 107, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek) 81

CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ Bibliographical Principles, by Emile Schrijver 96 Annotated Catalogue, by Emile Schrijver and Lies Meiboom 105 Bibliography of Fables in Jewish Literature, by Heide Warncke 455

APPENDICES 1. Abbreviations 489 2. Index of Individual Fables 490 3. Index of Authors 495 4. Index of Editors and Translators 499 5. Index of Printers, Publishers, and Financiers

501

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6. Index of Titles in English or in English Translation 7. Index of Full Titles in Hebrew Script 512 8. Index of Full Titles in Latin Script 530 9. Index of Printing Places 534 10. Index of Languages 537 11. Index of Illustrated Books 539 12. Letter from Jack V. Lunzer 541 Notes on Contributors General Index 547 Colophon 565

507

542

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EDITORIAL NOTE

The essays and other preliminaries in this book, along with the bibliography, are generally in accordance with the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition (University of Chicago Press, 2017). The book is for the academic, the general reader, and anyone interested in fables or Jewish culture. For the descriptive rules applied in this catalogue, see the “Bibliographical Principles” by Emile Schrijver (p. 96). The Hebrew and Yiddish transliterations are explained in the “Bibliographical Principles.” Where authors and publishers have used another transliteration system, different spellings may occur. The Fable books are all identified with an “f-number.” In the Lindseth collection all fable books on any subject were numbered in the sequence acquired for ease in identification. This book will be published in a print-on-demand version and may also be published online at a future date.

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Collector’s Foreword JON A. LINDSETH

T

o my knowledge this is the first analysis of the use of fables by Jewish writers over more than two millennia. The idea for it originated in May 1990 when I received a phone call from Judy Lowry of Argosy Book Store and Swann Auction Galleries in New York alerting me to an important fable book being auctioned that June: the third edition of Meshal ha-kadmoni (as transliterated from the Hebrew), published in Venice in 1546. Only two copies of the first edition were known, she informed me, and no copy of the second had been seen at auction in years. The Fable of the Ancient, as the title translates into English, is the first Hebrew printed book on any subject with illustrations, containing 80 unusual woodcuts. As a fable book it was important to me as I collect fables in any language, by any author, from any period, country, or culture. At that time my large collection of fables included no Jewish books in Hebrew or any other Jewish language. Being a collecting completist, I bought the book. It was a reasonable assumption that if there was one Jewish book containing fables there were others, so I started to search. My first step was to consult the listing under “Hebraica and Judaica” in the directory of the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America (abaa). I was surprised to find just a handful of dealers listed and I contacted them all. The few who responded said they knew of no such thing as a Jewish fable book. Over the next three years I had little luck. I found only six more books, two at auction and four in dealers’ catalogues. But then in late 1993, Judy suggested I contact a Brooklyn, New York, specialist in Hebrew printed books by the name of Yosef Goldman (1942–2015). He and I talked on the phone that December and he seemed interested. I told him that even just one fable in a book would qualify. He asked for my definition of a fable and for examples and promised to look. As time went on, we talked occasionally but little happened. He sold me five books in 1994 and only one in 1995. But then in April 1996, I received an encouraging letter. Goldman now understood that material he knew well in the Bible, the Talmud, and Midrash contained fables as I defined them. So these became Jewish fable books for the purpose of my collection. He closed his letter by writing: “Hopefully, within two weeks I will have catalogued about thirty books and we will have a clearer understanding of the development of Jewish fables.” And then a great flood of books began. Goldman sold me 116 books in 1996 and 119 in 1997. More followed, including several incunables (printed with movable type before January 1, 1501)— the Soncino, 1485, Neviʾim rishonim [Former Prophets], being most notable for it contains the first printing in Hebrew of the fables in Judges, Samuel, and Kings. In Judges the “Fable of the Trees” deals with the rise of Abimelech, who ruled Israel for three years. This ancient fable, depicting an event dating more than 500 years before Aesop (c. 620–564 bce), is likely preceded only by fables written by the Sumerians and possibly the story of Balaam and his talking she-ass

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from the Book of Numbers (which either is or is not a fable, depending on one’s point of view). The first entry in this catalogue is a Torah scroll from Northern Italy on Italian parchment in a French Ashkenazic hand and dates to the first quarter of the 15th century according to its cataloguer, Schlomo Zucker of Jerusalem. (Keeping with my policy I date it to the first year of that quarter, i.e., c. 1401.) It is an enormously fascinating and important manuscript in its own right but is included in this collection because of the Balaam story in the Book of Numbers. David Daube, the late Regius Professor of Civil Law at Oxford, called it a fable in his 1973 inaugural address at the opening of the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies. Not all scholars agree that it is a fable, but with a talking animal pointing a moral, it is to me—hence its inclusion. Daube’s lecture is included in this collection by permission of his son Jonathan. Goldman also found a number of early 16th-century books, including five Constantinople editions containing fables: the 1512 Midrash Rabbah, said to contain more fables than any other rabbinic work; another rabbinic Midrash of 1514; the 1517 Chronicles of Moses, containing the first Hebrew rendering of Aesop’s fables; the 1518 edition of The Prince and the Hermit; and a fragment (33 leaves of 80) of the 1519 Maʿasiyot she-ba-Talmud. The Valmadonna Trust Library1 contained the only known complete copy of the book. Their facsimile is called The Alphabet of Ben Sira and a copy is in this collection, sold to me for $200 in 2001. It contains the first printing of The Alphabet of Ben Sira, lacking in my fragment although the fragment contains a fable on leaf 47v. Goldman was also able to find six tractates of the Talmud,2 all containing fables, printed by Daniel Bomberg in Venice and dated 1520, 1521, or 1522. As important as these early books are for this collection, and they are of vital importance, Goldman made another notable contribution. Included are more than 40 books containing fables of the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment movement. Fables were clearly a significant literary tool for those writers. The famous Haskalah journal Ha-Meʾasef (The Collector, co-founded and co-edited by Isaac Euchel) considered fables a particularly effective means toward its goals of persuading Jews to adopt the German language, to assimilate into the local culture, and to broaden the use of biblical Hebrew. Among the many Haskalah works in this collection are Euchel’s own copies of the prospectus of the Hevrat doreshe leshon ʿEver (Society of Promoters of the Hebrew Language) announcing the forthcoming publication of Ha-Meʾasef, and Volume I of the journal dated 1784. Both have Euchel’s autograph. His signature was confirmed as of the period by Emile Schrijver, it being identical to those in documents dating to the same time found in the Royal Library in Copenhagen. The prospectus begins with a fable inviting authors to contribute, and Volume I includes an extensive fable section. With more than 150 volumes from the 19th century and over 135 from the 20th century, it is evident that modern Jewish writers continued to employ the fable. 1. In a letter to me of December 12, 2001, its custodian, Jack V. Lunzer, wrote in part: “I am absolutely overwhelmed by the magnificence and the painstaking effort that has gone into the preparation of this fabulous catalogue, and your Library itself.” See Appendix 13 for the letter. 2. At Sotheby’s sale of certain books from the Valmadonna Trust Library on December 22, 2015, the complete Bomberg Babylonian Talmud of 50 tractates was sold for $9.3 million. It is known in only 14 complete sets, most of these made up of volumes from any of the three editions.

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Another interesting attribute of this collection is its inclusion of material in eleven Jewish languages: Hebrew, Yiddish, and Aramaic, of course, but also in what I call the “hyphenated” languages— Judeo-German and Ladino or Judeo-Spanish being the most notable. Also included are Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Greek, Judeo-Persian, Judeo-Bukharan, Judeo-Syriac, and, the most recent addition, Judeo-Tatar. No collection is ever complete. A number of books from the 16th century and several early books in Yiddish that have proved particularly elusive would have been a good addition. Even a few 20th-century books have been identified but not found. While this collection is extensive, there are certain books I have yet to locate, attesting to their rarity. So, the search continues. Collectors are forever indebted to scholars who provide us with knowledge and guidance. In the case of the use of fables by Jewish writers, important work has been done in the past on biblical and rabbinic fables—David Stern being an important writer—and on a few specific books such as Fox Fables, The Alphabet of Ben Sira, and the 1697 Yiddish collection of Moses Wallich. The field’s bibliography is well covered in the present book by Heide Warncke.3 It is my hope that this book will provide a foundation for future work that will benefit both scholars and collectors. I was saddened by the untimely passing of Yosef Goldman, who became a good friend. He grew very interested in this project, regularly inquiring about the book’s publication date. I regret he is not here to see it. His diligence in learning of the widespread use of fables in Jewish literature over so many centuries resulted in finding important and obscure material. Yosef was a great bookman and the one person most responsible in helping assemble this collection. This book is dedicated to his memory. When it came time to catalogue this collection, it turned out there were few people capable, qualified, and willing. Emile Schrijver exhibited all these qualities and was the right choice. He was then director of the Menasseh ben Israel Institute in Amsterdam but left for the University of Amsterdam to curate the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana at the Special Collections of the university library. There he also became a professor of Jewish Book History. He is now the general director of the Jewish Museum and the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam. Neither he nor I ever thought this project would take more than 20 years to complete, but the collection grew, and Emile had many other obligations. A productive scholar and writer, he is in constant demand as a speaker. He has become a good friend and I will miss his visits to Hunting Valley. My special thanks to the scholars who contributed essays for this book. To Irene Zwiep, a polymath and the youngest Humanities full professor in the history of the University of Amsterdam, my particular thanks for your essay and help in seeing this project through. To Lies Meiboom, my thanks and congratulations on the exceptional quality of your editorial work. To each of you who helped bring this project to completion, Shalme Todah, thank you.4 In May 2018 this collection was placed on deposit at the Cornell University Library. Hunting Valley, Ohio Summer 2022 3. See “Bibliography of Fables in Jewish Literature,” pp. 455–488. 4. In a literal translation, “Greetings of Thankfulness.”

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Preface

O

f all the books that I have been involved with in my professional life as a researcher in the field of Jewish book history not a single one has accompanied me as long and as reproachfully as this catalogue of Jewish fables in the Jon A. Lindseth Collection. And the completion of none of these books has given me, and him, greater pleasure. I remember vividly the excitement I felt when I received an e-mail, still in the 20th century, from this famous collector of American Suffragette literature, Russian fables, and, first and foremost, books by Lewis Carroll, in general, and of Alice in Wonderland, in particular. Jon Lindseth invited me to come to his and his wife Virginia’s wonderful Robert Stern house in Hunting Valley, Ohio. There we discussed the project, I wrote a proposal, we came to an agreement and we started to work. Little did I know then that it would take as long as it would take eventually. There were a variety of reasons for that, the most important the time constraints of a developing academic career. We, Jon Lindseth and myself, had started from the foundation of a catalogue that was laid by the individual descriptions of items sold by the reputed Brooklyn bookdealer, the late Yosef Goldman. We owe him great gratitude. Yosef Goldman’s descriptions were made in conjunction with many different bibliographers, but I happen to know that the majority were made by Yisrael Dubitsky, now at the National Library of Israel, Jerusalem. His eloquent translations of so many fables are a major quality of this volume. Early in the process Jon Lindseth and I realized that the collection needed more than just a catalogue. Rather, we envisioned a work that would not only summarize existing knowledge on the Jewish use of fables over the centuries and all over the Jewish Diaspora, but one that would add considerably to existing knowledge and would be a major advancement in the study of this relatively barren field of research. In Amsterdam I had gathered a team of young and promising bibliographers around me, Dorothée Irving, now in London, Dr. David Kromhout, now a teacher in the east of the Netherlands, Dr. Sabine Arndt, now in Münster, Germany, and Hadewijch Dekker, the only one of our team who is still in Amsterdam, now a metadata expert at the University Library there. They wrote many of the complex descriptions, while the books were in Amsterdam and I am very grateful to them. The publication of this book would not have happened without them. The books were stored at the Jewish Museum in Amsterdam for almost two years, thanks to the cooperation of the then interim director Ralph van Kleef and later of my predecessor Joël Cahen and their team. I would like to thank all of them here as well. Many are now my closest colleagues and staff.

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We were posed with the enormity of the catalogue, the multitude of languages present in the books, Hebrew, Aramaic, Yiddish, Ladino, Latin, Russian, Polish, German, French, Spanish, mentioning only the most prominent, but more than anything else with the enormous variety of form: a medieval Torah scroll, a Judeo-Persian manuscript, early Hebrew imprints, works of Christian Hebraism, Enlightenment journals, Yiddish journals, modern scholarly publications, etc. The catalogue stretched the limits of bibliographical scholarship in the field and we decided to consult one of America’s leading booksellers and one known for his excellent descriptive competence, Jay Dillon of Monmouth Beach, New Jersey. He worked through a large number of our descriptions and added a level of bibliographical detail that had hardly ever been provided for Jewish books, especially not of the period after the introduction of the machine press in the first half of the 19th century. In the course of the project we decided to leave out some of the detail because it made our work too complex, but we are forever indebted to him for his extremely valuable contributions to this book. In the course of the work numerous bibliographical details had to be checked, for which we recruited a number of helpers, notably Joanne Boerema, Diederik Broeks, Ezra Engelsberg, and Asjer Waterman, students of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at the University of Amsterdam, Rachel Cilia Werdmölder, junior curator at the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana in Amsterdam, and first and foremost her and my learned, dearly missed predecessor as curator of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, the late Dr. Adri Offenberg, one of the great luminaries of Hebrew bibliography. I am forever grateful to all of them for their numerous contributions to this volume. Likewise, the authors of the scholarly articles included in this volume need to be thanked: Prof. Marion Aptroot of Heinrich Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf, the late Professor David Daube (1909–1999) of Oxford, Dr. Simona Gronemann of Jerusalem, the late Prof. Raphael Loewe (1919–2011) of London, Prof. David Stern, now of Harvard University, Heide Warncke, now curator of Ets Haim – Livraria Montezinos and Prof. Irene Zwiep of the University of Amsterdam. The best decision I have made in the long process of producing this catalogue was involving two of my closest and dearest friends. Lies Meiboom of Sweeping Maytree in Baarn, the Netherlands, finished the book that had been unfinished for too long, she did the extremely cumbersome editing of the bibliographical descriptions, she corrected all the bibliographical detail, she edited the articles, she edited the images, she communicated and coordinated the printing process with our wonderful colleague Patrick Stevens at Cornell University Library, and she kept us going. Of all the people involved in this project, she is the one that I will forever be most grateful to and this book is the result of her professionalism, stamina and dedication. With Lies Meiboom came her wife, Prof. Irene Zwiep. I cherish the memory of our joint visit to Jon and Virginia Lindseth in Hunting Valley, where all three of us worked hard, but also enjoyed Jon and Virginia’s hospitality. Irene Zwiep’s deep knowledge of Jewish literature added greatly to the quality of the descriptions and we were also very happy to be able to convince her to write an article on the use of fables in early rabbinic times and 19th-century Wissenschaft des Judentums, one of her many areas of expertise. I owe Lies and Irene great gratitude, for their dedication, their support and for their true friendship.

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It goes without saying that I will be forever thankful to Jon A. Lindseth. He engaged me for this project as a young researcher and I am happy that he decided “to hang in there” with me for so many years and that we, now both a bit older, have witnessed the completion of the project. It was his collecting effort that made this collection, it was his stamina that made the book happen, it was his combination of pressure, patience and tenaciousness that made me finish it, and it was his personal connection with Cornell University, his alma mater, that informed the decision to publish this book through Cornell University Library, where the involvement of curator Patrick Stevens soon turned out to be indispensable. It was a long and bumpy ride, Jon, but one that I will never forget, one that I cherish, and one that I have learnt more from than any other professional ride I have ever made. Thanks for your resilience, your trust, and your vision! Emile Schrijver

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Reflections on Fables and Jewish Literature EMILE SCHRIJVER

Definitions

I

n 1982 German scholar Peter Hasubek wrote, wisely, that there is no such thing as “the definition of a fable.”1 Likewise, in 1976 Erwin Leibfried wrote: “Any attempt at a universal definition deals with the impossible.”2 Of course many attempts have been made to define fables all the same. One of the earliest definitions derives from Greek literature and points to the important role fables have played in the thinking and teaching of the ancient Greeks. Aelius Theon of Alexandria, a scholar of the 1st or 2nd century ce, calls a fable a “fictitious story picturing a truth.” Ben Edwin Perry, editor and translator into English of the most important Greek and Latin collection of fables, Babrius and Phaedrus, in his introduction to the 1965 edition, reflects upon Aelius Theon:3 This [“a fictitious story picturing a truth”] is a perfect and complete definition, provided we understand the range of what is included under the terms “story” (logos) and “truth” (aletheian). The “story” may be contained in no more than a single short sentence, or it may be much longer, or include some dialogue; but it must be told in the past tense, as stories normally are, and it must purport to be a particular action or series of actions, or an utterance, that took place once upon a time through the agency of particular characters. All this is implied by “logos”, meaning story or narrative; and because a fable pictures a truth it is, theoretically, only a metaphor in the form of a past narrative; and when it happens to be very short it is indistinguishable from what we call a proverb, and what the ancient Semitic writers called a “likeness” (Aram. mathla, Hebr. mashal, Ar. mathal, likewise Armen. arak).

And further on: Since fable as we have defined it amounts to nothing more than an indirect and inexplicit way of saying something, the truths that it pictures metaphorically can be, and are in practice, of many different kinds . . . The general proposition implicit in the fable is not always a moral or ethical principle, as is sometimes supposed; on the contrary, the majority of the fables in our collections . . . do not teach moral truths, strictly speaking, but rather matters of 1. Peter Hasubek, Die Fabel: Theorie, Geschichte und Rezeption einer Gattung (Berlin: Erich Schmidt, 1982), 7. 2. Erwin Leibfried, Fabel (Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler, 1976), 16. 3. Ben E. Perry, Babrius and Phaedrus, Loeb Classical Library 436 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1965), xix ff.

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worldly wisdom and shrewdness . . .; and even the moral lessons are formulated more often than not on that basis. Perry continues to develop his minimalistic definition, which, for his particular corpus, he may well need. It is clear, however, that it is impossible to work with here, if only for the fact that it does not exclude enough. One of Perry’s own examples is illustrative in this respect. He discusses the end of 2 Samuel 11 and the beginning of chapter 12: When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she lamented over her husband. After the period of mourning was over, David sent and had her brought into his palace; she became his wife and she bore him a son. [12] But the Lord was displeased with what David had done, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich and one poor. The rich man had very large flocks and herds, but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He tended it and it grew up together with him and his children: it used to share his morsel of bread, drink from his cup, and nestle in his bosom; it was like a daughter to him. One day, a traveler came to the rich man, but he was loath to take anything from his own flocks or herds to prepare a meal for the guest who had come to him; so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” David flew into a rage against the man, and said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserved to die! He shall pay for the lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and showed no pity.” And Nathan said to David: “That man is you!” In Perry’s opinion the aspect of individual failure “is typical of many fables the primary aim of which is not instructive but satirical or in the nature of personal denunciation, and of those fables which consist mainly in a jest or a clever bit of repartee.” Modern readers clearly need a more detailed definition, since Perry’s is just too minimal. For “fable” the web version of Encyclopædia Britannica lists:4 “narrative form, usually featuring animals that behave and speak as human beings, told in order to highlight human follies and weaknesses. A moral—or lesson for behaviour—is woven into the story and often explicitly formulated at the end.” For “fable,” per se, New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language has:5 “A brief story or tale embodying a moral and introducing persons, animals, or inanimate things as speakers and actors.” Encyclopædia Judaica, in a sound article on fable literature, suggests:6 “An animal tale (according to the most general and hence most widely accepted definition), i.e., a tale in which the characters are animals, and which contains a moral lesson. The genre also includes tales in which plants or inanimate objects act and talk.” 4. https://www.britannica.com/art/fable. Accessed 7 February 2022. 5. The New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the English Language: Deluxe Encyclopedic Edition (Naples, FL: Trident Press, 1996), 452. 6. Encyclopædia Judaica 2, vol. 6 (Jerusalem 2007), 666–670.

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And Eli Yassif, the great Israeli expert of folk literature, proposes: “The fable in folk literature is a story that takes place in the world of animals, plants, or inanimate objects, told in the past tense but applied to the present by virtue of the epimythium.”7 This is a much better definition, but as Perry’s definition included too much, Yassif ’s definition may exclude too much. Many fables do not have a moral ending, or epimythium, but rather a promythium, a moral beginning, and others have a moral meaning, without a formal pro- or epimythium. It is suggested here, therefore, to combine Yassif and the Encyclopædia Judaica (and many others could of course have been quoted) and to define a fable for now as: “A story that takes place in the world of animals, plants, or inanimate objects, told in the past tense but applied to the present, that contains a moral lesson.” Before turning to biblical fables one authority may perhaps be quoted still: Aristotle. He wrote about the function of fables: Fables are suitable for public speaking, and they have this advantage that, while it is difficult to find similar things that have really happened in the past, it is easier to invent fables; for they must be invented, like comparisons, if a man is capable of seizing the analogy; and this is easy if one studies philosophy.8

Biblical literature Since the subject of this article, and the book in which it appears, is fables in Jewish literature, it is only natural to look into the issue of fables in the Hebrew Bible. Already in the Pentateuch a first problematic story appears, that has been identified as a fable by some, and dismissed as such by many. In chapter 22, verses 21–35, of the book of Numbers the story of Balaam’s she-ass appears. She refused to move since she could see the angel of the Lord with a drawn sword that Balaam could not see. In 1973 David Daube considered this to be a fable.9 When he arose in the morning, Balaam saddled his ass and departed with the Moabite dignitaries. But God was incensed at his going; so an angel of the Lord placed himself in his way as an adversary. He was riding on his she-ass, with his two servants alongside, when the ass caught sight of the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. The ass swerved from the road and went into the fields; and Balaam beat the ass to turn her back onto the road. The angel of the Lord then stationed himself in a lane between the vineyards, with a fence on either side. The ass, seeing the angel of the Lord, pressed herself against the wall and squeezed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he beat her again. Once more the 7. Eli Yassif, The Hebrew Folktale: History, Genre, Meaning (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999), 23. 8. John Henry Freese, Aristotle, with an English Translation. The “art” of Rhetoric (London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1936), 277. 9. David Daube, Ancient Hebrew Fables: The Inaugural Lecture of the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies Delivered in Corpus Christi College, 17 May 1973 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973 [reprint in this book, p. 67].

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angel of the Lord moved forward and stationed himself on a spot so narrow that there was no room to swerve right or left. When the ass now saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam; and Balaam was furious and beat the ass with his stick. Then the Lord opened the ass’s mouth, and she said to Balaam: “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” Balaam said to the ass, “You have made a mockery of me! If I had a sword with me, I’d kill you.” The ass said to Balaam, “Look, I am the ass that you have been riding all along until this day! Have I been in the habit of doing thus to you?” And he answered, “No.” Then the Lord uncovered Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, his drawn sword in his hand; thereupon he bowed right down to the ground. The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you beaten your ass these three times? It is I who came out as an adversary, for the errand is obnoxious to me. And when the ass saw me, she shied away because of me those three times. If she had not shied away from me, you are the one I should have killed, while sparing her.” Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I erred because I did not know that you were standing in my way. If you still disapprove, I will turn back.” But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men. But you must say nothing except what I tell you.” So Balaam went on with Balak’s dignitaries. Is this really a fable? It is a story, it deals with the world of animals, in a certain way, it is told in the past tense, it is indeed applied to Balaam’s present, and it does certainly contain a moral lesson. In Perry’s definition it is undoubtedly a fable; according to the one adopted in this article and in this volume it may be one as well; according to Yassif ’s definition, however, it is not: there is no such thing as an epimythium and the entire event is seen as a miracle. And it must be confirmed that Yassif ’s opinion is the communis opinio in discussions of biblical fables. It is relevant for this book regardless, since it is considered to be a fable by Jon Lindseth, the collector whose collection of fables is presented and discussed here.10 And that explains why manuscripts and printed editions containing the Pentateuch are part of the collection. Scholars do agree that a number of fables occur in the Former Prophets, but also here the number varies. Everyone accepts Jotham’s fable in the book of Judges (9:6–21), about the trees anointing a king over themselves: And all the citizens of Shechem and all Beth-millo convened, and they proclaimed Abimelech king at the terebinth of the pillar at Shechem. When Jotham was informed, he went and stood on top of mount Gerizim and called out to them in a loud voice. “Citizens of Shechem!” he cried, “listen to me, that God may listen to you. “Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves. They said to the olive-tree, ‘Reign over us.’ But the olive-tree replied, ‘Have I, through whom God and man are honored, stopped yielding my rich oil, that I should go and wave above the trees?’ So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’ But the fig tree replied, ‘Have I stopped yielding my sweetness, my delicious fruit, that I should go and wave above the trees?’ So the trees said to the vine, 10. And see David Stern’s remarks elsewhere in this volume, p. 28–29.

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‘You come and reign over us.’ But the vine replied, ‘Have I stopped yielding my new wine, which gladdens God and men, that I should go and wave above the trees?’ Then all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘You come and reign over us.’ And the thornbush said to the trees, ‘if you are acting honorably in anointing me king over you, come and take shelter in my shade; but if not, may fire issue from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’ “Now then, if you acted honorably and loyally in making Abimelech king, if you have done right by Jerubbaal and his house, and have requited him according to his deserts—considering that my father fought for you, and saved you from the Midianites at the risk of his life, and now you have turned on my father’s household, killed his sons, seventy men on one stone, and set up Abimelech, the son of his handmaid, as king over the citizens of Shechem just because he is your kinsman—if, I say, you have this day acted honorably and loyally toward Jerubbaal and his house, have joy in Abimelech and may he likewise have joy in you. But if not, may fire issue from Abimelech and consume the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo, and may fire issue from the citizens of Shechem and Beth-millo and consume Abimelech!” With that Jotham fled. He ran to Beer, and stayed there, because of his brother Abimelech.’ And the same goes for Jehoash’s fable of the Thistle and the Cedar of Lebanon in 2 Kings (14:8–11): Then Amaziah sent envoys to King Jehoash son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu of Israel, with this message: “Come, let us confront each other.” King Jehoash of Israel sent back this message to King Amaziah of Judah: “The thistle in Lebanon sent this message to the cedar in Lebanon, ‘Give your daughter to my son in marriage.’ But a wild beast in Lebanon went by and trampled down the thistle. Because you have defeated Edom, you have become arrogant. Stay home and enjoy your glory, rather than provoke disaster and fall, dragging Judah down with you.” But Amaziah paid no heed; so King Jehoash of Israel advanced and he and King Amaziah of Judah confronted each other at Beth-shemesh in Judah. Yassif adds to these two other fables, the Poor Man’s Ewe Lamb in 2 Samuel (12:1–4): But the Lord was displeased with what David had done, and the Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich and one poor. The rich man had very large flocks and herds, but the poor man had only one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He tended it and it grew up together with him and his children: it used to share his morsel of bread, drink from his cup, and nestle in his bosom; it was like a daughter to him. One day, a traveler came to the rich man, but he was loath to take anything from his own flocks or herds to prepare a meal for the guest who had come to him; so he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” and the Song of the Vineyard (Is. 5:1–6): Let me sing for my beloved A song of my lover about his vineyard. My beloved had a vineyard On a fruitful hill.

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He broke the ground, cleared it of its stones, And planted it with choice vines. He built a watchtower inside it, He even hewed a wine press in it; For he hoped it would yield grapes. Instead, it yielded wild grapes. “Now, then, Dwellers of Jerusalem And men of Judah, You be the judges Between Me and My vineyard: What more could have been done for My vineyard That I failed to do in it? Why, when I hoped it would yield grapes, Did it yield wild grapes? “Now I am going to tell you What I will do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge, That it may be ravaged; I will break down its wall, That it may be trampled. And I will make it a desolation; it shall not be pruned or hoed, And it shall be overgrown with briers and thistles. And I will command the clouds To drop no rain on it.” [Epimythium:] For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts Is the House of Israel, And the seedlings he lovingly tended Are the men of Judah. Others, among whom Ann Vater Solomon,11 consider these two as parables, which in the case of the fable of the vineyard can be understood. Is that really a fable, even according to Yassif ’s own definition? “The fable in folk literature is a story that takes place in the world of animals, plants, or inanimate objects, told in the past tense but applied to the present by virtue of the epimythium.” His seems a very formal interpretation of his own definition here.

11. Ann M. Vater Solomon, “Jehoash’s Fable of the Thistle and the Cedar,” in George W. Coats, ed., Saga, Legend, Tale, Novella and Fable: Narrative Forms in Old Testament Literature (= Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series 3 [Sheffield: Sheffield University Press, 1985], 126–132; and “Fable,” in Coats, ed., Saga, Legend, Tale, Novella and Fable, 114–125.

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Rabbinic literature It is generally known that rabbinic literature contains a vast amount of fable material, but a true systematic study of the sources has until now never been undertaken. David Stern’s contribution to this volume is a step forward in this respect and explains the brevity of the remarks made hereafter. In 1979 Aaron M. Singer wrote a thesis on Animals in Rabbinic Teaching: The Fable,12 in which he identified thirty fables that he discusses in detail. The most important contribution of his thesis, apart from its merit as a careful analysis of a number of important sources, is the fact that he claims that all the fables that he identifies, with the exception of one, are introduced to illuminate a biblical text or situation. It is apparent that in the cases Singer discusses, biblical exegesis is employed to deal with the contemporary circumstances of the Jewish people. In his opinion the Bible is seen not only as a portrayal of a singular event in the biblical context, but as a foreshadowing of what is in store for the Jewish people. Eli Yassif discusses a number of important examples of fables from rabbinic literature as well and is especially convincing in establishing connections between rabbinic literature and Aesopian fables.13 There seems little need to repeat that here. What may be drawn attention to are two particular passages, one from the Talmud and one from the Mishnah. Yassif and Stern mention the first one too, for obvious reasons. It is from the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b–39a: R. Meir had three hundred parables [or fables, the Hebrew word “mashal” is not unequivocal in this respect14], and we have only three left, [as illustrations to the verses], [a] Parents eat sour grapes and their children’s teeth are blunted (Ezek. 18:2), [b] Honest balance, honest weights (Lev. 19:36), [c] The righteous man is rescued from trouble and the wicked man takes his place (Prov. 11:8). Most interesting is the commentary that the foremost medieval Jewish biblical and talmudic exegete, Solomon ben Isaac, best known under his acronym Rashi (1040–1105), presents for this passage. He provides the three fables, the core of which is known in the vast body of European fables in the Middle Ages, in one story: A fox once craftily induced a wolf to go and join the Jews in their Sabbath preparations and share in their festivities. On his appearing in their midst the Jews fell upon him with sticks and beat him. He therefore came back determined to kill the fox. But the latter pleaded: “It is no fault of mine that you were beaten, but they have a grudge against your father who once helped them in preparing their banquet and then consumed all the choice bits.” “And I was beaten for the wrong done by my father?” cried the indignant wolf. “Yes,” replied the fox, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge (Ezek. 18:2).” “However,” he continued, “come with me and I will supply you with abundant food.” 12. Aaron M. Singer, Animals in Rabbinic Teaching: The Fable. Ph.D. Thesis, New York, 1979 (Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Dissertation Services, 1999). 13. Yassif, Hebrew Folktale, 70–244. 14. For a discussion of parables in Rabbinic literature, now see Lieve Teugels, The Meshalim in the Mekhiltot, Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism 176 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2019).

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He led him to a well which had a beam across it from either end of which hung a rope with a bucket attached. The fox entered the upper bracket and descended into the well whilst the lower one was drawn up. “Where are you going?” asked the wolf. The fox, pointing to the cheese-like reflection of the moon, replied: “Here is plenty of meat and cheese; get into the other bucket and come down at once.” The wolf did so, and as he descended, the fox was drawn up. “And how am I to get out?”, demanded the wolf. “Ah,” said the fox, “The righteous is delivered out of trouble and the wicked comes in his stead (Prov. 11:8). Is it not written, Just balances, just weights (Lev. 19:36)?” It is clear that the setting for this fable, which is not the only explanation of the original cryptic talmudic passage, is medieval and European. Rashi thus combined biblical exegesis and contemporary literary composition techniques to explain a talmudic passage. Another rabbinic example, from the Mishnah, has not been discussed in the secondary literature on fables yet. Frankly, it is questionable whether it should, but it is again an illuminating example of the problems involved in defining a fable (and it appears as such in the Lindseth collection). In the mishnaic tractate Kelim (chap. 8, mishnah 4 and afterwards), dealing with the impurity of vessels, an intriguingly technical passage suddenly introduces speaking vessels: [3] If a colander [an earthenware tablet with perforations] placed over the mouth of an oven was slightly sinking into it, and it had no rims, and a [dead] creeping thing was in it, the oven becomes unclean, and if the creeping thing was in the oven, foodstuffs in the colander become unclean, since only vessels afford protection against an uncleanness in an earthen vessel. If a jar that was full of liquids was placed beneath the bottom of an oven, and a [dead] creeping thing was in the oven, the jar and the liquids remain clean. If it was inverted, with its mouth projecting into the air-space of the oven, and a dead creeping thing was in the oven, the liquid that clings to the bottom of the jar remains clean. [4] If a pot was placed in an oven and a [dead] creeping thing was in the oven, the pot remains clean since no earthen vessel imparts uncleanness to vessels. If it contained dripping liquid, the latter contracts uncleanness and the pot also becomes unclean. This [i.e. the pot] might well say: “that which made you unclean did not make me unclean, but you have made me unclean.” In the mishnaic Tractate Parah, on the red cow (chap. 8), other inanimate things, such as garments and food, use the same expression. Are these fables? In principle the answer is negative: there is no moral teaching, neither is there a past tense. But they do show how fantasies and literary form can even enter into a text as formulaic as this one.

Medieval and early modern literature In the centuries that followed until the first decades of the 20th century, especially in the High Middle Ages and during the Enlightenment period, fables became ever more popular. During the Middle Ages, both the moral aspect and the literary potential of fables were vital to the development of the genre, no doubt under the influence of the surrounding cultures. During the Enlightenment period, authors seemed especially interested in the importance of fables for teach-

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ing and education. Later, especially, but not exclusively, Yiddish authors were inspired by the literary opportunities that the genre offered (no doubt under the influence of famous non-Jewish fable authors such as German Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715–1769), Frenchman Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695), and Russian Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769–1844). In Jewish hands their works may appear as translations into various Jewish and non-Jewish languages, as edited versions with a variety of adaptations to the Jewish milieu or simply as sources of inspiration. In the catalogue section of this volume an impressive number of medieval fable collections are described and discussed in detail. In the essay section, furthermore, both the late Raphael Loewe’s and Simona Gronemann’s articles discuss aspects of one of the most fascinating of medieval Jewish fable collections, Meshal ha-kadmoni (The Fable of the Ancient). Irene Zwiep wrote an illuminating article on the role of fables during the Enlightenment, whereas Marion Aptroot provides a comprehensive overview of fables in Yiddish literature. Therefore, here only a few representative examples of fables from these periods will be discussed, for the sake of brevity and to avoid too much repetition.15 The first example is from the medieval book of the Prince and the Hermit.16 Ben ha-melekh ve-ha-nazir is a didactic work in which a prince becomes an ascetic. It was translated or adapted from an unknown Arabic version into Hebrew by the 13th-century scholar Abraham ibn Hasdai ha-Levi. The work originated in India and the prince is Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. It was printed more than thirty times. The story relates how Joasaph, a prince eager for knowledge, was fascinated by a meeting with a hermit who revealed to him the sorry plight of the world and convinced him to concentrate on God and His power and to reject earthly desires. The Hebrew version includes an introduction by Ibn Hasdai, reminiscent of another famous author, Berechiah ha-Nakdan’s introduction to his famous Fox Fables.17 The authors share a disappointment with certain human traits, they warn against them and they distrust the ruling power. Furthermore, both writers embellished their translations with numerous quotations from biblical and rabbinic literature. Ibn Hasdai writes: “that is why I took away the clothing of slavery [i.e., the Arabic language] and decorated it [i.e., the tale] with great splendor [i.e., Hebrew language and literature].” Ibn Hasdai’s main goal, like Berechiah’s, is to support the weak: “those who are weakened by sorrow, will gain the strength of a lion from it.” [Chap. 17: the dog.] 18 The hermit spoke: it was told that in a certain village there once was a dog, and there was another village quite close to it. And it once happened that there were two weddings in the two villages on one day. And the dog said to herself: if I could manage to be at the two tables, that would refresh my old bones and I would benefit my entire life. And perhaps it 15. Some examples do appear in the catalogue section as well, but in their own respective contexts. 16. See p. 166. 17. For another fable of this collection, see p. 201. 18. Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai, The Prince and the Hermit. Edited, with Notes and Addenda by Abraham Meir Habermann (Tel Aviv: Mahbarot le-sifrut and Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1951), 125 [Hebrew] (f-1282 in Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 67 in this catalogue).

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is indeed necessary for me to give my utmost, and to spread my wings like an eagle, and to stand up before dawn in order to reach the wedding in the second village, where I will eat to my satisfaction and drink in overflow. And then I will hurry to return before the meal at this wedding and before the drinking. And I will not miss that occasion and take my part and I will become satisfied and will eat and will leave over. And the dog got up in the morning and went to the village, but did not find a large crowd of people and did not hear the sound of a tumult, “the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride,” since they had already finished eating at this wedding and nobody was left. And she said to herself: in spite of this my quickness is undamaged, and before they have finished eating there I will reach my village. And she went on her way, and ran with great haste, but in turmoil, since she felt bitterly, on account of her short breath and her sorrow, her thirst and her traveling pains. As she arrived in the village she found the door of the wedding house closed, empty and vacant, since the meal was already finished and all had gone their way and only those who lived in the house had stayed. When they saw her, they pushed her and threw her out, and hit her and wounded her. And the miserable one remained broken, exhausted and fatigued, hungry and thirsty, without bread and without water, without a tent and without a dwelling, robbed of both alternatives [litt.: “bald on both sides”; the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Kamma 60b) tells of “a man who has had two wives, one young and one old. The young one used to pluck out his white hair, whereas the old one used to pluck out his black hair. He finally remained bald on both sides”]. One fable, by probably the greatest Yiddish fable author of the preceding century, Eliezer Steinbarg (1880–1932), may serve to illustrate the qualities of Yiddish fables. Steinbarg, born in North Bessarabia, was educated as a child by a kabbalist. He worked first as a teacher until his skill as a fabulist became well known. When his work Mesholim was printed, shortly after his death, it soon became a bestseller. It was later translated into Romanian, Hebrew, German, French, Hungarian, Polish, and English. His fables reflect a pure Yiddish sense of humor, without resorting to biblical or rabbinic references or current political satire. In this sense, Steinbarg’s style was unique. He was known, in fact, as the “Jewish Krilov of Bessarabia.” One of his fables is called “Farvos kreyt der hon?” (Why Does the Rooster Crow?). It explains the crowing of the rooster through the story of Cain and Abel. Abel’s blood fell on the rooster’s head, thereby burning him. As a reminder the rooster wears a red crown and he cries out in pain every morning, calling for revenge of Cain’s sin. The two last examples may serve to illustrate that fables can indeed be used in different ways: just because they are suitable for public speaking (quoting Aristotle and referring to the dog in the Prince and the Hermit) and (referring to Steinbarg’s explanation of the crowing of the rooster) because they can be used as a very special exegetical tool, even as late as the 20th century. A very particular point in case may serve to readdress the complexity of defining the field of fable study with which these introductory reflections started. The Jon A. Lindseth Collection contains a remarkable work (f-2063) by Rehuel Jessurun (1575?–1635). It is entitled in Portuguese Dialogo dos montes, Auto que se reprezentou com a mayor Aspectaçaô, & solemnidade, na

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Synagóga Amstelodama de Beth Jahacob, na festa celebre de Sebuoth, Anno 5384, which translates into English as “Dialogue of the Mountains, A stage-act that was presented with great clarity and solemnity in the Amsterdam synagogue of Beth Jahacob during the famous festival of Shavuot, in the year 5384 (1624).” It was printed in Amsterdam by Gerhard Johan Janson for Israel Mondovi in 1767. The author was born Paulo de Pina in 1575 of a New Christian family in Lisbon. In 1599 he left for Rome to become a monk. En route he was persuaded by the famous physician Elijah Montalto to adopt the faith of his ancestors. After spending three years in Brazil he took a new name and settled in Amsterdam where he became a prominent member of the first of the three Portuguese synagogues of Amsterdam, Beth Jahacob. In honor of the Amsterdam synagogue Jessurun composed this remarkable drama, which was performed most probably on the Festival of Shavuot in 1624. It consists of a series of dialogues between the seven principle mountains of the Holy Land in praise of Judaism and debating which mountain is worthy enough to receive Moses. In the end Mount Sinai wins. The only human actor is the biblical king Jehosaphat, who has to decide among the mountains.19 The play may be seen as a reworking of the midrashic allegory of the mountains vying among themselves to receive Moses on his ascent heavenward for the Law of God.20 Interesting as this stage play is from the point of view of this book, it was decided ultimately that it would not be included into the catalogue, for reasons of definition, for example for the lack of a moral meaning. This introduction is not exhaustive and can never be. Even this book of the Jon A. Lindseth Collection cannot provide that kind of exhaustiveness. It presents, however, the widest range of Jewish fables ever brought together. Biblical fables, rabbinic fables, medieval fables and early modern and modern fables are presented and show perfectly, and uniquely, how Jewish literature has incorporated and cherished this particular literary genre and how Jews have appreciated the literary and educational power of fables since time immemorial.

19. Harm den Boer, La literatura sefardí de Amsterdam (Alcalá de Henares: Instituto Internacional de Estudios Sefardíes y Andalusíes, 1995), 307–313. 20. It has never been common practice to perform stage plays in synagogues and the Dialogo dos montes is the only extant play of its kind. In 1636 the new united Portuguese-Jewish congregation of Amsterdam, Talmud Thora, prohibited such performances. The emergence of this play must be seen in the historical context of the Amsterdam Portuguese-Jewish community. The majority of its members were Jews who had been forced by the Spanish Inquisition to accept the Catholic faith. Many Jews chose a crypto-Jewish existence (Catholic outside the boundaries of the private house, Jewish within these boundaries). Others, however, became Catholics and decided to return to Judaism upon their arrival in Amsterdam (where most of them went for economic, not for religious reasons) in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. Jessurun’s Dialogo dos montes imitates the Iberian so-called “auto”; a popular play with strong religious motives, played in the church on holidays.

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Fables in the Hebrew Bible and in Rabbinic Literature* DAVID STERN

I

n the Hebrew Bible, the literary tradition of the fable may be said to go back almost to the beginning of the created world, indeed to the Garden of Eden. The wily snake is the first anthropomorphic, or human-like, animal known in creation, and its existence certainly anticipates if it does not directly attest to the genre of stories that we call by the name of the fable, that is, tales in which anthropomorphic animals (and sometimes plants) are invented to portray the theriomorphic (animal-like) or phytomorphic (plant-like) features of human beings. Not surprisingly, some early interpreters of the Bible like Philo sought to view the snake as a symbol or representation for Satan. Yet however one understands the snake’s “meaning,” its anthropomorphic features directly anticipate that other fable-like narrative in the Hebrew Bible, the story of Balaam and his ass in Numbers 22–24.1 This story—though not formally a fable—skirts the literary form even more closely. As the reader will recall, the prophet-seer Balaam is riding on his ass on his way to curse the Israelites—at the behest of the Midianite King Balak (who has hired Balaam to do his dirty work) but against the command of God—when a sword-bearing angel suddenly appears on the road before Balaam to block his way. While Balaam cannot see the angel, his ass can. It stops in its tracks, refusing to proceed. Balaam, frustrated at the ass’s refusal, begins to beat it until, finally, the ass speaks up, “What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?” (Num. 22:28). At which point God uncovers Balaam’s eyes, he sees the angel for the first time, and ultimately confesses both to the error of his deeds and to his refusal to obey God. As students of biblical literature have long acknowledged, the story of Balaam’s ass may preserve elements of an ancient folkloric tradition. Even so, the present narrative represents a sophisticated reuse of that tradition in a self-consciously literary mode. The relationship between Balaam and his ass rehearses Balaam’s own relationship to Balak, the Midianite king, who es*A revised version of this essay appears in David Stern, Jewish Literary Cultures, Volume I: The Ancient Period (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2015), 127–139.

1. On the story of Balaam, see the JPS Bible Commentary on Numbers, edited by Jacob Milgrom (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society, 1990), on Num. 22, specifically pp. 187–192, and Excursus 57, 468–469; David Daube, “The Ancient Hebrew Fable,” The Inaugural Lecture of the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies, delivered at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, 17 May 1973, 14–16; see also Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York: Basic Books, 1981), 104–107.

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sentially orders him to proceed in much the same way that Balaam orders the ass to proceed even though the sword-bearing angel, like God in Balaam’s own case, seeks to block its path. The deep irony of the story is that the ass, Balaam’s surrogate, is able to see what the prophet Balaam cannot. Even if the story is not a fable on purely formal grounds, Balaam’s ass is an unmistakably anthropomorphic beast that represents the prophet Balaam, a very human figure who turns out to be a genuine ass. Within the narrative, the fable-like tale serves as a kind of hermeneutical key to interpreting Balaam’s behavior. The exchange between the asinine prophet and the talking ass, in other words, is a kind of story-within-a-story that shapes our understanding of the narrative’s overall message without having to state it explicitly. This narrative, like so many stories in the Bible, is unique, without any real parallels. Aside from the Garden-of-Eden story, there are no other tales in the Bible in which animals speak as active characters in their own right. There are of course numerous similes and metaphors that compare various personages to animals: Israel is, famously, God’s flock (tzon, as in Ps. 79:13); but more shockingly, God is “a lurking bear . . . a lion in hiding” (Lam. 3:10), to give only two examples. In the book of Judges (9:8–15), Jotham uses a tree fable to denounce Abimelech to the people of Shechem who have crowned him as their king.2 So, too, in 2 Kings 14:8–10, King Yehoash of Israel is reported to have used a fable-like saying in order to respond to the challenge of King Amaziah of Judah. And, finally, in the Book of Daniel (chap. 4), the maddened King Nebuchadnezzar reverses the fabular pattern of having anthropomorphic animals represent theriomorphic humans; because he behaves like a wild beast, Nebuchadnezzar literally becomes one. All these examples, however, are truly exceptional. It is difficult to speak from the available evidence about a true fabulistic tradition in biblical Israel or in its literature. In fact, the relative scarcity of biblical fables is somewhat surprising given the ubiquity and frequency with which animal and plant fables are found in the Ancient Near Eastern literary traditions out of which the Bible itself emerged.3 As many biblical scholars have shown, Jotham’s fable is part of a lengthy tradition that goes back to the famous Sumerian and Babylonian Streitfabeln (contest fables); according to these scholars, a fable like Jotham’s was originally an autonomous literary unit that circulated independently before it was adapted for its biblical context.4 In a persuasive article, however, the Israeli biblical scholar Uriel Simon argued some thirty years ago that Jotham himself may have composed the fable attributed to him by drawing upon a tradition of fables whose motifs and themes he utilized for the purposes of his ad hoc condemnation of the Shechemites who had anointed Abimelech as king over themselves; as Simon shows, the 2. On the fable, see Uriel Simon, “The Parable of Jotham (Judges IX, 8–15): The Parable, Its Application and Their Narrative Framework,” Tarbiz 34 (1964–65): 1–34 [Hebrew]. 3. On the fable in the Ancient Near East, see Gerhard von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, trans. James D. Martin (Nashville: Abingdon, 1972), 24–50; R. J. Williams, “The Fable in the Ancient Near East,” in A Stubborn Faith: Papers on Old Testament and Related Subjects Presented to Honor William Andrew Irwin, ed. Edward C. Hobbs (Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1956), 3–26. 4. On the Streitfabel, see Samuel Noah Kramer, From the Tablets of Sumer (Indian Hills, CO: Falcon’s Wing Press, 1956), 160–168; W. G. Lambert, Babylonian Wisdom Literature (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1960), 150–212; and for an additional translation of “The Tamarisk and the Palm,” and some discussion, J. B. Pritchard, The Ancient Near East, 2 vols. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1975), II, 142–144.

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discrepancies between the parable and its context may have served deliberate ad hoc rhetorical ends.5 Exactly why so few fables or fable-like narratives are preserved in the Bible is not clear. Perhaps the biblical author’s aversion to confusing or mixing the different orders of the universe, to maintaining the transcendent character of the divine as against that of the human realm, extended to asserting a comparable gulf between the human and the animal or vegetal realms that he did not want to transgress even in a minor literary form like the fable (even though the author seems to have had no hesitation against portraying God in starkly anthropomorphic terms when it was necessary). Perhaps the explicit fictionality of the fable—as a type of narrative that never claims for itself the status of truth or historicity—militated against its use in the Bible, which does not otherwise concern itself with matters that are explicitly untrue. (There is no category of the fictional or the purely imaginative in the Bible.) Or possibly, the fable was simply too much a part of popular, folkloric, and oral tradition, and for precisely that reason it never came to be recorded in the high and sacred literary tradition of the Bible. In any case, the scarcity of fables that marks the biblical tradition continues into the early postbiblical tradition as well. There are no actual fables to be found in either the Apocrypha or the Pseudepigrapha. Animals, however, are not lacking in this literature, particularly in the literature of apocalypse that began to be composed in the 2nd century bce . The Book of Daniel’s harrowing visions of the end of the world are invariably populated by fantastic animals, many of them hybrids—a lion with eagle’s wings, a fanged bear, a winged, four-headed leopard—that symbolize the various evil kingdoms, each of which is destroyed by the next until the Ancient of Days, a human-like figure, finally arrives, vindicates the righteous, and assumes dominion over the earth. At roughly the same time as these sections of Daniel were composed, the so-called Animal Apocalypse (Enoch 85:2–90:42) reenacts the entire history of the world from Adam to the messianic age with animals acting out all the major roles—bulls and heifers of different colors represent the early figures of mankind, boars and rams the patriarchs and their children, white sheep the children of Israel; and dogs, foxes, and wild boars their enemies. These allegorical visions are not fable-like in their narrative structure but they clearly point to the continuing use of animals to represent and symbolize the theriomorphic nature of the earth’s inhabitants. As one scholar has suggested, the animals in the Animal Apocalypse may even be based on the kosher and treif animals in the biblical dietary laws.6 Somewhat surprisingly—since Jesus frequently uses parables with human protagonists, a 5. Simon, “Parable of Yotham,” 16–18. As Simon shows, the major difference between a contest-fable like “The Tamarisk and the Palm,” and Jotham’s fable is that in the former, each tree attempts to prove its superiority and thus to gain victory over its opponents while in the latter, the trees are actually trying to avoid a victorious judgment in the form of the awarding of kingship. This argument also touches upon Simon’s overall interpretation of the fable’s purpose. According to Simon, the reason why Jotham used the fable to denounce the Shechemites’ coronation of Abimelech was to be able to do so on purely ethical grounds, without having to condemn kingship itself, which is what most other scholars take to be the fable’s point (like Von Rad, Wisdom in Israel, 43). On biblical fables and putative Aesopic connections, see Yair Zakovitch, “Between Aesop’s Fables and Biblical Literature,” Yeda-ʿAm 20 (1980): 1–7 [Hebrew]. 6. See David Bryan, Cosmos, Chaos and the Kosher Mentality (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1995). Note that I have not touched upon the use of animals in proverbial tradition in the Bible. For an example, see Prov. 30:24–31.

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closely related literary cousin to the fable—there are no fables in the New Testament. A decisive change occurs, however, in the literature of the Rabbis, the various works containing the legal and legendary lore of the sages who lived first in Roman Palestine and then in Babylonia in the first six centuries of the common era. These works include both the classic rabbinic legal code, the Mishnah (edited around the year 220 ce in Roman Palestine); the two Talmudim, one compiled in Roman Palestine and initially edited around 400 ce, the other in Babylonia and initially edited around 500 ce; and the various anthologies of biblical interpretation called Midrash, most of them compiled in Roman Palestine between the 3rd and 7th centuries. All this literature features many fables and testifies to the tradition’s continuity, probably in the form of oral tradition that was never committed to writing. According to various statements scattered through these texts, various rabbinic sages through the generations were master fable-spinners.7 The legendary sage Hillel (Soferim 16.9); the late 1stcentury sage and founder of the rabbinic academy at Yavneh Johanan ben Zakkai (BT Sukkah 28a; cf. BT Baba Batra 134a and Soferim 16.8), and the 2nd-century Rabbi Meir (PT Sotah 9.15) are all reputed to have been skilled fabulists. Meir is said to have known some three hundred fables although, according to the report of Rabbi Johanan (BT Sanhedrin 38b–39a), after Meir’s death only three fables were remembered of all those he had told.8 Similarly, the temperamental sage Bar Kappara is said to have once crashed the wedding banquet of Simeon, the son of Rabbi Judah the Patriarch; angry at not having been formally invited, Bar Kappara insisted upon reciting three hundred fables at each course of the banquet, thus preventing the other guests from eating, and thereby ruining the meal for everyone (Wayikra Rabbah 28:2). As this story indicates, fables had a recognizable identity as a literary genre that included their own generic terminology. In some places (as in the story of Bar Kappara), they are called mishle shuʿalim, fox fables, and in other places, mishle kobesim, fuller’s fables.9 The scholar Joseph Jacobs once suggested that the latter term actually referred to the fables of Kybisses, which are of Indian origin, but this now seems unlikely.10 Even so, the fables of the rabbis are not preserved in independent collections of their own, and usually not even in independent literary units. While they are found within the context of other narratives, they are, like much else in rabbinic literature, often connected to biblical interpretation—Midrash, the term for rabbinic study of the Bible—and thus preserved in exegetical contexts. 7. On the fable in rabbinic literature, see (in addition to the sources in the following notes) Samuel Baeck, “Die Fabel im Talmud und Midrasch,” MGWJ 24 (1875): 540–555; 25 (1876): 126–138, 195–204, 267–275, 493–504; 29 (1880): 24–34, 68–78, 102–114, 144, 225–230, 267– 274, 374–378, 417–421; 30 (1881): 124–130, 260–267, 406–412, 453–458; 33 (1884): 23–33, 34–55, 114–125, 255–267; Haim Schwarzbaum, “Aesop’s Fables and HaZaL’s Fables,” Mahanayim 110–115 (1966–1967): 112–117 [Hebrew]; Daube, “Ancient Hebrew Fable”; Aharon Singer, “A Study of the Fox Fables in Rabbinic Literature,” Jerusalem Studies in Folklore 4 (1983): 79–91 [Hebrew]. 8. The three fables are not recorded; however, they are referred to by verses that apparently figured in them (Ezek. 18:2, Lev. 19:36, and Prov. 11:8), thereby suggesting that the fables were used for purposes of exegesis. See my comments later in this essay. For two comments to reconstruct the fables, see Rashi ad locum and Hai Gaon (in Teshuvot Geonim 30); cf. also MaHaRSHa ad locum. 9. On the term mashal (pl. meshalim; construct: mishle), see David Stern, Parables in Midrash: Narrative and Exegesis in Rabbinic Literature (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991), 9–10. 10. Joseph Jacobs, “Aesop’s Fables Among the Jews,” The Jewish Encyclopædia I, 221–222.

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As we shall see, however, it is not always easy to distinguish in rabbinic discourse between narrative and exegesis, and it is precisely in the play between the two orders that the rabbinic fable attains its singularity. Among the fables preserved in narrative contexts, probably the most famous is the following example recorded in Bereshit Rabbah 64:29: In the days of Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah the wicked kingdom [i.e., Rome] decreed that the Temple be rebuilt. Pappus and Lullianus set up tables from Akko to Antiochiah, and they supplied pilgrims from the diaspora with all their necessities. The Samaritans (kutaei) went [to the Roman rulers] and said: It should be made known to the emperor that once this rebellious city is rebuilt and its walls refortified, the [Jews] will no longer pay minda (tribute), belo (poll tax), or halakh (land tax). (Minda is the tax paid according to the size of the land; belo is the parangaria; halakh is the angaria, all of these being different types of Roman taxes.) The Romans said to them: What can we do? We’ve already issued the decree. The Samaritans replied: Send and say to them. Either you must move [the Temple] from its place, or you must add five cubits to its dimensions or cut its dimensions by five cubits, and by themselves they will withdraw their request [to rebuild the Temple]. [When the Jews heard that the Romans had retracted their offer to rebuild the Temple,] they gathered in the valley of Bet Rimon, and when the letters arrived, they began to weep, and sought to rebel against the empire. [The Jewish authorities] said: Let one wise man go up and calm the crowd. They said: Let Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah go up because he is a great scholar of Torah. He went up and preached (darash): A lion was consuming its prey (taraf teref ) and a bone got stuck in its throat. The lion said: I will give a reward to whoever can come and take out the bone. An Egyptian heron [or partridge] with a long beak came along, it stuck out its beak, and took out the bone. The heron said to the lion: Give me my reward. The lion responded: Get out of here, and boast that you went into the mouth of a lion whole, and you came out whole. So, [explained R. Joshua,] it is enough for us that we encountered this nation peacefully, and came out of the encounter peacefully. This entire passage including the fable at its center is far more complicated than it first appears. Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah was a celebrated early rabbinic sage of the Tannaitic period in Yavneh (though at the time of the fable he probably would have been an octogenarian); in light of this fact, some Jewish historians have wished to associate the events in our passage with the early reign of Hadrian.11 Unfortunately, we have no external evidence to verify the historical event that the passage describes. (The only knowledge we have of a serious consideration by the Romans to rebuild the Temple comes from the reign of the pagan emperor Julian in the 3rd century—roughly two centuries after Rabbi Joshua.) Furthermore, Bereshit Rabbah is our only source to record this story, and it is worth remembering that this midrashic anthology itself was redacted at the earliest 11. See Heinrich Graetz, Geschichte der Juden (4th ed., Leipzig: Leiner, 1908–9), IV: 129; W. D. Gray, “The Founding of Aelia Capitolina and the Chronology of the Jewish War under Hadrian,” American Journal of Semitic Language and Literature 39 (1923): 248–256; Chaim Raphael, The Walls of Jerusalem (New York: Knopf, 1968), 42–43.

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in the late 3rd century. It should also be noted that the entire frame-narrative seems to be largely a reworking of the account in the book of Ezra, chapter 4 which describes how the native inhabitants of Samaria, “the adversaries of Yehuda and Benjamin” (Ezra 4:1), complained to the Persian king about how Zerubavel and his compatriots were rebuilding the Temple; in fact, the complaint of the Samaritans in the Bereshit Rabbah narrative is a virtual quotation from the letter that, in Ezra 4:13, the Samaritans are said to have written the Persian king, including the fact that it is written in Aramaic. In short, the “historical” story in Bereshit Rabbah seems to be a literary conflation designed to rewrite the biblical account in Ezra in more contemporary terms. What is less clear is the purpose of this “rewriting.” Was it to offer a rationalization to explain why the Temple remained unbuilt after the Destruction? Or to lay the blame less on the Romans than on the “enemies” of the Jews living in the land of Israel—the contemporary Samaritans (who are often cast in rabbinic literature12 as wicked, plotting enemies against the Jews)? Or was it to stress the difference between the conditions of the Jews during the rabbinic period and their ancestors in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the efficacy of rabbinic realpolitik ideology in the 3rd and 4th centuries? Or to stress the greatness of the sages themselves and their leadership through the persona of a figure like Rabbi Joshua, who emerges here as a kind of Jewish Demosthenes or Menenius Agrippa? As Haim Schwarzbaum and other scholars have shown, Rabbi Joshua’s fable is a variant of a well-known fable that is attested in both ancient Indian literature and in the collections of Aesop’s fables edited by both Phaedrus and Babrius; as Schwarzbaum notes as well, the fable also resembles the story of Androcles and the Lion, which was very well-known in Antiquity.13 Indeed, the success of the fable in its supposed historical context may indeed derive from the fact that its motifs and themes were well-known to its audience. As David Daube has remarked, Rabbi Joshua reverses what may have been the fable’s “original” or more likely meaning, namely, never trust the promises of high authorities (like the lion), since they will use you and then find a way to wheedle their way out of their promises. In this case, the fable, though not totally repudiating that message, communicates more explicitly an ideology of political resignation: Be happy you got out alive, and never mind the rewards you were promised.14 In fact, the fable may have been so successful in calming the Jews—if there was any historical reality behind the rabbinic anecdote— precisely because it was so well-known and communicated to its audience both messages—namely, cynical distrust of the Roman authorities and their promises, and the wisdom of realpolitik and being satisfied with having escaped alive from the wicked kingdom’s clutches. Rabbi Joshua’s restive audience may have accepted the latter message precisely because they appreciated the former. So, too, the later audience for the midrash—in the 3rd century ce at the earliest—may have identified with the rabbi’s efforts to quell his audience’s passions. 12. For one example, see the story about Eliezer ha-Moda‘i and the Samaritan in Ekhah Rabbah 2:2 (ed. Buber, p. 101). 13. See Aesop’s Fables (transl. Laura Gibbs) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), 25–26 (Fable 46 = Phaedrus I.8 = Perry 156); cf. Haim Schwarzbaum, The Mishle Shuʿalim of Rabbi Berechiah ha-Nakdan (Kiron: Institute for Jewish and Arab Folklore Research, 1979), 51–56 and notes [Hebrew]. 14. Daube, “Ancient Hebrew Fable,” 13; cf. David Daube, Civil Disobedience in Antiquity (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1972), 131f.

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What has been less frequently noted about this entire passage, including Rabbi Joshua’s fable, is the exegetical function it serves within its context in Bereshit Rabbah as a comment on Genesis 26:29. As the reader will recall, Abimelech, king of the Philistines, had previously banished Isaac from his homeland, but Isaac had settled nearby and prospered, digging many wells; however, the Bible also tells us that Abimelech’s servants and herdsmen had frequently quarreled with Isaac’s servants and herdsmen over those same wells. In verse 26, we are told that Abimelech came to Isaac along with his councilor and the chief of his army, seeking to make a treaty with him “that you will not do us harm, just as we have not molested you but have always dealt kindly with you and sent you away in peace . . .” (Gen. 26:29). As the rabbis certainly noticed, Abimelech’s claim was blatantly false; as is clear to any reader of the Bible, Abimelech had banished Isaac from his land (Gen. 26:16), and his servants had repeatedly quarreled with Isaac’s! Indeed, in addition to being false, Abimelech’s request was only self-serving and duplicitous. Still, Isaac never contests Abimelech’s statement; he even goes on to accede to his request and makes a treaty with him the following morning (Gen. 26:31). Why does Isaac act this way? The entire passage including Rabbi Joshua’s fable is a response to this question. The fable explains why Isaac does not contest Abimelech’s self-serving lies: his silence reflects his political shrewdness—he knows when it’s wise to pick a fight. The Romans are indeed like the hypocritical, duplicitous lions; Rabbi Joshua is like Isaac. Alternately, the fable may be a cynical comment on Abimelech’s claim to Isaac that he and his house “have always dealt kindly with you and sent you away in peace . . .” This is the kindness: to let you escape alive—such is the point of the fable. The real audience of the fable, in other words, is the reader of the midrash (or the audience to which a preacher, using the midrashic passage, would have preached), and what that reader would have gotten out of the passage and its fable would have been a greater appreciation of the wisdom of the rabbis in knowing when to contest the Romans. I have dealt at such length with this passage because it is an excellent example of the complexity of the apparently simple and transparent literary form of the fable as it is used within the discourse of rabbinic literature. It also reminds us how difficult it can be to speak directly or explicitly about the function that a literary genre like the fable may have served in rabbinic culture. David Daube (following the ancient Aesopian anthologist Phaedrus) has proposed that fables be considered as “slave-literature,” covert speech used by an underclass in order to state in figurative terms certain truths that they otherwise could not speak explicitly.15 This may be true elsewhere, but it does not seem to be the case here. Joshua’s message is a conservative one; even with its cynical view of the lion, its purpose was surely not covert. The Romans would almost certainly have agreed with him. A second, oft-cited fable recorded in a narrative context in rabbinic literature is the fable that Rabbi Akiva is reputed to have recited when, in defiance of the Hadrianic prohibitions following the Bar Kokhba rebellion, he gathered students and taught Torah publicly. According to the testimony of the Babylonian Talmud (BT Berakhot 61b), Akiva’s colleague Pappus ben Judah found him doing this, and berated him for risking his life. In response, Akiva replied: 15. Daube, Civil Disobedience, 53–55.

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I will tell you a fable. To what is this similar? It is like a fox that was once walking alongside a river, and it saw fish going in swarms from one place to another. The fox said to them: From what are you fleeing? The fish replied: From the nets cast for us by men. The fox said: Would you like to come up onto the dry land so that you and I can live together in the way that my ancestors lived with your ancestors? The fish replied: Are you the one whom they call the cleverest of animals? You’re not clever but foolish. If we are afraid in the place in which we live, how much more so will we be afraid in a place in which we will surely die! So too with us: If we are in such a state when we sit and study Torah, of which it is written, “For that is your life and the length of your days” (Deut. 30:20), how much worse off shall we be if we go and neglect it! Shortly later, the Talmud continues, both Akiva and Pappus were arrested. When the latter saw Akiva imprisoned, he lamented, “Happy are you, Akiva, for you have been arrested for busying yourself with Torah. And woe to Pappus who has been arrested for busying himself with vain things.” As Schwarzbaum and others have pointed out, this fable has numerous parallels; indeed, according to Schwarzbaum, “the fable was current in oral tradition long before Rabbi Akiva employed it as an illustration of his notion regarding the basic importance of Torah studies.”16 Schwarzbaum’s evidence for this assertion is weak, but even if the fable were current in contemporary oral tradition as an independent composition, it is clear that here, again, the narrative framing of this fable complicates the interpretation of its meaning. At first glance, the message of the fable seems to be clear. The wily fox represents the Romans and the fish the Jews. The fox’s invitation to the fish to join him on land is parallel to an invitation that the Romans are credited, elsewhere in rabbinic literature, to having made in order to entice the Israelites to forsake their traditions, leave God and His laws, and join up and live peacefully with them (cf. Ekhah Rabbah 3:21 and Mekhilta Shirta 3; Sifre Deut. 343). And here, as elsewhere, the Jews, like the fish, respond by crediting their very existence to their ability to sustain themselves through Torah.17 That the fish argue their case using the characteristic rabbinic technique of a kal wa-homer, an argument a fortiori, only marks them more indelibly as representations of the rabbis. But this is not the only possible interpretation of the fable when viewed from within its context. In point of fact, while the story of Rabbi Akiva’s martyrdom (of which this narrative is a part) is recorded several times in rabbinic literature in different versions, this version in the Babylonian Talmud is the only one to include either the story of Pappus’s confrontation with Akiva or the 16. Schwarzbaum, Mishle Shuʿalim, 26, and 25–47 more generally. See also Singer, “Fox Fables in Rabbinic Literature,” 80–83 for a very intelligent discussion of the parable. The closest parallel according to Singer is the Indian fable of the Crane and the Fish (Jakata #38).

17. See BT Avodah Zarah 3b; cited in Singer, “Fox Fables in Rabbinic Literature,” 82. Jon Lindseth calls to my attention the unexpected citation of this parable in precisely this sense in a contemporary novel, James Michener’s The Source (New York: Random House, 1967), 979, where one character is quoted as saying, “Rebbe: I want all Jews to live within the fence of the Talmud. Have you forgotten what the great Rabbi Akiba said? The fish were having a difficult time with the nets in the stream and the fox called, ‘Leave the dangerous water. Come up on land,’ and the fish were about to do so when their leader asked, ‘If we are having a difficult time in the water, which is our element, how much more dangerous will be the land, where the fox waits to eat us?’ If Jews have difficulty within the Talmud, which is their element, how much worse will they be without it? Fables don’t die; they live on.”

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fable that Akiva tells Pappus to justify his seeming recklessness. Further, as we know from elsewhere, Akiva’s decision to defy the Hadrianic prohibition was indeed reckless, and for that reason, controversial. By risking being caught and being executed for what was, in Roman eyes, a capital crime (as, in fact, does happen to him), Akiva was not only courting death but effectively committing a form of voluntary suicide that Jewish law had traditionally discouraged. Rabbi Akiva’s fable responds to that implied criticism of his actions, and ultimately justifies his act of martyrdom—indeed, it justifies the very notion of martyrdom as a voluntary form of heroic suicide. Its intended audience is not so much Akiva’s skeptical colleague Pappus as it is the entirety of previous rabbinic tradition. If Akiva’s sagacity is that of the fish, the implicit identification of the two is only corroborated by the never-explicated equation of Torah with water—a metaphor so ubiquitous in rabbinic literature that it is virtually a cliché.18 For all their complexity, these two fables—Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah’s and Rabbi Akiva’s— are nonetheless exceptional inasmuch as they are preserved within narrative contexts. Most other fables in rabbinic literature are preserved solely as parts of exegetical anthologies—either in midrashic collections or in the Talmud—and we have no inkling as to the original context in which they were first presented (if indeed they were ever used as independent compositions). Consider, for example, the following fable that is found in the Tannaitic collection Sifre baMidbar as a comment on Numbers 31:2, [The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,] “Avenge the Israelite people on the Midianites.” It is understood that the vengeance to be taken here is in repayment for the incident at Shittim told several chapters earlier (Num. 25); in that incident, however, the main transgressors are the Moabites, not the Midianites (though a Midianite woman does figure in verse 25:6). So why single out the Midianites for vengeance? And weren’t the Moabites the first ones in the matter, as it is said, “The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian set out” (Num. 22:7). In all their days they never made peace with each other, but when it came to fighting with Israel, they made peace with each other and fought against Israel. A fable (mashal): To what is this similar? To two dogs that were jealous of each other; then a wolf came to seize a lamb from the flock, and one of the dogs started to fight him off. His friend said: If I don’t go and help him now, the wolf will kill him, and then he’ll seek an occasion against me, and kill me. They made peace with each other, and fought against the wolf together. So, too, Moab and Midian all their days never made peace with each other, as it is said, “. . . who defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab” (Gen. 36:35). And when they came to fight with Israel, they made peace with each other and went to war against Israel. The irony behind this fable is the identification of the animals. The two dogs in the fable are, of course, Moab and Midian; and strictly speaking, one would expect Israel to be the wolf though that is at best counterintuitive, especially since it is Moab and Midian who are accused of attacking Israel. On the other hand, the dogs are there to protect the flock from the wolf, and by conven18. See BT Avodah Zarah 5b, cited in Singer, “Fox Fables in Rabbinic Literature,” 83.

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tion, Israel is known as God’s flock. Whom then do the wolf and the dogs represent? It is a virtual commonplace to say that fables vividly illustrate or exemplify a more universal and abstract lesson or teaching. In this case, the fable actually serves to further entangle and complicate the lesson and its moral tenor. Consider one final example of a fable in an exegetical context and its use for genuine exegetical purposes. This fable is found in Bereshit Rabbah 78:7, as a comment on Genesis 33:1, “Looking up, Jacob saw Esau coming, accompanied by four hundred men. He divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maids . . . [He himself went on ahead and bowed low to the ground seven times until he was near his brother, Gen. 33:3].” Jacob’s obsequious fawning before Esau was, early on, a source of trouble for ancient exegetes of the Bible, for not only was his behavior—fawning before his wicked brother—itself unacceptable; it also seems to have implied a lack of confidence in God’s ability to protect and save him and his family. The fable responds to both difficulties: Rabbi Levi said: A lion was angry with the cattle and the beasts. They said: Who will go to appease him? The fox said: I know three hundred fables and I will appease him. They said: Let it be so. [The fox] went a short distance and halted. They asked him: Why have you halted? He replied: I have forgotten a hundred. They said to him: In two hundred there are still blessings. He went on a little and halted again. They asked him: What does this mean? He replied: I have forgotten another hundred. They said: Even in a hundred there are blessings. When he reached the lion, he said: I have forgotten them all, so everyone must appease him for himself. Similarly Jacob. According to Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon, Jacob said: I have within me the power to [overcome Esau through] my prayers. According to Rabbi Levi, Jacob said: I have within me the power to [overcome Esau through] military might. But when the time came, “He divided the children, etc.” (Gen. 33:1). He said: Let each person’s own merit stand up for him. This is, arguably, the ultimate meta-fable—a fable about a fable-telling animal who forgets his fables! Indeed, as Aaron Singer has noted, part of the charm of this fable is the fact that its protagonist plays against type: Where the fox usually embodies fearless self-confidence along with ruthless wiliness, here he panics at the impending confrontation, and out of his overwhelming fear, loses all the tools of his craftiness.19 The overall message of the fable in context is not, however, charming. While the fox may be a fitting emblem for Jacob, who is certainly the craftiest and sneakiest of all the patriarchs, here the very function of the fable seems to be to undermine this image of Jacob and to show that both his self-confidence and wiliness were pure bluff. As one commentator on the midrash notes, the point of the fable is far from comforting.20 19. Singer, “Fox Fables in Rabbinic Literature,” 84–85. 20. A. Mirsky, Midrash Rabbah (Tel Aviv: Yavneh, 1972), vol. III, 199, ad locum.

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That message is even less comforting if one bears in mind that, for the rabbis, Jacob and Esau were not merely patriarchs but also the progenitors of and symbolic representatives for Israel and Rome. The fox’s despairing conclusion at the fable’s end, and Rabbi Levi’s concluding remark are both sad epitaphs for Israel’s repeated attempts to appease Rome and stave off disaster through the power of words. How exactly the fox planned to use fables to appease the lion is something that, alas, the fable never tells us, but it is clear by the fable’s end that craftiness, language, the imagination—all the things that, in short, make a fable work—still do not suffice to rescue the cattle. Fables may be entertaining, particularly if they are clever, but they will not necessarily save your life. This last fable is not, however, the last fable in rabbinic literature, nor does it suggest the degree and extent to which the rabbis elsewhere exploit the imaginative potential of the fabulistic realm—where, for better or worse, animals act and speak like humans—in order to convey the deeper truths of their world and of their worldview. Let me conclude this brief survey with a passage that is not formally a fable but that uses the imagery of the anthropomorphic fable to make a profoundly rabbinic point about the character of Israel. The passage occurs in the Babylonian Talmud (BT Berakhot 53b) in the midst of a lengthy discussion about a case in which a person forgets to say the Grace after meals in the place in which he ate (which is where one must normally recite the Grace): Is the person required to return to the place in which he ate, even at great inconvenience, or can he say the Grace wherever he happens to be when he remembers. The Talmud effectively decides the debate in favor of the first (far more stringent) opinion, and then narrates a series of stories to prove the correctness and efficacy of the opinion. This story is the last in the series; its protagonist, Rabba bar bar Hanna, was a 4th-century Babylonian sage who was known for his frequent travels. Rabba bar bar Hanna was traveling in a caravan. He ate and was sated but [forgot] and did not say Grace. Then [he remembered and] said: “What shall I do? If I tell the [gentile] men [of the caravan] that I forgot to say Grace, they will tell me, ‘Bless here. Wherever you say the blessing, you are saying the blessing to the Merciful [God].’ It is better that I tell them that I have forgotten a golden dove [and therefore have to go back to retrieve it].” So he said to them, “Wait for me, for I have forgotten a golden dove.” He went back and said Grace and found a golden dove. And why a dove? Because the community of Israel is likened to a dove, as it is written, “The wings of the dove are covered with silver, and her pinions with the shimmer of gold” (Ps. 68:14). Just as the dove is saved only by her wings, so Israel is saved only by the commandments. Such indeed are the truths that the world of fables is there to teach us, if we know only how to interpret their meaning correctly.

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Foxes, Fables, and Gender-Change— Mashal and Paroimia* RAPHAEL LOEWE

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he Hebrew Bible contains several parables, of which that concerning the trees’ attempt to find themselves a king1 is the most fully worked-out example. There is nothing to hint that they were cited from any corpus of fables already assembled in oral tradition; and it is clear from the words which it introduces that the formula meshhal ha-qadmoni2 refers not to a parable but to a proverb and does not, in itself, justify any assumption that it points to the existence of any collection of such. In regard to the New Testament matters are very different. The synoptic gospels are explicit3 that the parable-form was the hallmark of Jesus’ teaching; and although the rich parable source-materials to be found in the homilies of the earliest midrashic collections were not assembled until some centuries after his time, there is no reason to suppose that Jesus was breaking entirely new ground, even though his own resort to parable may have been more profuse than that of his rabbinic contemporaries.4 More to the point, for present purposes, is the circumstance that when the midrashic exempla began to be put into written form, there was no editorial interest in organizing them according to any parabolic or other literary category or rule-of-thumb referential scheme based, e.g., on the principal characters involved (lion, fox, blind man, etc.). As the term midrash itself implies, the dominant interest was the interpretative or illustrative potential of the fable for the content of the sacred text; and until the emergence of modem scholarly address typified by Louis Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews,5 the only key to locating any particular parable was the biblical text(s) to which it is appended or to which reference is contrived in its rehearsal. *

This article elaborates a section of the introduction to my edition of Isaac ibn Sabula’s Sefer Meshal Haqadmoni: Fables from the Distant Past (Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2004). See If., “Ibn Sahula as Fabulist.” 1. Judges 9:8–15. 2. 1 Samuel 24:13 [in some Bible versions 24:14; ed.], introducing “meresha‘im yetze resha‘” (out of the wicked comes forth wickedness). 3. Mark 4:34, “he never spoke to them except in parables” (chōris de parabolēs ouk elalei autois); cf. Matth. 13:34. 4. Whilst the references to Jesus’ teaching being “not like the scribes, but as one having authority” (os exousian echōn) (Mark 1:22; cf. Luke 4:32) is construed by New Testament scholars at home in rabbinic literature as naturally referring to Jesus’ credentials as an exponent of Jewish values (see, e.g., [Hermann L. Strack and] Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, I [Munich: Beck, 1922], 470; David Daube, “Exousia in Mark 1,22 and 27,” Journal of Theological Studies 39 [1938]: 45f; idem, The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism [London: Athlone Press, 1956], 215), I have sometimes wondered whether behind the text is a misunderstanding of the Hebrew word mashal, which means both rule and parable. Was the point of the original assertion that the novelty of Jesus’ exposition lay in the fact that the only thing common to him and the scribes was resort to parable—a far more popular mode of instruction than abstract moral discourse or the rehearsal of halakhic regulation? 5. 7 vols., 1913–1938. Although the material is arranged chronologically according to traditional Jewish historiography, it is made accessible topically by its indispensable index-volume.

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By the beginning of the 6th century ce, when the Talmud reached its final form, rabbinic writings not only evince references (to which we shall revert below) to the existence of a folk-literature independent of the parables propounded by the rabbis themselves in the course of their scriptural exposition, but they also rehearse a few fables taken from the orally transmitted corpus traditionally ascribed in the West to Aesop: for example, the fable of the lion (as in the Indian form; in the Western tradition a wolf) from whose throat a bone is removed by a crane.6 If we ignore Aesop’s alleged biography which places him in the 6th century bc and was already known to Herodotus, much in which appears to be legendary, the Western beginnings of “Aesop” still remain obscure; but, as the example just cited indicates, they are clearly linked to some extent with the Eastern fable-literature, the movement of which westward is much more clearly documented. Itself credited to a legendary Bidpaʾi (see below, n. 27), this can be traced to a 2nd-century bce Sanskrit corpus of the fables of Vishun Sarman (the Panchatantra), from which was extracted a series of stories that would become known as Kalilah and Dimnah (see below, p. 43). These were rendered into Pehlevi in the 6th century ce, but that translation is no longer extant. However, the circumstance that already in the 2nd century ce Joshua ben Hananiah could cite the story of the lion and the crane points to the circulation of Indian-Greek fables, by his time, in a lingua franca—presumably Aramaic. A literary translation into Syriac (i.e., Christian Aramaic) was made about 570 ce by Bud (?=Kobad) Periodeutes, demonstrably from the now lost Pehlevi version.7 Likewise dependent upon the Persian is the Arabic rendering by Abdullah ibn Mukaffah (died 762), whence (presumably) the Spanish translation was made before 1252 for the future Alfonso X of Castile, since this precedes the Latin rendering made between 1263 and 1278 from a 12th-century Hebrew version by the Apostate Jew John of Capua.8 To round off the transmissional history we may add that an English version of the Arabic appeared in 1809;9 two medieval Hebrew MS translations were published in 1881,10 and a modern one was published by Abraham Elmaleh.11 Reference has been made to the postulated oral transmission of the fables in some lingua franca. Whereas in Palestine that might well have been Greek, Aramaic is a more likely candidate in Babylonia, and indeed it may be noted that although Joshua ben Hananiah (domiciled in Palestine) begins his fable in Hebrew (ariyeh taraf teref ve-ʿamad ʿetzem bi-gerono [a lion goes out for prey when a bone sticks in his throat]) he then lapses into Aramaic. A piece of research which might yield significant results would be to list all the references in the Talmud and Midrashim to mashal/ meshalim (fable[s]) and mishlot shuʿalim (fox fables), etc. (excluding those which, like meshal 6. Genesis Rabbah 64, 10, ed. Vilna 127b, ed. Theodor-Albeck, 710f. See Loewe, “Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah: Ll.D. or D.Litt?,” Journal of Jewish Studies 25 (1974): 147f. 7. Despite a 14th-century assertion that it was made directly from the Sanskrit. See Gustav Bickell, Kalilag und Damnag: alte syrische Übersetzung des indischen Fürstenspiegels, introduction by Theodor Benfey (1876), xxxii, xxxix, xlix, lxviiif., lxixf., Ixxxivf. 8. Encyclopædia Judaica 6:1127, foot 10, 163 (first ed.). Moritz Steinschneider, Bodleian Catalogue, cols. 1399, 1402, nos. 5832 and 5842. 9. Wyndham Knatchbull, Kalila and Dimna, or, the Fables of Bidpai (Oxford: W. Baxter for J. Parker, 1809). 10. Joseph Derenbourg, Deux versions hébraïques du livre de Kalilah et Dimnah (Paris: Vieweg, 1881). 11. Tel Aviv, 1927.

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hedyot [a popular adage]), clearly refer to proverbs and not to fables), and to set against each the names of the rabbis concerned. Are the majority of them Palestinian, in which case the possibilities of a Greek medium could be entertained, or Babylonian? But caution is necessary. The Near East of late Antiquity was more cosmopolitan than is often realized, and Greek influence beyond the Euphrates, possibly communicated in Aramaic, is not to be excluded, even after the final abandonment, with Trajan’s defeat in 117 ce, of Roman aspirations of mastering Parthia. Let us therefore scrutinize an external feature of mashal, the key-word in the fable terminology of post-biblical and medieval Hebrew, from an angle that has hitherto escaped examination. In a number of instances mashal is linked to shuʿal(im), fox(es), and to the significance of this we shall return below. Our starting-point must be to take note of the fact that in biblical Hebrew mashal is masculine and its plural is invariably regular, meshalim etc. But Rabbi Johanan (c. 180–c. 279 ce) recorded of Rabbi Meir, his senior by a generation and renowned for his expositional use of fables (meshalim),12 that he possessed a repertory of three hundred fox-fables (meshalot),13 and knowledge of meshalot shuʿalim is likewise credited, both in a baraita and elsewhere in Aramaic,14 to Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, a survivor of the capture of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 ce. Other occurrences include a suffixed form meshalotav shel Shlomo (Solomon’s fables).15 What is the reason for this change, to which none of the lexicographers draw attention even though recording it? It seems altogether improbable that as early as the tannaitic period the Aramaic matalaʾ, the emphatic form in the masculine, was misconstrued as a feminine absolute and then communicated its gender-change to the Hebrew mashal. I suggest that the cause was the infection of the Hebrew mashal, which is masculine, by the Greek paroimía (feminine). In the Septuagint paroimiai renders mishle at Proverbs 1:1, and hence as the title of the book, and it is not used to render other Hebrew words by any of the Greek translators. Its meaning is proverb, maxim; parabolē, which also renders mashal (and no other Hebrew word) in the Greek Old Testament, is the regular term for parable in the New (see, e.g., n. 3 above). In classical Greek16 it would seem that the respective semantic fields of paroimía and parabolē are watertight; in patristic Greek, parabolē shows some tendency to encroach on paroimía,17 but not vice versa.18 Miscegenation having occurred, it would seem that it was semantically exploited by purists— 12. Mishnah Sotah 9:15: “Mishemet Rabbi Meir batelu moshelei meshalim” (When Rabbi Meir died, the composers of fables ceased). 13. BT Sanhedrin 38b: “Ve-amar Rabbi Johanan shalosh meʾot meshalot hayu lo le-Rabbi Meir” (Rabbi Johanan said: Rabbi Meir had three hundred fox fables). 14. BT Sukkah 28a: “meshalot kokhasin meʾot meshalot shuʿalim,” cf. Leviticus Rabbah 28, 2, ed. Vilna 40b, col. ii, “talat maʾwan demetalin al ha-din teʿalah.” Since, in this type of Aramaic, for a masculine plural one would expect not metalin but metalei, metalin is probably a corruption of the feminine metalan. 15. Song of Songs Rabbah 1, 1, ed. Vilna, 2a, col. ii, cf. 3a, col. ii and 3b, col. i (mishlot). 16. See Liddell-Scot-Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, s. vv. 17. Geoffrey W.H. Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon, 1009, 7. 18. Aesop’s Fables are styled Aisopeion muthon sunagoge / Fabulae aesopicae collectae in Carl Halm’s edition, 1889. In the corpus of Paroimiographorum graecorum by Ernst L. Leutsch, ii, 228, they are headed paroimiai Aisopon.

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already by the 1st century ce (see n. 14)—as a means of differentiating the Hebrew mashal—with a wide range of meanings, stretching beyond proverb and parable,19 and emotionally linked to divinely inspired scripture most obviously by the title Mishle/Proverbs—from the fable-literature in general currency amongst both Jews and Gentiles and probably reckoned “Greek”20 by Jews whatever its immediate or more remote source, in the composition of which no hand other than human was recognized. Mashal, in its biblical masculine, was reserved for the first category, from which the second was kept separate by the use of the feminine plural form. One might compare the different connotations in English of artist and artiste. That the distinction is not consistently observed in our texts (meshalotav shel Shlomo, see n. 15) is hardly surprising: its disregard reflects the nonchalance, where matters of grammatical finesse are concerned, of most writers in Hebrew, the carelessness of scribes, and the ignorance of printers. Small wonder, then, that when Berechiah ha-Nakdan adopted the phrase from its talmudic source (see n. 13) as the title of his collection of fables, it lapsed from Mishlot shuʿalim into Mishle shuʿalim. We may now consider what is meant by the phrase Mishlot shuʿalim and its Aramaic equivalent.21 Shuʿal means fox or jackal—the latter meaning admitted tentatively by BDB,22 and positively by Ben-Yehuda23—and the construct mishlot is susceptible of two interpretations: either “fables about foxes,” or “fables propounded by (or retailed by) foxes.” With regard to the first, whilst several of the best known Aesopian fables do involve a fox, this would hardly constitute grounds for suggesting a name for the whole genre. The propounding of a successful fable presupposes a measure of worldly wisdom; and that the Greeks shared—perhaps even initiated—the general European acknowledgment of the astuteness of the fox is clear from a line of the lyric poet Archilochus (7th century ce), póll oid alopex, allʾ ekhînos en méga,24 “the fox knows many things, the hedgehog one—of considerable importance.” There is, however, nothing recorded from classical or papyrological Greek to suggest that the Hebrew phrase mishlot shuʿalim is a borrowing. And on the Jewish side, it is the serpent which is reckoned in the Bible25 the most sly (ʿarum) of all the animals. That the fox was not considered to be particularly intelligent is shown by an anecdote rehearsed by Rabbi Levi26 (Palestine, 3rd century ce) in which a fox boasts that he knows three hundred fables (matalien), but then has gradually to admit that he has forgotten them all. The Aesopian tradition in Greek proving a blind alley, we may turn to the Indian tradition 19. Francis Brown, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament, 605, list the following meanings: 1. proverbial saying, 2. by-word, 3. prophetic figurative discourse, 4. similitude, parable, 5. poem, 6. sentences of ethical wisdom. 20. I.e., as being comprised within “hokhmat Yavanit” (Greek wisdom), BT Sotah 49b. See Saul Lieberman, Greek in Jewish Palestine (New York: JTS, 1994), 16, n. 10; idem, Hellenism in Jewish Palestine (New York: JTS, 1994), 100f.; Martin Hengel, Judentum und Hellenismus (Tübingen: Mohr, 1973), 314, n. 425. 21. See nn. 13 and 14. 22. Brown, Driver, and Briggs, Hebrew and English Lexicon, 1043. 23. Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Milon ha-lashon ha-ʿIvrit [Dictionary of the Hebrew language], vol. 8, 6981. 24. Ed. Giovanni Tarditi (Rome: Ed. Dell’Ateneo, 1968), no. 196, p. 169; Theodor Bergk, Poetae lyrici Graeci (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1878–1882), vol. 2, 418, no. 118. 25. Genesis 3:1. 26. Genesis Rabbah 78, 7, ed. Vilna, 249a, ed. Theodor-Albeck, 924f.

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fathered onto the mythical Bidpaʾi,27 and all will become clear. The popular selection from the Panchatantra consists of a series of stories relating the escapades of a pair of jackals, called Kalilah and Dimnah, whose name became the title of the book as transmitted to the West through the Persian and thence the Arabic versions.28 They also appear, both in the title and in the body of the text, of the two medieval Hebrew versions (see n. 10) of Joel (12th century) and of Jacob ben Eleazar (12th–13th centuries). Since the two jackals are mentioned throughout, it might sometimes have been misleading if their names had been rigorously excluded and the two characters referred to simply by third-person pronouns; and it would have been aesthetically ponderous to insist on labeling them jackal no. 1 and jackal no. 2. The point would be not worth the making were it not the case that, right until Jewish emergence from the ghetto and the later self-contained Jewries of Eastern Europe, an incongruity was sensed in according individual names to domestic pets, let alone horses etc., and inconceivably in the case of wild fauna, it being assumed that animals have no personality. The names (i.e., words for) animals assigned to them by Adam29 were deemed to subsume (whether in Hebrew or as translated) all that can be said about the character of the species concerned, rendering further nominal identification superfluous.30 Thus, the Talmud records the pious instincts of “the ass of R. Phineas ben Yair,”31 and the longer Greek recension of the apocryphal Tobit records that a dog accompanied Tobias and the archangel. One may contrast Homer’s Odyssey,32 in which the returning hero is recognized by none save his old hound Argos. The narration in Hebrew of the stories about Kalilah and Dimnah constrained the translators to neglect this Jewish inhibition regarding names for animals, but in regard to the genre it was a different matter: Kalilah and Dimnah had already become, and remained, merely (mishlot) shuʿalim. Such externalities as the two matters here considered may perhaps be reckoned of little importance by folklorists whose proper concern is the substance of fables and what their variations have to tell us about interethnic influences. But I venture to suggest that precisely because these minutiae were ingested unremarked, they are in fact more informative about sociolinguistic history than are the more spectacular borrowings. As is well known, talmudic and midrashic Hebrew and Aramaic texts evince a substantial number of Greek and much fewer Latin loanwords, concerning official administration (e.g., Hebrew ipatyaʾ = Greek ipateia, consulate), technology (e.g., Hebrew ballistraʾ = ballista, catapult), institutions and cultural values (e.g., Hebrew parhesyaʾ = Greek parrèisia, free speech > public statement), alongside popular drudge-words such as Hebrew ontos = Greek óntōs, really. Krauss’s Greek index33 totals 2,411 items, but this gives a somewhat exagger27. Derived from Sanskrit vidya-pati = chief scholar. For the reputed author/collector of the Panchatantra, see above. 28. See above, 40. 29. Genesis 2:19. 30. Raphael Loewe, “Hebrew Linguistics,” in Giulio C. Lepschy, ed., History of Linguistics (London/New York: Longman, 1994), vol. 1, 98f. 31. PT Demaʾi, 1, 3. 32. 17, ll. 292f. 33. Samuel Krauss, Griechische und lateinische Lehnwörter im Talmud, Midrasch und Targum (Hildesheim: G. Olms, 1964), vol. 2, 655f.

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ated impression due to duplication and the inclusion of Latin words in Grecized form; his Latin list totals a mere 251. Impressive as these figures are as pointing to the actuality of a degree of Western acculturation which most of those evincing it would probably have repudiated, they are far less significant than items like gender-change that have passed unnoticed. The Hellenization of prepositions in rabbinic Hebrew sometimes following Aramaic, e.g., Hebrew keneged > leqabbel > Greek para, or the post-biblical ʿal yedei as a distinctive prepositional phrase indicating agency to correspond with the common Greek hupo, and the time-references of verbal forms in rabbinic, pre-modem Hebrew are far more eloquent of the subtle assimilation of a Western mind-set than is a mishnaic reference to “Homer” or the midrashic citation of one of Aesop’s fables. That it suits publicists, politicians, and language-promoters to play down such straws in the wind is due to the circumstance that where collective pride is at issue, the capacity for self-deception is correspondingly greater. Scholars should be on their guard.

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Fables in Yiddish Literature MARION APTROOT

A

mong the oldest Yiddish texts that have come down to us is a fable. “The Fable of the Old Lion” is found in the Cambridge Codex (dated 1382), the oldest Yiddish manuscript that has survived through the ages. The Cambridge Codex is named for the town in which it can be found today, in the university library. It was brought there from Egypt, where it must have been taken by Ashkenazic Jews during the late Middle Ages or the Early Modern Period. When it could no longer be read because the language became inaccessible, it was brought to the Ezra Synagogue in Fustat (Old Cairo) for burial and, like other texts, kept in the community genizah, a space where texts in Hebrew letters were stored until they were to be buried in the Jewish cemetery. Texts containing the name of God—and by extension any text in Hebrew letters—cannot be thrown away or destroyed and have to be disposed of in a manner befitting their possibly holy contents. Often, such texts remain in a genizah without being buried, as was the case with the Cambridge Codex. In the late 19th century, it was brought to the University of Cambridge as part of larger hauls of books and papers.1 It would take more than half a century before the importance of the Yiddish codex was recognized by Lajb Fuks, librarian of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, the Judaica collection at the Special Collections of the University of Amsterdam. During a visit to Cambridge he was shown the manuscript and recognized its importance for the history of Yiddish literature.2 In 1957 Fuks published the first edition of the manuscript;3 more editions were to follow.4 “The Fable of the Old Lion” is the only fable in this codex. It is situated between epic poems about biblical heroes whose narrative material is based on biblical and midrashic texts on one side and Dukus Horant (Duke Horant), a secular epic poem from the German Gudrun cycle on the other. This buffer between Jewish and Gentile literature, between the holy and the profane, is formed by the fable, a list of the gems in the breastplate of the high priest of the temple in Jerusalem, and a text on the Jewish calendar and the weekly Torah portions.5 1. For a highly readable account of the discovery of the Cairo genizah and the ongoing process of research, see Adina Hoffmann and Peter Cole, Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza (New York: Schocken, 2011). 2. Lajb Fuks, “On the Oldest Dated Work in Yiddish Literature,” in Uriel Weinreich, ed., The Field of Yiddish (Publications of the Linguistic Circle of New York, 3) (New York: The Linguistic Circle of New York, 1954), 267–274. 3. Lajb Fuks, The Oldest Known Literary Documents of Yiddish Literature (c. 1382), vol. 1: Introduction, Facsimiles and Transcriptions, vol. 2: Transliteration, Modern German Version, Notes and Bibliography (Leiden: Brill, 1957). 4. Eli Katz, “Six Germano-Judaic Poems from the Cairo Genizah” (PhD thesis, University of California, Los Angeles, 1963); Heikki J. Hakkarainen, Studien zum Cambridger Codex T-S.10.K.22 (Turku: Turun Yliopisto, 1967). In addition, there are editions of separate texts from the manuscript, for example Hans Peter Althaus, Die Cambridger Löwenfabel von 1382: Untersuchung und Edition eines defektiven Textes (Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1971); Jerold C. Frakes, Early Yiddish Texts, 1100–1750 (Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 29–32. 5. Chone Shmeruk, “Old Yiddish Poetry in Linguistic-Literary Research,” Word 16 (1960): 100–118.

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A fusion of Jewish and Western traditions can be distinguished in this fable, as can be found in many works of older Yiddish literature. The poems that precede it are to a great extent Jewish in content, Western in form. The Western influence is mainly visible in the epic form, the rhyme scheme, and some of the phraseology. The interplay between these traditions in “The Fable of the Old Lion” is subtle.6 “The Fable of the Old Lion” in its essence can be traced back to the 1st century ce, to the Roman fabulist Phaedrus (The Lion Grown Old).7 It tells of a lion, once the powerful king of the animal kingdom, who has become old and weak and the animals who used to serve him take advantage of his weakness to rebel against him and harm him physically. The fable is used in illustration of the insults and humiliations imparted on those who have fallen from power. Over time, the fable becomes a warning to those who sway power over others. Erika Timm has traced the history of the fable in Latin and Western European languages as well as Hebrew written in Western Europe, and the pertaining research literature. The animals who seek revenge on the fallen ruler and the order in which they appear vary. The earliest Yiddish version may not have been based on a written fable but on orally transmitted versions, but some possible sources could be identified by Timm. One is a version by Berechiah ha-Nakdan, a Hebrew poet who wrote in England in the late 12th or early 13th century.8 Berechiah’s fable of the lion grown old is found in his collection Mishle shuʿalim (Fox Fables) and itself was influenced by Marie de France, a French poet who probably lived in England in the late 12th century.9 The Yiddish fable also shows influences from a German version, which was written down around 1350 by Ulrich Boner.10 However, in contrast to the Hebrew, German, and later Yiddish versions, the lion here is not described as being “old”—the title commonly used to refer to the fable is misleading—but “los,” which means “cunning, deceitful.” In other respects, too, the Yiddish version cannot simply be seen as a translation of one or the other or a combination of both possible sources: it is the only version to introduce God’s retribution against an unjust leader and the phraseology shows the author’s command of literary German.11 6. For the most thorough study of “The Fable of the Old Lion” in the Yiddish tradition and its background, see Erika Timm, “Die ‘Fabel vom alten Löwen’ in jiddistischer und komparatistischer Sicht,” Zeitschrift für deutsche Philologie 100 (Sonderheft Jiddisch, 1981): 109–170, here 147. 7. In other collections this fable is also known as “The Fable of the Aged Lion.” 8. On Berechiah, see, for example, Abraham Meir Habermann, “Berechiah ben Natronai Ha-Nakdan,” Encyclopædia Judaica, eds. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 3 (Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), 406–407. Gale Virtual Reference Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX2587502609/GVRL?u=duessel&sid=GVRL&xid=9ecdb0c3 (accessed July 10, 2018). 9. On Berechiah’s Mishle shuʿalim, see, for example, Haim Schwarzbaum, The Mishle Shuʿalim (Fox Fables) of Rabbi Berechiah Ha-Nakdan: A Study in Comparative Folklore and Fable Lore (Kiron: Institute for Jewish and Arab Folklore Research, 1970). 10. Ulrich Boner was a monk in the order of the Dominicans who lived and worked in Berne in the first half of the 14th century. There, he wrote his collection of fables, Der Edelstein (The Gemstone) between 1340–1350. The work circulated in manuscript and was first printed in 1461 (Bamberg: Albrecht Pfister). The book was soon reprinted, but then interest among speakers of German seems to have waned. See Klaus Grubmüller, “Fabel, Exempel, Allegorese. Über Sinnbildungsverfahren und Verwendungszusammenhänge,” in Walter Haug and Burghardt Wachinger, eds., Exempel und Exempelsammlungen (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1977), 297–310; Reinhard Dithmar, Die Fabel. Geschichte, Struktur, Didaktik, 8th ed. (Paderborn: Schöningh, ` 1997), 31–34. Quoted after Sefer Mišlė Šuʿolim (›Buch der Fuchsfabeln‹) von Jakob Koppelmann. In Originalschrift und Transkription hrsg. und kommentiert von Jutta Schumacher (jidische schtudies, 12) (Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag, 2006), xii, n. 9. 11. Timm, “Die ‘Fabel vom alten Löwen,’” 147–152.

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“The Fable of the Old Lion” is not only of interest for the history of the fable in Yiddish literature because it is the oldest surviving example, but also because versions of the same fable were published in Yiddish through the centuries. At the time Erika Timm researched the fable in older Yiddish literature, the other version in older Yiddish literature best known in scholarship had been printed in Frankfurt in 1697. The community leader Moses ben Eliezer Wallich published Seyfer mesholim (Book of Fables), a collection of thirty-four fables in Yiddish “which I have compiled from the holy tongue out of the book Meshal ha-kadmoni and the book Mishle shuʿalim. Now once again published with diligence, and brought into print in a new manner.”12 Although Wallich pretended to have selected the fables and translated them himself from Hebrew sources, Berechiah’s Mishle shuʿalim13 and Isaac ben Solomon Abu Sahula’s Meshal hakadmoni,14 elsewhere he writes that the book is also called Ku-bukh (Books of Cows15), but that that is impossible to find.16 Indeed, the Ku-bukh, which had also been mentioned in the preface to the Mayse-bukh (Book of Stories, Basle 1602),17 was regarded by historians of Yiddish literature as a book definitively lost until a facsimile edition was published in 1984.18 The newly found Kubukh, printed in Verona in 1595, was probably not the first edition. In all likelihood, the book had first been printed in 1555 and that may be the edition Wallich used.19 Wallich modernized the language of Ku-bukh, eliminated Italianisms, reworked passages to eliminate explicit references to Jewish or Christian individuals and religious or cultural practices which were not essential to the narrative, softened or omitted “vulgar” or sexually allusive passages and changed passages which had been flawed in the edition of Ku-bukh he used—adding new errors himself.20 Both in the Cambridge Codex version of “The Fable of the Old Lion” and in the version published in Ku-bukh and in Wallich’s Seyfer mesholim, God is mentioned and even intervenes. The two versions are, however, not directly related, but may have a common source, probably Yiddish.21 Wallich mentions Isaac ben Solomon Abu Sahula’s Meshal ha-kadmoni (Spain 1281) and 12. Eli Katz, Book of Fables. The Yiddish Fable Collection of Reb Moshe Wallich. Frankfurt am Main, 1697, transl. and ed. Eli Katz (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994), 28 (f-2390 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 289 in this catalogue). Wallich’s collection had already been published in facsimile by the Soncino Gesellschaft in Berlin in 1925 (f-1299 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 288 in this catalogue). 13. The collection by Berechiah ha-Nakdan mentioned above. 14. “The Fable of the Ancient,” by Isaac ibn Sahula. On this book, see Raphael Loewe, ed. and transl., Meshal Haqadmoni: Fables From the Distant Past: A Parallel Hebrew-English Text (Oxford/Portland, OR: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2004). 15. The title of the work is Ku-bukh (Cow book) in modern Yiddish and most scholarly works on early Yiddish literature, since the book was only known indirectly. The spelling on the title page of the copy that was found in the 1980s, however, indicates that a plural form (kü-bukh, modern Yiddish ki-bukh) was used, hence the translation Book of Cows. 16. Katz, Book of Fables, 36–37: “let one go and search year and week, and wear out his shoes.” 17. Cf. in Jon Lindseth’s collection f-2610 and f-2599 for later editions (nos. 128 and 129 in this catalogue). 18. Moshe N. Rosenfeld, ed., The Book of Cows: A Facsimile Edition of the Famed Kuhbuch, Verona 1595; From a Unique Copy in a Private Collection. This copy was incomplete and missing pages were replaced by the corresponding text from Wallich’s editions. Very few, if any, scholars had the occasion to see the original in Moshe N. Rosenfeld’s possession. 19. Katz, Book of Fables, 13. 20. Katz, Book of Fables, 20. 21. Timm, “Die ‘Fabel vom alten Löwen,’” 155–156.

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Berechiah ha-Nakdan’s Mishle shuʿalim; in all likelihood he simply copied these references from Ku-bukh. There are also clear influences of Ulrich Boner’s Edelstein. Boner’s fables were very popular among speakers of German in the Middle Ages but were not reprinted in German after 1464. However, their influence in Yiddish fable literature endured in the 16th century. The influence of both Berechiah ha-Nakdan and Ulrich Boner on Yiddish fable literature—a literature which undoubtedly reflects a rich tradition of oral transmission of this genre—is evident throughout the early modern period. A good example of Berechiah’s influence is found in Sefer Mishle shuʿalim (Book of Fox Fables) by Jacob Koppelman ben Samuel Bunem. This collection, written in Prague circa 1582 and printed in 1583 in Freiburg im Breisgau, was rediscovered by Erika Timm in 1980.22 This work is now available in a scholarly edition by Jutta Schumacher.23 This collection comprises 137 fables of which 106 are based on the collection of Berechiah (which contained one more fable). The remaining fables are mainly based on non-Jewish sources. Most fables in this Yiddish collection have been noticeably shortened in comparison with those in the Hebrew text.24 According to Schumacher, Koppelman’s aim was apparently to make all of Berechiah available in Yiddish and with his almost complete translation of a Hebrew collection Koppelman was to introduce a new tradition, which was to become dominant.25 Thus, a Yiddish translation of Isaac Abu Sahula’s Sefer Meshal ha-kadmoni (editio princeps, Soncino, 1491) appeared in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1693 under the same title. Equally under the same title as its Hebrew original, a Yiddish translation of Iggeret baʿale hayim (The Epistle of the Living Creatures, Mantua 1557) by Kalonymos ben Kalonymos, appeared in Hanau in 1718.26 During the course of the 18th century and in the early 19th century, the spirit of the Enlightenment with its aims to educate, gave a new impetus to the writing of fables. In the 18th century, the fable was an important genre in German literature and some of the most influential authors wrote fables and discussed the genres. Among them were Johann Christoph Gottsched (1700–1766), Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715–1769) and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781). The influence of German literature on fables written by Ashkenazic Jews is evident, as Moshe Pelli demonstrates in his discussion of the fable in the maskilic journal Ha-Meʾasef. 27 22. Timm, “Die ‘Fabel vom alten Löwen.’” A later edition, Prague 1776, was known to be held in several Judaica collections and believed to be a reprint of Jacob Koppelman’s translation. Timm was the first to compare them and to realize that these are different works. Only the earlier work was translated and adapted by Koppelman; the latter was translated by another person and its language is typical for the late 18th century. ` 23. Sefer Mišlė Šuʿolim. Jidische schtudies, vol. 12 (Hamburg: Buske, 2006). On the author, who hailed from Poland, but also lived in France, Prague and Frankfurt am Main and wrote four books, two in Hebrew and two in Yiddish, see pp. xiv–xv. ` Mišlė Šuʿolim, xxx–xxxii. 24. Schumacher, Sefer ` Mišlė Šuʿolim, xiii–xiv, n. 21. 25. Schumacher, Sefer 26. See in Jon Lindseth’s collection f-2218, no. 79 in this catalogue. 27. Moshe Pelli, In Search of Genre. Hebrew Enlightenment and Modernity (Lanham a.o.: University Press of America, 2005), 119–150.

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The adaptation of fables from enlightened authors in other languages—mainly German—is evident in Yiddish fables from the 18th century, but the old fables known to us from earlier publications were retold as well. An example of this coexistence appears in a series of polemical pamphlets which were published in Amsterdam on a weekly basis from the summer of 1797 to early 1798. They were written by different factions within the Ashkenazic community in that city. We find two short fables in the pamphlets written in support of the proponents of the French revolution and reforms within the Jewish community. First, we find a fable about a lapdog and a donkey, which already appeared in the Ku-bukh and Seyfer mesholim. The new prose version is short and appears to have been written down from memory. The donkey would like to be treated like the dog, whom the master lets into the house, pampers, and even picks up to sit on his lap. The dog advises the donkey to behave like him: wag his tale, lick the master with his tongue, and stroke him with his paws. The donkey’s efforts are not appreciated by the master who whips him because jackasses will always be jackasses.28 In this context, the fable is interpreted as an illustration of the idea that the traditionalists who are set in their ways cannot change for the better. Second, we find a rhymed fable about an old starling which is upset with the modern, cheerful singing of the nightingale and berates it, admonishing it to keep quiet. The nightingale, however, criticizes the old starling who “only know[s] to imitate learned and dry matters,” whose “melodies are nothing but bad, monotonous repetitions” and therefore it will not keep quiet but states it will sing “[its] patriotic songs for the wellbeing of [its] brothers.”29 The maskilim of Eastern Europe were also influenced by the fables told in the local languages and especially by the literary Russian fabulist Ivan Krylov (1769–1844), who published his first collection of fables in 1809. His fables were to be published in Yiddish well into the 20th century,30 but his influence was great also on original works by Yiddish authors. Fables using animals, inanimate objects or forces of nature were an ideal genre for authors of the Haskalah because they allowed criticism of secular and religious powers, superstition and religious customs and ideas which the maskilim thought to be outdated or corrupt, as well as outmoded forms 28. Storm in the Community. Yiddish Polemical Pamphlets of Amsterdam Jewry, 1797–1798. Selected, translated and introduced by Jozeph Michman and Marion Aptroot (Cincinnati, OH: Hebrew Union College Press, 2002), 286–289. The fable had earlier been printed in Ku-bukh, Nr. 23, and Moshe Wallich’s Seyfer mesholim, ed. Eli Katz, Nr. xxiii. 29. Storm in the Community, 422–425. 30. For example, Basni Krilov, oder Krilovs fablen (mesholim) in nayn opteylungen. Iberzetst fun rusish in yidish-daytsh fun Tsvi Hirsh Raykhersohn (Basni Krylov or Krylov’s Fables in Nine Parts. Translated from Russian into Jewish-German by Zevi Hirsh Reichersohn) (Vilnius: Judah Leib ben Eliezer Lipman, 1879; f-1334 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 191 in this catalogue); Der zittenlehrer oder basni-Krilov iberzetst fun Meyer Zeyv Zinger (der mekhaber fun Mishle Krilov in loshn-hakoydesh) (The Teacher of Morals or Basni-Krylov, transl. by Meir Zev Singer, the author of the Fables of Krylov in Hebrew) (Berditshev: Sheftel, 1888); Gezamlte fablen un poemen original un bearbaytet nokh Krilov un andere (Collected Fables and Poems, Original and Adapted after Krylov), translated by Yekhezkl Sauber [C. Sauber] (New York: the author and Hebrew Publishing Company, 1915); ten fables in Reb Mordkhele [pseud. of Hayyim Chemerinsky), Mesholim (Fables) (Dnipropetrovsk: Farlag Visnshaft, 1919; f-1694 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 196 in this catalogue); Geklibene mesholim (Selected Fables), translated by B. Gutyanski (Kyiv/Kharkiv: Melukhe-farlag far di natsyonale minderhaytn in USRR, 1936); Krilovs mesholim (Krylov’s Fables), translated by Peysekh Kaplan (Bialystok: Farlag A. Albek; f-2579 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 197 in this catalogue). Leyb Olitzky, Fun Krilovs mesholim (Of Krylov’s Fables) (Warsaw: Farlag Yidish Bukh, 1950; f-1675 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 199 in this catalogue).

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of education and the asymmetry in Jewish-Christian relations. It is therefore no wonder that the fable is one of the main genres of Yiddish literature of the Haskalah. Avrom Ber Gottlober (1811–1899), who contributed much to the spreading of Enlightenment ideas in Eastern Europe, wrote mainly in Hebrew but also in Yiddish.31 In Yiddish he wrote poetry, a play, fables and a memoir. His bestknown fable, the rhymed Der seym: oder di groyse asife in vald ven di khayes hobn oysgeklibn dem leyb far a meylekh (The Assembly: Or the great gathering in the woods where the animals chose the lion for king), was published in 1869 in Zhytomyr.32 There, Gottlober taught at the rabbinical seminary where he had other prominent maskilim among his colleagues. Der seym is a biting satire in which the strong animals—who represent the traditional community rulers—are pitted against the poor and the weak, who should not expect more power and be content if they get a decent burial. With the election of the lion for king, the rule of the forest remains the domain of the strong. An outstanding writer of Yiddish fables was Shloyme Ettinger (1803–1856), one of the few adherents of Haskalah ideals who wrote almost exclusively in Yiddish and is perhaps best known for his comedy Serkele. He wrote his works during a time in which publishing in Yiddish in the Russian empire was extremely difficult because of a publishing monopoly (from 1836, when the tsarist government shut down the Jewish presses in the realm with the exception of Romm in Vilna and, from 1847, Shapira in Zhytomyr, to 1862) and because he resisted cuts made by the censors. His works could therefore not be printed and were spread in manuscript form and especially aurally in public reading sessions.33 His fables became popular during his lifetime, but editions appeared only after his death.34 Whereas some of the maskilim wrote in Yiddish, the Haskalah ideals concerning language remained, improving the education standards in Hebrew and the established national languages of the states which Jews inhabited. With the advent of a Yiddishist ideology, which hoped to establish cultural autonomy in the diaspora and aimed to raise the language spoken by the majority of Ashkenazic Jewry in Eastern Europe to meet all the functions of a literary and administrative language, Yiddish education came into the focus of intellectuals who believed in these ideas. For this education, works of world literature were to be translated into Yiddish. The three empires in which most Yiddish speakers resided—Russia, Austria and Prussia—only supported general education in formally recognized languages, to which minority languages like Yiddish did not belong. 31. On Gottlober, see, for example, Mordechai Zalkin, “Gottlober, Avraham Ber,” Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, 2011. http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Gottlober_Avraham_Ber (accessed July 10, 2018); Yitskhok Fridkin, Avom-Ber Gotlober un zayn epokhe loyt fashidene kveln, 2 vols. (Vilnius: Kletskin, 1925–1927). 32. f-1529 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 161 in this catalogue. 33. On the audiences addressed and how they were reached by 19th-century enlightened Yiddish authors, see Alyssa Quint, “‘Yiddish Literature for the Masses’? A Reconsideration of Who Read What in Jewish Eastern Europe,” AJS Review 29:1 (2005): 61–89. 34. For example in the periodical Der familyen-fraynd in 1887 (f-1333 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 226 in this catalogue); Shmuel Rozhanski, ed., Shloyme Ettinger. Komedye, lider, mesholim und katoveslekh, fragment fun forsharbetn tsu der kharakteristik, un zikhroynes (Musterverk fun der yidisher literatur, 1) (Buenos Aires: Yoysef Lifshits-fond fun der literature-gezelshaft baym Yivo in Argentine, 1965).

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The development of Yiddish textbooks for a modern, secular Yiddish education was still in its beginnings, as Yiddish schools were legally only allowed to open after 1905. A recently published monograph by Evita Wiecki sets out the development of textbooks published in Poland.35 It describes the history of textbooks designed for private education up to 1905, when it became possible to open Yiddish schools in the Russian empire, through the interwar period when minorities first enjoyed protection, followed by growing restrictions in the 1930s up to the postwar period, when Yiddish teachers tried to rebuild a living Yiddish culture after the genocide of the Jews and related traumas of the Second World War. Many of the textbooks created for teaching Yiddish contained reading materials and among these materials, fables can be found, for example, in Moyshe Taytsh’s (1882–1935) and Mordkhe Birnboym’s (1877–1934) Folks-shul. A lehrbukh far onfanger tsu lezn un shraybn yidish. Far shul un hoyz-lehre (Elementary School. A textbook for beginners to learn to read and write Yiddish. For school and home teaching).36 One author whose career spanned from the 1920s to the 1970s was Leib Olitzky (1894–1975). Olitzky was associated with TSISHO, the Central Yiddish School Organization, the school system of the socialist Bund37 and was co-author of textbooks for schoolchildren. He also wrote fables for young and old. His Mesholim far kinder un groyse (Fables for Children and Grown-Ups)38 was published before the Second World War. “Attempting to combine fables with the political and social message of love for labor and justice, he abandoned traditional motifs from nature and instead chose scenes of the city and its surroundings.”39 After the Second World War, he published more fables, for example, Der mentsh vet gut zayn. Mesholim (Man Will Be Good. Fables, 1947),40 Mesholim-bukh (Book of Fables)41 and Mitn ponim tsu der zun. Mesholim und lider (Facing the Sun. Fables and Poems, 1952).42 In other countries, too, anthologies for schoolchildren often contained fables and magazines for children and adults also printed fables, either original Yiddish texts or translations from world literature.43 The most popular author of fables—as well as a radical modernist—was an educator 35. Evita Wiecki, »Ein Jude spricht Jiddisch Jiddisch-Lehrbucher in Polen – ein Beitrag zur judischen Bildungs- und Kulturgeschichte im 20. Jahrhundert. Jüdische Geschichte, Kultur und Religion, 28 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018). 36. Published in Warsaw in 1909 (f-1752 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 262 in this catalogue). 37. The Algemeyner Yidisher Arbeter Bund in Lite, Poyln un Rusland (General Union of Jewish Workers in Lithuania, Poland and Russia), founded in 1897, was known simply as the Bund. Before World War II it was the largest secular Jewish organization in Poland.. 38. This book (f-2527 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 295 in this catalogue) was published in 1929 by the Warsaw branch of the Kultur-lige, a movement of authors, artists, musicians and educators which was originally founded in Kiev and had inspired similar initiatives throughout Yiddish-speaking Europe. The authors and the artists of the Kultur-lige created a relatively high number of publications for children. 39. Nathan Cohen, “Olitski Brothers,” YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, 2010. http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/ article.aspx/Olitski_Brothers (accessed July 10, 2018). 40. f-2310 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 296 in this catalogue. 41. f-2526 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 297 in this catalogue. 42. f-2704 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 298 in this catalogue. 43. For example the children’s magazine Grininke beymelekh (Little Green Trees; f-1697 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 301 in this catalogue) and the literary journal Literarishe bleter (1924–1939) (Literary Pages; f-1731 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 294 in this catalogue).

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from Romania, Eliezer Shteynbarg (1880–1932).44 Shteynbarg, born in Lipkany, Bessarabia, had received a classical Jewish education but had also acquired a thorough knowledge of German and Russian literature. From 1919 on until his death in 1932, he was a central figure in Yiddish literary and educational circles in Czernowitz, Romania (nowadays Chernivtsi, Ukraine), interrupted by a two-year sojourn in Brazil. Shteynbarg wrote, among other works, textbooks for Hebrew and Yiddish, but he is best known for his fables. They appeared mainly in newspapers and other periodicals and were also spread through recitations and public reading. The first collection of his 150 fables was published posthumously.45 Whereas in many fables the animals had attributes that were international, those in Shteynbarg’s fables often have attributes that are related to Yiddish idioms. Thus, the pig is greedy and stingy (the Yiddish khazer can mean either “pig” or “stingy person”). The way in which he uses letters and vowels as protagonists is also reminiscent of Jewish tradition in literary forms such as Midrash. Although many of the fables are imbued with Jewish tradition, their tendencies are secular and the message is often complex. The artfully rhymed fables look deceptively familiar in content and form. “Most of the characters he creates are common household objects or animals that, if not part of the Bessarabian landscape—like the lion—belong to the fable’s common bestiary.”46 However, in comparison with earlier fables, “Shteynbarg’s fables . . . manifest a higher degree of opacity: interpretations are complex and often multilayered, and the moral, when articulated, is usually surprising. . . . In Shteynbarg’s hands, the fable form bridged the gap between the earnest didacticism of the Jewish Enlightenment and the sophisticated, self-aware irony of 20th-century modernism.”47 In Shteynbarg’s fables the confrontational dialogue between the protagonists, whether living creatures or inanimate objects, plays as important a part as their actions. It betrays their characters, their character flaws and (lack of) morals. In all their complexity, the fables seem artless. This may make them unremarkable in the eyes of some. The Yiddish scholar Dov Sadan, who was the editor of an edition of Shteynbarg’s fables, called Shteynbarg a “fourth klasiker,” a fourth classical author, thus placing him among the ranks of the finest Yiddish authors—Sholem-Yankev Abramovitsh (1835–1917, widely known by the name of the persona Mendele Moykher-Sforim), Sholem Aleichem (1859–1916) and I. L. Peretz (1852–1915)—but also among the greatest authors of fables—Aesop, La Fontaine and Krylov.48 44. For a short overview of Shteynbarg’s life and work and bibliographical references, see, for example, Yitskhok Niborski, “Shteynbarg, Eliezer,” YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, 2010. http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/ Shteynbarg_Eliezer (accessed July 10, 2018). For a detailed analysis of his fables as works of modernism, see Miriam UdelLambert, “The Fables of Eliezer Shteynbarg and the Modernist Relocation of Ethics,” Prooftexts 26:3 (2006): 375–404. 45. Eliezer Shteynbarg, Mesholim 1. Mit 14 holtsshnitn fun Artur Kolnik un a tseykhenung fun Georg Levendal (Fables 1. With 14 Woodcuts by Arthur Kolnik and a Drawing by Georg Löwendal) (Chernivtsi: Committee for Publishing Eliezer Shteynbarg’s Writings, 1932; f-1493 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 302 in this catalogue). The second volume was published only much later: Mesholim 2. Mit dray bilder un mit a faksimiliye funem mekhaber (Fables II. With Three Illustrations and a Portrait of the Author) (Tel Aviv: Organization for the immigrants of Lipcani in Israel, 1956; f-1620 of Jon Lindseth’s collection, no. 303 in this catalogue). 46. Udel-Lambert, “The Fables of Eliezer Shteynbarg,” 376–377. 47. Udel-Lambert, “The Fables of Eliezer Shteynbarg,” 378. 48. Eliezer Shteynbarg, Mesholim, ed. Dov Sadan (Tel Aviv: Y.L. Perets, 1969). Cited after Udel-Lambert, “The Fables of Eliezer Shteynbarg,” 377.

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The fable would remain an important genre in Yiddish literature as long as there was a vibrant Yiddish-speaking culture. The genre blossomed in Eastern Europe during the interwar period and fables were printed where Jews who left Europe settled, in North and South America, in South Africa, and in Israel. With the demise of a secular Yiddish culture which could support unsubsidized printing presses and with the closure of secular Yiddish schools in the late 20th century, the fable in Yiddish became a nearly defunct genre. It lives on in the university classroom, in research projects, and in translation.

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The Fable and the Problem of Jewish Literature IRENE E. ZWIEP

I

f there is such a thing as a Jewish fable collection (and, within the context of this catalogue, let us assume there is), then there must be something that makes a fable collection Jewish. Surely that something cannot be the fable itself, which from times immemorial has been a universal genre, the joint property of the great family of man. From the Ganges to the Rhine and from Aesop to Jean de La Fontaine, fables have circulated in ways and patterns that defy attribution to a single nation or literature. So if it is not the fables that determine a collection’s national singularity, then it must be the books that accommodate them. Witness this catalogue’s foreword, where Jon A. Lindseth states that his collection was built around fables found in “material in eleven Jewish languages.”1 From a collector’s perspective, this seems an adequate typology. A book in a Jewish language is a Jewish book . . . or is it? With this final “or is it?” always at the back of his mind, the philologist will early grasp this invitation to briefly reconsider the nature of Jewish literature. And so he will turn to the eternal dialectic of text and context and ask whether inclusion in a Jewish book will affect the “universal” fable, will Judaize it, so to speak. The answer to this question will be “no” if we agree that not every Jewish writer authors a Jewish book. It must be “yes,” however, once we realize that the interpolation of a fable is never accidental but always serves a purpose: that of conveying an abstract moral truth through crisp, appealing allegory.2 Now if that truth happens to be of a distinctly Jewish kind, proffered within a distinctly Jewish context with the help of a distinctly Jewish rhetoric, then we may indeed claim to have spotted a Jewish fable . . . or may we? This final question leads us straight to the alte kashe, to the old problem of what qualifies as Jewish literature. When and on what grounds are we allowed to apply the label: is it the author’s Jewish mother, his pious readership, the presence of a rabbinic approbation, the book’s language and idiom, its themes and motifs, a particular intertextuality, or perhaps a combination of the lot? This brief essay is not the place to summarize the contemporary debate on the issue—which, by the way, has done little to solve the problem. What we can do, is take a look at how previous 1. Jon A. Lindseth, “Collector’s Foreword,” p. 11. 2. With Ben Edwin Perry, I prefer the functional definition of the Aesopic fable according to the ancient Greek rhetoricians, who classified it as a logos pseudes eikonizon aletheian, “a mendacious (read: metaphorical) story picturing a truth”; Ben E. Perry, “Fable,” in Proverbia in Fabula. Essays on the Relationship of the Proverb and the Fable, ed. Pack Carnes (Bern: Peter Lang, 1988), 65–116, esp. 74.

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Jewish scholars have dealt with the fable as “non-Jewish Jewish literature” and test our intuition against the results of that analysis. Rather than giving a repetitive survey of authors, titles and approaches, I have chosen to expose some fundamental options by juxtaposing two seminal paradigms of Jewish philology, viz. early rabbinic exegesis and the critical historicism of the Wissenschaft des Judentums. The former rigorously synchronic and structuralist, operating within a closed, timeless textual universe; the latter diachronic, comparative, acutely aware of context, and steeped in 19th-century ideology. For all their differences, both traditions recognized the fable as a literary unit of mixed provenance. And both, as we shall see, found ways to reconcile the genre’s cultural hybridity with the demands of Jewish scholarship.

Literary proselytizing: the fable in early rabbinic literature With the above reflections in mind, let us now turn to the literature of the Sages and consider the classical passage from the Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 61b, where Rabbi Akiva, in staunch defiance of Roman reprisals, tries to boost Jewish morale by telling a traditional guile-and-folly fable. Once the wicked [Roman] government issued a decree forbidding Jews to study Torah. Pappos ben Judah saw R. Akiva publicly assembling an audience and teaching Torah. He said to him: “Akiva, don’t you fear the Romans?” He replied: “Let me explain it to you with a parable: what does this resemble? One day a fox was walking by the river, when he saw shoals of fish darting from one side to the other. ‘From what are you fleeing,’ he asked. ‘From the nets of man,’ they answered. ‘Why not come and dwell with me on dry land,’ the fox said, ‘like my ancestors lived with yours?’ ‘Are you the one they call the smartest of animals?’ they replied. ‘You are a fool! For if we must fear for our lives in our own habitat, how much more so in a place where we are bound to die.’ Now if this [danger] applies to us when we sit and study Torah (of which it is written, [it] is thy life and the length of thy days),3 how much more so if we neglect our studies!” When taken at face value the central narrative, of a fox trying to coax a shoal of fish out of their comfort zone and ending up being outwitted by his intended victims, can hardly be called Jewish. It is the combination of truth, context, and rhetoric, mentioned in the introduction, that turns the generic fable format into hard-core Jewish content. As for the moral encapsulated in these lines, I guess few truths can be called more Jewish than the rabbinic exhortation never to abandon the study of Torah—the only break allowed is during that mysterious point in time when it is neither day nor night.4 The equation of Torah with water, an undisputed first necessity of fish and men, was a favored cliché among early Jewish exegetes, who used to interpret Israel’s forty years in the desert as imminent apostasy, and explained their anxiety about the journey’s water supply as a spiritual thirst for the divine word. 3. Deut. 30:20 (King James Version). 4. BT Menahot 99b.

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By the 2nd century ce, in the wake of emperor Hadrian’s response to the Bar Kochba revolt (132– 135 ce), Jewish loyalty to the divine word had come under pressure. Rabbinic resistance against “the wicked government” was epitomized in the figure of Akiva ben Joseph, who had suffered grisly martyrdom for supporting the uprising. The rabbi-martyr’s cameo appearance in this fiercely antiRoman passage was no coincidence. Nor was the fact that the fable was cited to reinforce the biblical commandment to love the Lord thy God with . . . all thy soul5 or, as the Sages preferred to read the biblical nefesh, at the cost of one’s life, if circumstances required. Within the combined context of biblical exegesis and rabbinic propaganda a simple tale of fox and fish, narrated by arch-martyr Rabbi Akiva, became a vehicle for Jewish political critique and thus a thoroughly Jewish fable. As for the final ingredient, i.e., Jewish rhetoric: the humorous tale that was invoked to animate the not-so-humorous injunction to sacrifice one’s life was introduced by a classic Hebrew formula: mashal, le-mah ha-davar domeh, perhaps best translated as “a comparison, what does this resemble”? It is a phrase taken straight from the rabbinic handbook where parable, fable, and proverb, much as in other literary cultures, feature as an indissoluble unit, owing to their shared roots in metaphorical speech.6 Already church father Jerome, who died in the vicinity of Bethlehem in 420 ce, observed that it was quite the habit in ancient Syria and Palestine to spice up one’s sermons with parabolas, so that what could not be conveyed “via a simple precept, might be understood through similitude and exempla.”7 If frequency counts for something, the fable as a subspecies of the parable definitely should be considered Jewish. Simultaneously, however, the rabbis’ reliance on the mashal reminds us of the contemporary Greek appreciation of logos and mythos. In fact, although the Sages overtly denounced the cultivation of Greek science (now there was something to do when it was neither day nor night), their use of mashal to optimize communication follows the directions given in the second book of Aristotle’s Rhetoric, the earliest sample of Western fable theory. Thus we may conclude that the Hebrew mashal was a prime locus for cultural extremes (in our modern perception) to touch. A neutral space where biblical law and post-biblical ethics, world literature and local politics, and above all Greek rhetoric and rabbinic haggadah could merge into a genre which, for once, unreservedly seems to warrant the predicate Jewish literature. But if the modern philologist sees a clear-cut case of cultural contact and translation, of literary proselytizing and tacit conversion, what did the early rabbis see when they encountered a fable? Fortunately, the sources offer just enough material for us to piece together the rabbinic verdict on mashal in the narrow sense of fable. First of all, we find “knowledge of fables” included in an early catalogue of subjects to be mastered by the rabbinic scholar, though, hardly surprising, it is 5. Deut. 6:5. 6. Carnes, “Introduction,” in idem, Proverbia in Fabula, 11–36, and David Stern, Parables in Midrash: Narrative and Exegesis in Rabbinic Literature (Cambridge, MA/London: Harvard University Press, 1994). 7. In his Commentary on Matt. 18:23; quoted in S. Baeck, “Die Fabel in Talmud und Midrasch,” MGWJ 25 (1876): 542. See also Song of Songs Rabbah 1b (quoted ibid.), where we are enjoined “not to think lightly of this mashal, for it enables man to grasp the words of Torah.” Here the phrase alludes not to actual parable but to the metaphorical, allegorical quality (compare the logos pseudes of the Greek rhetoricians, n. 2 above) of Song of Songs.

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not given much prominence there. Witness the following—obviously prioritized—enumeration of required lore and skills, attributed to the 1st-century founding father of the movement: It was said of Rabbi Jochanan ben Zakkai that he never rested from the study of Scripture, Mishnah, gemara, halakhot, haggadot, the minutiae of [the written text of] Torah and the minutiae of the scribes, the art of a priori reasoning and of reasoning by analogy; [the science of] the calendar and arithmetic; fullers’ similes and foxes’ fables; the language of demons, the whispering of palm trees, the language of the ministering angels and matters great and small. A great matter is the speculation on the divine chariot (maʿaseh merkavah); a small matter the legal disputes of Abaye and Rava.8 Listed somewhere between the hard science of arithmetic and the elusive knowledge of demons, the term “fullers’ similes and foxes’ fables” (Hebr. meshalot kovsim u-meshalot shuʿalim) must refer to more than just literary entertainment. Still, their precise learned content remains somewhat implicit. Fullers (after the Latin fullones, washermen) appear in Roman light genres such as Plautus’ comedies and Martial’s epigrams, where their daily association with urine gave rise to many a juicy metaphor. The fox fable, as we have seen, was an established part of the preacher’s toolbox. So it may well be that in our passage the combination of the two stands for the Jewish orator’s duty to keep his supply of Hebrew similitudes (meshalot kovsim) and exemplary fables (meshalot shuʿalim) up to standard. Whether intentionally or by coincidence, one fuller makes his appearance in the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b,9 immediately before we read that every time Rabbi Meir gave a public lecture, a third of his speech would “consist of halakhah, a third of haggadah, and a third of mathle (Aramaic for meshalim).” To which Rabbi Jochanan added that Meir had memorized no less than three hundred fox fables, only three of which he had deigned to share with his disciples, read: had deemed so precious as to transmit through oral teaching.10 In this passage, too, the emphasis lies on the fable’s well-defined rhetorical function: one part content, two parts illustration apparently was the recipe for a successful rabbinic talk. In the hands of a gifted speaker like Meir, the formulaic mashal became a regular crowd pleaser, a superlative of the more loosely formulated haggadah when it came to livening up the details of Jewish jurisprudence. So far nothing new. But why Rabbi Meir? Why was this brilliant jack-of-all-trades, star pupil of both the pious Akiva and the heretic Elisha ben Avuyya, singled out to become the keeper of the earliest known Jewish fable collection? Part of the answer may lie in the somewhat delicate issue of Meir’s pedigree. Talmudic legend has it that he descended from the emperor Nero, who had traveled to Palestine to sack Jerusalem, but upon arrival had chosen to convert to Judaism instead.11 Such imperial lineage may have done well in Rome, but in the Galilee being a convert’s son rather outweighed noble birth, placing Meir 8. BT Bava Batra 134a and Sukkah 28a. 9. See also BT Berakhot 28a and Niddah 41a, where the koves again appears as a figure of relative respectability. 10. For downplaying parodies on this impressive grand total, see Bereshit Rabbah 78.1 and Qohelet Rabbah 3.1. 11. BT Gittin 56a.

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at the bottom end of the social ladder, just above the ʿeved meshuhrar, the freed non-Jewish slave.12 This immediately brings to mind Meir’s colleagues Aesop and Phaedrus, both of whom are reputed to have been slaves, i.e., acknowledged outsiders to the social—and literary—establishment. I may be overdoing it here, but I cannot help wondering whether the attribution of a legendary number of Hebrew fables to the half-Roman, half-proselyte, semi-outsider Meir may not have been a covert attempt to put the Jewish fable on a par with its ancient Mediterranean counterpart. And to put it back where it belonged: in the universal library, on the rhetoric shelf (witness BT Sanhedrin 38b, discussed above), where Greek orators, Roman lawyers, and Levantine preachers alike would look for inspiration when trying to teach and please their audiences. According to the American classicist Ben Edwin Perry (1892–1968), author of the famous Perry-Index to Aesop’s fables, every fable is the product of an individual mind.13 It may set a pattern for others to follow, but it cannot repeat itself. If only for this reason, it is futile to try and establish causal (specimen x inspired specimen y) or genealogical (specimen x is the source of specimen y) relationships between actual fables or fable collections. “There are only fables and fables,” related by different narrators to convey different truths to different audiences at different points in time. No use trying to find The Pristine Jewish Fable: the hybrid Hebrew mashal is as authentic as it will get. No use trying to locate the genre’s ultimate origin: there may be old fables and new ones, but The First Fable Ever will never be found, least of all in the Jewish national library. The rabbinic scholars of ancient Palestine, who lived in a world without history,14 devoid of national borders and national pride,15 couldn’t care less. For them, it was the fable’s use in rabbinic private and especially public teaching, not its native intimacy that determined its worth. It was only when the first generation of modern Jewish philologists began to look at the fable through the lens of 19th-century historicism that the genre’s lack of an unequivocal home began to raise questions. As we shall see in the second half of this essay, with the universal fable now classified under the modern heading of Volksliteratur (folk literature), issues of national priority, origin, and authenticity suddenly became relevant.

Hebrew roots or Jewish garb: the fable in the age of romantic nationalism On May 26, 1789, 29-year-old Friedrich Schiller delivered his inaugural lecture at what is known today as the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena. The topic of his scholarly state of the union was the nature and goal of Universalgeschichte, a new branch of global history that promised an enlightened future for all mankind.16 Whereas previous world histories had contented themselves 12. Mishnah Horayot III.8, where we also learn that becoming a talmid hakham, a rabbinic scholar (like Rabbi Meir), remedied all social birth defects. 13. Perry, “Fable,” 66. 14. See Yosef Haim Yerushalmi, “Biblical and Rabbinic Foundations: Meaning in History, Memory and the Writing of History,” in idem, Zakhor. Jewish History and Jewish Memory (Seattle & London: University of Washington Press, 1982), 5–26. 15. Comp. Arnold Eisen’s (ideological) “Homeless at Home and Abroad: Avodah Zarah,” in idem, Galut: Modern Jewish Reflections on Homelessness and Homecoming (Bloomington & Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1986), 35–56. 16. “Was heißt und zu welchem Ende studiert man Universalgeschichte? Eine akademische Antrittsrede,” in Schillers Werke vol. 3 (Berlin/Weimar: Aufbau-Verlag, 1978), 275–295.

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with documenting a host of random details (German: Weltgeschichte), Schiller’s new method would forge that patchy narrative into a single system, guided by one—as yet to be determined— unifying principle. His universal history, the “immortal world citizen of all nations and times,” was more than an attempt at providing humanity with a story that transcended local interests. It was a metaphysical exercise, to be executed by a new, unprecedented type of scholar: the philosophic mind. In 1789 the crowd loved it. Less than twenty years later the philosopher Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762–1814), who between 1793 and 1799 had been Schiller’s colleague in Jena, departed from this global mentality in his famous Reden an die deutsche Nation (1807–1808). In fourteen addresses he set out to bolster German national self-esteem against the French rule that followed the battle of Jena in 1806. This meant creating a new national consciousness that would outweigh Napoleon’s chilly technocratic view of the state. In Fichte’s lectures, that consciousness was based on a combination of joint Germanic descent, common language, law and morality, patriotism, and, last but not least, a shared cultural past in which the essence of the nation had manifested itself in an irrefutably German way. The new Romantic nationalism à la Fichte soon eclipsed Schiller’s enlightened worldliness. It would dominate German scholarship for generations to come.17 Against this burgeoning essentialism, the aging literary giant Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) remained fascinated by the possibility of Weltliteratur, the kind of writing that evolved from a cosmopolitan Geist or spirit.18 By 1827, when Goethe first voiced the concept in his journal Über Kunst und Altertum, his had become a marginal position in the contemporary intellectual debate. The majority of his colleagues, including the scholars of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, embraced the national paradigm, although it must be said that Jewish scholars, working toward emancipation and assimilation, could not afford to relinquish the ideal of universal brotherhood entirely. Aroused by Fichte’s wake-up call, and aided by Hegel’s Idealist philosophy and a newly developed set of critical hermeneutics, Jews and gentiles alike went in search of their Volksgeist, the national psyche which they believed represented their deepest essence. Everyday life, Bürgerleben in good 19th-century German, was one spot where they hoped to find it. Another promising source was the historical literature of their newly conceived nation. This essay is hardly the place to retell the story of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, the pioneering current of Jewish philology that was instigated in the early 1820s by Leopold Zunz (1794–1886) and his fellow-students at the Humboldt university in Berlin.19 What concerns us here is the question of how the 19th-century National Turn affected their conception of the fa17. Joep T. Leerssen, “Notes towards a Definition of Romantic Nationalism,” Romantik. Journal for the Study of Romanticisms 2 (2013): 9–35. 18. Hendrik Birus, “Goethes Idee der Weltliteratur. Eine historische Vergegenwärtigung,” in Weltliteratur heute. Konzepte und Perspective, ed. Manfred Schmeling (Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 1995), 5–28. 19. The literature on the topic is sheer endless. For a first orientation, see Ismar Schorsch’s seminal From Text to Context: The Turn to History in Modern Judaism (Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press, 1994), his recent Leopold Zunz: Creativity in Adversity (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016), and the collected articles in Andreas Gotzmann and Christian Wiese, eds., Modern Judaism and Historical Consciousness: Identities, Encounters, Perspectives (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2007).

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ble, that “immortal world citizen of all literatures and times,” to paraphrase Schiller’s definition of the universal. How to approach this literary traveler in an age of emerging national borders? When to date its beginnings? And where to locate its ultimate origin or “true fatherland,” as Rabbi and Fabelforscher Julius Landsberger (1819–1890) phrased it in 1859?20 For an answer to these questions, the first corpus to consult is the budding 19th-century study of Volksliteratur. Not in the sense of a country’s formative classics, but of non-elite folk literature, of the tales and legends of the common man that occupy the bottom shelf of every national library.21 While the study of “high literature” remained the terrain of specialists, the study of folklore was often conducted with a broader audience in mind, a growing bourgeois readership whose sense of national belonging would be strengthened by being exposed to their oldest heritage. In Germany it was the Grimm brothers who set the standard, with their popular collections of fairy tales (1812), sagas (1816–1818) and mythology (1835), supplemented by a Deutsche Grammatik (1820) and a multivolume German lexicon (1854 and later). Throughout Europe Jewish scholars followed their example. In London Samuel Coleridge’s friend Hyman Hurwitz (1770–1844) had the scoop with Tales of the Hebrews (1826), translated into German as Heiman Hurwitzens Sagen der Hebräer in 1828. The 1840s witnessed a veritable hausse with the publication of Abraham Tendlau’s Das Buch der Sagen und Legenden jüdischer Vorzeit (1842) and Meir Letteris’s Sagen aus dem Orient (1847). That year also witnessed the publication of the first installment of the Gallerie der Sippurim, eine Sammlung jüdischer Sagen, Märchen und Geschichten, printed at Wolf Pascheles’s officina in Prague from 1847 onward.22 While Pascheles’s serial Sippurim offered its readers little more than rewritten folk tales, scholars like Leopold Zunz could share more critical observations.23 In both traditions, however, the fable received only incidental treatment. Also, when maskilic literati began to translate fables into Hebrew, they preferred the recent adaptations by La Fontaine and Lessing over their early folksy originals. Writing a Hebrew fable was a literary-aesthetic project, not a matter of critical scholarship.24 Actual historical explorations of the genre were few and far between. The studies of the aforementioned Julius Landsberger and of Rabbi Samuel Baeck (1834–1912, father of the Reform leader Leo Baeck) were notable exceptions to the rule. It is to their publications that we 20. In Die Fabeln des Sophos. Syrisches Original der griechischen Fabeln des Syntipas. . . nebst literarischen Vorbemerkungen und einer einleitenden Untersuchung über das Vaterland der Fabel (Posen: Merzbach, 1859), i. 21. Grimm’s mid 19th-century Deutsches Wörterbuch indeed identifies the Aesopian fable as a close relative of the folk genres fairy tale (das Märchen, mythos) and (Greek) legend or mythology. 22. Gabriele von Glasenapp, “From Text to Edition: Processes of Scholarly Thinking in German-Jewish Literature in the Early Nineteenth Century,” in Gotzmann and Wiese, Modern Judaism and Historical Consciousness, 368–388; eadem, “Popularitätskonzepte jüdischer Folklore. Die Prager Märchen, Sagen und Legenden in der Sammlung Sippurim,” in Populäres Judentum. Medien, Debatten, Lesestoffe, ed. Christine Haug et al. (Tübingen: Mohr, 2009), 19–46. 23. Most notably in his Die gottesdienstliche Vorträge der Juden historisch entwickelt of 1832. 24. Material from Lessing’s Fabeln (1759) was incorporated in Judah Jeitteles, Bene ha-neʿurim, kolel meshalim (etc.) (Prague, 1821) and Samuel David Luzzatto’s Kinnor naʿim (Vienna, 1825). In 1860, Judah Leib Gordon published Mishle Jehudah, which despite the Jewish title chiefly consisted of translations from La Fontaine.

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must turn to see where 19th-century Jewish Wissenschaftler located the transcultural fable on the axis between national and international literature.25 Under the prevailing nationalist paradigm, it should come as no surprise that both Baeck and Landsberger credited the fable with Jewish roots and that both identified ancient Palestine as the genre’s cradle. They arrived at similar conclusions via slightly different routes, during which they both failed to define the fable’s particular Jewish-national identity. For Baeck as well as for Landsberger it was not the Volkstümlichkeit of the genre that mattered, but its priority in time. By being the first the Hebrew fable became a fundamental Jewish gift to world literature, an exemplary gesture in a time when the Jews’ newly secured place in society could do with some historical consolidation. On its way to this historical pole position the Jewish Urfabel had to beat serious competitors. Both scholars resorted to some highly speculative philology in their attempt at eliminating Greek and Indian rivals. In 1859, the year Theodor Benfey published his edition of the Sanskrit collection Panchatantra, Landsberger defined the stakes in the introduction to his Fabeln des Sophos. In 144 densely argued pages he shared the results of his “Untersuchung über das Vaterland der Fabel,” his research into the homeland of the fable. Right on page 1 he revealed that “we should look for the origin of the Aesopian fable among the ancient Hebrews.” Readers who had attended his lecture at the 1857 meeting of the Breslauer Society of Orientalists would have been surprised. For on that occasion Landsberger had represented a much less partisan position, claiming that the fable was the product of a shared human literary inclination, not of cross-cultural borrowing and influence.26 In his new quest for the original fable Landsberger relied on an approved 19th-century strategy: the combination of comparative philology and historical-psychological argumentation. He began by identifying the prototypes of a selection of fables. Through a close reading of all extant versions he established an international hierarchy on the basis of such criteria as the naturalism of the imagery, consistency and completeness, and complexity of the narrative. The more complex and complete the story, the richer the set of motifs, the more plausible the animal behavior, the more authentic the version, he concluded.27 When after due analysis he had succeeded in ascribing the origin of each fable to the alten 25. I have not been able to consult Jacob Reifmann’s collection Hut ha-meshullash (Prague: S. Freund, 1859), whose second essay surveys the history of the Aesopian fable among the Jews. Baer ben Alexander Goldberg’s “Fabula LXX Syriacas” (in his Chofes Matmonim, Berlin, 1845) is an edition of Aramaic fables as attested in a geonic manuscript and has been excluded from this discussion. 26. “Die Fabeln des Syntipas,” Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 12 (1858): 149–159, esp. 150–151. NB: Landsberger’s conceptualization of the fable seems to have been a matter of progressive insight. In his 1846 debut Fabulae aliquot aramaeae (Some Aramaic Fables) he had argued that the Sages had known the Aesopian corpus and had probably translated Greek material into Aramaic to edify the masses; Fabulae aliquot aramaeae interpretando correctae adnotationibusque instructae (Berlin, 1846), 12. 27. In believing that the oldest version of a fable was the best, Landsberger was a typical exponent of the early “devolution paradigm,” which saw the development of folklore in terms of steady decline, not evolution and progress; cf. Alan Dundes, “The Devolutionary Premise in Folklore Theory,” Journal of the Folklore Institute 6.1 (1969): 5–19 (I thank Dani Shrire for the reference). NB: the emphasis on credible animal conduct probably went back to Lessing’s 1759 Fabeln, where Lessing had formulated a typology that distinguished vernünftige (realistically possible), sittliche (mythical and supernatural), and vermischte (a mixture of both) narratives.

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Hebräer, it was time to support this attribution with historical-psychological arguments, i.e., with reference to the particular Volkstümlichkeit of this mysterious ancient collective. As nomadic shepherds, Landsberger wrote, the Hebrews had lived close to their animals and had been intimately familiar with their ways and habits. Combined with their penchant for reflection, their deeply ethical disposition, and their love of vivid imagery (all of which were unique among their Semitic brethren), this had led to the creation of the fable genre, which was built on precisely these premises.28 Besides the obvious circular reasoning (inherent in every hermeneutical process, but rampant in 19th-century dilettante interpretations like Landsberger’s), there was the lack of historical proof for this reconstruction. The author himself acknowledged that biblical evidence was scarce and that his argumentation rested almost entirely on hypothesis.29 One conspicuous drawback was the Bible’s lack of animal fables. Landsberger downplayed the lacuna by assuming that the “abstract” tree fables in the Books of Judges and Kings must have been secondary to the “concrete” animal fable, which therefore must have existed before Jotham recounted his story of the trees in Judges 9:8–15. Another minus was the famous verse in 1 Kings 5, which stipulated that king Solomon had authored at least 3,000 mashal but failed to mention how many of these had been actual fables. Still, Landsberger concluded, if the animal fable had been around in the days of the Judges, surely it must have circulated among Solomon’s proverbs.30 He had no problem applying the same wobbly logic to later rabbinic literature. Though the Talmud had only preserved a few specimens, he argued, their presence in medieval Midrashim suggested that “other ancient fables too had continued to live in the mouth of the rabbis and the Jewish people.”31 Twenty years later, Samuel Baeck by and large repeated his colleague’s arguments for the priority of the Hebrew fable, although he claimed not to have read Landsberger’s monograph.32 The primeval fable, Baeck agreed, was to be found almost certainly in the Orient, most likely among the Semites and, he dared say, quite probably among the Hebrews.33 Unlike his predecessor he argued for the priority of the simple and direct tree fable, crediting Solomon with the invention of its more complex Aesopian follow-up. For Baeck, identifying the fable as the spiritual-poetic child of the Hebrew muse (“Geistes- oder Sangeskind der hebräischen Muse”)34 was a preliminary exercise. The main part of his study was devoted to documenting the evolution of the genre in rabbinic literature, a reconstruction which Baeck hoped would contribute to our knowledge of exegesis, homily, general, literary and cultural history and, in ways he did not specify, to the newly created field of Jewish archaeology. Landsberger and Baeck formulated a linear monogenetic model, in which the Hebrew fable spread from Palestine, via nearby Greece and India, over the rest of the world—“rather like the 28. Fabeln des Sophos, c–ciii. NB: in Landsberger’s 1857 article these characteristics had still been classified as common Semitic properties. 29. Landsberger, Fabeln des Sophos, xcv. 30. Landsberger, Fabeln des Sophos, xvi. 31. Landsberger, Fabeln des Sophos, xxix. 32. “Die Fabel in Talmud und Midrasch,” published in ten instalments in the Monatsschrift für Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums 1875–1884. 33. Baeck, “Fabel in Talmud und Midrasch,” 541. 34. Baeck, “Fabel in Talmud und Midrasch,” 547.

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people itself,” as Landsberger remarked.35 Their vision of a global literary universe rooted in Hebrew literacy reflected the Wissenschaft’s initial compromise between Schiller’s enlightened cosmopolitanism and Fichte’s romantic nationalism, albeit with one major difference. Originally Leopold Zunz had defined the ratio between general and Jewish literature as that between the sum and its parts, not as the bond between offspring and origin. If we visualized the totality of human creativity as the sea, he wrote in 1845, Jewish literature was one of the many streams that fed it and, by the same token, could lead us back to the single source or Urquell of all human creativity.36 In the young Wissenschaft’s perception, that source preceded all the world’s cultures, which should be seen as ever so many national translations of this universal inspiration. The political implications of Zunz’s metaphor are clear: if Jewish culture was a vital part of the world’s spiritual bio-system, then so were the Jews. Their admittance into general society was but a confirmation of an established higher routine. Jewish emancipation, in other words, was a cultural inevitability. A few decades later, Baeck’s and Landsberger’s research served a different political goal. With the process of emancipation completed and chauvinist pride on the rise, it was more opportune to claim Jewish victory than to stress universal values and practices. Where the early Wissenschaft had stressed cultural synergy, a hint of competition now crept in. In the increasingly nationalist discourse, the Jewish contribution to society was no longer framed in terms of equal participation but of historical priority, of having been there first. Still, we should remember that in 1857, in the sacred halls of the—gentile—Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft, Landsberger had advocated a different, polygenetic model, picturing the fable as an oriental (not a Hebrew) heirloom and as the product of a universal literary impetus.37 He never expressed the reason for his change of mind—was it a change in audience, or perhaps the challenge posed by Benfey’s Panchatantra and his Indian School? Whatever the reason, fact is that two years later Landsberger moved the transcultural fable toward the national, Hebrew rather than Jewish, pole of the axis between national and international literature. And in 1875, Samuel Baeck followed suit. In the increasingly partisan German climate, those who adhered to the Zunzian paradigm, too, were forced to rethink their narrative. A notable example is Zunz’s foremost disciple and colleague, the bibliographer Moritz Steinschneider (1816–1907). Following the unification of Germany in 1871, the growing stress on local race and monoculture heralded the collapse of the Wissenschaft’s “Jewish contribution” model. In the decades that followed Jewish thinkers and activists formulated various alternatives, from Herzl’s statist territorialism, via Ahad ha-Am’s spiritual tribal substitute, to the blue-collar internationalism of the Yiddish Bund and Walter Rathenau’s extreme Jewish self-negation. Steinschneider, however, stuck with the original combination of enlightened cosmopolitanism and a touch of romantic national sentiment. His treatment of Jewish folk texts may serve to illustrate this choice. Unlike Landsberger and Baeck, Steinschneider never researched the fable stricto sensu, but he did voice his opinion on Volksliteratur on several occasions. Early on, in 1845–46, he formulated a 35. Landsberger, Fabeln des Sophos, xl. 36. Zur Geschichte und Literatur (Berlin: Veit, 1845), 2. 37. See above, 61.

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theory of Jewish Sagen und Legenden that supplied the study of Jewish national literature with a solid Grimm-style basis.38 Halfway through his career, in 1870, he returned to the topic in his popular Tuesday lectures (Dienstagsvorlesungen). There the elitist Steinschneider showed his “catholic” side: the man who preferred the library’s highbrow section now turned from the Studierstube to the people’s Herzenskammer, i.e., from works of scholarship to the soulful fantasies that sprang from the Volksbewusstsein.39 The genre as such, he claimed, was built around an eternal human core; its outer garments varied according to time and place. While folk types and themes were the same for all mankind, each folk narrative was cast in a particular, nation- and time-bound mold.40 Steinschneider sided with Benfey in assuming that the roots of universal folklore were to be found in ancient India. Its transmission, however, had been entrusted to the Jews, whose literature moved “like a thread through the texture of nations and languages.”41 As diasporic Dolmetscher (interpreters) they acted as brokers between cultures, bridging linguistic gaps and facilitating a never-ending process of exchange and assimilation. Assimilation, we should add, not in the sense of negotiation and accommodation, but of seamless absorption of the alien into the homegrown culture. “Only the healthy organism and the true idea,” Steinschneider postulated, “show their power to conquer the foreign element by assimilating it, i.e., [by] transforming it into their own selves.”42 Culture, in other words, was an integrative multinational endeavor, not a closed organic project. Its outcome was a fluid, hybrid synthesis, not an unspoiled virgin system. But it took a strong and healthy nation, Steinschneider knew, to waive its right to pristine authenticity and to welcome the unfamiliar into its ranks as if it were their own. Twenty years later, the same dynamic model underlay his Hebräische Übersetzungen, an epic 1400-page survey of medieval Hebrew scientific translations from Arabic and Latin.43 In 1893, with the ideal of an untainted monoculture firmly ensconced in the German mind, Steinsch38. “Zur Sagen- und Legendenkunde,” Zeitschrift für die religiösen Interessen des Judentums 2 (1845): 380–393; 3 (1846): 281– 290. Following Grimm, Steinschneider drew a literary scale that ran from fictitious (collective) myth and (individual) Dichtung, via half-factual Sagen und Legenden, all the way to factual history (p. 283). Modern Sagenkritik was to study the genre’s formal, national aspects as well as its universal “ideale Seite,” he added. The Jewish national aspect remained hard to define: was it a particular religious content, or perhaps a certain oriental form? 39. “Über die Volkslitteratur der Juden,” Archiv für Literaturgeschichte 2 (1870): 3. In passing, Steinschneider mentioned the fable on p. 6. 40. “[D]as Nationale an sie ist wandelbare wechselnde Form, ihr Wesen ist das Menschliche selbst”; “Über die Volkslitteratur,” 3. Fifteen years later we find an analogous approach in the essay “Jewish Folk-Lore in the Middle Ages” (1886) by the BritishRomanian rabbi-ethnologist Moses Gaster (1856–1939); see Cathy S. Gelbin, The Golem Returns: From German Romantic Literature to Global Jewish Culture, 1808–2000 (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011), 62, where she also refers to Steinschneider’s universalist stance. 41. “[W]ie ein Faden durch das Gewebe der Nationen und Sprachen”; “Über die Volkslitteratur,” 4. 42. “Nur der gesunde Organismus, und nur eine ware Idee zeigen ihre Kraft, das Fremde zu überwinden, indem sie es assimilieren, d.h. in ihr eigenes Selbst verwandeln”; “Über die Volkslitteratur,” 21 (emphasis mine). 43. Compare his emphasis on “transmission and amalgamation of that which is foreign with that which is perceived as legacy” (Vermittlung und Verquickung des Fremden mit dem als Erbgut Angesehenen); Die hebräische Übersetzungen des Mittelalters und die Juden als Dolmetscher (Berlin: Kommissionsverlag, 1893, reprint Hildesheim: Olms, 1966), xiii (emphasis mine). See also Irene Zwiep, “Nation and Translation: Steinschneider’s Hebräische Übersetzungen and the End of Jewish Cultural Nationalism,” in Latin-into-Hebrew, Volume 1: Studies, ed. Resianne Fontaine and Gad Freudenthal (Leiden/Boston: Brill 2013), 419–433.

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neider’s inclusive universalism had become the exception, an anachronism much like Goethe’s late passion for enlightened Weltliteratur. In 1872, one year after the deutsche Reichsgründung, his vision of a healthy, diverse nation had been a much more timely admonition—but a doomed one nevertheless. The “permeable” German society of the Wissenschaft’s early years had begun to close its doors on its Semitic Jewish neighbors.

Summing up: the fable as interface According to Ben Edwin Perry, every fable in his 584-item index was the product of a single mind, an individual creation co-shaped by patterns which the genre itself had built up over the years.44 Its complex transmission history, however, tended to obscure this individuality. Unlike the literary text, whose wording was carefully guarded through the ages, the fable’s transmission was unstable, marked by a disregard for the Wortlaut yet with due respect for the moral message. “Written folklore” (schriftliche Folklore) was how literary critic and memory scholar Aleida Assmann called this accumulative practice, whose constants were relative unicity, selective repetition and (here she obviously agreed with Perry) the lack of a clear canonical prototype.45 “Fable is as fable does,” Perry concluded after years of scrutinizing the genre’s manifold manifestations. In fable-land, there was no such thing as a single foolproof benchmark or Ur-text.46 Ever since the fable had sprung into existence, Jewish narrators took part in its collective cultivation. The catalogue of the Jon A. Lindseth collection is a testimony to their creative effort. Precisely how much of that effort can be brought under the heading of Jewish creativity remains a matter of taste and definition. As we have seen on the previous pages, the historical verdicts were ambivalent. Modern philology claimed a prominent historical role for the Jewish fable, be it as the genre’s progenitor, be it as the primary conduit for its dissemination. Early rabbinic exegesis unreservedly incorporated the mashal into its new program of textual scrutiny and moral preaching. Both traditions, however, knew that the fable linked them to a broader literary context, to the world of classic Greek rhetoric, and of artless ancient folklore. Lodged at this interface, the “lying word” would always “picture a truth”47 that was both distinctly Jewish and of wider human import. The voice was the voice of Jacob, but the words were the words of Aesop. Perhaps the essence of Jewish literature is not so hard to define after all?

44. See above, p. 58 and n. 13. 45. Aleida Assmann, “Schriftliche Folklore. Zur Entstehung und Funktion eines Überlieferungstyps,” in eadem, et al., eds., In Schrift und Gedächtnis. Beiträge zur Archäologie der literarischen Kommunikation (Munich: Wilhelm Fink, 1983), 175–193. 46. Perry, “Fable,” 66. 47. See above, n. 2.

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Ancient Hebrew Fables The Inaugural Lecture of the Oxford Centre 1 for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies DAVID DAUBE To the memory of my mother and Käthe

I

t is an overwhelming honour, zekhuth, to deliver the inaugural lecture of this postgraduate institution, and I am deeply grateful. The establishment of this Centre is far more than an addition to the academic stature of Oxford; it is a landmark in the history of Jewish Studies in the West. The potentialities are enormous, and we are fortunate indeed in having among the Governors during the first decisive phase two men of outstanding learning and vision: Dr. David Patterson, who has been appointed Principal of the Centre, and Dr. Geza Vermes. Dr. Patterson, by bringing to bear on Hebrew writings of the past hundred and fifty years or so the methods and insights of up-to-date literary criticism, has virtually created a new branch of Hebrew scholarship. Dr. Vermes is one of the leading exponents of the Dead Sea scrolls. His contributions, profound, original and solid, are indispensable for an understanding of these documents. Under the guidance of these two, the Centre bids fair to lead a veritable renaissance in its field.

1 My subject is to be Ancient Hebrew Fables. In a fable, animals, plants or objects, while retaining their essential characteristics, talk and act like people so as to convey a message about human affairs. The fox escaping from a well at the goat’s expense2 represents a crafty exploiter of naïve trust; the mother toad puffing herself up and bursting,3 a mediocre parent trying to impress the children as all-powerful; the lion freed from a net by a mouse he spared,4 a wise exerciser of magnanimity; the oak uprooted by the wind and the reed left standing,5 a strong man vainly resisting a stronger one and a weak man yielding and thereby ensuring survival. Goings-on in the nonhuman world 1. Delivered in Corpus Christi College 17 May 1973. First published by The Oxford Centre of Postgraduate Hebrew Studies, Oxford, England, 1973. Reprinted 1982. Reproduced here by permission of David Daube’s son Jonathan Daube. 2. Phaedrus 4. 9, in Babrius and Phaedrus, ed. and transl. B. E. Perry, Loeb Classical Library, 1965. Subsequent quotations from Babrius or Phaedrus will be according to this edition. 3. Babrius 28. 4. Babrius 107. 5. Babrius 36.

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around us, by being endowed with our motivations, reactions and speech, become near enough to serve as portrayals of our doings. Other, more sophisticated, concepts of the genre are tenable. Take the story of the farmer whose mattock was stolen.6 He summoned all suspects to accompany him to a temple where the god would clear up the matter. But, on the way, he heard the public crier promise a thousand drachmas for information leading to the recovery of property stolen from the temple. As there is no humanized animal, plant or object in this story, it does not fall under the definition here proposed. The same is true, say, of the well-known cautionary tale about the shepherd who cried “Wolf!” in jest so often that in the end nobody came to his help when he cried in earnest.7 In some contexts, the exclusion of such pieces would be inadvisable. For the purpose of this lecture, the simple, restrictive approach seems safest. Proceeding from it, then, we find that a few specimens—three, to be precise—occur already in the Old Testament and a fair number—some three dozen—in Talmud and Midrash. Yet none is met in the New Testament. If it were the other way round, we should never hear the end of it: Jesus’s Naturnähe, nearness to nature, in contrast with rabbinic aridity. As it is this way round, the fact has escaped notice. Is it accidental? It may be. But more probably it is accounted for by his role as a prophet, one of the major roles assigned to him by the evangelists.8 And the Hebrew prophets do not recite fables.9 The question, therefore, must be pushed back: why do they avoid this form? One can think of several reasons. For example, a degree of playfulness often attaching to it does not suit their stance. The most important factor, however, is surely their profound aversion to certain heathenish beliefs concerning beasts, trees, stones, vestiges of those damnable cults which they fight day in day out. Non constat that Jesus never in fact availed himself of the genre, but the settled prophetic tradition would militate against its inclusion in the gospels. Here, it may be noted, the narrow definition of a fable as introducing animals, plants or objects behaving like people is indeed appropriate: it is exactly this type of narrative which the prophets cannot admit into their repertoire.

2 Educated moderns are used to the fable as a jeu d’esprit, our standard being La Fontaine. It drives home a point by a striking comparison. It is interesting but not intense, stimulating but not stirring, superior to a detective story but less exacting than a Shakespearean sonnet. It is elegant entertainment. By contrast, in the ancient world, and here and there even today, it has some very down-toearth functions. Above all, it meets two needs of those living at the mercy of others: it serves as a code by means of which to propagate ideas the powers-that-be would disapprove of, and it serves as 6. Babrius 2. 7. Aesop 353, in Fabulae Aesopicae Collectae, ed. C. Halm, 1852. 8. See Matthew 13. 57, Mark 6. 4, Luke 4. 24, John 4. 44. 9. An adumbration in Ezekiel will be discussed below, p. 76.

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a coating where a somewhat daring request is to be submitted to those powers. This is not to deny that the arresting effect of the comparison always plays a certain part, or that there are ancient fables not attributable to this background at all. Still, on the whole, it does dominate the field. To expand a little. The fable occupies a place within the wider category of parable, an account of one thing or event shedding light on another. Parabole means “a throwing alongside”, “a juxtaposition”. As an illustration that is not a fable, we may recall the prophet Nathan’s rich man who robbed a poor man of his only treasure:10 the despicable theft brings out the ugliness of David’s adultery. A high proportion of the fables of antiquity—those in the nature of a code—belongs to a specific variety of parable, namely, allegory, the light of which is to reach only a select body. The original meaning of allegoria is “the other utterance in public”, different from the real one in private. Mankind is divided into outsiders and insiders: the latter alone are meant to understand. Again to quote an example that is not a fable:11 “Son of man, say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the Lord, I will kindle a fire in you, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein”—incomprehensible to the masses. Just as there are several legitimate concepts of a fable, so there are of parable and allegory. John Bunyan uses the latter term of his Pilgrim’s Progress though he is writing for all (more or less). In the present context, for clarity’s sake, and in deference to its etymology, let us confine it to that declaration the actual significance of which is not to be universally accessible.12 Frequently, allegory keeps the secret from inferiors unworthy of it. A weaker person’s or group’s fear, however, of a stronger one will also lead to its use. Plutarch’s view13 that the Delphic oracle resorted to ambiguity in order to avoid provocation is not without substance; indeed, it should be constantly borne in mind when dealing with cryptograms in the prophets. The two motives are apt to merge: the weaker party may despise the stronger, leave it in the dark both because instruction would invite punishment and because it would be to cast pearls before swine. All sorts of gradations and fluctuations occur. The deeper truth may be covered over most carefully or by the thinnest veneer. It may be guarded for a while only and then divulged—whereby the allegory turns into an ordinary parable (on the basis of the definitions proposed above). Sayings by Jesus or Johanan ben Zaccai which they wished to be fully grasped by their disciples only can now be read, with the teaching spelled out, in the New Testament and the rabbinic sources.14 The interpretation of the Song of Songs as depicting the relation between God and Israel may well have begun as an esoteric doctrine, to be popularized in the first century a.d.15 10. II Samuel 12. 1 ff. 11. Ezekiel 21. 1 ff. 12. Cp. the section “Allegorizing” in: David Daube and Reuven Yaron, Jewish Law, to appear in B’nai B’rith Jewish Heritage Classics edited by D. Patterson and L. Edelman. 13. Moralia 407c ff., Oracles of the Pythian 25; see David Daube, Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, 1972, p. 71. 14. Matthew 15. 1 ff., Mark 7. 1 ff., Numbers Rabba 19 on 19. 2. See David Daube, The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism, 1956, pp. 141 ff. 15. See Mishnah Yadaim 3. 5.

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The history of this work shows also that a pronouncement not at the outset carrying a secondary message may be endowed with one: the Song of Songs was composed as a eulogy of earthly love and it is pious exegetes who detected in it the allusions to another kind. As for fables, mostly the moral prefixed (promythium) or appended (epimythium) is later than the principal narrative. Of the two attitudes favouring allegory, contempt for outsiders and fear of them, it is the latter which comes chiefly through in ancient fables.16 Phaedrus claims17 that the form originated among slaves who thus communicated thoughts and feelings they could not express openly. This is perhaps to go too far; the biblical fables, for instance, exhibit no particular connection with slavery. But even they, we shall see, present the viewpoint of a person or group faced by superior might and forced to exercise caution; and the fables of the classical West do prove at least the genre’s enormous popularity with slaves. He himself was a freed slave—as was his forerunner Aesop—and several items in his collection evidently come from his years of servitude. A donkey18 is urged by his owner to run away with him as the enemy forces are approaching. He figures out, however, that a take-over by the enemy will neither reduce nor increase the load he has to carry: he is being exploited to the full now and that will just go on. So why should he get out of breath? And he stays put. With his readers in mind, Phaedrus in the promythium explains that the fable is about the poor of Rome unaffected by changes of government—Seianus’s rise and fall and the like; this is not too remote from the original setting. Essentially, the Uncle Remus stories are slave fables from the south of the United States of America. As a code of the oppressed or embattled, the fable has obvious advantages: it is vivid and it is easy to remember and pass on. A further quality must recommend it especially to the lower strata, slaves and poor: it is undemanding—its audience requires no high education and it takes up a minimum of their time and concentration. Presumably it is this latter feature of the genre, its simplicity, which, in conjunction with its socio-political operation, caused literary circles of the classical age to look down on it.19 We must, however, add a reservation. In many cases, the exclusion of outsiders is partial only; at times it is almost pro forma. Surely, Phaedrus’s fable just adverted to was seen through by any slave-owner who paid attention. True, the extent to which the oppressor can be duped should not be underrated. Schiller’s Don Carlos enthused German audiences for several years after Hitler’s seizure of power, and Sartre’s Les Mouches was shown on the French stage even during the occupation. All censorship is moderated by the stupidity of its practitioners.20 None the less that story of the donkey is just too transparent. Yet it was apparently allowed to circulate among slaves, just as nowadays few would mind it 16. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, pp. 53 ff. 17. I. 3, Prol. 33 ff. 18. I. 15. 19. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, pp. 130 f. 20. Or aggravated. In 1941 Buckland wrote to Roscoe Pound thanking him for some cans of tinned milk and adding—in his typical style—“But why did you not send a cow?”. The letter came back, with a note by the censor in the margin: “The import of livestock into this country is prohibited.” I saw it.

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circulating among slum-dwellers; while then as now dire consequences might be in store for one who advocated its conclusion in forthright terms. A practical consideration making veiled opposition more acceptable than an outspoken one is that it is less likely to be the signal for action. Psychologically, the transfer to an imaginary world renders any hostility or criticism less personal. There is also the attractiveness of the skill and phantasy displayed. All this, in appropriate conditions, entschärft, de-sharpens, mitigates. This brings us to the second function of the genre—as an aid when pleading with authority. Since a fable does possess this mediating potential, it may actually be composed with a view to influencing, being listened to by, those holding sway. When a cockerel finds a pearl amidst dung but, interested solely in food, has no use for it,21 that may initially have been designed to spur a master to take note of an extraordinary slave. At a pinch, if he reacted the wrong way, he might perhaps still be told that no reference to his conduct was intended. But really, the disguise is flimsy, and the hope is that the grievance will be heard. After all, Phaedrus, like Aesop, did obtain release: he had an appreciative addressee in Augustus. Certainly, the tale of the lion and the mouse cited at the beginning of this lecture22 would remind the powerful that it might profit him far more to earn the gratitude of one of no account than to crush him. Who knows?—even in our time, the president of a foundation, while resenting a direct challenge, may be troubled by the fable of the groom23 who sold his horse’s food for drink, trying to make up for it by plenty of rubbing down, but who was told by the horse that no amount of dolling up would produce genuinely healthy looks so long as the starvation diet continued. Once again, there are any number of nuances. When Menenius Agrippa, in order to get the plebeians to return to the city, recalled to them what happened to the members of the body that denounced allegiance to the stomach, that constituted an ironical reversal of roles: the fable, commonly employed by the lower ranks to gain the ear of the higher ones, was on this occasion employed the other way round. Menenius, though an emissary of the senate, was indeed of plebeian descent, and Livy specifically remarks on the uncouth nature of the genre with the help of which he succeeded in his negotiations.24 Similarly, Hadrian, recently ascended to the throne, got Jewish insurrectionists to lay down their arms in return for the guarantee that the Temple would be restored. He then went back on his word and a fresh outbreak threatened. The Sages sent R. Joshua ben Hananiah, of lowly background, to pacify the populace and he did so by recounting a tale of which quite a few variants are preserved in the ancient sources.25 A lion promised a huge reward to whoever would rid him of a bone that stuck in his throat. A long-beaked bird did so but when he asked for his payment the lion retorted that he should be well satisfied at having escaped from his jaws unharmed.26 This fable, it is obvious, at its inception enshrined a moral uncompromis21. Phaedrus 3. 12. 22. Babrius 107. 23. Babrius 83. 24. 2. 32. 8. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, pp. 130 ff. 25. E.g., Babrius 94, Phaedrus 1. 8. 26. Genesis Rabba 64 on 26. 29. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, pp. 131 f.

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ingly hostile to those high up: it would be foolish for us, at the bottom, to pay attention to any assurance of theirs when they need help in a crisis. R. Joshua transposed it into a different key, expressing a mood of resignation.

3 Let us inspect the material from the Old Testament and the Rabbis. Three Old Testament cases deserve mention. Balaam’s she-ass notices an angel in the road ready to slay her master. The latter notices nothing, and when the faithful beast refuses to proceed he is infuriated and beats her. Indeed, he is minded to put her to death, despite her remonstrances that he should know her constancy from long experience. In the end, his eyes are opened and he realizes that she saved his life.27 In its earliest setting, no doubt Moabite or Mesopotamian, this was a fable addressed to the king in defence of a prophet who, seeing farther, resisted him and thereby preserved him from disaster. Balak the Moabite ruler, it will be recalled, planning to attack the Israelites, hired the Mesopotamian diviner Balaam to curse them in order to ensure their defeat; as Balaam declined to do the bidding, Balak was frustrated in his warlike designs28 but, in consequence, continued to reign instead of rushing to his ruin. The fable introduces an ass with the proverbial contradictory traits: submissiveness and loyalty on the one hand, obstinacy on the other. In exceptional circumstances, the latter may be no less in the rider’s interest than the former. Just so, the king was to infer, the prophet served him even when disobedient. The parallel extends to minute details: three times Balak in vain asked Balaam to curse Israel, three times the ass defies her master for his sake.29 Whether there is significance in the choice of a female animal to represent the prophet bringing unwanted salvation may be left open. Probably not—though here and there in ancient literature we do hear of women in a comparable role: Rebekkah making Isaac give the best blessing to Jacob,30 Lysistrata resolving “Whether you like it or not, we’ll deliver you.”31 At any rate, the fable as first designed spoke on behalf of one superior in higher insight but totally lacking in secular power. It was a supplication to the wielder of the latter, using an easy analogy; and he was expected to spot and be moved by the moral thus captivatingly presented. In the Pentateuch, the fable has become a historical episode: as Balaam was on his way to meet Balak near the Israelite encampment, those strange events did actually happen. For the Bible, the prophet’s apology to the king is of no interest. In fact, it is not the latter’s deliverance but that of 27. Numbers 22. 21 ff. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, pp. 65 ff. 28. With this account in Numbers, that in Joshua is not (as is sometimes held) in conflict. The first half of Joshua 24. 9 should be rendered, not “Then Balak . . . arose and warred against Israel”, but “Then Balak . . . arose and he was going to war against Israel”. The second half of the verse and verse 10 go on to tell us how God made Balaam bless the Israelites instead of cursing them and thereby prevented Balak from carrying out the intended assault. 29. Numbers 22. 28, 33, 24. 10. 30. Genesis chapter 27. 31. Aristophanes, Lysistrata 499. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, p. 17.

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the Israelites which forms the climax of the interlude. Accordingly, the ass’s conduct is turned into a prefigurement of Balaam’s, God through her shows him, while he is journeying to the scene of action, where his duty lies: he will have to execute God’s orders regardless of any others, thereby supporting the aims God has for his people. Such a restructuring usually produces a measure of unevenness. The ass by her selflessness rescues her master while, in the biblical narrative, as just noted, the emphasis lies on what Balaam does for Israel—his service to the king being treated as quite irrelevant. It is this discrepancy which largely explains why the parallel between the ass and the prophet has never so far been seen. Altogether this tale of the talking she-ass is an erratic block in the Pentateuch. Strictly, we should hardly discuss it here since, when it started out as a fable, it was not Hebrew but Moabite or Mesopotamian. It is of considerable relevance, however, to an assessment of the rise of Hebrew prophecy. That both in substance and diction the latter was not totally unaffected by foreign seers one may deduce from the magnificent poems the Bible assigns to Balaam.32 The fable suggests, beyond that, that it was Moab or Mesopotamia which furnished a mature, subtly thought-out model of one critical facet at least of the prophet-king relation. The Rabbis accept the miracle. There are, however, substantive attempts to bring it and other miracles into harmony with a universe in which nothing occurs but what is built into the creation from the very beginning: the mouth of Balaam’s ass, we are informed,33 the rainbow appearing from after the flood,34 Moses’ rod,35 the manna36 and so on, were all made by God just before the commencement of the first Sabbath. Next Jotham’s fable.37 Gideon, offered hereditary rule, declined for himself, his sons and his grandsons but, tragically, not for his half-Canaanite bastard Abimelech, then of no account. On Gideon’s death, Abimelech had himself proclaimed king, after slaughtering all the legitimate sons with the exception of Jotham whom he could not find. The latter, before escaping to neighbouring territory, managed to address a gathering. The trees, he said, decided to have a monarch. But the fertile ones that were approached to take the office—olive, fig, vine—one after the other disdained to give up their useful occupation for barren rule. Finally, the bramble was invited. It did accept, but on ominous terms. If those electing it, it declared, were acting honourably—as, manifestly, they were not, overthrowing the ancestral constitution with no earthly sovereign, and also being disloyal to the house of Gideon—they would find protection in its shade—which, manifestly, did not exist; otherwise the noblest of them would perish in a fire emanating from it. It is as if Hitler in 1933 had said to Röhm: “If you are a peaceable, respectable citizen, I shall make you a present of the United States of America, if not, I shall destroy you.” 32. Numbers 23. 7 ff., 23. 18 ff., 24. 3 ff., 24. 15 ff. 33. Mekhilta on Exodus 16. 32. 34. Genesis 9. 12 ff. 35. Exodus 4. 2 ff. 36. Exodus 16. 14 ff. 37. Judges 9. 7 ff. See David Daube, Journal of Biblical Literature, 90, 1971, pp. 480 f.

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This piece goes back to the good old days. The wine still cheers God and men;38 in the psalter, it cheers only the latter.39 The anti-monarchic thrust is obvious. No happily settled person contributing to the welfare of the community would care to sit on a throne, exalted but remote. That prospect will only attract someone without roots, without possessions, without use. Worse: once elevated, he will obliterate the best of the valuable, established part of the nation. The argument, in so far as it opposes city culture, has affinity with the warnings against kingship found in Deuteronomy and Samuel.40 But the latter do not include the particular attack on the despicable background and character of the tyrants (though, conceivably, the distinction between fruitbearing and sterile trees made in Deuteronomic laws of war41 contains a faint echo); nor is this aspect taken up by talmudic or mediaeval enemies of monarchy. It should be remembered, however, that Abimelech is not the only free-wheeling adventurer in the Bible to become king: David himself is here and there depicted in this light.42 The choice of naʿ, “to shake”, “to roam”, as the happy trees decline the promotion—“Should I forsake my fatness, sweetness, wine, to shake, roam, above the trees?”—at first sight so puzzling, is explicable from this angle. It alludes both to the movement of a tree—“to shake”—and to those worthless fellows—“to roam”. The verb is often used of have-nots wandering about in search of booty or other relief.43 More specifically it refers to fugitives, persons exiled arbitrarily or for a crime.44 Cain is condemned “to be roaming and wandering”, and let us recall that he became the builder of a city.45 Olive, fig and vine will have none of this. Very likely the fable was current before being incorporated in the story of Jotham: it could be read as a general condemnation of kingship, without any specific allusion to Gideon. Be this as it may, it definitely represents a die-hard minority’s standpoint which, in a period when the other side is gaining ascendancy, it would not be healthy to propagate without a wrapping. The latter may be far from watertight; still, it does provide some protection. Jotham, having declaimed and expounded the fable, ran away. We go on to Jehoash, King of Israel, who, when rashly challenged to battle by Amaziah, King of Judah, attempted to restrain him, reminding him of the thistle who asked the cedar to give his daughter in marriage to his son but was trampled down by the beasts of the field.46 Amaziah disregarded his counsel and suffered defeat. Do not bite off more than you can—or, considering your lack of worth, you ought to—chew, otherwise you will come to an ignominious end. Doubtless Jehoash made use of a fable already in existence. Amaziah’s presumption consists in 38. Judges 9. 13. 39. Psalms 104. 15. 40. Deuteronomy 17. 14 ff., I Samuel 8. 5 ff. See David Daube, Journal of Jewish Studies, 10, 1959, pp. 2 f. 41. Deuteronomy 20. 19 f. 42. I Samuel 22. 2, 25. 4 ff. 43. Jeremiah 14. 10, Amos 4. 8, 8. 12, Psalms 59. 16, 109. 10. 44. Genesis 4. 12, 14, II Samuel 15. 20. In a wider sense, Numbers 32. 13, II Kings 23. 18, and Psalms 59. 12 also belong here. 45. Genesis 4. 12, 14, 17. For Sirach (36. 30), a man without a wife shares the lot of Cain; and while the homeless criminal threatens city after city, the unmarried man rushes from woman to woman. One has the impression that, in Sirach’s view, a husband lives in constant dread of the Don Juan. 46. II Kings 14. 8 ff., II Chronicles 25. 17 ff.

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defying his better, the thistle’s in seeking an alliance above his station. While we must not expect overmuch precision in an ancient simile,47 the discrepancy is striking. It is easily explained, however, if the fable at first envisaged an outsider trying to push his way inside and was then, because of its warning against arrogance, judged applicable to a reckless aggressor. There are quite a few upstarts in the Old Testament aspiring to an advantageous union. Jacob and David come to mind.48 These, however, were successful. The ill-success of the thistle, coupled with the little detail that he approaches the cedar not on his own behalf but on his son’s, provides the clue to the particular incident which, more than any other, must be responsible for the coming into being of this piece: the prince of Shechem asked Jacob to give his daughter in marriage to his son, and he with all his fellow-citizens perished in the most miserably abject mode, much like a negligible shrub being crushed under the heavy feet of animals walking over it.49 The “beasts of the field” may be a pregnant expression, a trace of the fact that the avengers, Jacob’s sons, “were in the field” as the prince approached their father and “carne from the field” as they heard of it.50 After all, it is a fable of the Northern Kingdom, where Shechemite reminiscences would be cultivated. It should also be observed that the thistle (ḥoaḥ) which here represents Schechem is not too different from the bramble (ʾaṭadh) representing the half-Shechemite Abimelech in Jotham’s address. In the phase when the fable was directed against unwanted intruders, we can readily conceive why it might be advisable to refrain from open insult and be content with allegory, indicating to one’s sympathizers the contempt one felt for the outsider and the end he deserved. Jacob, after the terrible events at Shechem, was greatly afraid of what other Canaanite tribes that heard of it might do to him.51 Laban in turn was afraid of Jacob and Saul of David.52 Coded communication certainly has a place in this area.

4 Before passing on to the Rabbis, it should perhaps be explained why a certain chapter from Genesis53 and one from Ezekiel54 do not fall within the theme of this lecture. In the so-called story of the Fall, the serpent plays a prominent part; none the less it is not a fable. It does not try to illumine our affairs by transposing them into affairs of animals, plants or objects. The serpent is not meant to portray a human type—as Balaam’s ass stands for the prophet, the useful trees in Jotham’s fable for the satisfied farmers, the bramble for the good-for-nothing, the thistle in 47. See H. Fränkel, Die homerischen Gleichnisse, 1921. 48. Genesis chapters 29 ff., I Samuel 18. 18, 23; cp. also II Samuel 3. 7 ff. 49. Genesis chapter 34. 50. Genesis 34. 5, 7. 51. Genesis 34. 30. 52. Genesis 31. 24 ff., I Samuel 18. 12 ff. 53. Genesis 2. 15 ff. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, p. 61. 54. Ezekiel 17. 1 ff.

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Jehoash’s fable for the fellow who does not know his place, the cedar for the man of distinction. He is a being in his own right, half-way between God and man, aiding the latter to win knowledge in defiance of the former. What we have before us is not a fable but a myth, relating how civilization began. Then there is a riddle of Ezekiel’s. One of two eagles (Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon) deports the top of the cedar (Jehoiachim, King of Judah) but plants in its stead a vine thriving if lowly (Jehoiachim’s uncle Zedekiah). The vine, however, bends its roots towards the other eagle (Hophra, King of Egypt), for which disloyalty it will be pulled up. This can hardly be called a fable because what the eagle and vine do is not in character at all, does not remind us in the least of their prototypes in nature. Nor does anything in nature prepare us for the doom awaiting a vine which turns in the direction of one bird rather than another. Ezekiel no less than the other prophets avoids entering into the world of beasts and trees in a fashion which would connect up, however remotely, with pagan worship. It is worth noting, however, that he is here opposing a pro-Egyptian policy which had a strong following both in Judah and among his fellow-exiles in Babylon. His stance is one which, traditionally, would often lead to prudently enigmatic speech—though, on this occasion, he (like, say, Nathan when he confronted David about his adultery) courageously proceeds to an immediate, full disclosure.

5 Of the rabbinic fables it may be best to pick those six which so far seem to have no known precursors in other literatures.55 Genesis 36 lists Esau’s descendants. Midrash Rabba on this chapter ends56 with an anonymous story concerning the relation of Israel and the other nations. The chaff, the straw and the stubble quarrelled, each contending that it was for its sake that the field had been sown. The corn intervened: “Let us wait till we come to the threshing-floor, then we shall see.” When they got there, the wind carried off the chaff, and the owner threw the straw on the ground and burned the stubble—but he lovingly heaped up the grain.57 Just so, however boastful the others may now be, on the last day they will be discomfited and the world will turn out to have been created for Israel’s sake.58 55. See Schirmann, Encyclopædia Judaica, vol. 6, 1930, p. 891. On the far from uniquely rabbinic encounter of the lion and the Egyptian partridge [read: the lion and the long-beaked bird; ed.], see above, pp. 71–72. 56. 85, on 36. 43. 57. The Rabbis find scriptural support in Psalms 2. 12, “Kiss the son”. In Hebrew, “son” and “grain” are homonymous: bar. So the Midrash extracts the secondary meaning, “Kiss the grain”. 58. Scriptural support is drawn from Malachi 3. 19, “The day comes that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud shall be stubble and the day that comes shall burn them up”, and Isaiah 41. 14 ff., “Fear not, you worm Jacob and you men of Israel, I will make you a sharp threshing instrument, you shall thresh the mountains and make the hills as chaff, you shall fan them and the wind shall carry them away, and you shall glory in the Holy One of Israel”.

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Suppose a sermon was likely to be attended by agents of an anti-Jewish government. It would have been foolhardy to give them a handle by flaunting these convictions. (How easily a derogatory utterance might come to the knowledge of the authorities and cause trouble is shown by the trials of R. Simon ben Yohai.59) On the other hand, they were far too important an aid to morale in difficult times to be allowed to recede into the background. The fable, told without its explanation, made it possible to keep them alive. A piece from Esther Rabba, attached to Haman’s elevation,60 is comparable. A lion banqueted his friends among the animals under a canopy consisting of skins of evil beasts he had killed. After dinner the guests asked the fox to sing them a song, and he consented on condition that they would all join in. His song was: “What he (the lion) showed us in respect of those above (the evil beasts killed) he will show us in respect of those below (the evil beasts still around)”. The Midrash goes on to draw a parallel with the story of Esther: as he (God or Mordecai) overthrew the conspirators Bigthan and Teresh,61 so he will overthrow Haman. There follows a more general assurance: “He (God) who exacted retribution on our behalf from the former ones (past oppressors) will exact retribution on our behalf from the latter ones (present and future oppressors).” The author or transmitter of the fable is R. Phinehas of the fourth century a.d., who lived through grievous persecutions. The exact contemporary application is not easy to establish;62 but whatever it may have been, it needs little imagination to realize that restraint in propagating it was imperative—a jolly tale with a message for the insiders was appropriate. The central pronouncement was apparently intended as a ditty for communal singing: a particularly effective means of triumphing in secret over a tyrant capable of smashing all open resistence. A comparable jingle in English might be “High up today we saw him play, but soon the show will be below”. This little song, which could be and no doubt was often used by itself, unaccompanied by any explanation, indeed gave nothing away, unlike many allegories where determined scrutiny might at least get the drift. It is the clever fox who hits on the device. Actually, there is significance in his stipulation that everybody will participate in the chorus: he makes sure that there can be no traitor. One is reminded of the test portions in the Eighteen Benedictions.63 That the fable came to be taken up by commentators on Esther is not surprising. Nor that it was associated with ultimate hopes: the final, general reference to God as avenger—“He who exacted retribution” etc.—has an eschatological sound. Another fable in Esther Rabba64 is told in connection with a royal edict bidding all the world to do obeisance to Haman. Mordecai flouted it—according to the Rabbis, because compliance would have involved idolatry. (For some, the mere display of excessive reverence for a human is 59. Babylonian Shabbath 33b. 60. 3. 1. 61. Esther 2. 21 ff. 62. See W. Bacher, Die Agada der Palästinensischen Amoräer, vol. 3, 1899, p. 344. 63. E.g., Babylonian Berakoth 29a: in general, if a person slips in reciting a prayer he may just continue, but if he slips in reciting the imprecation against heretics, he must repeat it in order to prove that he is not one of them. 64. 3. 2.

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idolatry; others assume that Haman wore a heathen symbol.) He risked his life acting as he did, and the Midrash considers this a perennial dilemma. Israel tells God how the other nations seek to trap it by forcing it to participate in their worship: if it resists them, they will wipe it out, if it obeys, God will punish it.65 It is in the position of a wolf in need of water, but knowing that a net is spread at the well. If I drink, he deliberates, I shall be caught, if l abstain, I shall die from thirst. This fable does not predict the annihilation of the wicked. It goes under the name of Jose ben Hanina, of the middle of the third century a.d. His preaching seems generally moderate in tone. No doubt his feelings about the gentiles vexing the Jewish minority are far from friendly. But the particular grievance voiced in the fable concerns subjugation as such not so much as subjugation to two authorities making contradictory, absolute demands. We do not know in what circumstances the fable was first made up: possibly, indeed, in the course of reflecting on the plight of Mordecai, but it could be inspired by any of the countless situations where an individual or a community is caught between Scylla and Charybdis. Both Philo and Josephus furnish illustrations fairly close to that in Esther. If Caligula insisted on erecting a statue of himself in the Temple, Philo argued, the only choice left to the Jews was death: loyalty to the Emperor forbade them to resist his project, loyalty to their religion to tolerate it.66 Josephus reports a speech by which King Agrippa attempted to dissuade his subjects from rebellion against Rome.67 If they were going to abstain from fighting on a Sabbath, they would be defeated by man, if they were going to break the law, they would be abandoned by God. In any case, the fable is an appeal for a way out addressed to one of the two authorities, the one more likely to show understanding; and the indirect formulation, the coating, by softening the tone, is to render the request more acceptable. In its present context, it is directed to God, he being one of the two powers at whose mercy Israel finds itself, and he is, of course, more understanding than the other power, the pagan world. Whether or not this is the original context, it is remarkable that the genre, in its function of captatio benevolentiae, the attainment of good-will, should be resorted to even when putting one’s case to him. But, then, it is a fact (though one to which insufficient attention has hitherto been paid) that prayer in general from very early times makes use of stratagems initially thought up for petitions to authorities of flesh and blood. The comparison of Israel with a wolf, incidentally, may owe something to Mordecai’s provenance from the tribe of Benjamin which “shall ravin as a wolf”.68 If there was a stage when the fable was not connected with the exposition of Esther, a different animal—a gazelle, a bird—may have figured in it. However, even then it could have been a wolf. The fate of an anonymous fable in Siphre69 reflects a dramatic change in political climate. It introduces two sheep-dogs constantly at one another’s throat. A wolf approached to seize a lamb, and one of the clogs challenged him. The other reflected that if he did not help, the wolf would win and then 65. Psalms 140. 6 affords scriptural support, “The proud have hid a snare for me, they have spread a net.” 66. Philo, Embassy to Gaius 299 ff. See Civil Disobedience in Antiquity, pp. 92 ff. 67. Josephus, Jewish War 2. 16. 4. 391 ff. 68. Genesis 49. 27. 69. 157, on Numbers 31. 2.

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overcome him as well. So the two enemies buried the hatchet and unitedly fought the third party. At first sight the wolf appears to be the villain and the dogs the heroes who know when it is time to sacrifice petty, divisive interests for a higher, common aim. Hence the farmer ought to stand for, say, Rome and the latter for different Jewish factions. (Too late, during the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, the defenders engaged in internecine struggles realized the consequences: “Are we really to be brave against each other only? The Romans through our strife will make a bloodless capture of the city.”70) Surely something like this was indeed the original import of the fable which, at that stage, would have been very militant: an appeal to join ranks to repulse a vicious robber who would take away Temple, land and sovereignty.71 It was to be fully intelligible only to the initiated. To be sure, anybody could see the point that strength lay in unity. But there were many tales and discourses dedicated to this truth,72 without being in the service of a specific rising. However, in its present context in the Midrash, it is a complaint about the surrounding illwishers rather than a summons to combat. In Siphre, it is Israel that is represented by the wolf and the Midianites and Moabites who are the dogs. The latter two, we are informed, had always been at war with one another, till it came to making common cause against Israel.73 The fable now conveys Jewish resentment of the various gentile nations agreeing in little but their cruelty to Jewry, or even a recommendation of adjustment since resistance will cause them to unite. But that this is not its native ambiance is confirmed by the fact that, in the biblical account, Israel gains a decisive victory over Midian: on this basis the wolf should be the stronger party. The fable is also transmitted in Babylonian Sanhedrin.74 Here the wolf ’s conduct is at least slightly improved: he does not come to carry off a lamb but he directly attacks one of the dogs. Manifestly, if Siphre had been acquainted with this version, it would not have added a detail increasing the bias against him—by then in the role of Israel. So it is Sanhedrin which must be secondary in this respect. Moreover, in Sanhedrin, R. Papa, of the middle of the fourth century a.d., cites a proverb which, he suggests, has the same meaning as the fable: “The weasel and the cat prepare a feast with the fat of the ill-fated one.” By now, the character of the wolf is forgotten: the victim in the proverb is clearly the mouse, the message—the most selfish evildoers will combine to finish off a weak, innocent creature. This, too, is old folk wisdom—alas, sound enough. (An illustration is offered in Luke: “And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together, for before they were at enmity between themselves.”75) Only it is by no means identical with that contained in the fable before its reinterpretation. The latter, we may conclude, was undertaken when, after the collapse of some revolt, those eager for peace regarded the original secret as too inflammatory or at least as pointing in a wrong direction. It was the potential effect on the insiders, that is, rather than the outsiders, which neces70. Josephus, Jewish War 5. 2. 4. 74. 71. See e.g., I Maccabees 1. 23 ff., Josephus, Jewish War 2. 14. 2. 278 ff., John 11. 48, Dio Cassius 69. 12. 72. E.g., Babrius 47. 73. Their combined action commences in Numbers 22. 1 ff. their previous discord the Rabbis find indicated by Genesis 36. 35. 74. 105a. 75. Luke 23. 12; see Strack and Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und Midrasch, vol. 2, 1924, p. 263.

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sitated a radical toning down. Previously the former had been exhorted to stand together against the latter. The new teaching was a sorrowful recognition of the latter’s unanimity in hating the former, maybe even with the implication that submission was the only reasonable course. An amazing instance of a fable under the impact of political events being utterly diverted from its original purpose, indeed, being made to say pretty much the opposite. Certainly, even reset, it remained hostile to and contemptuous of the outsiders; yet hardly to such a degree that a discreet shrouding of the feelings behind it would seem really necessary. As it now appears in Siphre, it not only does not fit the biblical episode to which it is attached but also has neither of the two normal functions of the genre: it operates neither as a code among the group nor as a means of preferring a request to a superior in agreeable style. That this exception to the rule should have the history it has—with an earlier phase when it did conform to the rule—is most significant. The yin and yang advice, “Rejoice, young man, in your youth and walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes—and know that for all this God will bring you into judgment”, is supplied with diverse explanations in Ecclesiastes Rabba.76 A third-century Haggadist, R. Levi, is reminded of the caged bird called happy by a free one because all his food is provided for him; but he bitterly points out that his visitor overlooks his helpless state—the very next day his gaolers may butcher him. The fable could have its primary setting among a tyrant’s favourites—slaves, freedmen, courtiers. There are, however, other possibilities, in fact, about as many as there are common varieties of the gilded cage. The agents handling the Watergate operation lived in one; and we need only think of them to appreciate the usefulness of veiled speech in this area and how dangerous it might be to set forth the implications in so many words. The sixth fable occurs in the midst of messianic speculation in Sanhedrin,77 as a comment on Amos,78 “Woe unto you who desire the day of the Lord, to what end is it for you? it is darkness and not light”. A cock and a bat (or owl) were sitting together at night, waiting for the dawn. The cock remarked that it made sense for him to look forward to the light, but what good would it do to the bat? The comment is made by R. Simlai, who flourished in the middle of the third century a.d. The sources preserve quite a few of his refutations of Christians in debate.79 The utterance under discussion is therefore widely considered to be specifically anti-Christian, though some scholars maintain that it is directed against the gentile world at large.80 The former view is decisively 76. II. 9. The contradiction between the two halves of the verse is so marked that modern critics, rightly or wrongly, reject the second one as spurious; see Zimmerli in Sprüche, Prediger by Ringgren and Zimmerli, 1962, pp. 242 ff. 77. 98b. 78. 5. 18. 79. See Bacher, op. cit., vol. 1, 1892, pp. 555 ff., Daube, The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism, 1956, p. 142. 80. Strack and Billerbeck, op. cit., vol. 4, part 2, 1928, p. 854, declare it anti-Christian; contra Bacher, loc. cit. That Rashi interprets it as antiheathen proves little: he is bound to be influenced, consciously and unconsciously, by consideration for the Christian world around him.

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supported by a point not so far, it seems, taken into account. R. Simlai was a subtle exegete, and there is a reason he attaches the fable to that particular passage from Amos. That passage speaks of people foolishly longing for the end of history. Who are they? Not ordinary pagans. No doubt they will fare ill in the last judgement, but at the moment they know nothing about it: they could not be said to “desire the day of the Lord”—nor be portrayed in a simile as persevering in the same posture as the Jews. It is the Christians who are in this paradoxical state—to pray for that day, which will consign them to darkness. If Simlai is thinking of the Christians, a question arises. Christianity was not yet the religion of the State. Does he, then, resort to a fable simply because this form was traditionally prominent in expositions designed to affirm Judaism’s superiority? Or even for the ornamental value only? Either is conceivable. But surely, even in that period, the choice might have a realistic function. There would be situations even then where discretion was preferable to valour, and a cock’s reflection on the strange behaviour of a bat to an unadorned communication of the Jewish estimate of the rival religion. The very fact that to this day it is being debated exactly who is meant by the bat suggests that the Rabbi sees a definite advantage in obscurity. It may be added that in several encounters he employs a mode of discourse to be characterized as public retort and private explanation: a Christian putting a question (say, how to account for the plural in “Let us make man in our image”) receives an answer good enough for him (the following verse puts matters right, “So God created man in his image”), but the Rabbi’s disciples demand a more substantial one and he complies (while the first couple were made by God alone, further procreation would involve husband, wife and Divine Presence together).81 In the cases preserved, the outsider is unworthy of the more elaborate truth; but, evidently, this division of instruction would be no less useful where to let him into it might mean to invite reprisals. In conclusion, a modern Hebrew fable, of a little salamander in a little rockery, where he played with other little salamanders by day and slept peacefully by night. From travellers he heard about a distant place far bigger and full of wonders, he grew restless and in the end he decided to move there. Arrived after a long journey, the scene surpassed his expectations: instead of little salamanders there were tall alligators, instead of pebbles and brooks, huge boulders, rivers and waterfalls. The strangest happenings kept taking place at all hours, and he hardly ever dared to go to sleep for fear of missing any. He had the time of his life. Nevertheless, when his old comrades sent him word that they remembered him and he returned for a visit, he was very happy indeed. Hoc quo pertineat dicet qui me noverit.82

81. Genesis Rabba 8 on 1. 26 f. 82. I wish to thank Professors Kingsley Barrett and Reuven Yaron for valuable comments; and Professor S. Herbert Frankel for spotting (and remarking in his vote of thanks) that what I am mainly concerned about in this lecture is freedom.

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The Sephardic Meshal ha-kadmoni as an Ashkenazic German Manuscript (MS. Heb. 107, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek)

SIMONA GRONEMANN

T

he Hebrew text of the 13th-century Sephardic fable book Meshal ha-kadmoni (The Fable of the Ancient) is known from five extant Ashkenazic illuminated manuscripts and one incunabulum—all from the 15th century.1 The most direct and untainted information we have about the book is from the text itself. From the outset, the author introduces himself as Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula, aged 37 when he wrote the book in 1281.2 He tells the reader that after many years of wandering he realized how the Jewish community and primarily the Jewish aristocracy in Spain neglected the Torah and its precepts and that the Hebrew language was all but forgotten; he thus decided to settle down and write an educational book in Hebrew, decrying these trends. He also writes in the preface that he intends to add illustrations so as to lure the simpletons and the uninitiated to read the book.3 The author’s identity, his origin and his social background were first dealt with by Gershom Scholem and Moritz Steinschneider in 1929–1932.4 Their research confirmed that Isaac ibn Sahula, born in 1244 in Guadalajara, actually wrote Meshal ha-kadmoni as well as a commentary on Song of Songs. The book, written in the form of a maqama, is comprised of dialogs between its protagonists, who are alternately humans and animals.5 It is divided into five parts; in each part the author 1. As far as we know Meshal ha-kadmoni is the only Sephardic fable text that came down to us. All other, later, Hebrew fable books are Ashkenazic. 2. All textual references and citations from the text of Meshal ha-kadmoni in this essay are based on Meshal ha-kadmoni, 7th printed edition (Tel Aviv: Mahbarot le-sifrut, 1952) referred to hereafter as: 7th edition, and on the English translation by Raphael Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni: Fables from the Distant Past; A Parallel Hebrew-English Text (Oxford: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2004). 3. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 1, 14. 4. Moritz Steinschneider, Catalogus Librorum Hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana (Berlin: Welt-Verlag, 1931), vol. II, 1150– 1152; Gershom Scholem, “The First Citation of the Midrash ha-ne‘elam,” Tarbiz 3 (1932): 181–183 [Hebrew]. 5. On this literary genre and Jewish Arabic poetry see Dan Pagis, Renewal and Tradition in Hebrew Secular Poetry: Spain and Italy (Jerusalem: Keter, 1976), 199–211 [Hebrew]; A. M. Habermann, “Hebrew Poetry in the Middle Ages,” Kiryat Sefer 29 (1953), 199–203 [Hebrew]; Rina Dory, “The Maqama,” in The Literature of Al-Andalus, eds. Maria Rosa Menocal, Raymond P. Scheindlin, and Michael Sells (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 190–210.

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lauds a particular quality or virtue. Thus, the first part is in praise of Wisdom, the second in praise of Penitence, the third in praise of Sound Counsel, the fourth in praise of Humility, and the fifth in praise of Reverence.6 The framing story begins with an introduction, in which the author meets Goliath the Philistine and his four friends, who try to dissuade him from writing the book. Each part is comprised of arguments between the author and a cynic—an adversary serving as the devil’s advocate. The arguments take the form of fables and parables that support or oppose the virtue discussed. As mentioned, the Sephardic text came down to us in five Ashkenazic illuminated manuscripts and one incunabulum—all from the second half of the 15th century. In addition to MS Heb. 107 in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich, the manuscripts are: MS Opp. 154 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; MS Can. Or. 59 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford; MS 180/51 in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem; MS X112 sup in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Milano. The incunabulum is R18 = 86 A 590, first edition (Brescia, ca. 1491) in the Jewish National Library, Jerusalem. The subject of the present essay—MS Heb. 107 in Munich—will be referred to hereafter as Munich. There is no knowledge whether the first copy of the text that came to Germany was illustrated; nonetheless, the text in all six extant copies of the book is accompanied by illustrations, preceded by respective rhymed captions, which were, in all probability, originally penned by the author. They contain different numbers of illustrations, primarily due to missing folios. The illustrations in four of the five extant manuscripts include loosely composed colored pendrawings and the one in the Israel Museum contains painted miniatures. While the manuscripts, two of which originated in southern Germany and three in northern Italy, exhibit an overall thematic and iconographic accord, there are some discernible differences among them—in the text as well as in the iconography and primarily the style of the illustrations.7 Although the manuscripts were copied and illustrated both in Germany and in Italy, their similar codicological and paleographic traits place them within the framework of Ashkenazic illuminated manuscript production. The Munich copy of Meshal ha-kadmoni has the most complete text and is therefore considered to have textually guided later copies of the book.8 It is written on paper and is bound together with four other texts in a miscellany.9 Although it lacks a colophon, the text divulges several data. The name Abraham, probably the scribe, appears three times: on folio 24v with a crown above it, on folio 66v with a floral ornament at its side and again, as an acrostic, on the last folio (94v). On 6. The names of the parts are based on Loewe’s translation in his Meshal Haqadmoni. 7. For more about the manuscripts, see Simona Gronemann, The Story of Meshal Haqadmoni and its Extant Copies in 15th Century Ashkenaz, ch. 1 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2019). 8. For a textual comparison of the texts, see Simona Gronemann, “The Extant 15th-Century Ashkenazic Illuminated Manuscripts of Meshal Hakadmoni by Isaac ibn Sahula,” (PhD diss., Hebrew University, 2006) [Hebrew]. 9. Meshal ha-kadmoni appears on folios 1r–94v. Sefer ha-Tapuah (Book of the Apple), attributed to Aristotle, translated by Abraham ibn Hisdai (1165–1216), appears on folios 95v–98r. Sefer ha-Nefesh (Book of the Soul), attributed to Galen, translated by Judah ben Solomon al-Harizi (1170–1235), appears on folios 98v–100r. Sefer ha-Shamayim ve-ha-ʿolam (De coelo et mundo) by Avicenna, translated by Shlomo ben Moshe of Melgueil, appears on folios 100r–100v. Sefer ha-Nitzahon (Book of Triumph, written after the disputation of 1389) by Yom Tov Lipmann Muelhausen, appears on folios 102v–203v.

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folio 204v of the miscellany, at the end of the volume, appears a list of births—apparently written by the owner. The year 1458, which corresponds to the first listed birth, thus serves as the latest date in which the entire manuscript could have been prepared. The text is written variably in semi-cursive and cursive Ashkenazic script, arranged alternately in one and two columns, and accompanied by eighty-one unframed colored text illustrations, each of which appears at the end of its respective story, horizontally under a caption. The figures are rendered, economically yet voluminously, in quivering thin black outlines and are colored with thin gray, yellow, ochre, and pink wash in a spare ground technique. Some depictions and even some underdrawings were corrected, probably by the scribe, in brown ink. From a brief stylistic analysis of the drawings, Robert Suckale concluded that the artist of Munich came from the workshop of the master Martinus Opifex, who was active in Regensburg in the 1440s, and suggested dating the manuscript within the period 1440–1466.10 He further suggested that the cursory and minimal rendering of the illustrations pointed to their being just preparatory drawings (Vorzeichnungen) awaiting completion. However, as was later shown, the style of the illustrations belongs to a different, fully qualified school, active mainly in Augsburg, south Germany.11

The cultural background and the pictorial sources By the mid-15th century there were developments in Germany related to social and economic conditions, such as the accelerated urbanization process and the lower nobility and rich bourgeoisie establishing themselves in the towns. At the same time, the technical aspects of book production were undergoing significant changes—such as the use of paper instead of parchment, a quicker and sketchier manner of drawing, and the use of wash instead of paint and gold leaf. These innovations made it possible to produce large quantities of books at lower prices, even prior to the invention of movable type.12 The new classes created a demand for books, collecting them and priding themselves on their small private libraries.13 These books were produced mainly in 10. Robert Suckale, “Die Regensburger Buchmalerei von 1350–1450,” in Regensburger Buchmalerei (Munich: Prestel, 1987), 109–110. 11. See Gronemann, Story of Meshal Haqadmoni. 12. Norbert H. Ott, “Deutschsprachige Bilderhandschriften des Spätmittelalters und ihr Publikum: zu den illustrierten Handschriften der ‘Vierundzwanzig Alten’ Ottos von Passau),” Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst 38 (1987): 107–148, esp. 109ff. 13. According to Rudolf Kautzsch (“Einleitende Erörterungen zu einer Geschichte der deutschen Handschriftillustrationen im Mittelalter,” Studien zur deutschen Kunstgeschichte [1894]: 60), it was always possible to find a teacher or itinerant scribe who would copy a text on commission. See also Lieselotte E. Saurma-Jeltsch, “Buchmalerei in Serie: zur Frühgeschichte der Vervielfältigungskunst,” Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 40 (1983), 128–135; Lieselotte E. SaurmaJeltsch, “Zur Entwicklung der illustrierten Handschriften im Milieu der späetmittelalterlichen Stadt,” Jahrbuch der Oswald von Wolkenstein Gesellschaft 7 (1992/3): 305–342; Ott, “Deutschsprachige Bilderhandschriften,” 114–115; Elisabeth Vavra, “Literatur und Publikum,” in Alltag im Spätmittelalter, ed. Harry Kühnel (Vienna: Kaleidoskop, 1986), 323–341. According to Konrad (Bernd Konrad, “Die Malerei in Konstanz und ihre Beziehungen zum Oberrhein,” in Spätmittelalter am Oberrhein. Große Landesausstellung Baden-Württemberg, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, 29. September 2001–3. Februar 2002. Exhibition Catalogue, vol. I. Maler und Werkstätten 1450–1525 [Stuttgart, 2001], 41–47) another development which facilitated the dissemination of manuscripts in the 15th century was the invention of reading glasses: these increased the number of educated consumers who had previously stopped reading at an early age.

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urban workshops, where large repositories of models and patterns were kept. Such workshops served for the production of illustrated books—among them also our Munich copy and all other 15th-century extant manuscripts of Meshal ha-kadmoni. The general German, illustrated, literary scene to which an artist was exposed at the time comprised books of a religious nature, including (just to mention a few) Bibles, prayer books, stories of Christ’s childhood and the Passion. There were also sermon collections like Der Renner (The Runner) by Hugo von Trimberg, which was the most comprehensive and influential treatise on morality in the 15th century.14 In addition there was didactic literature, including collections of rhymed fables, such as the Aesopian fables, translated from Latin under the title Der Edelstein (The Gemstone) by the Dominican monk Ulrich Boner,15 or the fables by Cyrillus, translated by Ulrich von Pottenstein under the title of Buch der natürliche Weisheit (Book of Natural Wisdom).16 To this one may add calendars, which constituted a kind of miscellany for use at home and included treatises on health and medicine, astrological treatises on the Children of the Planets and other material for guidance in daily life. Other inexhaustible pictorial sources were books of nature, like the Buch der Natur (Book of Nature) by Konrad von Megenburg,17 and books of fiction, which included the great epics. All these sources were at the disposal of the Munich artist when choosing his compositions and iconographies. It was only natural that the illustrations in the manuscripts of Meshal ha-kadmoni borrowed from that literature, in parallel with other secular books of the surrounding culture. However, beyond the general similarity of compositions and motifs, there is also an iconographic affinity, which is due to the thematic analogy between subjects dealt with by Ibn Sahula and subjects prevailing in 15th-century literature. The topics with which people in the waning Middle Ages were concerned with, as reflected in German literature of the time, had primarily to do with external influences on human lives.18 According to concepts that evolved from astrological teachings and from writings of the early Church Fathers, man’s destiny was ruled on the one hand by the motion of the planets and on the other hand by the struggle of his soul that was pitched between virtues and vices. Each planet determined for the person born under its influence his temper and his character, while the theory of virtues and vices determined his destiny—whether to Paradise or to Hell.19 14. G. Schweikle, “Hugo von Trimberg,” in Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters – Verfasserlexikon, founded by W. Stammler, 2nd compl. rev. ed. (Berlin/New York: De Gruyter, [2011]), vol. 9, 268–281. 15. Klaus Grubmüller, Meister Esopus. Untersuchungen zu Geschichte und Funktion der Fabel im Mittelalter (Zurich: Artemis Verlag, 1977), 279; Klaus Grubmüller, “Boner,” in Die deutsche Literatur des Mittelalters – Verfasserlexikon, vol. 1, 947–952. 16. On Ulrich von Pottenstein and the Buch der natürliche Weisheit, see Jürgen W. Einhorn, “Der Bilderschmuck der Handschriften und Drucke zu Ulrich von Pottenstein: Buch der Natürlichen Weisheit,” in Verbum und Signum, Festschrift für Friedrich Ohly, eds. Hans Fromm, Wolfgang Harms, and Uwe Ruberg (Munich: Beck, 1975), 389–424. 17. Ulrike Spyra, Das “Buch der Natur” Konrads von Megenberg. Die illustrierten Handschriften und Inkunabeln (Cologne: Böhlau, 2005). 18. Emile Male, Religious Art in France: The Late Middle Ages (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1958 [1974]), 273–283. 19. On the planets and their influence on the life of man, see Mira Friedman, “Hunting Scenes in the Art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” (PhD diss., Tel Aviv University, 1978), 299–300; Raymond Klibansky, Erwin Panofsky, and Fritz Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy: Studies in the History of Natural Philosophy, Religion and Art (Nendeln: Kraus Reprint, 1979), 204– 207; Jörg Völlnagel, Splendor Solis oder Sonnenglanz. Studien zu einer alchemistischen Bilderhandschrift (Munich: Deutscher

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Furthermore, man’s temper has been classified since Antiquity in terms of four primary temperaments.20 This complicated system, based on pseudoscience and religious moral edicts, ruled daily life, prescribed behavioral and moral codes, and also found expression in illuminated texts. Since these topics were intertwined, personified images of virtues and vices served also to concretely illustrate the four temperaments.21 Thus, in the wake of the popularity of these topics and their attendant images, there existed in the 15th century a large repository of related iconographies and pictorial compositions, which served also the illustrators of Meshal ha-kadmoni. In what follows, we shall discuss several examples of illustrations in Munich and their thematic relation to both the text and the theories and traditions outlined above—in terms of primarily the iconography, but also of other compositional elements.

The sin of Anger (Ire) and the choleric temperament Our first example belongs to a parable in the first part of Meshal ha-kadmoni and we shall examine its relation to the sin of anger (ire in Latin) and to the choleric temperament. With reference to the subject of this part of the book, namely the praise of Wisdom, our story begins in fact with the cynic challenging the author with an adverse argument, claiming that wisdom is of no use. To this end he tells a story about a wretched philosopher whose mind dried and shriveled during a terrible drought in such a way that he ran through the streets like a fool, being pestered by neighborhood rascals (Fig. 1). The king heard about it and sent for him to become the court’s fool. In the palace, the fool was well fed and clad, while paying his share by amusing the royal company. A few years later the drought ended, spring revived people’s spirits and the philosopher recov- fig.1 The fool blathers in merriment and the lads pester him around (MS. ered his senses. Being no longer Heb. 107, Munich State Library, fol. 4r) Kunstverlag, 2004), 83–92. On the Jewish and Christian sources for the Seven Deadly Sins, see Morton W. Bloomfield, The Seven Deadly Sins: An Introduction to the History of a Religious Concept, with Special Reference to Medieval English Literature (Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan State University Press, 1952), 7–67; U. Voll, “Deadly Sins,” in New Catholic Encyclopedia (Washington DC: Catholic University of America, 2002), vol. 4, 565–566. 20. On the tenets of the theory of the planets, see Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 280–284; Klaus Schönfeldt, Die Temperamentenlehre in deutschsprachige Handschriften des 15. Jahrhunderts. Inaugural Address (Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1962), 7–16; Klibansky, Panofsky, and Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy, 112–123, 127ff. 21. Erwin Panofsky, Albrecht Dürer (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1943), vol. 1, 159.

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able to provide the court with merriments, he infuriated the king, who now regarded him as an impostor and had him flogged. The depiction in Munich of the flogging carried out with vengeance on the suffering fool (Fig. 2) is the most dramatic among the illustrations of that episode in all the copies of Meshal ha-kadmoni. Despite the identical caption that accompanies all copies of fig. 2 The fool screams out in pain while the flogger stands over him (MS. the book (“The Fool screams out Heb. 107, Munich State Library, fol. 4v) in pain, while the flogger stands over him”), the renditions are different and only here in Munich is the connection made between the temperament (choleric) and the deadly sin (Anger or Ire). The illustration of the flogging relies on depictions of these topics, for example, in an illustration of the Children of Mars on folio 149r of a blockbook from Heidelberg, where they are seen fighting each other in every possible manner.22 The postures of both the flogger and the victim point to the acquaintance of the artist with the stock of images of Mars’s irate children, such as those seen killing each other in the lower left corner of the block print. Other models may be found in calendars, where depictions of the Children of the Planets and their temperaments abound. In many such depictions, the choleric temperament is illustrated by a man swinging a club over the head of a crouching victim, as for example in a south German manuscript from the second quarter of the 15th century, Hs. 426 fol. 25v, in the Nuremberg State Archive.

The sin of Sloth (Acedia) and the melancholic temperament Our second example is a parable, in the second part of the book, that deals with two servants of a king who were given the task of cleaning out a dirty palace. One servant, being the faithful agile one, spared sleep, devoting his nights to the filthy work and saving his clean good clothes for daytime, whereas the second servant, a sluggard, spent most of his time sleeping, and worked, however little, during daytime, while in his good clothes and exposing his filthiness to all. When they were finally called before the king, the lazy servant appeared filthy and disheveled and his work was found to be paltry; for this he was chained (Fig. 3) and imprisoned for the rest of his life.23 Sahula himself explains this parable as an analogy of the low religious and moral norms among Sephardic aristocracy. The lazy man, heedless and negligent, represents the haughty, educated rich who, oblivious to their communal duties, carried on a flamboyant and lax life, slighted the To22. Heidelberg University Library, Cod. Pal. germ. 438, “The Planets,” blockbook (Basle or South German, 1455–1465, 149r). 23. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 1, 260–276; Sahula, 7th edition, 115–121.

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rah precepts and scorned all norms of proper Jewish family conduct. Their spiritual and moral laxity is, according to Sahula, akin to laziness: “The wicked are called lazy; . . . they are intent on sleep; they walk the wrong path; will not wake up to repent.”24 The filth is also an allegory of the overt involvement with promiscuous women. Conversely, the industrious servant represents the strictly religious Jew who observed all the precepts of Jewish law and is clean in body and therefore also morally and spiritually. Moreover, this servant’s menial work being done secretly, at the small hours of night, alludes to the faithful Jew conducting a chaste family life, where sexual matters are confined to the guise of night; in Sahula’s words: “he will not be seen while in lust.”25 The depiction of the lazy man in chains in Munich fig. 3 The lazy one is clad in disgrace because his (Fig. 3) does not follow the caption “The lazy one is clad hands refused to work (MS. Heb. 107, Munich in disgrace because his hands refused to work,”26 but State Library, fol. 34r) rather the words of the text—“the king commanded . . . to chain him”;27 the depiction in Munich also includes a pillory, which is mentioned neither in the caption nor in the text. The usage by the artist of the pillory as a punishment for laziness points to intentional borrowing from coeval images of the Children of Saturn, which were part of the theory of the planets. This iconographic association needs some elaboration. Within a broader perspective of medieval culture, Sahula’s words about laziness and laxity of the soul tie in with sloth as one of the seven cardinal sins of the Christian church, as well as with the temperament of Melancholia.28 In contrast to the depictions of the sin of Anger, presented above, early depictions of Sloth—e.g., in cathedrals—were largely unimpressive, since they inherently do not involve any dramatic action, and thus have not crystallized into an accepted formal tradition.29 Melancholia, however, which has long been associated with Sloth (the terms becoming almost synonymous), is, in turn, connected with Saturn as part of the theory of the planets. Indeed, Sahula’s words about filth and bodily neglect tie in with the characteristics ascribed to that planet. The connection between Saturn and the melancholic, namely inertial or lazy, temperament was first made by the 9th-century Arab astrologist Abu Mazar in his treatise about the ties be24. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 1, 271–276; Sahula, 7th edition, 120–121. 25. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 1, 272; Sahula, 7th edition, 121. 26. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 1, 270; Sahula, 7th edition, 118. 27. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 1, 270; Sahula, 7th edition, 118. 28. About the Classical Melancholy and Melancholy as Acedia—the monastic Christian sin, see Siegfried Wenzel, The Sin of Sloth: Acedia in Medieval Thought and Literature (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1967), 6–18, 30–35, 59, 160; Schönfeldt, Temperamentenlehre, 65–74. 29. Klibansky, Panofsky, and Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy, 300–301, fig. 89b.

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tween the planets and the temperaments.30 According to him, the children of Saturn included some of the lowliest kind, such as “slaves, criminals, prisoners, and castrates” and others, who, because of their deep sadness due to their melancholy, were characterized by inactivity. He interpreted this inactivity as both laziness and introspection, which, in turn, led to deep thought and wisdom.31 What is important for the present discussion is the negative aspect of Saturn’s children, which Sahula surely learned from the writing of Abraham ibn Ezra (12th century). The terms that Sahula applies to the lazy man—who “was soiled with mud and feces, brought disgrace and shame on himself and prefers darkness, reflecting his soul, which was darkened by his sins and crimes”32 are not far from Ibn Ezra’s descriptions in his book Reshit Hokhmah (The Beginning of Wisdom). According to Ibn Ezra, those born under the sign of Saturn include “cleaners of toilets and slaves and the despised . . . ,” in their lot is “everything despised and lowly with disgrace and shame . . .” and they count among the inhabitants of “caves and cisterns and jails and every dark and uninhabitable place . . .” Saturn himself is described as “ugly in sight and repugnant in odor.”33 Similar descriptions appear in pseudoscientific writings and astrological treatises of the 15th century, which deal with the theory of the planets, where Saturn’s children are perceived as dark characters, dwellers of burrows, dirty, stingy, or lazy, who end up being jailed or hanged.34 They are also thus depicted in illustrations of Saturn’s children accompanying such texts, as, for example, a manuscript for domestic use from around 1482,35 a German calendar within a blockbook from around 147036 and a calendar from the upper Rhine, of about 1445.37 In all three examples, figures engaged in despised crafts, such as skinning carcasses, digging graves or raising hogs, appear in the foreground. We note, however, particular motifs appearing in each of these illustrations. In the first example, some wretched characters are punished by pillory, chains, and hanging. In the second example, a punished man is in a pillory and in the third example, culprits sitting in a pillory are depicted next to the gallows. It appears therefore that the Munich artist, when depicting the chaining, as related in the text, followed a common model; however, by adding the motif of the pillory, the artist borrowed from related traditional images, while also anchoring the figurative description in everyday reality: a criminal punished by pillory sitting in the middle of a town square for deterrence38 is a manifestation of ruling justice.

30. Klibansky, Panofsky, and Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy, 127–133, 178–179. 31. Klibansky, Panofsky, and Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy, 131–133, 190; Panofsky, Albrecht Dürer, vol. 1, 160. 32. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 1, 266, 268; Sahula, 7th edition, 118, 120. 33. Ibn Ezra, Sefer Reshit Hokhmah (Jerusalem: Meir Bakal, 1973), 70–71. 34. Klibansky, Panofsky, and Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy, 131, 191. 35. Christoph zu Waldburg Wolfegg, Venus and Mars, The World of the Medieval Housebook (New York: Prestel, 1998), fig. 15. 36. Blockbook, German (copy of a lost Netherlandish original), 1470: Klibanski, Panofsky, and Saxl, Saturn and Melancholy, fig. 38. 37. Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Calendar, German, c. 1445, MS Mgf. 244, fol. 175. 38. Oxford, Bodleian, MS Douce 195, fol. 107.

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The sin of Vanity (Vanitas) and the sin of Gluttony (Gula) In the third part of the book appears a parable about a rich man who dines gluttonously while disregarding a poor man on his doorstep (Fig. 4). Only when the rich man feels satiated, he lets the leftovers to be given to the beggar. On his deathbed, the rich man wishes to repent, but is prevented from doing so and his soul is doomed forever.39 In this parable Sahula denounces the economic inequality prevailing in the congregations of Castilia and Aragon. The leadership was in the hands of an oligarchy of educat- fig. 4 The gluttonous man feasts and denies the poor man even the crumbs ed Jews with professions that were (MS. Heb. 107, Munich State Library, fol. 50r) sought in the royal court, who amassed capital and political clout. They wielded their political power mainly vis-à-vis other members of the congregation, most of whom were of the middle and lower classes—shopkeepers, artisans, and paupers living off charity funds. Most of the tension revolved about the favors and special rights bestowed by the authorities upon the courtiers, singling them out over the rest of the community. These rights included disproportionate allocation of taxes and daily delivery of free meat from the Jewish slaughterhouse, at the expense of the congregation.40 Sahula’s social involvement and his direct approach to the inequities in the community, which emanate from his association with the kabbalistic circles, is expressed in a blunt sentence: “The poor man left him [the rich man] disgruntled and lay down in shame,” thus demonstrating the debilitating poverty of some members of the community. The parable in Meshal ha-kadmoni clearly alludes to the deadly sins of gluttony and vanity. It is also reminiscent of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in the gospel of Luke (16:19–31). Here Lazarus is driven from the rich man’s house, then lies on the doorstep while dogs lick his wounds. After his death, his soul arrives and rests at Abraham’s bosom, whereas the rich man’s soul eventually reaches hell, where his pleas for repentance are rejected. It is unknown whether Sahula knew the gospel story firsthand or from some other literature, but common textual motifs, 39. Loewe, Meshal Haqadmoni, vol. 2, 402–406; Sahula, 7th edition, 172–174. 40. Baer, History of the Jews, 53–56, 119, 126–140; Avraham Grossman, “Relations between Sephardic and Ashkenazic Jewry in the Middle Ages,” in Moreshet Sepharad, ed. Haim Beinart (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1994), 183 [Hebrew]; Yom Tov Assis, “Social Unrest and Class Struggles in Jewish Communities in Spain before the Expulsion,” in Culture and History, ed. Joseph Dan (Jerusalem: Jerusalem Institute, 1988), 121–129, 131ff. [Hebrew]; idem, The Golden Age of Aragonese Jewry: Community and Society in the Crown of Aragon, 1213–1327 (Oxford: The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1997), 237–241.

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such as “lay in shame” or the denial of repentance (“you are a fool and thus cannot repent; your misdeed is written with iron pen”), certainly tie Sahula’s story to the Christian one. The depiction in Munich is concise and follows the caption—“The man eats and drinks while the pauper hides in shame”; only the moment at which the rich man drives out the pauper is depicted. Yet the episode includes a falcon perched on the rich man’s arm—bestowing an additional meaning, to be explained below. Visual descriptions of the parable in Luke appear in allegorical depictions of the sin of Vanity in the 11th and 12th centuries as, for example, on a folio from the Gospel book of King Henry III41 and in a relief at the south entrance of St. Peter’s abbey in Moissac.42 During the 14th and 15th centuries the monumental renditions gave way to more concise and emblematic versions of the theme in moralistic texts that deal mainly with sin and reward.43 The world of the late Middle Ages was, according to Huizinga, replete with piety and superstitions and haunted by fear of death.44 This was the time in which the texts of The Dance of Death, The Three Living and the Three Dead, and The Art of Dying (Ars Moriendi) were created and flourished. During that era, abstract concepts were concretized by figurative images which were part of a commonly understood language.45 Among these is the falcon. The following iconographic examination of the motif of the falcon, which appears in the illustration but is not mentioned in Sahula’s text, will prove how much its inclusion in this 15th-century manuscript enhances the social message of the 13th-century text. The falcon appears in literature since late Antiquity with two different meanings. In the Bible, its connotations are mostly negative, being included among the unclean animals (Lev. 11:13–14). In early Christian theology, the image of the falcon was first tied to certain human vices through the 2nd-century Latin translations of the Physiologus and through the 6th-century Etimologia by Isidore of Seville.46 The falcon is mentioned in Christian moralistic literature, primarily in the struggle that takes place in the human soul between the virtues and the vices. The negative aspects of the falcon (with which it appears in the present illustration) symbolize sinful life, vanity, and licentiousness.47 Positive aspects of the falcon crystallized only in the 13th century, when it is tied with hunting, which symbolizes the active and noble soul, and in turn it was associated with the Sanguine temperament (the most noble one)—appearing mainly in depictions of the month of May.48 41. Gospel Book of Henry III, French, 1043–1046, Madrid, Escorial, Codex Aureus, fol. 2r. 42. Moissac, St. Pierre Abbey, south portal, 12th century. 43. James H. Marrow, “‘In desen speigell’: A New Form of ‘Memento Mori’ in Fifteenth-Century Netherlandish Art,” in Essays in Northern European Art presented to Egbert Haverkamp-Begemann on his Sixtieth Birthday (Doornspijk: Davaco, 1983), 154, 158 and n. 1. 44. Johan Huizinga, The Waning of the Middle Ages (New York: Doubleday, 1954), 138–177. 45. Huizinga, Waning of the Middle Ages, 138–177; Ernst Heiss, Der Zimmern’sche Totentanz und seine Copien (Heidelberg: Moriell, 1901); Helmut Rosenfeld, “Totentanz,” Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie, ed. Engelbert Kirschbaum (Freiburg, Herder, 1968 [1990]), vol. 4, 334–336, 343–347; Norbert H. Ott, “Ars moriendi/Memento mori,” in Katalog der deutschsprachigen illustrierten Handschriften des Mittelalters, eds. Hella Frümorgen-Voss, Norbert H. Ott with Ulrike Bodemann (Munich: Beck, 1991), 272–328. 46. Michael J. Curley, Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2009), xxxiv; Isidore of Seville, Etymologia xii, 7, 55–58; Jacques-Paul Migne, Patrologia Latina (Paris, 1850), lxxi–lxxxiv. 47. Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 389–390. 48. Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 183–240, 289–290, 387; Heinz Peters, “Falke, Falkenjagd, Falkner und Falkenbuch,” in Reallexikon

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The pictorial formula by which the falcon motive becomes an attribute of sin crystallizes in the Bible Moralisée.49 In a depiction of a nobles’ feast a young man holds a falcon while a pauper knocks on the door.50 The falcon on the young man’s arm identifies him as a debaucher while small horns peeking from the head of another youngster, on his right, identify him as a satanic creature, attributed to the falcon bearer.51 While this topic is part of the text in the Bible Moralisée, the presence of the pauper and the rejection movement toward the door by the horned man are reminiscent of the Lazarus story, thereby accentuating the negative connotation of the feast indoors. The falcon, as realized with the image of the young falconer, will from now on remain the attribute of debauchery and licentious life.52 From the 14th century onward, sermon books are filled with moralistic texts and guides for proper conduct, accompanied with visual manifestations of sins and retributions—all aiming at the denunciation of earthly delights and the inducement of atonement and repentance. In books like The Dance of Death,53 where a preacher warns a riding falconer, the depictions are concise, implying one clear message: Memento Mori—remember Death.54 Thus the falcon on the arm of the rich man similarly identifies the illustration in Munich as a moralistic manifestation. This falcon may also have been borrowed from other pictorial sources such as a woodcut about the sin of gluttony from a German treatise on Virtues and Vices in a blockbook miscellany from Heidelberg;55 in this woodcut the falcon accompanies a youngster holding a skewered chicken, with a ravenous fox nearby. It is thus reasonable to assume that understanding the text and Sahula’s social criticism led the artists to choose the suitable motif of the falcon, out of the available sources. They were thus able to avoid using outright Christian imagery, e.g., portraying the pauper as Lazarus with the dogs licking his legs. Such subtle understanding points to the Jewish origin of the artist or his guide.

The sin of Greed (Avaricia) In the fourth part of the book appears a parable about a naive merchant entrusting his money to an old greedy scoundrel, who then refuses to return the money (Fig. 5). The story is depicted in Munich in accordance with both the text and the caption of the illustration. The scene in Munich is concise, showing the merchant handing a bag with money over to the old scoundrel. Seemingly the scene looks as simply representing the world of commerce in the 15th century, where coins were carried in a leather bag or in a bag of laced cloth. However, in line with the main topic of the story being that of the old man’s greed, the money bag points to the imagery of Avaricia—the sin of greed and covetousness—as well as to that of the melancholic temzur deutschen Kunstgeschichte, Otto Schmitt, ed. (Stuttgart-Waldsee: Alfred Druckenmüller Verlag, 1989), vol. 4, 1318–1322. 49. Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 390ff. 50. Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 284; The Bible of St Louis, Bible Moralisée, Northern France, 1230–1234, Toledo Cathedral, Chapter House, vol. 2, fol. 221; Alexandre de Laborde, Bible Moralisée, pl. 636. 51. On the image of Satan connecting to the topic of the falcon, see Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 411, 567. 52. On the negative attitude of the Church to the falcon and hunting, see Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 351ff, 413ff. 53. The Dance of Death, Donaueschingen, c. 1520, Stuttgart, WLB, MS A III 54, fol. 54. 54. Marrow, “New Form of ‘Memento Mori,’” 155–158ff. 55. The Cardinal Sins, blockbook, German, c. 1450, Heidelberg, Univ. Bibl. MS cpg. 438, fol. 100v.

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perament, as will be shown below.56 Avarice was nominated as one of the deadly sins by Gregory the Great in the 6th century; from the 12th century various personifications of this sin appear in monumental sculpture and in manuscripts.57 Toward the 13th century the descriptions are reduced to direct depictions of money—a pouch, a heap of coins, or a large leather bag. Following the development of commerce and amassment of capital by the middle classes in the waning of the Middle Ages, the sin of greed was considered with greater gravity by the Church within its struggle to maintain the feudal system and to prevent the expansion of private capital, fig. 5 The old man sets his eyes on the merchant’s purse which threatened the authority of the Church.58 (MS. Heb. 107, Munich State Library, fol. 65r) The implication of the sin is manifested in one of the medallions in the Bible Moralisée where a virtue—here an allegory of Faith on the right—is confronted by a vice—here Greed—depicted on the left and identified by a young falconer and, next to him, a youngster holding a money bag over a table covered with coins.59 Being an attribute of arrogance and debauchery, the presence of the falcon reinforces the aspect of avarice and covetousness of the youngster with the money bag. Furthermore, illustrations admonishing the rich and greedy, which accompanied moralistic texts such as The Dance of Death, always display the accepted attributes of sin, namely the pouch or the bag being held by the bearer of sin—usually a male figure—next to the image of Death. In one of the depictions from The Dance of Death, Death, with a snake around his loins and a toad on his head, appears raising a pouch in one hand and grasping the hand of a man tightly holding his swollen leather bag; to reaffirm the message two large sacks filled with coins appear between the two protagonists. The deprecation of the sin in such illustrations was clearly understood by all. The illustration in Munich evidently leans on such descriptions of the sin of greed—thus emphasizing the sinfulness of the avaricious scoundrel. 56. More on the bag of money, see Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 405–406, 411. 57. The Damned in Hell, Tympanon, West Portal, Conques, Abbey of St. Foy, 1130–1135: Barbara Deimling, “Das mittelalterliche Kirchenportal in seiner rechtsgeschichtlichen Bedeutung,” in Die Kunst der Romanik: Architektur, Skulptur and Malerei, ed. Rolf Toman (Cologne: Könemann, 1996), 324–333, fig. 330. 58. On the importance conferred to the Sin of Greed by the Church in the late Middle Ages, see Bloomfield, Deadly Sins, 74–76; Toman, Die Kunst der Romanik, 344–345. It should be mentioned that this attitude by the Church brought about the Calvinistic counterreaction that led to the affirmation of the virtue of wealth. 59. Bible Moralisée, London, BL. MS Harley 1527, fol. 25: Laborde (1911–1927), pl. 509; Mira Friedman, “Sünde, Sünder und die Darstellungen der Laster in den Bildern zur ‘Bible Moralisée,’” Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte (1984), vol. xxxvii, 166, fig. 24; Friedman, Hunting Scenes, 409, 557–558, fig. 275.

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Artistic aspects of the illustrations The discussion so far has revolved about the messages conveyed by the book and the manner in which the messages are expressed in the illustrations through their iconography. In this last section, we shift our attention to the contribution of the illustrator—in this case that of Munich—as an individual artist in conveying the message beyond the dictates of the chosen iconography. It was indeed found that some illustrations in Munich are markedly different from those of the same episodes in the other manuscripts and were therefore classified as unique or exceptional. The attention of the reader is diverted from the concise wording of the caption to other details, aspects or even nuances in the story that seem more important or, conversely, more expressive from a pictorial point of view. An example of this can be seen in the parable of the philosopher who became the village fool after he lost his mind (Fig. 1). The story is depicted by a central figure dressed in a fool’s costume surrounded by three lads. With the exception of Munich all depictions follow the same iconography dictated by the caption, showing the fool being harassed by youngsters. While the Munich artist adheres to the depiction of a harassed man, his personal style endows the scene with a sense of drama, not found in the other copies. By a dynamic portrayal of sharp rotating movements of the lads around the fool and of the fool trying to protect himself, the scene turns from mere harassment into sheer torture. The dramatic intensity of the depiction brings to mind Passion scenes such as the crowning with thorns from a Dutch bible in Brussels,60 where the main action is depicted in a circular composition and in extreme body gestures around the figure of Christ. It is plausible that the Munich artist may have drawn here on compositions created in the Low Countries, where art was influenced by the Modern Devotion (Devotio Moderna), a movement for religious reforms that spread in the 14th and 15th centuries in northern Europe. The depictions in Flemish and Dutch manuscripts were extremely expressive—imbued with emotions about the suffering of Christ.61 From the turn of the 14th century France and Germany were strongly influenced by the movement; hence it is possible that our artist was acquainted not only with the iconography but also with the dramatic renditions, which suited his style of strong and expressive body gestures. The depiction of the flogging of the philosopher/fool (Fig. 2), mentioned above in connection with the iconography of Anger, appears in all copies and adheres to the caption, but the levels of expressivity differ between the renditions, the one in Munich being the most demonstrative. The two protagonists are caught at the very moment of the flogging when the flogger bends toward the fool and grabs his clothes while the latter folds over and shields his face. If the depiction of implied violence in the other manuscripts left room for the viewer’s imagination, the Munich artist left no doubt as to the harsh flogging that landed on the victim’s back. As in the previ60. Bible, Dutch, 1431, Brussels, Bibliotheque Royale, MS 9020–23, fol. 65, in L. M. J. Delaissé, A Century of Dutch Manuscript Illumination (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968), fig. 66. 61. About the Modern Devotion, see Delaissé, A Century of Dutch Manuscript Illumination, 4–8, 33–37, fig. 66; James Marrow, “Introduction,” in James Marrow et al., The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting (New York: George Braziller, 1990), 5–7.

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ous scene, it is the forcefulness of the show, which stems from the expressive ability of the Munich artist, that renders this scene unique in comparison to its counterparts. In the fable of the Treacherous Fox, the fox tried to lure the wolf to poison the lion, king of the animals. Word of it came to the lion and he summoned the wolf to verify the story. The wolf affirmed the plot and the treacherous fig. 6 The bear severs the head of the fox for his treachery (MS. Heb. 107, fox was sentenced to death by the bear Munich State Library, fol. 17r) who was appointed as executioner. While all manuscripts show an execution by sword, the Munich artist portrays the bear biting the fox’s scruff (Fig. 6). On first sight the scene seems out of context with both the caption and the text. However, from acquaintance with the animal combat world it is known that a deep bite in the back of the neck of the victim sentences it to death. The motif is taken from a long and ancient tradition of depictions of animals combating and devouring each other. Pictorial models of that fatal moment when the premolars of a predator sink into the vulnerable neck of a victim abound in pattern books, such as a Florentine model book;62 the motif also appears in a Mamluk copy of the book Kalila wa Dimna from 1345, where a lion vanquishes a bull.63 While the Florentine or the Mamluk copy did not constitute a direct model for the German illustration, it may be assumed that similar motifs existed also in 15th-century Germany. Moreover, the Munich artist chose not to employ human means of the execution, as shown in the other copies, but rather to use a pictorial motif derived from the animal world—to intensify the dramatic effect of the moment. The fable of the Arrogant Hawk tells of a preying hawk who abused all the weak birds. Word of fig. 7 The hawk is hanged and publicly shamed (MS. Heb. it came to the eagle who consulted his advisors 107, Munich State Library, fol. 38v) and they recommended to punish the hawk by 62. Pattern Book, Florence, second quarter of the 15th century, Paris, Louvre museum, Cabinet de Rothschild, inv. 754–63: Robbert W. Scheller, Exemplum: Model Book Drawings and the Practice of Artistic Transmission in the Middle Ages (c.900 – c.1470) (Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 1995), 335, fig. 205. 63. Kalila wa Dimna, Mamluk, 14th century, Oxford, Bodleian, MS Arab. 3467. Esin Atil, ed., Kalila wa Dimna: Fables from a Fourteenth-Century Arabic Manuscript (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981), 66ff.

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hanging him from a tree (Fig. 7). In three of the other manuscripts the process of hanging appears to be executed on the gallows by the birds, but in Munich and in another manuscript the hawk hangs from a tree. In contrast to the gallows the tree motif ties the two scenes with the text. The scene in Munich is also uniquely concise, in that the hawk is dangling on a lone tree in empty space—in accordance with the caption, which refers only to the hanged hawk. The Munich artist chose, moreover, to manifest the harsh realism of the animal world by depicting the convulsions of a hanged bird, with its stretched-out claws, a second before the body hardens—thus leading the reader to focus on the process of dying. The unique illustrations of the Munich artist do not reflect textual details beyond the caption, but rather an expressive rendition, stemming from the sensitivity and the proficient drawing ability of the artist, which changes the iconography and intensifies the message. The Munich copy of Meshal ha-kadmoni has been shown to manifest a multi-faceted affinity to the surrounding culture. The very aim of the author to provide to Sephardic laymen a Hebrew substitute for prevailing secular literature is echoed in the acceptance of the book, especially in its illustrated form, by the Ashkenazic community as a complement to widespread similar German literature. The moral messages of the text, which were directed at the Jewish aristocracy of 13th-century Spain, are akin to the messages carried in numerous moralistic publications in 15th-century Germany and in the writings and traditions of the Church. Sahula knew the power of pictures and his decision to add illustrations to his text stemmed mainly from the wish to attract the young and uninitiated: “Likewise, methinks, the pictures which conjoint I place with texts they illustrate, should . . . retain the interest of children . . .” Whether Sahula meant the illustrations to be a mnemonic device or just an eye-opener we do not know but the unique interpretations of the scenes by the Munich artist illustrate the extent to which an artist can contribute to conveying the author’s message, be it by enriching the picture with additional relevant details or by intensifying the message through a particular drawing style. At the same time the iconography of the illustrations draws on the aforementioned moralistic traditions, both secular and religious. The choice of iconography departs at times quite blatantly from that dictated by the text, indicating some independence of the artist or his guide. The illustrations, having been designed and carried out in south Germany, reflect stylistically some of the surrounding mass-produced art. Yet the artist of this manuscript also exhibits dramatically expressive abilities. .

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL PRINCIPLES 1 EMILE SCHRIJVER An attempt is made here to present the descriptions of the books in this collection, the majority of which are in Hebrew, in a way comprehensible to the specialized bibliographer and the educated general reader alike. What follows is a discussion of the descriptive rules that have been applied in this catalogue, of the structure and content of the entries, and of the ordering principles.

Arrangement of the catalogue General principles: • The catalogue is divided into four sections: Biblical Works, Rabbinic Works, Medieval Works, and Post-Medieval Works. The Rabbinic Works section is organized systematically according to the works presented. • In a number of cases a discussion of the work, usually one represented in the collection by more than one edition, precedes the actual descriptions of individual editions. In such cases the individual discussions typically contain information on idiosyncrasies of the edition described. Modern translations of older works that may be mentioned elsewhere as referred to or catalogued under the name of the modern translator/editor, appear together with earlier editions of the original work. Within the four sections different ordering principles prevail: • Biblical works, whether complete texts or portions, are arranged chronologically by production or publication date. • The Rabbinic Works section is subdivided into three categories: Mishnah and Talmud (Talmud being subdivided once more into Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud), Midrash, and Geonic Literature. Within these subsections, descriptions start with the first complete edition. Subsequent editions of the different tractates are arranged chronologically directly hereafter and works published in the same year are arranged alphabetically by their Hebrew title. Modern anthologies exclusively containing original rabbinic texts and/or translations of original texts are included in this section as well. • In the Medieval Works section, where many books listed are more or less original, primary collections of fables, the books are listed according to the date of publication of the earliest edition represented in the catalogue. Subsequent editions are described directly after the earliest edition, and thus may interrupt the chronological order of this catalogue. When a work that 1. Thanks are due to Jay Dillon of Monmouth Beach, NJ, whose role in formulating these principles has been considerable.

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constitutes a bibliographical entity contains a number of different works, among which is a work of fables or a work with fable content, it is catalogued under the main title of the work but assigned to the relevant section and/or sequence of fable editions. Translations of collections of fables with an assumed pre-medieval origin, which appear for the first time as separate collections in Jewish literature of the Middle Ages, such as the Aesopic fables, are listed in the medieval section. • The post-medieval works are arranged chronologically, and in the case of books printed in the same year, alphabetically by author and original title. In case an author wrote more than one work, his later works follow the description of the first work, and thus may interrupt the chronological order. Translations of collections of fables with an assumed pre-medieval or medieval origin, which appear for the first time as separate collections in post-medieval Hebrew literature, such as the Luqman fables, are listed in the post-medieval section. • The collection includes a few facsimile editions and other reproductions of original works, which typically contain prefaces, introductions, translations, or the like not present in their exemplars. Facsimile editions are therefore entered under their own publication-dates, and not those of the original editions that they reproduce. Xerographic reprints of unpublished theses or dissertations, which reproduce no published edition and are printed typically “on demand,” are entered under the year of the underlying typescript or computer-print. • No systematic attempt has been made to identify newly produced digital editions of the ones described. Digital copies of the works described have not been searched systematically either.

Structure of the entries Heading Collation, etc. References Discussion Provenance, etc. Photographs The heading comprises: • A uniform title, for composite works of many hands or for anonymous works, e.g., “Midrash,” “Babylonian Talmud.” Periodicals are listed under their titles, and not under the name of their editors. • The name of the author (or person or entity chiefly responsible for the intellectual or artistic content of the work in hand), first name followed by family name (or patronym for medieval authors); followed by the author’s dates or period of activity. Titles, epithets, acronyms, and especially pseudonyms, are provided in the transcriptions of the title pages, and are identified as such in the translations of the title page and other relevant pages, if necessary. Primarily for the sake of modern users of online and printed catalogues, names are given in principle

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according to the “filing name,” i.e., the element(s) of a name by which it is alphabetized by the Library of Congress (LoC). Names of authors whose works are not represented in the Lindseth collection, appearing within the discussion proper, are given in their usual English form, in accordance with the practice of the Encyclopædia Judaica (Jerusalem, 2nd edition 2007; EJ); in the discussions names of authors whose works do appear in the Lindseth collection are given in the LoC form used in the descriptions of these works. Readers of the catalogue are cautioned that certain inconsistencies (to the rule that surnames precede family names or patronyms for medieval authors) encountered in both the LoC and the EJ name forms have been standardized as much as possible; our standardization concerns such EJ and LoC name forms as “Maimonides, Moses,” which is listed here as ”Moses Maimonides” and “Ibn Hasdai, Abraham ben Samuel” [EJ] or “Ibn Hasdai, Abraham ben Samuel, ha-Levi” [LoC], which is listed as “Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai.” Given the focus of the present catalogue, there are a number of cases where a translator is elevated to the status of author—in the sense that he is the progenitor of the fable text in the Jewish literary tradition, or that he added a considerable portion of new material—, e.g., Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai, Hebrew translator of the anonymous Barlaam and Joasaph. Additions such as “ha-Kohen” and “ha-Levi” to authors’ names are considered as epithets and are not included, unless they are generally accepted as an integral part of the author’s name. In case the name of an author appears at the top of the title page it is not repeated in the transcription following the author statement. In case the name of an author appears after the title of the work as it appears on the title page, it is included. • The birth and death years (ce) are based on the publication in hand and secondary printed and online sources and may be modified by the use of circa (“c.”). In case one of the dates is doubtful or unknown the following notations are used: “b. 1300,” for a deceased author of whom only the date of birth is known or , “d. 1300,” for a deceased author of whom only the date of death is known. “1962–” refers to an author who is still alive. At times the dates can only be estimated roughly: “12/13th century.” For some authors no information on birth and death years could be found. In those cases a date (or dates) preceded by the abbreviation “fl.” (Latin: “floruit,” “he blossomed”) is given, using the best available estimates. In most cases the years are provided according to the information in the LoC catalogues. Sources other than LoC are used if they are considered more authoritative. • The title in its original script, as it appears on the title page, excluding excessive verbiage (e.g., biographical data, epigraphs) and publication information (imprint). Where there is no proper title page, the title may be taken instead from a colophon, caption, or running heads, or may be reconstructed on the basis of other, complete copies. In case of multilingual works that have two title pages only the title of the main language is provided. If there is no main language, the titles of both languages are provided, separated by a slash. • An English translation of the title page when the title page is not in English, based on the representation of that title page in the original language and/or script.

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• The summary imprint, comprising place of publication, name(s) of printer(s), patron(s), publisher(s), year of printing (ce). The place of publication is given in its current form, as stated in Google Earth. Non-USA place names are followed by the name of the country in parentheses, reflecting todays’ borders. A typical imprint might read: “Mantua (Italy): Ventorino Rufinelli, for Joseph ben Jacob Shalit Ashkenazi of Padua, 1557.” Printers’ and publishers’ names are given in their contemporary vernacular forms (insofar as they could be ascertained). For the year of printing or publication the Gregorian calendar is used. Jewish years are rendered according to this calendar and when no specific month and/or day of the month is known Jewish years will be presumed to begin in January. • Hebrew chronograms are ignored; the Gregorian year is given. • Dedications are usually ignored, unless they contain information that is relevant to Jewish fable research. • Series titles or variant titles. The next section comprises information on collation, decoration and illustration, and binding:

Collation • Bibliographical format (e.g., “4°” [quarto], “8°” [octavo]), given for books printed on handmade paper—generally speaking up till about 1830. In these cases, the format is followed by the dimensions of the largest leaf, height by width, in millimeters, printed in parentheses. For books printed on machine-made paper—generally speaking, after about 1830—, and in which the bibliographical format cannot be easily determined, the leaf dimensions are given alone. • Collation formula. The concise collation formula is provided for books printed on handmade paper only, typically based on: F. Bowers, Principles of Bibliographical Description (1949, reprinted New Castle, DE 1994). • Total number of leaves, followed by a statement on foliation and/or pagination, representing the actual system(s) used, the unnumbered leaves/pages being represented between square brackets, the sequences separated by commas. Hebrew letters used as numerals are not distinguished. Periodicals and other publications with complex foliations and/or paginations are usually described with a general statement, such as “200 leaves, various paginations,” unless a detailed presentation is relevant to a proper understanding of the copy in hand. • Notes of any imperfection (i.e., incompleteness), misbinding, or other variation from ideal collation, noted in the copy in hand.

Decoration and illustration • Typographical decoration, if relevant to a discussion of the fable content. • Illustrations; these are described according to the following ideal outline, which may vary considerably:

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• Number of items observed; • Size of illustrations is usually not provided, folding plates or double-page plates are mentioned. • Medium (e.g., “engraved”), with or without an adjective (e.g., “hand-colored”); • Modifier, describing a genre or category (e.g., “allegorical”); • Items, representing the type of items observed (e.g., “plates,” “illustrations,” “vignettes”); portraits are only identified if relevant to the discussion; • Artist; • Artisan.

Binding • Concise descriptions, concentrating on an approximate dating, material, and color, occasionally transcribing tooled lettering. In case of a Sammelband, this section also includes shorttitles of other editions bound in the same volume. The reference section comprises: • References, according to a set system of sigla, in a strict order: Vinograd, being the most complete survey of Hebrew printing, followed by Moritz Steinschneider’s and Arthur Cowley’s Bodleian catalogues, Joseph Zedner’s catalogue of the Hebrew books in the British Library, Meijer Roest’s catalogue of the collection of Leeser Rosenthal and other relevant bibliographies and catalogues, all in one alphabetical order. Secondary works providing bibliographical information that is not contained in the standard references are listed in the footnotes. The primary sigla are: • Vinograd [Place name] #, referring to the section and number in Y. Vinograd, Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book (2 vols. Jerusalem 1993); • Cowley #, referring to the page in A.E. Cowley, A Concise Catalogue of the Hebrew Printed Books in the Bodleian Library (Oxford 1929); • Roest #, referring to the page in M. Roest, Catalog der Hebraica und Judaica aus der L. Rosenthal’schen Bibliothek (2 vols. Amsterdam 1875); • StCB #, referring to the number in M. Steinschneider, Catalogus librorum hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana (2 vols. Berlin 1852–1860); • Zedner #, referring to the page in J. Zedner, Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the Library of the British Museum (London 1867). • Copies. An attempt has been made to locate records of other copies of each edition (or issue) described; and the locations of such copies are indicated by sigla representing the libraries or other collections where they are recorded. To this end, the following catalogues and databases have been searched routinely:

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Library catalogues: • Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, Universiteitsbibliotheek Amsterdam. Handwritten card catalogue; Online Catalogue: http://www.lib.uva.nl); • Bodleian Library (https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk); • British Library Public Catalogue (http://blpc.bl.uk); • Harvard OnLine Library Information System (http://hollis.harvard.edu); • Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati. Dictionary catalog of the Klau Library, Cincinnati (1964-1985) (HUC); Online Catalogue (http://huc.edu/libraries); • Jewish Theological Seminary Library (http://www.jtsa.edu/library); • The National Library of Israel (http://web.nli.org.il); • Library of Congress Online Catalog (http://catalog.loc.gov); • New York Public Library (https://catalog.nypl.org).

Union catalogue: • WorldCat (https://www.worldcat.org), maintained by the Online Computer Library Center, Inc, Dublin, Ohio. Furthermore, some of the bibliographical references actually refer specifically to library copies; Roest, for example, is BRos, Cowley is BodL and Zedner is BL. Other catalogues have been searched when an edition (or issue) seems to be especially rare, and a greater effort is called for to locate copies. Where a union catalogue indicates that a particular library holds a particular edition (or issue), this information has not normally been confirmed in the current catalogue of that library. No attempt has been made to indicate multiple copies held by a single library, neither have located copies been consulted systematically. The sigla listed are: • BL: British Library, London; • BodL: Bodleian Library, Oxford • BRos: Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, Amsterdam; • Harv: Harvard University Library, Cambridge; • HUC: Hebrew Union College Libraries, Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, New York; • JTS: The Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York; • NLI: The National Library of Israel, Jerusalem; • LoC: Library of Congress, Washington; • NYPL: New York Public Library, New York. Thus in any description in this catalogue, the presence of any of these sigla means that the library in question is believed to hold one or more copies of the edition (or issue) in question.

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Conversely, the absence of any of these sigla means that the library in question is believed not to hold a copy of the edition (or issue) in question. • The nine principal sigla are listed alphabetically. • As indicated, other libraries have not been searched systematically. When records of other copies have been found, this fact is indicated by a plus-sign (+) appended to the list of sigla. Some descriptions have also been checked against copies in other libraries, but usually references to copies in other libraries are made on the basis of secondary information. The discussion typically comprises: • A terse statement designating the edition (e.g., “only edition,” “first edition,” “second edition,” “first edition in Yiddish”) to which the work in hand belongs. The term editio princeps is reserved for “the first printed edition in its original language of a text which had previously circulated only in manuscript or was printed in translation.”2 • Concise general information concerning the text in those cases where fables appear in a work not primarily devoted to fables. • The number of fables appearing in the edition in hand where the number is small, and the text can clearly be defined as a fable. In large anthologies and Talmud tractates the number will not necessarily be given. • The author or source of the fables if known, a description of the content of one or more of the fables and/or a translation of one or more of the fables, and a discussion of their literary and/ or cultural-historical significance if considered relevant. For scientific works on fable literature no descriptions of individual fables are given. • Special characteristics of the edition in hand. • Special characteristics of the copy in hand. • Other relevant material as appropriate. This may include such things as biographical information and information about the origins or the transmission of the fables, or the existence of parallel fables in non-Jewish literature; such parallels, however, are not always supplied. • A statement of the primary language(s) of the edition in hand. In many cases the textual starting point of the discussions were the comprehensive book descriptions provided by Brooklyn Hebrew book dealer Yosef Goldman (1942–2015). These descriptions use, quote, and reference many (sometimes older) sources, which cannot always be identified properly. This is of course quite common in commercial book descriptions but poses a big problem in an academic catalogue. Utmost care was taken therefore to provide sources for all arguments or statements in the discussions. At times, however, information from those descriptions is taken at face value and reproduced here, i.e., without reference to a possible external source. The discussion is followed by copy-specific information: 2. As suggested by Fred Schreiber in the Berkeley news list ‘ExLibris’ of 1 March 2000.

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• Provenance, identifying or characterizing the former owners of the book in hand, in chronological sequence (as far as it could be ascertained or inferred), typically indicating the medium used (stamps, inscriptions, etc.). • Censorship, stating the name of the censor (16th-century censors according to W. Popper, The Censorship of Hebrew Books [1899, reprint. New York 1969]), the appearance of censors’ signatures, and the (approximate) date of the inscription. As this is a catalogue raisonné and not a study on fable literature the use of footnotes with secondary information is limited to a critical minimum. For the same reason no attempt has been made to do exhaustive research into the lives and works of each author mentioned in the catalogue. The emphasis is always on the relevance of information for fable research. Most descriptions are accompanied by a photograph of at least the title page or a page containing fable material. In many cases attention is also paid to illustrations, printers’ marks, typographical ornaments, ownership marks, etc.

Manuscripts: The few manuscripts present in the collection are described according to the outline presented in: E. G. L. Schrijver, Towards a Supplementary Catalogue of Hebrew Manuscripts in the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana: Theory and Practice (PhD Amsterdam, 1993), 33–46. The general structure of these entries is as follows: Heading, Contents, Codicology (Book block, Script, Binding), Decoration, Text(s), History of the Manuscript, Discussion, Bibliography, Photograph.

General rules • Hebrew type is used only in direct transcriptions from the books. Vocalization signs and accents are not transcribed. Text printed in Hebrew script is usually also translated into English. • Romanizations of Hebrew are made according to the current “Hebrew and Yiddish Transliterations Tables” of the Library of Congress, but with some modifications to avoid diacritics. Transliterations of other languages are also made according to current LoC practice, again avoiding diacritics. The Hebrew system is as follows: ‫א‬: ʾ or disregarded ‫ב‬: b, v ‫ג‬: g ‫ד‬: d ‫ה‬: h ‫ו‬: v (when not a vowel) ‫ז‬: z ‫ח‬: h

‫ט‬: t ‫י‬: y (when not a vowel) ‫כ‬: k or kh ‫ך‬: kh ‫ל‬: l ‫ מ‬or ‫ם‬: m ‫ נ‬or ‫ן‬: n ‫ס‬: s

‫ע‬: ʿ ‫פ‬: p or f ‫ף‬: f ‫ צ‬or ‫ץ‬: ts ‫ק‬: k ‫ר‬: r ‫ש‬: sh or s ‫ת‬: t

• Dagesh hazak (forte) is not indicated.

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Romanizations of Yiddish are made according to the YIVO-system, which is the most widely accepted among students of Yiddish. ‫א‬: ‫ב‬: ‫ג‬: ‫ד‬: ‫ה‬: ‫ו‬: ‫ז‬: ‫ח‬:

o, a or disregarded b, v g d h u z kh

Other phonemes: ‫וו‬: v ‫זש‬: zh

‫ט‬: t ‫י‬: y or i ‫כ‬: k or kh ‫ך‬: kh ‫ל‬: l ‫ מ‬or ‫ם‬: m ‫ נ‬or ‫ן‬: n ‫ס‬: s

‫ע‬: e ‫פ‬: p or f ‫ף‬: f ‫ צ‬or ‫ץ‬: ts ‫ק‬: k ‫ר‬: r ‫ש‬: sh or s ‫ת‬: t

‫דזש‬: dzh ‫טש‬: tsh

‫וי‬: oy ‫יי‬: ey or ay

• Biblical personal (and place) names are rendered according to the practice of the Jewish Publication Society of America. Biblical citations are from the 1985 edition, unless the context (e.g., an epimythium) asks for a different word choice. • Personal names and some other words having accepted English forms are usually romanized according to those forms, e.g., “Sabbath,” instead of “shabbat.” • All romanized personal and place names are capitalized. • It must be realized that the distinctive pronunciation traditions of Hebrew and Yiddish of the different Jewish communities are not necessarily represented in the romanizations provided. Hebrew romanization is based on the modern Israeli pronunciation, in accordance with accepted practice in Jewish studies. Yiddish romanization, under both the YIVO system adopted here and the EJ and LoC systems, is based primarily on Yiddish orthography and designed to allow English speakers to romanize Yiddish easily, regardless of the Yiddish dialect or pronunciation.

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ANNOTATED CATALOGUE EMILE SCHRIJVER AND LIES MEIBOOM

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BIBLICAL WORKS

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1. f-2349

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1

f-2349

Bible—Pentateuch.

1

Handwritten Torah scroll. Northern Italy, c. 1401. Thanks to Schlomo Zucker of Jerusalem who first described this Torah scroll. ¶ During the Middle Ages the Hebrew Pentateuch survived in two formats, the scroll (which is the oldest and longest lasting) and the codex, either separately or as part of a manuscript Bible. It was in the form of the scroll that it was used in the ancient world and in which it still survives in modern Judaism. From talmudic times there have been precise rules for the preparation of the animal skins for Torah scrolls and for the copying of the text. The scroll, handwritten on parchment and containing the Hebrew text of the Five Books of Moses without vowels or accents, is used mainly for public reading during synagogue services. This public reading of the Five Books of the Torah is usually completed in a yearly cycle. The Torah is divided into 54 portions, which are read in synagogue, one or occasionally two each week, on Mondays, Thursdays, Sabbaths, and festivals. The Torah is cantillated in a specific way, which differs between the Ashkenazic, the Sephardic, and other communities. Public reading is only allowed from a kosher (i.e., fit for use) scroll. Because of the constant use of Torah scrolls for public reading, they tended to become worn and no longer kosher relatively soon. Consequently they were stowed away in a Genizah (a storage for worn holy books) or buried and not meant to be preserved. The primary source of information on the actual writing of Torah scrolls is a minor tractate of the Talmud, entitled Masekhet soferim. It lays down all the basic rules and may as such be considered as a handbook for the scribes. Many regulations, however, were discussed in great detail in later works as well, both in general halakhic compendia (such as Moses Maimonides’s [1138– 1204] Mishneh torah) and in monograph works devoted entirely to the writing of Torah scrolls. The Ashkenazic scroll described here is of particular interest, both on account of the appearance of a number of interesting scribal traditions known from literature but otherwise not preserved in a scroll and on account of its very early date of execution. In Hebrew.

Codicology • Parchment made in Italy, not to be found in Hebrew manuscripts and scrolls produced in France or Germany. 66 sheets of 3 columns each and one (final) sheet of one column, 50 lines to a column. Length of the entire scroll: 36.25 meters; height: 700 mm; column width: 140 mm; upper margin: 65 mm; lower margin: 100 mm. • The scroll is written in a typically French-German (Ashkenazic) square script, probably as early as the beginning of the 15th century. As the scroll is made of Italian parchment it is obvious that it was written in Northern Italy by an Ashkenazic immigrant scribe, most probably an exile from France, for the use of an Ashkenazic community in Northern Italy. • In addition to the regular “tagin” (decorations consisting of what may be described as three miniature letters zayin on top of the letters shin, ʿayin, tet, nun, zayin, gimel, and final tsadi and of one 1. See page 12 for an explanation as to how this date was determined.

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1. f-2349

letter on the letters bet, dalet, he, het, kof, and yod) the scribe of this scroll maintained the traditions of special tagin and of “unusual letters such as the spiral pe and the curved letters, as were handed down by the scribes, from one generation to another,” as Moses Maimonides wrote in his Mishneh torah, laws of tefillin, mezuzot, and Torah scrolls 7:8. From this passage it is evident that Maimonides was familiar with the tradition and supported it, stating that it is the best way to fulfill the commandment of writing a Torah scroll (ibid. 7:9). According to this tradition there are individual letters in certain places in the scroll that are not decorated with regular tagin, but instead the letter itself is written ornamentally. This tradition, which originated in the East, was practiced particularly in France and Germany. It is detailed in the so-called Sefer Tagin (Book on Decorations), a work on the tagin on the letters in the Torah scroll, which according to tradition were found inscribed on the twelve stones that Joshua set up at Gilgal (Josh. 4:5–9, 20–24). At the beginning of the work there is a list of the tradition as handed down from Eli the Priest to biblical figures until the last of the Tannaim appears. This practice was also in use in Italy and the list of special letters appears in the section on Hebrew script in the work Shilte ha-giborim (Shields of the Heroes) by Abraham Portaleone. Portaleone provides an explanation for the unusual letters, suggesting that they contain hints and mystical secrets, as well as evidence for the disappearance of the tradition as a result of a ruling by the rabbis of Safed. He quotes R. Meir of Padua, who reported that he saw with his own eyes that the Torah scrolls from Safed did not contain unusual letters and that they had ruled in Safed the scribes should make no changes in the letters of the Torah scroll because they are not sufficiently knowledgeable to do so. In rare cases this tradition was also maintained in Spain, particularly in kabbalistic circles. Shem Tov ben Abraham ibn Gaon received the tradition from a French scholar, Rabbi Isaac haNakdan (the punctuator), as he recorded in his book Bade ha-aron (The Covers of the Ark), 6:1 (this chapter has been reprinted as an appendix to Sefer Tagin, above). He applied the tradition in a Torah scroll which he wrote in Soria in 1317 (Ms. Sassoon 82). It is also mentioned in the kabbalistic work Livnat ha-sapir (The Pavement of Sapphire), composed in 1328. In Yemen this tradition was partially maintained, i.e., only regarding the spiral shape of the letter pe. There is a clear connection between the application of this tradition in the Torah scroll de-

110 ]

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scribed here and the teachings of Sefer Tagin, but they are not completely compatible. There are cases in which a special letter is called for in Sefer Tagin, but it does not appear in our scroll; in other cases a special letter appears in the scroll, but none is required by Sefer Tagin; finally there are cases in which our scroll has special letters that are not called for by Sefer Tagin, but do appear in the tradition of Abraham Portaleone. The Book of Numbers contains the fable of Balaam and his She-Ass that refused to move since it could see the angel of the Lord with its drawn sword that Balaam could not see. This fable was first identified as such by David Daube in his 1973 inaugural lecture at the Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies (see f-1286 of this collection, no. 329 in this catalogue). The story goes as follows: When Balaam hit the ass with his staff, the ass spoke to him: “‘What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?’ Balaam said to the ass, ‘You have made a mockery of me! If I had a sword with me, I’d kill you.’ The ass said to Balaam, ‘Look, I am the ass that you have been riding all along until this day! Have I been in the habit of doing thus to you?’ And he answered, ‘No.’ Then the Lord uncovered Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, his drawn sword in his hand; thereupon he bowed right to the ground. The angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Why have you beaten your ass these three times? It is I who came out as an adversary, for the errand is obnoxious to me. And when the ass saw me, she shied away because of me those three times. If she had not shied away from me, you are the one I should have killed, while sparing her’” (Num. 22:28–33). In Hebrew.

2

f-3201

Bible—Tanakh. Venice (Italy): Cornelio Adelkind for Daniel van Bomberghen, 1544–1545. 4° (210 x 150 mm). 528 leaves, foliated [1], 2–528, [1] with some irregularities. 4 volumes (Pentateuch and Festive Scrolls, Former Prophets, Latter Prophets, Hagiographa): vol. 1: 18 (lacking 1), 2–178, 184, 198, 2010; vol. 2: 21–348, 356; vol. 3: 36–498, 5010; vol. 4: 51–548, 554, 56–578, 5810, 59–668 676, lacking final blank. Contemporary rubbed calf, with original clasps; inner margins of the last three pages of vol. 4 are stuck together. Ex libris in vols. 2–4. Later annotations throughout, in Hebrew, Russian, and French. Vinograd Venice 219; Darlow and Moule 5086; StCB 106; Zedner 97. Copies: BL; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Bomberg’s fifth quarto edition, following the third quarto edition. The colophon at the end of the fourth volume reads: “printed for the fourth time.” Thus Cornelio Adelkind identifies this as Bomberg’s fourth Bible edition. However, the title page of the first volume (here lacking) reads “printed for the fifth time.” As indicated by Steinschneider, this contradiction is reconciled by the fact that Bomberg printed the Pentateuch separately from the other books. In its appearance, this edition closely resembles the second quarto edition. The text, how-

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ever, is a fusion between that of Felix Pratensis (Darlow and Moule 5083) and that of Jacob ben Hayyim (Darlow and Moule 5085). The edition was quite popular among the theologians of the Reformation. The work is annotated throughout the margins in various earlier hands in Hebrew, Russian, and French. In Hebrew.

3

f-1639

Bible—Former Prophets. With commentary of David ben Joseph Kimhi. Soncino (Italy): [Joshua Solomon ben Israel Nathan Soncino], October 15, 1485.

2° (300 x 202 mm). 168 leaves, folios 21v, 22rv, 23r, 43v, 44r, 45r, 108v, 109r, 168v blank with handwritten additions on folios 21v and 22r. First 2 and last leaves in facsimile. Collation (per biblical book): Joshua: 1–28, 36; Judges: 1–28, 36; Samuel: 1–88; Kings: 1–68, 712. The punctuation [i.e., vocalization] of the biblical text has been added by hand. In addition, each leaf as well as each chapter number has been numbered by a later hand. Folio 21v has supralinear vocalization in a Yemenite hand. Original brown leather. Cowley 74; Goff Heb 22; Roest 192; StCB 3; Zedner 120. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NYPL; +.

3. f-1639

112 ]

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¶ Editio princeps in Hebrew of the Former Prophets, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. Each page contains two columns of printed text: the right-hand column, in bold square type, is the biblical text. The left-hand column, in Rashiscript, contains the commentary of David Kimhi (1160?–1235?). Kimhi, from Narbonne, France, was a grammarian and exegetist, well versed in the philosophers of his time. The fable of the Trees (folio 30v, Judg. 9:8–15) reads as follows: “One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’ But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’ Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’ But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’ 3. f-1639 Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’ But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’ Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’ The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’” In Hebrew. Provenance: The Nahshon family library in Israel.

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4. f-2620

4

f-2620

Bible—Tanakh. ‫ תרגום‬. . . ‫ אם הפתרות וחמש מגילות וכו׳‬. . . ‫חמישה חומשי תורה כתובים‬

‫ להדפיס בו גם כן תרגום אנקעלוס ופרוש רש׳י‬. . . ‫[ המיקרא בלשון יוון ולשון לעז‬Five Books of Torah, Hagiographs (. . .) with Haftarot and the Five Scrolls etc. (. . .) a translation of the Bible in Greek and Ladino (. . .) also printed with Targum Onkelos and the commentary of Rashi]. Istanbul (Turkey): Eliezer Soncino, 1547. 2° (290 x 190 mm). In light of the defectiveness of the copy it was decided not to provide a collation formula. 159 leaves of 389, missing [1–164], [175], [181–182], [185–186], [188–189], [192– 193], [195–205], [210–228], [327–328], [337–338], [340–343], [347], [349–350], [355], [359–361], [373], [379–389]. Provided in facsimile are the title page and page 1 plus the penultimate page and the colophon. Contemporary light-brown cloth boards with title label in dark-brown leather on spine. Housed in a dark-brown clamshell box with similar labels on box. Vinograd Constantinople 191; Cowley 79; StCB 122; Yaari Constantinople 144; Yudlov 43; Zedner 107. Copies: BL; BRos.

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¶ [First?] polyglot Tanakh in Hebrew, Aramaic, Ladino, and Judeo-Greek, all in vocalized Hebrew characters, with the Hebrew text in large type in the middle column, the Targum of Onkelos printed above, and the commentary of Rashi below. Eliezer Soncino (d. 1547), from the famous Soncino printers family, inherited his father’s printing office in 1534 and issued 28 books. The Bible contains three fables: the story of Balaam’s she-ass (Num. 22), Jotham’s fable of the Trees (Judg. 9:8–15), and the fable of the Thistle and the Cedar of Lebanon (2 Kings 14:9; 2 Chron. 25:18). In answer to and trying to avoid battle with Amaziah, king of Judah, Jehoash, king of Israel, sends Amaziah a message, “saying: ‘The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying: Give thy daughter to my son to wife; and there passed by the wild beasts that were in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle.’” Amaziah does not listen, confronts Jehoash in battle and loses. In Hebrew, Aramaic, Ladino, and Judeo-Greek.

5

f-3101

Bible—Tanakh.

‫חמשה חומשי תורה‬ ‫ יקותיאל‬. . . ‫נביאים וכתובים בלשון אשכנז‬ ‫[ בלא״א יצחק בליץ‬Five Books of Torah, Prophets, and Hagiographs in Yiddish (. . .) by Jekuthiel Blitz]. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Uri Fayvesh ben Aaron ha-Levi, 1679. 2° (325 x 205 mm). π4-1, 2π4, 1–644, 652, 66–694, 702. 284 leaves, foliated [i–iii], [1], 2–4, [1], 2–54, [55], 56–63, [1], 64–74, 76–193, [194], 195–252, 252[=253], 254–256, 249[=257], [1], 1–18. With several illustrated frontispieces. Modern brown leather. StCB 525. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NYPL; +.

¶ First Yiddish translation of Tanakh. Uri Fayvesh ha-Levi (1625–1715) wanted Ashkenazic Jews to better know their Bible in order to be able to partake in discussions with their Christian neighbors. He therefore asked Jekuthiel Blitz, a rabbi from Witmund, Germany, to provide a Yiddish translation. The project was not a great success. Not only

5. f-3101

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was Blitz’s translation highly dependent on existing German and Dutch Bible translations with rather a lot of mistakes, Fayvesh also had trouble acquiring approbations and copyrights, while at the same time another Yiddish Bible translation was printed in Amsterdam. In 1692 Fayvesh established a successful printing house in Zhovkva (Zolkiew). The extra frontispieces in this volume were not originally intended as decoration but are a remnant of the sections that were to be sold independently before the translation as a whole was published.2 In Yiddish.

6

f-2596

Bible—Former Prophets. ,‫ שמואל‬,‫ שופטים‬,‫ יהושע‬:‫ ואלו הן‬.‫ספר נביאים ראשונים‬

‫ עם לעז ופירוש רש׳י ז׳ל‬.‫[ מלכים‬Former Prophets. These are: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings. With (Ladino) Translation and Rashi’s Commentary]. Istanbul (Turkey): Reuben and Nissim, sons of Jonah Ashkenazi, 1743.

4° (214 x 162 mm). 1–694. 276 leaves, foliated [1], 2–276. Modern quarter-linen. Vinograd Constantinople 530; Yaari Constantinople 398. No copies located.

¶ First edition of Abraham ben Isaac Assa’s Ladino translation of the Former Prophets, the second volume of his complete translation of the Bible, printed 1739–1745. This first complete translation into Ladino would become popular among the Sephardic communities in the East.3 The inner columns present the Ladino translation, the outer columns the Hebrew text, while Rashi’s commentary is printed in the lower columns. In Hebrew and Ladino. Provenance: Jacob ibn Tanhun. 6. f-2596 2. Marion Aptroot, Bible Translation as Cultural Reform: The Amsterdam Yiddish Bibles (1678–1679) (PhD Thesis, Oxford, 1989), 18; Shlomo Berger, Producing Redemption in Amsterdam: Early Modern Yiddish Books in Paratextual Perspective (Leiden/ Boston: Brill, 2018), 178. 3. Moshe Lazar, “Ladino,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 12:432.

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7

f-3107

Bible—Pentateuch.

‫ספר נתיבות‬ ‫ והוא חבור כולל חמשת חמשי‬.‫השלום‬ ‫התורה עם תקון סופרים ותרגום אשכנזי‬ ‫[ ובאור‬The Paths of Peace. This composition includes the five books of Torah with scribal emendation, a German translation and commentary]. Berlin (Germany): George Friedrich Starcke, 1783. Genesis: (204 x 130 mm). 11 (pasted onto 22), 28-1, 1–38, 1–148, 15–168, 17–378 (378 is a hook), 374. 331 leaves, foliated [1], 2–8, [1–24], 1–299. Exodus: (214 x 129 mm). 1–148, 15–168, 17–258, 264. 205 leaves, foliated [1], 1–204. Leviticus: (206 x 132 mm). 12, 1–148, 15–168, 17–278, 282. 220 leaves, foliated [1–2], 1–218. Numeri: (213 x 134 mm). 1–148, 15–168, 17–188. 144 leaves, foliated 1–144 (no title page). Deuteronomium: (236 x 137 mm). 1–148, 15–168-1. 126 leaves, foliated [1], 2–125, [126]. Contemporary black leather boards. Vinograd Berlin 314; Cowley 430; StCB 934; Zedner 533; Roest 182. Copies: BRos; BodL; BL; Harv; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ First edition. The Biʾur, or commentary, as this work is often named, is Moses Men- 7. f-3107 delssohn’s famous translation of the Pentateuch into High German accompanying the commentary by Mendelssohn and others. Mendelssohn (1729–1786) was a philosopher and an early figure of the Jewish Enlightenment, fluent in both Hebrew and German and well versed in many other languages. His translation of the Bible, intended to provide the younger generation of Jewish students with an alternative to both Yiddish and Christian translations was opposed by orthodox rabbi’s of his time. They feared that the beauty of the German translation would keep students from studying (Hebrew) Torah. In Hebrew and German in Hebrew characters.

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8

f-3200

Bible—Pentateuch. ‫[ ספר תרגום תורה בלשון טטר‬Translation of Torah in the Tatar Lan-

guage]. Yevpatoria (Ukraine): Mordecai Tirishkan, 1841.

220 x 160 mm. Vol. 1 [of 4]: 202 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–22 (approbation and list of subscribers), foliated 1–9, [10], 11–48 (Gen.), 1–40 (Exod.), 1–69 (Lev.), 2–20, 20–33 (Num.), 1–26 (Deut.). Contemporary leather binding, front cover loose. Vinograd Eupatoria 27; Poznanski 32. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; JTS; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition of this Karaite Pentateuch in Judeo-Tatar (or Judeo-Crimean Tatar or Krymchak), the language spoken by Crimean Jews and written in Hebrew characters. Karaites are members of a Jewish movement that accepts only Scripture as authoritative, rejecting rabbinic Judaism. In contrast to other Jewish communities, the Karaites never successfully sustained a printing tradition. The few Karaite books that were printed came from traditional presses. The first successful Karaite printing press was established in Yevpatoria in 1833. In the decade between 1838 and 1848 Mordecai Tirishkan printed at least 16 items, among them the Pentateuch at hand. A year later the other Bible books were printed in three volumes under a separate title. Some libraries list these volumes as being a set together with the Pentateuch, but the Pentateuch has a clearly distinguished title and title page without any indication that it was planned at that time to publish the other volumes as well. The title page states that the work was brought to the press with the help of subscribers from different Karaite communities, to be listed on the pages to follow. In Judeo-Tatar. Provenance: Jews’ College, London.

9

f-2084

Bible—Pentateuch. The Law of God. Edited, and with former translations diligently com-

pared and revised, by Isaac Leeser / ‫ הוגה מאתי הקטן יצחק בן אורי ז״ל ן׳ אליעזר‬.‫תורת האלהים‬ Philadelphia, PA: C. Sherman, for the editor, 1845. 191 x 119 mm. 5 volumes; vol. i: ‫ חומש ראשון כולל ספר בראשית‬.‫ תורת האלהים‬/ The Law of God. Volume first, containing the book of Genesis: 180 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi–x, then foliated [1], 2–175. Vol. ii: ‫ חומש שני כולל ספר שמות‬.‫ תורת האלהים‬/ The Law of God. Volume second, containing the book of Exodus: 168 leaves, foliated [1–4], 5–168. Vol. iii: ‫ חומש‬.‫תורת האלהים‬ ‫ שלישי כולל ספר ויקרא‬/ The Law of God. Volume third, containing the book of Leviticus: 153 leaves, foliated [1–4], 5–153, resewn with the secondary title page containing a supplied half title. Vol. iv: ‫ חומש רביעי כולל ספר במדבר‬.‫ תורת האלהים‬/ The Law of God. Volume fourth, containing the book of Numbers: 149 leaves, foliated [1–4], 5–149. Vol. v: ‫ חומש‬.‫תורת האלהים‬ ‫ חמישי כולל ספר דברים‬/ The Law of God. Volume fifth, containing the book of Deuteronomy:

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141 leaves, foliated [1–4], 5–135, then paginated [136], 137–147. In all 5 volumes, the versos of the foliated leaves are numbered in Hebrew. Contemporary brown calf, in 5 volumes. Kept in a modern reddish-brown quarter-clamshell case, with purple cloth boards. Vinograd Philadelphia 16 (Leviticus only); Van Straalen 30. Copies: BL; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First English translation made by a Jew, published in the United States. Isaac Leeser (1806– 1868) was one of the most prominent Jews of 19th-century America. Born and raised in Germany, after having immigrated to the United States at the age of 18, he published translations of the Sephardic Hebrew prayer book, the Pentateuch, and, eight years later, of the entire Hebrew Bible. He also published a number of introductory religious works, founded a Jewish publication society and a Jewish newspaper, and in 1862 was personally responsible for the commission of the first rabbi to serve as a military chaplain in the United States. He wrote his translation of the Pentateuch in relative isolation, using existing German (notably the version partially translated by Leopold Zunz), not English translations, and proofreading the entire Hebrew text himself for the lack of experts in Hebrew. He dedicated it to his Jewish friends since, as he wrote in his introduction, “there is no probability that the Gentiles will encourage any publication of this nature, emanating from a Jewish author.” The Hebrew text is printed on the versos, the English translation on the rectos. A second edition, also in the Lindseth collection, appeared in 1859 but was acquired too late for inclusion in this catalogue. In English and Hebrew. Provenance: Haym bar Moshe Salomon/ Haym M. Salomon Jr. (in volumes i, iii, and iv).

9. f-2084

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10. f-2592

10

f-2592

Bible—Pentateuch. ‫ עם פירוש רש״י ופתרון‬. . . ‫ והוא חמשה חומשי תורה‬.‫ספר אור נערב‬

‫ וחמש מגלות והפטרות‬. . . ‫[ ערבי‬The Obscured Light. I.e., the Five Books of Torah (. . .) with Rashi’s commentary and Arabic interpretation. With the Five Scrolls and Haftarot]. Livorno (Italy): Elijah Benamozegh and Co., 1854. 185 x 120 mm. 108 leaves, foliated [1], 2–12, 14–18, 20–109, [1], unknown number of leaves missing after 109, the final unnumbered leaf marks the end of the book. Old rubbed quarter-leather. Vinograd Leghorn 1097; Zedner 114. Copies: BL; Harv; NLI; +.

¶ Part four of a typical set of five, containing the Book of Numbers. The editor’s note at the end indicates that the translation follows Saadiah Gaon’s. At the end are included the text of the Book of Ruth and part of the Haftarot, i.e., the portions from the prophetical books of the Bible recited after the reading from the Pentateuch on Sabbaths and holidays. In Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic.

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11

f-3110

Bible—Tanakh.

‫ אי‬,‫ לוס פרופ׳יטאס‬,‫ איל ליב׳רו די לה ליי‬:‫ספר תורה נביאים וכתובים‬ ‫ טראזלאדאדו אין לה לינגואה איספאנייולה‬,‫[ לאס איסקריטוראס‬Torah, Prophets, and Hagiographs: (. . .) translated into Ladino]. Istanbul (Turkey): A. H. Boyag’yan, 1873. 220 x 146 mm. 2 volumes; vol. 1: 563 leaves, foliated (starting each time on the verso side) [i–ii], 1–559, [560–561]; vol. 2: (starting with Isaiah) 632 leaves, foliated [i–ii], 1–630, paginated [631], 632–634, [635]. Modern brown leatherette, old worn linen boards. Yaari Contantinople 551. Copies: HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ This Hebrew Bible with Ladino translation was prepared by Pastor Wilhelm Gottlieb Schwafler and published by the Protestant mission in Izmir in 1838. Even so, this edition became quite popular among Sephardic Jews in the Orient and several editions were made in the 19th and 20th centuries.4 The table for the weekly Prophetic readings in the synagogue (at the end of volume 2) also provides for the Ashkenazic community, who would have had little use for the Spanish translation. In Hebrew and Ladino. 4. Elana Romero, “Literary Creation in the Sephardi Diaspora,” in Moreshet Sepharad: The Sephardi Legacy 2, edited by Haim Beinart (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1992), 443.

11. f-3110

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12

f-3106

Bible—Tanakh.

‫ דאס איזט דיא גאנצע הייליגע שריפט‬.‫ספר תורה נביאים וכתובים‬ ‫דייוטש פאן מרדכי שמואל בערגמאנן אונד זארגפעלטיג‬-‫איבערזעטצט פאן לשון הקודש אויף יודיש‬ ‫[ איבערזעהען פאן אהרן בערנשטיין‬Torah, Prophets, and Hagiographs. This is the complete Holy Scripture translated from Hebrew into Judeo-German by Mordecai Samuel Bergmann and carefully edited by Aron Bernstein]. London (United Kingdom): London Depôt, 1898. 206 x 140 mm. π8, 2–1038, 1046. 1659 pages, paginated [1–5], 6–1659. Black linen (back has “Bible Yidissh”). Cowley 69. Copies: JTS; LoC; +.

¶ Second(?) edition of the London missionary Bible in Judeo-German. The willingness of Sephardic Jews to use the Ladino missionary edition (see f-3110 of this collection, no. 11 in this catalogue) can be explained by the fact that they had no alternative. Although there were Ladino translations produced by Jews, these were two centuries old and their language was no longer easily understandable in the late 19th century. The missionary Bible in modern Ladino filled a gap. This London missionary edition in Judeo-German cannot be explained in such a manner. In German with Hebrew characters.

12. f-3106

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13. f-2591

13

f-2591

Bible—Tanakh. ‫ שופטים‬,‫ נביאים ראשונים כרך ראשון יהושע‬.‫כתבי קדש עשרים וארבעה‬

[Twenty-four Holy Books. Former prophets, first volume, Joshua and Judges]. Jerusalem (Israel): Abraham Aminof, 1908. 8° (220 x 135 mm). π2, 1–144, 15–164, 17–354–1. 137 leaves, foliated [1–2], [1], 2–66, [67], 68–135. Engraving of Western Wall, Jerusalem, on folio 135v. Modern thick white paper wrapper. Copies: BL; HUC; NLI; LoC; +.

¶ First edition. Abraham Aminof, the leading rabbi of the Bukharan community, was responsible for the publication of this book. The title page claims that this Bible edition is unique, as “we have added now something new, which has never appeared before either in print or in manuscript, a Persian translation entitled Tafsir, which has been rendered by Simon Hakham, to teach the children of our community of Bukhara and its environs the words of Scripture in the common Persian language,” meaning the Judeo-Persian dialect then spoken in Bukhara. Simon Hakham (1843–1910) started his translation in 1906; after his death his collaborators finished it for him.5 For more on Simon Hakham, see f-1686 of this collection, no. 65 in this catalogue. In Hebrew and Judeo-Bukharan. 5. “H.akham, Simon,” Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 8:245.

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RABBINIC WORKS

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14. f-3100

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14

f-3100

Mishnah. Mischna sive Totius Hebræorum Juris, Rituum, Antiquitatum, ac Legum Orali-

um Systema, Cum Clarissimorum Rabinorum Maimonidis & Bartenoræ Commentariis Integris [Mishnah, or the Complete Law, Rites, and History of the Jews, and Also the Oral Law, with Commentaries of the Illustrious Rabbis Maimonides and Bartinoro]. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Gerardus and Jacobus Borstius, 1698–1703. 2° (360 x 245 mm). 6 volumes. Modern brown half-leather, marbled boards. Vols. 2 and 4 mixed up on the spines. Vol. 1: π1, *–2*4, a–d4, A–2S4, 2T2, 2V–2X4, Y2; 217 leaves, paginated [i–l], 1–332, [i–xx], including a portrait of Willem Surenhuys and several engraved illustrations and foldout plates. Vol. 2: π1, *–2*4, 3*2, A–3I4; 240 leaves, paginated [i–xxii], 1–424, [i–xvi], including several engraved illustrations and fold-out plates. Vol. 3: π1, *–4*4, A–3D4; 220 leaves, paginated [i–xxxiv], 1–384, [i–xvi], (misprinting 274 as 674), including several engraved illustrations and 1 fold-out plate. Vol. 4: π1,*-4*4, 5*2, 6*1, A–3S4, T2 (misprinting 3H2 as Hh2 and 3H3 as Hh3); 279 leaves, paginated [i–xl], 1–503, [i–xiii] (misprinting 216 as 214, 238 as 248, 330 as 130 and 468 as 486), including 1 fold-out plate. Vol. 5: π1, *–1, 1*2, A–3D4, 3E2 (2I misbound: Ii, Ii3, Ii2, [Ii4]; misprinting 3D2 as Dd2 and 3D3 as Dd3); 227 leaves, paginated [i–xlvi], 1–394, [i–x], including several engraved illustrations and 1 fold-out plate. Vol. 6: π1, A–L2, A–3R4, 3S–3V2; 282 leaves, paginated [i–xlvi], 1–504, [i–xii], including several engraved illustrations and 1 fold-out plate. Vinograd Amsterdam 622; Cowley 422; StCB 2012; Zedner 547. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. First complete Latin translation of the Mishnah (a collection of oral rabbinic discussions) by Willem Surenhuys (c. 1666–1729). Surenhuys, a Dutch Christian Hebraist and from 1704 professor of Oriental languages at the Athenaeum Illustre (the forerunner of the University of Amsterdam), not only provides a Latin translation of the Hebrew text but also gives a lengthy introduction at the beginning of each volume. Apart from the medieval commentaries of Bertinoro and Maimonides, contemporary commentaries are also included and sometimes Surenhuys himself provides one.6 In volume 6, page 48 (Tractate Kelim [Vessels] 8:4) a pot complains to the liquid inside that it makes the pot impure because if it were not for the liquid the cause of that impurity would not have harmed the pot itself. In Hebrew and Latin.

15

f-2589

Mishnah Tohorot. ‫ עובדיה מברטנורה‬. . . ‫[ משניות מסדר טהרות עם פירוש‬Mishnah Tohorot with Commentary by Obadiah di Bertinoro]. Venice (Italy): Meir Parenzo, 1549.

6. A. Kuyt and E. G. L. Schrijver, “Translating the Mishnah in the Northern Netherlands: A Tentative bibliographie raisonnée,” in History and Form: Dutch Studies in the Mishnah, ed. A. Kuyt and N. A. van Uchelen (Amsterdam: University of Amsterdam, 1988), 24.

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4° (211 x 145 mm). 1–158, 166. 126 leaves, foliated [1], 2–126. Modern black half-leather. Vinograd Venice 355; Cowley 441; StCB 1983; Zedner 546. Copies: BL; Harv; +.

¶ First edition of Obadiah Bertinoro’s commentary on the Mishnah. Italian-born Bertinoro (c. 1450–before 1516) traveled via Rome, Naples, Palermo, Rhodes, Alexandria, and Cairo to Jerusalem, where he became a rabbi and spiritual and intellectual leader. Three of his letters have been preserved describing his journey and the Jewish communities he visited. He is most noted though for his commentary on the Mishnah. First published in Venice, it has since been printed in many of the Mishnah editions. Meir Parenzo (d. 1575) was a well-known printer and also worked as a typesetter and corrector for a number of Hebrew presses, including Bomberg. In Hebrew. Provenance: unreadable inscription below the colophon. 15. f-2589

16

f-3118

Babylonian Talmud. ‫[ תלמוד בבלי ומסכתות קטנות ירושלמיות עם פירוש רש״י‬Babylo-

nian Talmud and Minor Tractates of the Talmud, with the Commentary of Rashi]. New York: Der morgen zshurnal, 1913. 263 x 185 mm. 1009 leaves, various paginations, with cross-references to the pagination of the Vilna edition. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First American edition. This edition is different from the standard Vilna edition and lacks the medieval commentaries on the Talmud (see f-2227 of this collection, no. 18 in this catalogue). The publishers reckoned potential buyers probably had neither the time nor the means for in-depth study that would have required the standard 20-volume printing. It was not until 1917 that the Vilna edition was published in New York. In Hebrew and Aramaic.

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16. f-3118

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17. f-3102

17

f-3102

Babylonian Talmud. ‫ תלמוד בבלי מסכת ברכות עם תרגום אשכנזי ועם פירוש רש״י‬/ Tal-

mud Babli. Babylonischer Talmud. Tractat Berakhot. Segensprüche. Mit deutscher Uebersetzung und den Commentaren Raschi und Tosafot (. . .) von Dr. E. M. Pinner [Babylonian Talmud Tractate Berakhot with German Translation and with Rashi’s Commentary and Tosafot (. . .) by Dr. E. M. Pinner]. Berlin (Germany): Lewent, for the author, 1842. 442 x 275 mm. 201 leaves, paginated [i–viii], [1], 2–16, foliated 24, 2–64 (two folios each), 65–87. Vinograd Berlin 624; Cowley 676; Roest 1102; StCB 6761,2, 1579; Zedner 742. Copies: BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of first (and only) tractate of the Babylonian Talmud with German translation by Ephraim Pinner (c. 1800–1880). Though a widely respected talmudic scholar, Pinner’s grand project, to publish the entire Talmud with German translation, was not supported by Eastern European rabbis, who opposed translations in the vernacular. Pinner, however, listed many subscribers, among them European royalty. When his major benefactor (though with a suppressive political agenda), Czar Nicholas I, withdrew his subscription after the first volume, the project came to a halt.7 7. Adam Mintz, “Words, Meaning, and Spirit: The Talmud in Translation,” The Torah U-Madda Journal 5 (1994): 120–121.

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A fable occurs on folio 61b, as told by Rabbi Akiva to explain why he, in spite of a governmental decree, keeps teaching Torah. “‘A fox was walking along the banks of a river and saw some fish swimming to and fro. Said the fox to the fish: Why do you flee from place to place? Said the fish in response: Because of the nets of the fishermen. Said the fox to them: Why don’t you come onto dry land and we will live together just as our ancestors lived together. Said the fish to the fox: And it is you whom they call the smartest of the animals? You are actually quite stupid. If in our place of living we are so scared, all the more so in the place of our sure death! ‘Similarly,’ continued Rabbi Akiva, ‘we too sit and learn Torah, about which the verse says “For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure” [Deut. 30:20]. So too if we neglect it, all the more so [we shall surely die].’” In Hebrew, Aramaic, and German.

18

f-2227

Babylonian Talmud. ‫מסכת עבודה זרה עם פירוש רש״י ותוספות ופסקי תוספות והאשירי‬

[Tractate ʿAvodah Zarah with Rashi’s Commentary, Tosafot and Piske Tosafot and the Asheri (R. Asher)]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Bomberg, 1520. 2º (351 x 231 mm). 1–118, 1210–1. 97 leaves, foliated [1], 2–97. Modern red half-leather, reddishbrown speckled boards. Vinograd Venice 29; Cowley 674; StCB 1423. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ This is one volume of the first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud, the main body of Jewish laws, collected between 200 and 450 ce. Daniel Bomberg (d. December 21, 1553), a native of Antwerp (Belgium), is one of the most influential Christian printers of Hebrew books. Well educated and versed in Hebrew, he established a printing house in Venice and obtained permission to print Hebrew books in 1516. Almost 200 Hebrew books came from his press. Among these are the first complete editions of the Biblia Rabbinica, the Palestinian and Babylonian Talmuds (for which he received approval of Pope Leo X), and important rabbinic texts. The typographical design of his Talmud edition has become the standard ever since. Tractate ʿAvodah Zarah deals with idolatry and was later banned from most printed editions. A fable appears on folio 17a: “R. Eleazar, the son of Durdaya (‘lees’), made sure to visit every single pros-

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18. f-2227

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titute that existed in his days. He heard of one in the West who charged an exorbitant amount of money. He raised that money and crossed seven rivers to get to her. During foreplay he got second thoughts and regretted his wrongdoings and bad deeds. He sat down in a valley between two mountains and asked the valley and mountains to pray on his behalf for forgiveness. They replied that they would sooner ask forgiveness for themselves than for him. So R. Eleazar proceeded to plea to the sky and earth, however. . . he was granted the same answer. The sun, moon, stars, and entire celestial galaxy said that they too would sooner ask forgiveness for themselves than for him. R. Eleazar realized that his own personal repentance depended on his actions alone, so he put his head between his knees and cried until his soul went up to heaven. A voice came from the heavens and proclaimed that he will be rewarded for his good deed in the world to come.” In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance: Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati.

19

f-1930

Babylonian Talmud. ‫מסכת סנהדרין עם פירוש רשי ותוספות ופיסקי תוספות ופירוש‬

‫[ המשניות ורבינו אשר‬Tractate Sanhedrin with Rashi’s Commentary, Tosafot, Piske Tosafot, a Commentary on the Mishnah and R. Asher]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Bomberg, 1520. 2° (360 x 240 mm). 1–158, 1610. 130 leaves, foliated [1], 2–129, [130] (folios 90 and 124 are mistakenly numbered as 91 and 127). Vinograd Venice 28; Cowley 681; StCB 1915. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ A volume of the first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud. On Daniel Bomberg, see f-2227 of this collection, no. 18 in this catalogue. A fable appears on folio 98b. It is based on Amos 5:18, whereupon the prophet Amos says to the idol worshipers: “Why should you want the day of the Lord? It shall be darkness, not light!” This is likened to “a parable of a rooster and a bat, who were both waiting for it to become light. Said the rooster to the bat: ‘I wait for it to become light, since the light is mine; but you, what is the light to you?’” Another fable appears on folio 105a: “There were once two dogs that were in a pack who were jealous of each other. However, a feral wolf came upon one of the dogs. His adversary said, ‘If I don’t help him today, [the wolf] will kill him, however, tomorrow, the wolf will set itself upon me and kill me!’ So the two dogs banded together and killed the wolf. Rav Papa said: ‘The people say, when a weasel and a cat join in a wedding dance, bad tidings multiply.’” On folio 38b–39a R. Yochanan is quoted, saying: “Three hundred fox fables had R. Meir, and we have only three of them.” One of those fables has its exegetical basis in Ezekiel 18:2, which prompted Rashi in his commentary to present the following fable: “There was once a fox who deceived a wolf into entering the courtyard of the Jews on a Sabbath eve, telling him that he should go and dine with them as they prepare their Sabbath repast. And when the wolf went

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there, the people ganged up on him and proceeded to beat him with sticks. [Later] the wolf went to kill the fox. The fox said to the wolf, ‘they beat you because of your father who once went to dine [with the Jews] and ate up all the good food!’ And [the wolf said], ‘And because of what my father did, I am beaten?’ And the fox said, ‘Yes.’ As it says in Ezekiel 18:2: ‘Parents eat sour grapes and their children’s teeth are blunted.’ The fox said to the wolf, ‘Come and I shall show you a place to eat and satisfy yourself.’ They went to a well, and along the mouth of the well a piece of wood was extended, and a rope was attached to the wood. At either end of the rope were tied two buckets. The fox entered the higher bucket, which became heavy, and descended downwards into the well, whereupon the lower bucket ascended. The wolf asked, ‘Why did you go in there?’ The fox replied, ‘There’s meat and a round piece of cheese with which to satiate yourself!’ The fox indicated the reflected image of the moon in the water, which resembled a piece of round cheese. The wolf said, ‘I’m coming down there!,’ and the fox said, ‘C’mon in, jump in 19. f-1930 the upper bucket!’ Whereupon the wolf alighted onto the upper bucket and the fox in the well rose upwards. The wolf asked, ‘How do I get back up?,’ and the fox said: ‘The righteous man is rescued from trouble and the wicked man takes his place’ (Prov. 11:8). Is it not said: ‘Honest balance, honest weights?’ (Lev. 19:36).” In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance: Several 18th-century signatures and inscriptions: This book belongs to the Jew Yomtov Mayer, Estate-Jew in Dormitz near Erlangen; This book belongs to the Jew Göglin [wife or widow(?) of] Yomtov Mayer, trading Jew; This was written by Hayyim Mayer Kohen from Dormitz, Windsbach near Ansbach; I, Yankel, have learned from this volume with two young men in fellowship; This Talmud belonged to the prominent community leader Yomtov Segal from Dormitz; Hayyim Katz of Windsbach borrowed it from him; Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati.

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20

f-2428

Babylonian Talmud. ‫מסכת בבא מציעא עם פירוש רשי ותוספות ופיסקי תוספות ופירוש‬ ‫[ המשניות ורבינו אשר‬Tractate Baba Metsiʿa with Rashi’s Commentary, Tosafot, Piske Tosafot, a Commentary on the Mishnah and R. Asher]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Bomberg, 1521. 2º (365 x 242 mm). 1–198, 206. 158 leaves, misbound, foliation muddled. Modern purple leatherette. Vinograd Venice 37; StCB 1540; Yudlov 144. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ A volume of the first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud. On Daniel Bomberg, see f-2227 of this collection, no. 18 in this catalogue. The famous tale of Akhnai’s oven (folio 59b, on the legitimacy of the human—and therefore fallible—oral law versus God’s “own” written law, i.e., Scripture), reads as follows: It was taught that Rabbi Eliezer used every possible argument in a debate, but none was accepted. Then he said, “Let this carob-tree prove that the law prevails as I state.” The carob was miraculously thrown off to a distance of one hundred ells, and according to the others, four hundred ells. But his opponents maintained that the carob-tree proved nothing. He again said, “Let, then, the spring of 20. f-2428 water prove that the law agrees with me.” The water then began to flow backwards. But again the sages said that this proved nothing. He again said, “Let the walls of the house of study prove that I am right.” The walls, wishing to oblige him, were about to fall inwards. Rabbi Joshua, however, rebuked them, “If the scholars of this college are discussing a law, why should you interfere!” Therefore, they did not fall, out of respect for Rabbi Joshua, but they did not become straight again, out of respect for Rabbi Eliezer. (They remain to this very day in the same condition). Thereupon a heavenly voice was heard saying, “Why do you quarrel Rabbi Eliezer, whose opinion should prevail everywhere?” Rabbi Joshua then got up on his feet and proclaimed, “[The Law] is not in the heavens” (Deut. 30:12). What is the meaning of “[The Law] is not in the heavens?” Rabbi Jeremiah answered, “It means, the Torah was given on Mount Sinai, and we do not care for a heavenly voice, since it is written in the Torah: ‘to side with the multitude’” (Exod. 23:2).

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Another fable, on leaf 85a, tells of a calf that was about to be taken to the slaughter. It ran away and sought refuge under the cloak of Rabbi [Judah the Prince]. She remained there crying. “Go,” Rabbi tried to persuade to her, “because you are created for this purpose.” It was then declared in Heaven that he would be visited with afflictions because of his lack of mercy with creatures. (See also f-2553 of this collection, no. 112 in this catalogue.) In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance (partly): Jewish National and University Library (now National Library of Israel), Jerusalem (leaves 74b and 117b).

21

f-1929

Babylonian Talmud.

‫מסכת חולין עם פירוש רשי ותוספות ופיסקי תוספות ופירוש‬ ‫[ המשניות ורבינו אשר‬Tractate Hullin with Rashi’s Commentary, Tosafot, Piske Tosafot, a Commentary on the Mishnah and R. Asher]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Bomberg, 1521. 2° (353 x 243 mm). 1–218, 226, 234. 178 leaves, last leaf in facsimile, foliated [1], 2–177, [178] (some printing mistakes in the numbering, including in Bomberg’s counting of the total number of leaves). Vinograd Venice 43; StCB 1627. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ A volume of the first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud, dealing with laws on ritual slaughtering and dietary laws. On Daniel Bomberg, see f-2227 of this collection, no. 18 in this catalogue. Two fables appear in Tractate Hullin. One fable appears on folio 60b, the Moon and the Sun, in which the Moon asks God: “Master of the Universe, can two kings share one crown?” The Moon is then punished for her hubris and decreased in size, which she thinks unfair. To comfort the Moon, God tells her to rule by day and night. The Moon answers she does not gain from that, as the Sun, who is bigger and brighter, also shines in daytime. Other attempts also fail to comfort her, until at last God commands the Jews to bring Him an expiation offering every new month (i.e., every new moon). For other varieties of this fable, see f-1684, f-1927, and f-1546 of this collection, nos. 37, 210, and 281 in this catalogue. In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance: Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati.

21. f-1929

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22

f-1791

Babylonian Talmud.

‫מסכת תענית עם פירוש רשי ותוספות ופיסקי תוספות ופירוש‬ ‫[ המשניות ורבינו אשר‬Tractate Taʿanit with Rashi’s Commentary, Tosafot, Piske Tosafot, a Commentary on the Mishnah and R. Asher]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Bomberg, 1521. 2° (340 x 252 mm). 1–48, 56–1. 37 leaves, foliated [1], 2–37. Modern red leatherette from HUC. Vinograd Venice 51; Cowley 683; StCB 1927. Copies: BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ A volume of the first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud. On Daniel Bomberg, see f-2227 of this collection, no. 18 in this catalogue. In this tractate, dealing with fasts, including fasts decreed because of droughts, there is a fable on folio 8a. The tractate discusses what specific kind of sins the Jews performed to cause the lack of rain. One suggestion is that it is due to idle talk: “Resh Lakish said: What is the meaning of the verse (Eccl., 10. 11): ‘If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then the charmer hath no advantage’? In the time to come all beasts will gather together and approach the serpent, saying to him: A lion attacks with his paws and eats his prey, a wolf tears and eats, but what pleasure hast thou in biting and killing? The serpent will reply: ‘The charmer hath no advantage.’”8 In Hebrew and Aramaic.

22. f-1791

Provenance: Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati (“from the gift of Mr. Ben Selling, Portland, Ore.”). Deaccessioned HUC Library, 1997.

23

f-1753

Babylonian Talmud. ‫מסכת ערכין עם פירוש רשי ותוספות ופיסקי תוספות ופירוש המשניות‬

‫[ ורבינו אשר‬Tractate Arakhin with Rashi’s Commentary, Tosafot, Piske Tosafot, a Commentary on the Mishnah and R. Asher]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Bomberg, 1522. 2° (355 x 240 mm). 1–48, 54–1. 35 leaves, foliated [1], 2–35. Vinograd Venice 63; Roest 1105; StBC 1520. Copies: BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +. 8. The translation is Henry Malter’s. See f-2502 of this collection, no. 26 in this catalogue.

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¶ A volume of the first complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud and the first edition of this specific tractate that deals with votive donations for the Temple’s maintenance and real estate. On Daniel Bomberg, see f-2227 of this collection, no. 18 in this catalogue. The same serpent fable as in Tractate Taʿanit appears on folio 15b (see f-1791 of this collection, no. 22 in this catalogue), when discussing the definition of “leshon ha-raʿ” or gossip. In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance: Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati.

24

f-1790

Babylonian Talmud. ‫מסכת ברכות עם‬

‫פירוש רש״י ותוספות ופסקי תוספות ורבינו‬ ‫אשר ופסקי הר״אש ופי׳ המשניות מהר״מבם‬ ‫[ ז״ל‬Tractate Berakhot with Rashi’s Commentary and Tosafot, Piske Tosafot, R. Asher, Piske 23. f-1753 ha-Rosh (Asher ben Jehiel) and Maimonides’s Commentary on the Mishnah]. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Samuel ben Solomon Marquis and Raphael Joshua de Palachios, 1714. 2° (381 x 248 mm). 12, 2–254, 262 and 1–214, 222, 232–1. 187 leaves, foliated [1], 2–100 and [1], 2–87. Woodcut diagrams inside the commentary. Original dark-brown board. Vinograd Amsterdam 1024; Cowley 676; StCB 1576. Copies: BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Seventeenth edition. Bound together with Mishnah Seder Zeraʿim, Amsterdam: Samuel ben Solomon Marquis and Raphael Joshua de Palachios, 1715. A fable appears on folio 61b: “Once there was a Greek government decree against Jews studying Torah. Rabbi Akiva [50–135 ce] continued teaching Torah to large assemblages anyway. Pappus ben Judah saw this and asked him: ‘Are you not afraid for your life?’ Said Rabbi Akiva in response: ‘Allow me to illustrate with a fable to what this is comparable: A fox was walking along the banks of a river and saw some fish swimming to and fro. Said the fox to the fish: Why do you flee from place to place? Said the fish in response: Because of the nets of the fishermen. Said the fox to them: Why don’t you come onto dry land and we will live together just as our ancestors lived together. Said the fish to the fox: And it is you whom they call the smartest of the animals? You are actually quite stupid. If in our place of living we are so scared, all the more so in the place of our sure death!

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‘Similarly,’ continued Rabbi Akiva, ‘we too sit and learn Torah, about which the verse says “For thereby you shall have life and shall long endure” [Deut. 30:20]. So too if we neglect it, all the more so [we shall surely die].’” The central imagery of the fable also appears, in a de-Judaized fashion that strongly depends on universal medieval moral values, in Mishle shuʿalim. In Hebrew and Aramaic. 24. f-1790

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25. f-2584

25

f-2584

Ephraim Moses Pinner (c. 1800–1880), Compendium des Hierosolymitanischen und

Babylonischen Thalmud. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Israeliten und eine Probeschrift der zu erscheinenden deutschen Uebersetzung des ganzen Thalmud. Uebersetzt und erläutert von M. Pinner. Mit einer Vorrede von Johann Joachim Bellermann / ‫קצור תלמוד ירושלמי ותלמוד בבלי‬ ‫[ בלשון הקדש ובלשון אשכנזי‬Compendium of the Jerusalem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud in Hebrew and German. Part 1 (. . .) by Ephraim Moses Pinner]. Berlin (Germany): the author, 1832. 242 x 196 mm. 224, 232. xlviii, 132 pages, paginated [i–vii], viii–xl, [xli], xlii–xlviii, [1], 2–132. Practically unbound. Vinograd Berlin 563; Cowley 528; Roest 935; StCB 6761,1. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of first (and only) part of this compendium by Ephraim Pinner. Pinner published this one volume of selections in an effort to solicit prescriptions for his grand project: to publish a German translation of the entire Talmud. See f-3102 of this collection, no. 17 in this catalogue. The fable of the Fox and the Fish, as told by Rabbi Akiva (in Tractate Berakhot) to explain why he, in spite of a governmental decree, keeps teaching Torah, occurs on page 34. In German, Hebrew, and Aramaic.

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26

f-2502

Henry Malter (1864–1925), ‫ על ידי צבי מלטער‬. . . ‫ מסכת תענית מן תלמוד בבלי‬/ The

Treatise Taʿanit of the Babylonian Talmud, critically edited on the basis of manuscripts and old editions and provided with a translation and notes by Henry Malter. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1928. 171 x 106 mm. 289 leaves, paginated 1–7, [9], xv–xlvii, 1–240 (facing pages with identical page numbers), [1], 241–243. Publisher’s blue-printed cloth. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First bilingual edition of this tractate. Henry Malter was born in Bonze, Galicia. He became a student of Moritz Steinschneider in Berlin and left for the United States in 1900 to become a professor of medieval Jewish philosophy at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, where he also served as a rabbi. He left Cincinnati in 1907 and in 1909 became the first professor of Talmudic Literature at Dropsie College in Philadelphia, a position which he held for the rest of his life. A fable appears on page 51 (Taʿanit 8a): “Resh Lakish said: What is the meaning of the verse (Eccl., 10.11): ‘If the serpent bite before it is charmed, then the charmer hath no advantage’? In the time to come all beasts will gather together and approach the serpent, saying to him: A lion attacks with his paws and eats his prey, a wolf tears and eats, but what pleasure hast thou in biting and killing? The serpent will reply: ‘The charmer hath no advantage.’” Malter adds a footnote explaining that “the Hebrew for charmer in this verse is ‫בעל הלשון‬ [baʿal ha-lashon; ed.], the man of the tongue, hence, figuratively, also the slanderer. The serpent’s reply thus is that neither has the slanderer any advantage and yet he slanders. The connection of the serpent with the slanderer may contain an allusion to the story in Genesis 3.” In English, Hebrew, and Aramaic. 26. f-2502

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27

27. f-2220

f-2220

Jerusalem Talmud. ‫[ תלמוד ירושלמי‬Jerusalem Talmud]. Krakow (Poland): Isaac ben Aaron Prostitz, 1609.

2° (374 x 264 mm). 1–78, 810, 1–98, 10–116, 1–58, 6–76, 1–78, 810. 268 leaves, foliated [1], 2–65, [66], [1], 2–83, [84], [1], 2–51, [52], [1], 2–66. Original yellow-brown leather with metal hinges. Vinograd Cracow 289; Cowley 685; Roest 1113; StCB 2040; Zedner 749. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Second edition of the entire Jerusalem or Palestinian Talmud, the first being the Venice edition by Daniel Bomberg (1523–1524). The Prostitz family ran an important printing house in Krakow in the 16th and 17th centuries. It was established by Isaac ben Aaron (d. 1612), who is said to have learned the craft in Venice. The Jerusalem Talmud was finalized around 400 ce, a century before the completion of the Babylonian Talmud, according to some due to the unstable political situation in Palestine. As a result, the center of religious learning shifted from Tiberias and Sepphoris to the academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in Babylon. Though both the Babylonian Talmud and the (lesser known) Jerusalem Talmud are substantial works comprising halakhah and aggadah, there are also many differences, for example in length, language, and technical terminology, as well as in political and cultural mentality. There is a fable on folio 16a, in a discussion on gossip, in which men ask a serpent what pleasure he has in biting and killing. The serpent answers: “If I had not been told by Heaven to bite, I would not bite.” The men continue and ask him how come that, if he bite one limb, all other limbs feel it? The serpent answers them: “And you

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ask me?! Rather tell the tell-tale man—he speaks here and kills in Rome, or speaks in Rome and kills in Syria.” When the men ask him why he is always found between the fences, the serpent says: “I made a breach in the fence of the world [i.e., opened the way to lawlessness].” In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance: Israel Meir ben Judah Freimann (1830–1884).

28

f-2597

Midrash—Midrash Rabbah. [Midrash Rabbah on the Pentateuch]. Istanbul (Turkey):

Joseph Gabbai and Abraham Yerushalmi, 1512.

2° (280 x 185 mm). 1–88, 94; 1–38, 5–610; 1–38, 410; 1–48, 56, 68, 710, 812; 1–28; 230 unnumbered leaves, modern lead-pencil foliation. No title page. No numbering of quires apart from first 4 leaves, with omissions; from Numbers Rabbah no numbering but a repetition of the last 2 words. Folio 63 is misprinted. Modern half-parchment and leather boards. Vinograd Constantinople 35; StCB 3753; Yaari Constantinople 19; Zedner 539. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

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28. f-2597

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¶ Editio princeps. Midrash Rabbah on the Pentateuch is a collection of different midrashic genres from various periods between 500 and 1300 ce, the exact datings being difficult to establish and much discussed. There are several fables, all untitled as they are part of the weekly commentary. One short fable (folio 4r) reads: “When Iron was created all the trees began to quake and tremble. Said Iron to them, ‘Why do you tremble so? As long as no tree enters me, none of you will get hurt.’” Another (“Aesopian”) fable in Genesis Rabbah tells of a lion who, having finished a sumptuous meal after a hunt, had a bone stuck in his throat. He promised a prize to anyone who could remove it. The Egyptian raven, who has a long beak, came to help. He put his beak into the lion’s mouth and removed the bone, whereupon he asked the lion for his reward. “Just be happy that you can boast to your friends that you entered a lion’s mouth peacefully and came out of it peacefully as well.” Deuteronomy Rabbah provides the fable of the Biting Serpent that we find also in the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds (see f-1791 and f-2220 of this collection, nos. 22 and 27 in this catalogue). In Hebrew.

29

f-1621

Midrash—Midrash Rabbah. ‫מדרש רבה כולל ביאור המדרשים הנדרשים לר״זל חזל‬

. . . ‫כטל אמרתם בחמשה חומשי תורה וחמש מגלות הוציא לאור תעלומות עם הגהות מדוייקות‬ ‫[ יהודה גדליא‬Midrash Rabbah containing a commentary on the Midrashim made by our teachers of blessed memory whose words are like dew on the Pentateuch and the Five Scrolls, edited with glosses by Judah Gedaliah]. Istanbul (Turkey): Solomon Franco, Abraham Franco, and Jacob Gabbai, 1642. 2° (329 x 220 mm). 12, 2–388, 394. 302 leaves, foliated [1–2], 5–304. Modern dark-red leather spine and boards. Vinograd Constantinople 330; Yaari Constantinople 244. Copies: NLI.

¶ Second edition. Istanbul was a center of Hebrew printing, starting with refugees from Spain and Portugal in the beginning of the 16th century. Solomon ben David Franco, a Converso from Spain, established a printing house in 1639, but only printed one book. His son Abraham and his son-in-law Jacob Gabbai took over in 1641.9 A fable occurs on folio 21r: “They said to the Euphrates River: ‘Why don’t you make a loud noise?’ Said the Euphrates: ‘I don’t need my actions to announce me. A man plants a tree in my banks and it grows in thirty days; a small plant will grow in three days.’ They say to the Tigris River: ‘Why are you so loud?’ Said the Tigris: ‘Were it only that we would be seen just as we are being heard!’ They ask fruit trees: ‘Why don’t you make any noise?’ They say: ‘Because we don’t need to. Our fruit speak for us.’ They ask non-fruit bearing trees: ‘Why do you make so much noise?’ They say: ‘Were it only that we would be seen just as we are being heard!’” In Hebrew. 9. Marvin J. Heller, The Seventeenth-Century Hebrew Book, vol. 1 (Leiden: Brill, 2011), lxvii.

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144 ]

30. f-2143

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30

f-2143

Midrash. ‫[ פרקי רבי אליעזר‬Chapters of R. Eliezer]. Istanbul (Turkey): Judah ben Joseph Sasson, 1514.

4° (189 x 138 mm). Quire structure could no longer be established. 48 leaves, foliated [1–4], [1], 2–26, 26–29, 31, [32–44]. 18th-century board. Vinograd Constantinople 42; Cowley 175; StCB 4008; Yaari Constantinople 26; Yudlov 184; Zedner 221. Copies: BL; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Editio princeps. Chapters of R. Eliezer, also known as Pirqe de-Rabbi Eliezer, is an aggadic Midrash from the 8th century, named after Eliezer ben Hyrcanos, one of the first Sages, with whom the book begins. Chapters of R. Eliezer does not provide a verse by verse exegesis but rather narrates biblical stories. The editio princeps, printed in the first printing office of Istanbul (set up in 1493), was used as the basis for many reprints. In this copy four leaves with manuscript glosses in a Sephardic script are added at the front of the volume. Istanbul had been an important center of Hebrew and Ladino printing from the 16th until the 18th century. Jews from the Iberian peninsula found refuge here and some of them brought with them knowledge of the art of printing, like David and Samuel ibn Nahmias, who founded this press. Moreover, in the Ottoman Empire there were no restrictions on printing and selling Hebrew books as in most Christian environments. There is a fable on folio 3v: “‘On the fourth day’ God created the two large luminaries, neither one larger than the other. They were both equal in their height, description, and brightness, as the verse says, ‘And God made the two luminaries. . .’ [All of a sudden] tension arose among them. Each one said to the other, ‘I am larger than you.’ There was no peace between them. What did God do? He made the one larger and the other smaller, as the verse says, ‘the larger luminary by day and the smaller luminary for rule by night.’” In Hebrew. Provenance: Schocken Library, Jerusalem.

31

f-1726

Midrash. ‫[ פרקי רבי אליעזר‬Chapters of R. Eliezer]. Mezhyriv

(Ukraine): Jehiel Mikhel ben David Katz and Ezekiel ben Shevah, 1793. 8° (174 x 113 mm). 1–144. 56 leaves, foliated [1], 2–55, [56]. Modern burgundy board. Vinograd Mezyrow 7; Yaari Mezyrow 6; Yudlov 186. Copies: JTS; NLI.

31. f-1726

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¶ Twelfth edition. The fable of the Sun and the Moon (see f-2143 of this collection, no. 30 in this catalogue) appears on folio 5r. In Hebrew. Provenance: Herzliah Hebrew Teachers’ Institute, New York.

32

f-1720

Midrash. ‫[ ספר פרקי רבי אליעזר הגדול‬Chapters of the Great R. Eliezer (translated into La-

dino)]. Istanbul (Turkey): Aaron Firmon c.s., 1824.

12° (144 x 108 mm). 87 leaves, foliated [1], 2–5, [6], 7–79, [80], 81–87. Modern black leather with gilt lettering on spine and front cover. Vinograd Constantinople 669; Kayserling 100; Yaari Constantinople 501; Yaari Ladino 233. Copies: BL; Harv; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ This is the only work published by Aaron Firmon. Istanbul was a center not only for Hebrew printing but also for Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) printing for the Sephardic communities in the Ottoman Empire. In the Hebrew introduction to this Ladino translation of Chapters of the Great R. Eliezer the translator, Nissim ha-Cohen, acknowledges Judah Yerushalmi, a Karaite book dealer, for financing the publication. The fable of the Sun and the Moon (see f-2143 of this collection, no. 30 in this catalogue) appears on folios 12r–v. In Ladino and Hebrew.

33

f-2000

Midrash. ‫[ מדרש חמש מגלות‬Midrash on the Five Scrolls]. Pesaro (Italy): Gershom Soncino,

[1519].

2° (272 x 186 mm). 14+1, 26+1, 3–166, 174. 100 leaves, foliated [i], 1–99. 2 woodcut borders attributed to Florio Vavassore. Beige board. Vinograd Pesaro 48; Cowley 436; Roest 812; StCB 3754]; Zedner 541. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Editio princeps of the Midrash on the Five Scrolls, i.e., Song of Songs, Ruth, Esther (called Ahasuerus in the headlines of this edition), Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes. Gershom Soncino, of the famous Soncino family, was one of the most important Jewish printers of his time. Between 1489 and 1534 he printed more than 200 books in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, in different towns in Italy and, later, in Turkey. Several fables appear in this book. The fable of the Young Donkey and the Pig (Esther, folio 47v, commenting on Haman’s high position) reads as follows: “The young donkey asked his

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mother, ‘From morning to night, I perform for my master back-breaking work and even so I get a small, measured portion of food and water. The pig, who never works, gets an unlimited amount of food. Why is this so?’ The mother answered, ‘Soon enough you will see what his end will be. Then you will realize that all the extra food he received was for his detriment. Our master filled his stomach and fattened him but for that reason alone.’ A holiday approached and the master took the pig and cooked him and made many delicacies. When the young donkey saw this he refused to eat or drink for he said in his heart, This will happen to me too! His mother said to him, ‘This is not so, my son. This only happened to him as a result of his lack of work, not because he overate.’” In Hebrew.

34

f-1695

Midrash—Tanhuma Yelamedenu. ‫[ תנחומה הנקרא ילמדנו‬Tanhuma,

33. f-2000

Entitled Yelamedenu]. Venice (Italy): Cornelio Adelkind for Daniel Bomberg, 1545. 2° (308 x 209 mm). 1–118, 1210. 98 leaves, foliated 1–98. Elaborate woodcut architectural title page, the Hebrew text of Job 7:13 in the upper part; 5 decorated opening word panels of the 5 books of the Pentateuch. Modern off-white linen with parchment spine, with a red vignette tooled in gold, 1 modern paper flyleaf at back and front. Vinograd Venice 243; Habermann Bomberg 127; Roest 815; StCB 3796; Zedner 543. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; NLI.

¶ Second edition of the so-called printed version of the Tanhuma (editio princeps Constantinople 1520–1522), the other version being based on MS Neubauer 154, Bodleian Library, Oxford (by Solomon Buber, Vilnius, 1875). Tanhuma Yelamedenu is a Midrash on the Pentateuch, consisting of literary homilies often beginning with the phrase “yelamedenu rabenu” (let our teacher instruct us). Daniel Bomberg (d. December 21, 1553), a native of Antwerp (Belgium), is one of the most influential Christian printers of Hebrew books. Well educated and versed in Hebrew, he established a printing house in Venice and in 1516 obtained permission to print Hebrew books.

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Almost 200 Hebrew books came from his press. Israel Cornelio Adelkind (Cornelio being the adapted name of Bomberg’s father) worked most of his life for the Bomberg press as editor and supervisor. The fable appears on folio 96v, untitled, as it is part of the commentary on the weekly portion of the Pentateuch called “Ki tavoʾ” (When you come; Deut. 26:1–29:8). “Once there was a [Roman] government decree against Jews studying Torah. Rabbi Akiva [50–135 ce] continued studying Torah anyway. Pappus ben Judah saw this and told him: ‘You are endangering your life for you are violating the decree of the Emperor [Hadrian].’ Said Rabbi Akiva in response: A ‘ llow me to illustrate with a parable [i.e., a fable] to what this is comparable: A fox was walking along the banks of a river and saw inside the river some fish. Said the fox to the fish: “Come here, to me and I will hide you among the crevices of the rock so you should not be afraid.” Said the fish to the fox: “And they call you the smart ani34. f-1695 mal? You are actually quite stupid. Our whole life is dependent on the water, and you tell us to come onto the shore?” Similarly,’ continued Rabbi Akiva, ‘our life is dependent on the Torah and you say I am endangering my life thereby?!’” In Hebrew. Provenance: Solomon Elias (donated the book to his synagogue as a memorial to his deceased son Raphael on 21 Iyyar 5634 [1874]); Israel Mehlman (1900–1989), his handwriting appearing on the flyleaves.

35

f-2505

Midrash—Yalkut Shimoni. ‫[ ילקוט התורה הנקרא שמעוני‬Anthology of the Penta-

teuch, Entitled Shimoni]. Venice (Italy): Meir Parenzo for Alvise Bragadini, 1566.

2° (313 x 213 mm). 2 volumes with separate title pages: vol. 1: 1–388, 3910, 314 leaves, foliated [1], 2–313, [1]; vol. 2: 1–238, 246, 190 leaves, foliated [1], 2–190. Decorative woodcut opening word panel ‫יהושע‬. 19th-century black quarter-leather, black cloth boards, spine tooled in German. Vinograd Venice 519. Roest 1068; StCB 7197,2; Zedner 702. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

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¶ Second edition, the first edition being printed in Thessaloniki in two parts in 1521 and 1526. Meir Parenzo (d. 1575), the typesetter and corrector, used the printed Thessaloniki editions as a basis for this one but inserted many changes. Alvise Bragadini, a Christian printer whose printing house issued many Hebrew books, was engaged in a dispute over the publication of Maimonides’ Code with a more established Venetian printer of Hebrew books, Marco Antonio Giustiniani. The dispute ultimately contributed to the confiscation and burning of the Talmud, ordered by Pope Julius III, and a ban on publishing Hebrew books in Venice. Bragadini could resume printing ten years later, in 1564. His printer’s mark of three crowns is on both title pages. Yalkut Shimoni is an extensive midrashic anthology on the whole Bible by Shimon ha-Darshan (“the preacher”) of Frankfurt am Main, who lived in the 13th century and of whom we know nothing but his name. For his compilation he used many rabbinic sources, some of which are lost today, the Yalkut being the only proof of their existence. There are several fables in this collection, all untitled. One fable (vol. 1, folio 56r) reads: “The verse says ‘Pharaoh’s heart stiffened’ [Exod. 7:13]. To what may this be compared? To a lion, animals, and a fox that were traveling together in a boat, and a donkey collecting tax from the seafarers. Said the donkey, ‘Give me tax.’ Said the fox to the donkey, ‘How arrogant you are, for you well know that the king of the animals is traveling with us, and yet you ask for tax!?’ Replied the donkey, ‘I collect from the king so as to fill his treasury.’ Said the lion, ‘Bring the boat to dock.’ [When they did], he killed the donkey and tore him up and gave him to the fox, saying, ‘Organize for me this fool’s organs.’ So the fox organized them, but ate the donkey’s heart. When the lion came and saw the organs dissected, he asked where the heart was. Said the fox, ‘My dear Mr. King, this donkey had no heart, for if he had had a heart, he would not have asked tax from a king.’ Likewise, if the wicked Pharaoh had had a heart, he would not have said to the King of Kings, ‘Give me a present.’ Forgetting what the mice had done to him, he had the audacity to say, ‘Who is the Lord that I should heed Him . . . I do not know the Lord . . .’ [Exod. 5:2].” In Hebrew. Provenance: Samuel Moses Barukh (old inscription above title). 35. f-2505

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36

f-1732

Midrash—Yalkut Shimoni. ‫[ ספר ילקוט שמעוני‬Anthology of Shimon on the Pentateuch]. Polonnoye (Ukraine): Samuel ben Issachar Ber, 1805.

2° (338 x 204 mm). 2 volumes: vol. 1: 272 leaves, foliated [1], 2–272; vol. 2: 170 leaves, foliated [281], 282–450 with several misnumbered folios. Vinograd Polonnoye 58. Copies: BL; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Though the title page mentions Samuel ben Issachar Ber as the printer, he by then had moved his press to another town. Joseph ben Zevi ha-Kohen, who was active as a printer in Polonnoye from 1800 until 1820,10 probably thought he would gain by using Samuel’s name instead of his own. There are several fables in this work, all untitled. One fable appears in volume 1, folio 37r, column b to Genesis 36: “The wheat, the straw, and the chaff were fighting. The wheat said, ‘Because of us, the field was planted.’ Said the chaff, ‘Because of me the field was planted.’ Said the wheat, ‘Just wait and see.’ When the time for reaping came, the owner burned the chaff, threw aside the straw, and took the wheat and set them up in a basket. All began to kiss the wheat. So too the Jews say ‘Because of us the world was created,’ just as the nations of the world say also, ‘Because of us the world was created.’ Said Israel to them, ‘Just wait and see.’ And indeed in the future [as Isaiah 41:16 says regarding the nations of the world], ‘You shall winnow them and the wind shall carry them off; the whirlwind shall scatter them,’ but of Israel it says, ‘But you shall rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One of Israel.’” In Hebrew.

37

f-1684

Midrash. ‫[ ספר ארזי לבנון הוא כלול משבעה חבורים מתוקים מדבש ונופת צופים‬The Book of

the Cedars of Lebanon, made up of seven works sweeter than honey and the honeycomb’s flow]. Venice (Italy): Giovanni di Gara, 1601. 4° (201 x 148 mm). 1–114, 126. 50 leaves, foliated [1], 2–50. Architectural title page frame with Mars and Minerva stemming from the Italian typographer Francesco Minizio (Giulio) Calvo (fl. 1521–1545),11 often used by Di Gara. Vinograd Venice 920; Cowley 9; Roest 68; StCB 3409; Zedner 543. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. The Book of the Cedars of Lebanon (Isa. 14:8, Ps. 104:16) comprises seven smaller mystical and kabbalistic works (sweeter than honey, etc. [Ps. 19:11]) that were never printed before. Di Gara was a prolific printer of Hebrew books who learned the skills from Daniel Bomberg. 10. Yehuda Slutsky, “Polonnoye,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 16:360. 11. Marvin J. Heller, The Seventeenth-Century Hebrew Book, vol. 1 (Leiden: Brill, 2011), 37.

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The fable appears in the first work, Midrash ha-konen, on folio 2v, elaborating upon the biblical description of the Creation of the heavenly bodies: “At first the Sun and the Moon were of equivalent size, as the verse says [Gen. 1:16], ‘God made the two great lights . . .’ At first, both were large, but then the Moon complained against the Sun, saying to God, ‘Master of the Universe, why did you create the world in two?’ He answered, ‘To teach all creatures that two years reflect two worlds and two witnesses.’ She said to him: ‘Master of the Universe. . ., which world is larger than the other: this world or the next world?’ Said God, ‘The next world, of course.’ ‘Why,’ asked the Moon, ‘did You create a large world as well as a small world? Why did You create heavens which are larger than the earth? You created fire and water, and water extinguishes fire. You created Sun and Moon as well. Is it not right that one of us be larger than the other?’ Said God to the 37. f-1684 Moon, ‘It’s obvious that you want me to make you bigger and the sun smaller. Because you’ve complained against him, go and decrease yourself to one sixtieth of the light of the sun.’ Said the Moon, ‘Because of one little thing that I said, I am being punished so harshly?’ Replied God, ‘Know that in the future [i.e., in the Messianic era] I will return you to the size of the Sun as the verse says, “The light of the Moon shall become as the light of the Sun” [Isa. 30:26].’ Said the Moon, ‘What will happen to the light of the Sun?’ Said God, ‘You are still complaining? I swear, the light of the Sun will be seven times as bright as it is now!’” In Hebrew.

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38

f-2228

Abraham ben Samson Witmond (1695–1773), ‫ספר אהבת חסד פי׳ על מסכת אבות‬

‫[ דר׳ נתן‬The Love of Kindness: commentary on Avot de-Rabbi Nathan]. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Gerard Johan Janson, 1777. 2° (371 x 234 mm). 232+1. 47 leaves, foliated [i–iv], 1–43. Beige board with brown leather spine, gilt lettering. Vinograd Amsterdam 2062; Cowley 30; Roest 1111; StCB 6623,2; Zedner 748. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of this commentary on Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (The Fathers according to Rabbi Nathan), a so-called minor tractate of the Talmud, containing sayings, proverbs, and stories. Avot de-Rabbi Nathan is itself a commentary on and elaboration of Mishnah tractate Avot (Sayings of the Fathers), the only tractate that does not contain legal discussions but is devoted to ethical and moral subjects.

38. f-2228

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This book was brought to press by the author’s son-in-law, David Bloch, and by his grandson, Samson ben Moses Witmond. David signed his name preceding the text and Samson signed it at the end, a not uncommon way to ensure copyright protection. There is one fable, on folios 8v–9r: “There was once a pious man who was very charitable. One day, he was traveling on a ship that went down because of severe wind and he drowned. Rabbi Akiva saw the incident and came to court to testify that the wife of the pious man can marry without concern that he may still be living. Before he finished testifying, the man appeared in court. Asked Rabbi Akiva: ‘Didn’t I watch you drown?’ The man answered: ‘Yes, I drowned but all the charity I’ve always given has saved my life.’ ‘How do you know it was the charity?’ asked Rabbi Akiva. The man told him: ‘When I got to the bottom of the ocean, I heard the currents conversing and agreeing to bring me up alive as a result of my charity.’” In Hebrew.

39

f-1750

Midrash—Midrash on Psalms. ‫מדרש שוחר טוב הוא מדרש תהלים עם באור חדש‬ ‫לפרש ולבאר את דברי המדרש בדרך קצרה ולציין‬ ‫ מראה מקומות וגם לצרף הנוסחאות‬/ Mydrasz Thylim [Midrash “Good Friend,” being a Midrash on the Psalms, with a new commentary to explain and clarify the words of this Midrash in a short way and to indicate certain passages and also to append variant readings/Midrash on the Psalms]. Warsaw (Poland): Hayyim Kelter, 1865. 8° (210 x 137 mm). 202 leaves, foliated [i– iv], 1–198 leaves. Modern maroon leather with gilt design on front wrapper and gilt lettering on spine. Copies: Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Midrash Shoher tov, or Midrash on Psalms, though fragmented and with additions from different periods, contains many stories and parables. It has been printed several times, the first edition in Constantinople in 1512. This is the first edition with commentaries by Aaron Moses Padua (d. 1883) and Mordecai-Gimpel Jaffe (1820–1891), a rabbi and member of the practical Zionist movement Hibbat Zion.

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The fable appears on folio 26v, as part of the homily on Psalm 7. “Said Rabbi Levi: At the time when the Lord commanded Noah to take two of each kind of animal into the ark, they all entered the ark [as it says], ‘two of each, male and female, came to Noah’ (Gen. 7:9). Each entered with its mate. When Falsehood attempted to ascend the ark, Noah stopped her and told her that she may only enter with her mate. So Falsehood went looking for a mate. She met Breath. Said Falsehood to Breath, ‘With whom are you going? Because I was just at Noah’s ark but he prevented me from entering until I came with a partner. Will you be my partner?’ Said Breath to Falsehood, ‘What will you give me in return?’ Said Falsehood, ‘I will agree to give you everything I am able to swindle.’ They agreed that everything Falsehood would bring in, Breath would take. So the two entered the ark. When they finally left the ark, everything that Falsehood got through swindling, Breath kept. Until finally, Falsehood said to Breath, ‘Where is everything I got?’ ‘What do you mean?’ said Breath, ‘Didn’t we agree that everything you get I would keep?’ Falsehood had no response to this. This just teaches that Falsehood begets Falsehood: whatever one acquires through falsehood will not remain with him.” In Hebrew. Provenance: Hayyim Tobias Fligeltaub, Warsaw. Illegible handwritten signature on flyleaf. Moses ben Isaac Jacob, teacher (opposite of title page).

40

f-1544

Daniel Ehrmann (1816–1882), Aus Palästina und Babylon: Eine Sammlung von Sagen,

Legenden, Allegorien, Fabeln, moralischen und sinnreichen Erzählungen, Gleichnissen und geistvollen Bibel-Auslegungen, Dichtungen und Sprüchen, Morallehren, Maximen und Lebensregeln, Sprüchwörtern, Redensarten und anderweitigen Sentenzen aus Talmud und Midrasch (. . .) Von Daniel Ehrmann [From Palestine and Babylon: A collection of sagas, legends, allegories, fables, moral and ingenious stories, parables and exhilarating Bible exegeses, poems and sayings, moral teachings, maxims and rules for life, proverbs, epigrams and other quotations from the Talmud and the Midrash (. . .) By Daniel Ehrmann]. Vienna (Austria): Alfred Hölder, 1880. 194 x 122 mm. 165 leaves, paginated [i– iii], iv–xv, [xvi], 1–309, [310–314]. Contemporary black quarter-cloth, marbled boards. Freimann 134. Copies: HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition, Brno (Czech Republic) issue (with imprint “Brünn: Bernhard E[pstein’s] Buchhan[dlung]” on a printed overslip). Includes 21 rabbinic fables from the Talmud and the Midrash, without exact reference to sources, translated into German prose (pages 66–75). Daniel Ehrmann (1816–1882) was an Austrian rabbi who wrote a number of works and edited the Jewish journal Das Abendland. In 1867 he became a teacher of religion in Brno. In German. Provenance: Givʿat Hayyim Library.

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40. f-1544

41

41. f-2701

f-2701

Midrash—Otsar Midrashim. ‫ ערצעהלונגען‬,‫ אלע אגדות‬.‫דער אוצר פון אלע מדרשים‬

)‫ זעווין (תשר״ק‬.‫ איבערזעצט פון ישראל י‬. . . ‫[ און משלים‬Anthology of all Midrashim. All haggadot, stories and parables (. . .) translated by Israel J. Zevin]. New York: Tashrak Publishing, 1926. 200 x 138 mm. 4 volumes: vol. 1: 221 pages, paginated [1–17], 18–221; vol. 2: 224 pages, paginated [1–9], 10–224; vol. 3: 224 pages, paginated [1–9], 10–224; vol. 4: 213 pages, paginated [1–15], (misnumbered) 6–199, [209–213]. All volumes have printed green boards. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Yiddish translation by humorist, author, and editor of the New York Orthodox Yidishes tageblat Israel Joseph Zevin (1872–1926) of stories, proverbs, and parables he had collected. He also wrote children’s stories and stories about the experiences of Jewish immigrants in the United States. Tashrak is one of his pseudonyms.

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There are several fables. In volume 2, page 27 there is an originally midrashic fable (Midrash Aggada on Lev. 17:3) about Joshua and the Sun at Gibeon (Josh. 10:12). “When Joshua was fighting a war in Gibeon he wanted to stop the sun from setting, so as to make the day longer and to end the battle, but the sun did not hear him because she was as always singing and praising before the Master of the Universe. “Then Joshua yelled: ‘Sun, be still over Gibeon,’ the sun should be silent over Gibeon. “The sun asked: ‘Why should I be silent? Not a second goes by that I do not praise, glorify, and exalt my Master, and you tell me to be silent! Can someone smaller command someone who is bigger? I am bigger than you are and you are quite small, and you command me! And something else: I was created on Wednesday and you were created as late as Friday. I am in heaven and you are on earth. You better keep your mouth shut.’ “Joshua answered: ‘You have a big mouth. Is it not so that a lord’s younger son may tell an older servant what to do? Did not the Almighty give heaven and earth to Abraham? It says in the Torah about Abraham, “Creator of heaven and earth” [Gen. 14:19]. And did you not bow before Joseph? Be silent, you. I will praise the Lord.’” In Yiddish. Provenance: Harris Blumenfeld, with stamp and handwritten Hebrew dedication by Tashrak, dated 1926, on first flyleaf recto vol. 1.

42

f-1268

Judah David Eisenstein (1854–1956), ‫ בית עקד למאתים מדרשים קטנים‬.‫אוצר מדרשים‬

‫ נאסף ונערך ע״י יהודה דוד אייזענשטיין‬. . . ‫[ ואגדות ומעשיות בסדר אלפא ביתא‬Treasury of Midrashim. A library of two hundred minor Midrashim and narratives and stories in alphabetical order. Collected and edited by Judah David Eisenstein]. New York: Reznick, Menschel & Co., 1928. 276 x 198 mm. 2 parts in 1 volume: 316 leaves, paginated π[i–vi], i–xiv, 1–276; χ[i–vi], 277–605, [606]. Monochrome steel-engraved frontispieces for each part, signed “Lovie Greif,” translating the Hebrew title as “Bibliotheca Midraschica,” “copyright 1915.” 2nd title page in English. Publisher’s black cloth. Copies: NLI; + (few copies located of this 3rd edition; numerous copies of the 1st and 2nd editions were found).

¶ Third edition, containing all of the Midrashim included in A. Jellinek’s Bet ha-Midrasch: Sammlung kleiner Midraschim (1853–1877), with additional material; and also containing the full text of The Alphabet of Ben Sira (pages 35–50), for which he used Moritz Steinschneider’s Alphabetum Siracidis of 1858 (see f-1275 of this collection, no. 118 in this catalogue). The first and second editions were published in New York in 1915 and 1918. In Hebrew.

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42. f-1268

43

43. f-2528

f-2528

Hayyim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) and Yehoshua Hana Rawnitzki (1859–

1944), .‫ אפאריזמען און שפריכווערטער‬,‫ משלים‬,‫ לעגענדן‬,‫ זאגן‬,‫ דערציילונגען‬:‫די יידישע אגדות‬ ‫ באארבעט און גרופירט‬.‟‫ נאכ׳ן העברייאישן “ספר האגדה‬.‫געקליבן פון תלמוד און מדרשים‬ ‫ ביאליק‬.‫נ‬.‫ ראבניצקי און ח‬.‫ח‬.‫[ נאכ׳ן אינהאלט דורך י‬The Jewish Legends. Stories, sayings, legends, fables, aphorisms, and proverbs. Collected from Talmud and Midrash. After the Hebrew original “Sefer ha-Agadah.” Adapted and arranged according to content by Y. H. Rawnitzki and H. N. Bialik]. New York: Morris Samuel Sklarsky, 1948. 222 x 148 mm. 4 parts in 2 volumes; vol. 1: 200 leaves, paginated: [1–2], [i–iii], iv–xii, [xiii], [1], 2–180, [3–6], [1–3], 4–201, [202]. Vol. 2: 194 leaves, paginated: [1–2], [1–3], 4–152, [153–154], [3–4], [1–2], 3–129, [130]. Publisher’s reddish-brown cloth. Copies: BL; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

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¶ The first Yiddish edition of Bialik’s and Rawnitzki’s standard compendium of rabbinic legend and homily, first published in Hebrew four decades earlier (see f-2529 of this collection, no. 44 in this catalogue). The Yiddish edition, which is similar but not identical to the Hebrew original, presents a vast collection of talmudic and midrashic material, arranged thematically. In Yiddish.

44

f-2529

Hayyim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) and Yehoshua Hana Rawnitzki (1859–

1944), ‫ידי‬-‫ סדורות לפי הענינים ומפורשות על‬.‫ מבחר האגדות שבתלמוד ובמדרשים‬.‫ספר האגדה‬ ‫ רבניצקי‬.‫ח‬.‫ ביאליק וי‬.‫נ‬.‫[ ח‬Sefer ha-Agadah. Selection of narratives from the Talmud and the Midrashim. Arranged according to subject and explained by H. N. Bialik and Y. H. Rawnitzki]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Dvir, 1960. 269 x 214 mm. 376 leaves, paginated [i–xvi], 1–687, [688], 2[1–3], 4–48. Reproduction of oil painting of the authors on page [ii] by H. Lipschitz. Publisher’s off-white cloth with green spine. Copies: BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Third edition. This highly popular anthology of rabbinic lore (first edition: Odessa, 1908–1911) provided the Yishuv and later the (secular) inhabitants of the State of Israel access to their literary and cultural heritage. Translated into several languages, among which are Yiddish (see f-2528 of this collection, no. 43 in this catalogue) and English. In Hebrew.

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MEDIEVAL WORKS

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45. f-2299

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45

f-2299

Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava ( fl. 1291), ‫[ ביאור על התורה‬Commentary on the Pentateuch]. Naples (Italy): Azriel b. Joseph Ashkenazi Gunzenhauser, 1492.

2° (270 x 190 mm). 1–98, 1010, 11–348. 274 unnumbered leaves (of 288). The 1st 4 leaves are a substitution in a much later Yemenite hand. The handwritten additions seem to have been taken from the Venice edition of 1545 (f-1733 of this collection, no. 46 in this catalogue), since the addition at the end of the volume copies Cornelio Adelkind’s colophon. Modern light-brown leather with raised bands on spine. Vinograd Naples 21; Goff Heb 6; Offenberg 8; Roest 130; StCB 4525,1]. Copies: BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Second edition. According to tradition Bahya ben Asher lived in Saragossa and worked as a dayyan and preacher. He was a disciple of Solomon b. Abraham Adret, one of the foremost Jewish scholars of his time. Bahya’s Commentary on the Pentateuch, written in 1291, was very popular and was published frequently from 1492 onward (of the first edition—Spain/Portugal, 1492—only a few fragments are left).12 A fable appears on folio 228r. “‘God made the two great lights, the greater light . . . and the lesser light’ [Gen. 1:16]. Said the Moon to God: Master of the Universe, can two kings share one crown? Said God to her: Go and decrease in size. Said the Moon in response: Master of the Universe, because I said an admirable thing, I must pay for it by a decrease in size? Said He to her: Go and rule by day and night. Said the Moon [in righteous indignation]: What would I gain? The Sun shines [in the daytime] so what will be my purpose [then]? Said God to her: Go, and know that the Jews will consider their calendar—days and years—based on you. Said the Moon: Days will not be considered [by me] because seasonal equinoxes are not based on me [the Moon, but rather on the Sun alone]; after all, the verse [in Genesis continues and] says ‘and they [both the Sun and the Moon] shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years’ [but not seasons]. Said God to her: Go and know that righteous men will be called after you, [for example] Jacob, Samuel, and David [there are verses in the Bible in which these three are called ‘the small,’ which according to this explanation, is in honor of the Moon who had become small]. God saw that nothing would comfort the Moon, so He commanded the Jews to bring Him an expiation offering every new month [the Moon’s ‘birthday,’ so to speak], because He had decreased the Moon’s size. This is what Rabbi Simon b. Lakish referred to when he said, ‘Why is the goat brought as the New Moon offering different than the others, in that only by the New Moon does the verse say “an expiation offering to God”?’ Because, says God, this goat will be My expiation for having decreased the size of the Moon.” In Hebrew. 12. Efraim Gottlieb, “Bah.ya ben Asher ben H.lava,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 3:65. See also Offenberg 7, 8 and I. Mehlman, ‫ מאמרים ביבליוגרפיים‬.‫[ גנוזות ספרים‬Genuzot Sefarim: Bibliographical Essays] (Jerusalem: Jewish National and University Library Press, 1976).

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46

f-1733

Bahya ben Asher ben Hlava (fl. 1291), ‫ ביאור על התורה‬:‫[ רבינו בחיי‬Rabbi Bahya’s

Commentary on the Pentateuch]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Bomberg, 1546.

2° (316 x 219 mm). 1–288, 296. 230 leaves, foliated [1–2], 3–230 (folios 61, 72, and 189 are misnumbered). Vinograd Venice 264; Cowley 54;733 Roest 130; StCB 4525,7; Zedner 72. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Eighth(?) edition of Bahya’s popular commentary on the Pentateuch, written in 1291, typeset by Bomberg’s longtime companion Cornelio Adelkind according to the colophon. On folio 184r we find the well-known fable of the Moon’s Complaint to God (see f-2299 of this collection, no. 45 in this catalogue). Bahya’s commentary reads: “The meaning of all of this is that the word ‘the great’ [in the phrase, ‘the two great luminaries’] shows that at one point in time the Sun and Moon shone with equal intensity but the Moon later lost some of its luster, which is why when the next verse referred to them it said, ‘the bigger luminary and the smaller luminary.’ The Moon decreased in size because it had complained and said, ‘is it possible for two kings to share one crown?’ but the Moon only said this to preserve the honor of God! She didn’t want it to appear [to the unbelieving world] as if God could not create two suns, each with its own light, neither requiring the other to utilize its intensity. Lest the nations of the world would say that God is incapable of giving light to each luminary by itself. This ‘complaint’ involved the Moon’s seeking to know God’s mysterious characteristics [which is expressly forbidden, as cited in the Talmud]. After she was diminished and embarrassed by her sin, God tried to comfort her by saying, ‘go and rule by day and night; Jews will count their days and years by your time’; and, finally, ‘righteous men will be called after you.’ And yet the Moon was still not comforted. All this God said to set her mind at ease, but she would not be comforted until God had conferred the honor upon her by requiring Jews to bring a sacrificial sheep every New Moon. This is what was meant in the midrash that God said in effect, ‘bring [to] Me an expiation offering for I had decreased the size of the Moon.’ This teaches that God wished there to be no argument against Creation and also so as to establish a precedent for those who repent so that the sublunar world [who do not repent] will be able to extract a moral lesson: namely, that if they should sin and later repent of the sin, God will accept their repentance as He did for the Moon. Therefore, He required an expiation offering be brought every New Moon and established the New Year as a Day of Repentance to occur on the New Moon as well. All this to proclaim that God accepts the repentance of the wicked, as He did the repentance of the Moon, and even comforted her after she had sinned by complaining.” In Hebrew.

162 ]

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47

f-1398

Chronicles of Moses. ‫[ דברי הימים למשה רבינו ע״ה‬Chronicles of Moses]. Istanbul (Turkey): Samuel ibn Nahmias, 1517.

4° (184 x 136 mm). Without title page. Collation could not be reconstructed. 34 leaves, not foliated, lacking folios 2, 3, 21, 24, 25, 28; folios 20, 22, 28–38 supplied in facsimile; many leaves are incomplete. Modern gilted dark-brown leather. Vinograd Constantinople 87; Cowley 459; StCB 3442; Yaari Constantinople 51; Yudlov 1264 [Mehlman’s copy contains only 11 leaves]; Zedner 562. Copies: JTS; NLI.

¶ First edition of this compendium with the Chronicles of Moses, a small Midrash from the early Middle Ages in which the story of Moses’s (early) life is retold and enhanced with new stories.13 It is printed together with several apocryphal and fable books, like the “Book of Enoch,” “Tales of Sendabar [Sindbad],” and the “Riddles of Isopet,” the latter comprising 20 of Aesop’s fables. The printer Samuel ibn Nahmias 47. f-1398 was the son of David ibn Nahmias, who together with his brother Samuel brought the art of printing into the Ottoman Empire in 1493. On folios 34v–38r we find the first rendering in Hebrew of fables of Aesop. The fable on folios 34v–35r is about a rooster finding a pearl: “A rooster was roaming a dunghill, looking for something to eat. While he was searching, his feet stumbled upon a beautiful, shining pearl. When he saw it shining he stared back in wonder, saying: ‘You are so precious, how did you end up in this hideous, degraded place? Your splendor is great, yet you were cast away on this garbage heap. No use, no virtue you have for me here, and there is nothing I can do for you. If you were with someone who would recognize your value, he would remove from you all filth and dirt, and put you in a prominent place, for dirt now obscures your shining beauty. We have little in common, I have no use for you, you have no use for me, and what is more, I’m in search for something else!’” 13. Joseph Dan, “Moses, Chronicles of,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 14:545.

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The moral: the rooster represents the foolish man, the pearl stands for words of wisdom. The fool will not find pleasant wisdom in those words; rather, he will loathe them and spit on them. In Hebrew. Provenance: Israel Mehlman’s handwriting on the page opposite the first page of text.

48

f-0831

The Chronicles of Moses. ‫[ דברי הימים של משה רבינו ע״ה‬Chronicles of Moses]. Ven-

ice (Italy): Giovanni dei Farri and his brother and Cornelio Adelkind, 1544.

8° (131 x 84 mm). 1–108. 80 leaves, foliated [1], 2–80. Modern light-brown leather. Vinograd Venice 217; Habermann Adelkind 14; StCB 3443; Zedner 564. Copies: BL, BodL; BRos; NLI.

¶ Second edition of the Chronicles of Moses printed together with several midrashic, apocryphal, and fable books, like the “Midrash on the Death of Aaron,” “Book of Enoch,” “Tales of Sendabar [Sindbad],” and the “Riddles of Isopet,” the latter comprising 20 of Aesop’s fables. Cornelio Adelkind worked most of his life for the Bomberg press as editor and supervisor, but at intervals he was engaged with other publishers, such as Dei Farri. In Hebrew. Provenance: Schocken Library, Jerusalem.

48. f-0831

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49. f-2559

49

f-2559

Chronicles of Moses. ‫[ דברי הימים של משה רבינו ע״ה‬Chronicles of Moses]. Venice (Italy): Giovanni di Gara, 1605.

8° (129 x 85 mm). 1–88. 64 leaves, foliated [1], 2–64. Some letters on the title page are substituted by hand. Modern vellum. Vinograd Venice 982; Cowley 459; Habermann Di Gara 229; Roest 69; StCB 3444; Zedner 564. Copies: BL; BRos; JTS; NLI.

¶ Third edition of this compendium with the Chronicles of Moses, printed together with several apocryphal and fable books, like the “Book of Enoch,” “Tales of Sendabar,” and the “Riddles of Isopet,” the latter comprising 20 of Aesop’s fables. In Hebrew.

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The Prince and the Hermit Ben ha-melekh ve-ha-nazir, “The Prince and the Hermit,” is a didactic work in which a prince becomes an ascetic. It was translated or adapted from an unknown Arabic version into Hebrew by the 13th-century scholar Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai. Greek, Latin, and modern European versions are generally known as “Barlaam and Josaphat.” The work originated in India and the prince is Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. The Hebrew version exists in 24 manuscripts, 14 of which can be dated before 1500, and was printed more than 30 times. The story relates how Joasaph, a prince eager for knowledge, was fascinated by a meeting with a hermit who revealed to him the sorry plight of the world, and convinced him to concentrate on God and His power and to reject earthly desires. The Hebrew version is written in the so-called makama style, integrating poetry and rhyming prose. The last three chapters are written entirely in prose and discuss the human soul. They seem to be the creation of Ibn Hasdai and are not found in the Arabic original. The Hebrew version includes an introduction by Ibn Hasdai, reminiscent of Berechiah haNakdan’s introduction to his own Fox Fables. The authors share a disappointment with certain human traits, which they warn against and they distrust the ruling power. Furthermore, both writers embellished their translations with numerous quotations from biblical and rabbinic literature. Ibn Hasdai writes: “that is why I took away the clothing of slavery [i.e., the Arabic language], and decorated it [i.e., the tale] with great splendor [i.e., Hebrew language and literature].” Ibn Hasdai’s main goal, like Berechiah’s, is to encourage the disheartened and the despondent: “those who are weakened by sorrow, will gain the strength of a lion from it [the ‘miracle tree,’ a reference to this work], since all those who have eaten from it, have forgotten about their anxiety and fear.” Until now the fable content of the work as such has not been the topic of research. Abraham Habermann, in his critical edition of 1950 (f-1282), has a separate listing of “stories in the Prince and the Hermit” (pages 323–345), which includes fables and provides useful references to other sources. One of the fables is called “The Cock’s Good Advice.”14 It tells of King Solomon, who understood all languages including those spoken by animals, being asked by a befriended farmer for the secret of his knowledge. The farmer is granted the ability to understand the language of animals but is warned to keep it a secret lest he die. At home his wife notices a difference in him and presses him to tell her what is going on, until the farmer becomes quite desperate. Then he hears the cock mocking him for being ruled by his wife. He takes the cock’s advice to beat his wife with a heavy stick and from then on lives with her in harmony.

14. For another fable of this collection, see Emile Schrijver’s “Reflections on Fables and Jewish Literature” in this book, p. 17.

166 ]

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50

f-1297

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫בן המלך והנזיר להה״ר אברהם‬ ‫[ הלוי בר חסדאי ז״ל‬The Prince and the Hermit by Abraham ha-Levi bar Hasdai, of blessed memory]. Istanbul (Turkey): Solomon ben Mazal Tov?, 1518. 8° (201 x 135 mm). 1–78. 56 leaves. The bifolia within the quires numbered consecutively throughout the book, on the rectos in the 1st half of the quires (i.e., 1–28), with inconsistencies and omissions. No foliation. Older vellum, recovered from an English manuscript, c. 1800, labeled on the spine. Vinograd Constantinople 96; Cowley 20; StCB 4207,2; Yaari Constantinople 57; Yudlov 1271; Zedner 26. Copies: BRos; HUC; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Editio princeps.15 The art of printing was introduced into the Ottoman Empire by the brothers David and Samuel ibn Nahmias in 1493. Other ethnic and religious minorities followed suit, as in Constantinople one was relatively safe from the Pope’s censors. Moses Marx assigns the present edition to the press of Solomon ben Mazal Tov on typographical grounds. This edition appears in the earliest known price-list of Hebrew books, prepared by a Venetian bookseller, possibly in Bomberg’s shop, in 1541; it was offered for one silver lira and ten soldi, about a sixth of a gold ducat. A. M. Habermann has suggested that an Italian manuscript of the late 14th century (MS Hunt. 225 [Neubauer 349], Bodleian Library, Oxford) may have served as the basis for this edition. He points out that both the manuscript and the printed edition include captions for illustrations in the first five chapters, even though neither is illustrated. These captions must have been copied from an illustrated exemplar, and they do not appear in the second and subsequent editions. In Hebrew. Provenance: (1) Unidentified ownership inscription on folio 1r, improvising on the name of the author. (2) Moses Halfoune (d. 1746?) of Metz, folio 7r. (3) Shalom Halevi (19th century?), folio [3]r. 15. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 1.

50. f-1297

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51. f-1928

51

f-1928

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר מנוקד כראוי‬

‫[ ומוגה ועל דרכיו אור נגה‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit; properly vocalized as well as proofread, may light shine on its ways]. Mantua (Italy): Ventorino Rufinelli, for Joseph ben Jacob Shalit Ashkenazi of Padua, 1557. 8° (133 x 100 mm). 1–234. 92 leaves, foliated [1], 2–46. Old quarter-leather tooled in gold, marbled boards. Bound with: Jedaiah Penini ben Abraham Bedersi, Behinat ʿolam (Mantua 1556), a 14th-century work on ethics. Vinograd Mantua 38; Cowley 20; Roest 38; StCB 4207,3; Yudlov 1272; Zedner 26. Copies: BL; BRos; JTS; NLI; NYPL.

168 ]

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51. f-1928

¶ Second edition.16 In his introduction the publisher explains that this is an old Greek work, translated into Arabic because of its merits. At long last Abraham ha-Levi heard of its fame and sat down to translate it into Hebrew. “The booklet was brought to the press many years ago, across the water. But God allowed me to take care of it, to vocalize the poems and to correct the mistakes.” This second edition served as the basis for a number of subsequent editions. Joseph ben Jacob Shalit has printed two other fable books, see f-1379 (The Epistle of the Living Creatures) and f-0872 (Fox Fables) of this collection, nos. 77 and 87 in this catalogue. In Hebrew. Censorship: Signature of the apostate Inquisitional censor Dominico Irosolomitano of Mantua, dated 1598, on the blank folio 92v, apparently no expurgations.

16. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 2.

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52

f-1272

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר מנוקד כראוי‬

‫[ ומוגה ועל דרכיו אור נגה‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit; properly vocalized as well as proofread, may light shine on its ways]. Wandsbeck (Germany): Israel ben Abraham Halle, 1727. 12° (140 x 85 mm): π4, 1–196, 202. 120 leaves with somewhat inconsistent foliation on all rectos. Old brown calf tooled in blind. Vinograd Wandsbeck 10; Cowley 20; Roest 39; StCB 4207,4, Add. lxxxvi; Zedner 26. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Third edition.17 The title page mentions the Mantua 1557 edition as the first and this as the second. The true first edition, Constantinople 1517, was apparently unknown to the printers. Between 1709 and 1742 more than 40 Hebrew books were printed in Wandsbeck, “between the wellknown communities of Altona and Hamburg,”18 as this title page states, the majority of them the work of the proselyte printer Israel ben Abraham Halle. An essential role in this brief activity was played by Moses ben Jacob Hagiz (1672–1751?), then the official censor of Hebrew books. Hagiz wrote a foreword to this edition (folios π2r–π3r) and added among others his Mi-sihat hullin shel talmide hakhamim (Of the students’ trivia). He writes that the Torah is difficult for most people to understand without the works of the Sages, whose mere trivia (sihat hullin) outweigh the written law. As this book was translated from a foreign language, it too was very difficult to understand in many places, especially the poetry. He therefore added 50 parables and four fables (paragraphs 3, 16, 29, and 50) in Hebrew in the same style as the Prince and the Hermit but in simpler language, so that it would be understood by everyone. One of his fables (paragraph 16; folio 4r) reads: “A fish called a ‘gamboran’ was admonishing his son because he was not going straight. The son answered: ‘You, my father, go in front of me and I will follow. And I will fulfill your words.’ Look in front of yourself before you give advice. Direct yourself, and then direct others.” In Hebrew. 52. f-1272

17. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 3. 18. The three Jewish communities formed an association from 1671 till 1811. See Marvin J. Heller, Further Studies in the Making of the Early Hebrew Book (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 170.

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Provenance: (1) Naphtali Herz van Biema (1836–1901), a collector of Amsterdam, his sale [Joachimsthal] (Amsterdam, 1904) no. 342, the auctioneer’s label on the front pastedown. (2) Sigmund Seeligmann (1873– 1940), an Amsterdam bibliographer, who catalogued the Van Biema collection, and bought the copy for 50 cents (as listed in an annotated copy of the catalogue in the BRos); his bookplate on the front pastedown.

53

f-1271

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th cen-

tury), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר מנוקד כראוי ומוגה ועל דרכיו‬ ‫[ אור נוגה‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit, properly vocalized as well as proofread, may light shine on its ways]. Frankfurt an der Oder (Germany): Prof. Dr. Grillo, 1766. 12° (134 x 80 mm): [1-18] 4/8. 108 leaves, the 1st leaf of each quire signed 1/1, ½, 2/1, 2/2, etc. Old mottled calf, spine tooled in gilt, red lettering piece. Vinograd Frankfurt an der Oder 334; Roest 39; Zedner 26. Copies: BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Fourth edition.19 In stating that this is the third edition the printer follows the title page of the Wandsbeck edition. This edition follows the second and third (without the additions of, among others, Hagiz’s Mi-sihat hullin shel talmide hakhamim). The word Amsterdam is printed in large type on the title page, presumably to suggest that the book was printed in Amsterdam. The wording, however, only refers to the use of Amsterdam type. In Hebrew. 53. f-1271

54

f-1284

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר מוגה כראוי‬

‫[ ועל דרכיו אור נגה‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit, properly proofread, may light shine on its ways]. Frankfurt am Main (Germany): Johan Baierhofer, for Isaac Homburg, 1769. 8° (187 x 110 mm): π4 lacking the first blank 1–244, 251+4. 104 leaves, foliated [i], ii–iii, 1–100, [101], without the final 10 leaves, containing M. Hagiz’ Mi-sihat hullin, called for by Vinograd, but not present in the BL and BRos copies. Modern quarter-leather, marbled boards. Vinograd Frankfurt am Main 541; Roest 39; Van Straalen 6; Zedner 794. Copies: BRos; Harv; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

19. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 4.

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¶ First edition in Yiddish (excluding, however, most of the poetry).20 In his Hebrew introduction, the publisher, Isaac Homburg of Offenbach, discusses the difficulty of translating the poetry, suggesting that he himself is the translator. In his introduction to the 1770 Frankfurt edition of his Nahlat Yaʿakov, however, Reuben ben Abraham haLevi revealed that he translated the work, including the poetry and that Homburg had not only plagiarized him, but had also insulted him by stating that the poetical parts were too difficult to translate. He pointed out that the final ten leaves do in fact contain translations of poetry and claimed that the others were omitted for financial reasons, as Homburg was close to bankruptcy. The book was actually plagiarized a second time, since in the year 1788 it was used as the basis for a German translation of the work, which was published in Cleve with a certain Samuel Jacob Hanau mentioned as the translator. Text and translation of this Frankfurt edition are based on the Wandsbeck 1727 edition. The translation is rela54. f-1284 tively comprehensible considering the complicated Hebrew language of the original, although in order to achieve this, certain liberties were taken. In Yiddish and Hebrew.

55

f-1315

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר מוגה כראוי‬

‫[ ועל דרכיו אור נגה‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit, properly proofread, may light shine on its ways]. Fürth (Germany): Isaac ben Loeb Buchbinder (Bamberger), 1783. 8° (173 x 106 mm): π4 1-24 3-138 144. 104 leaves; in this copy leaf π3 is bound at the end. Imperfect: leaves cropped costing running titles and occasional bits of text. Modern blue cloth. Vinograd Fürth 563; Löwenstein 304; Zedner 26. Copies: BL; JTS; NLI; NYPL: +.

20. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 5.

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¶ Third edition in Yiddish, translated by Reuben ben Abraham ha-Levi.21 The reference on the title page to an Offenbach edition of the work is based no doubt on the fact that the patron of the Frankfurt am Main edition (1769) appears on the title page as a native of Offenbach. Buchbinder was one of the most prolific printers of Hebrew and Yiddish books in Fürth, in Franconia (northern Bavaria). In his Yiddish foreword he expresses his hope that his ibersetzung in taytshn, his Yiddish translation, will find approval. In Yiddish and Hebrew. Provenance: Israel Mehlman (1900-1989), with his notes on the front flyleaf verso.

55. f-1315

56

56. f-1292

f-1292

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫[ ספר בן המלך והנזיר‬The Book

of the Prince and the Hermit]. Livorno (Italy): Moses Joshua Tubiano and partner, for Ezekiel Eliezer Abulafia, 1831. 8° (155 x 104 mm). 1–254. 100 leaves, foliated 1–100. Contemporary mottled leather over cardboard, cloth spine, pages from a somewhat earlier Hebrew manuscript used as pastedowns. Vinograd Leghorn 793; Roest 39; Zedner 26. Copies: BL; BRos; JTS; NLI;+. 21. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 7; Noah Prilutski, “Bibliografishe notitzen,” YIVO bleter 1 (1931): 422.

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¶ Twelfth edition.22 Leeser Rosenthal (1794–1868), founder of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, points out in his Yodeʿa sefer (Connoisseur of Books) that although the text claims to be a copy of the Wandsbeck edition 1727, this is only partially true. Certain parts were omitted or misplaced, and according to Rosenthal this edition contains many mistakes, especially in the vocalization. Ezekiel Eliezer Abulafia, who took the initiative for the edition and added an introduction of his own, was a messenger from the city of Tiberias who collected money for the Holy Land. It was not uncommon that these messengers would also order printed books. In Hebrew.

57

f-1293

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ דיזי איל‬.‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר‬

‫ עי סאריסייו בואינו די טריזלאדארלו‬. . . ‫טריזלאדאדור סיינדו בידי קי די דיטו ליברו סי אינביזה‬ ‫[ אין לאדינו הצ׳ יצחק אמאראג׳י‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit, translated into Ladino . . . by the well-known translator Isaac Amaragi]. Thessaloniki (Greece): Shabtai Alaluf and Isaac Jahon for Daniel Fragi, 1849. 169 x 105 mm. 65 misnumbered leaves, lacking folios 17, 20, 38, 39, 77, 79, 80. Modern green leatherette. Vinograd Salonica 828; Yudlov 1511. Copies: NLI; +.

¶ First edition in Ladino, and one of only a few known copies.23 Ladino is the Spanish language written in Hebrew characters that was used by Jews of Sephardic ancestry, even before the Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 1490s. Another Ladino edition was published in Thessaloniki in 1880 (f-1314 of this collection, no. 63 in this catalogue). The translator, Isaac Bakhur Amaragi, published at least two other books.

58

f-1252

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai

57. f-1293

(13th century), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר; המעלה‬ ‫הראשונה פירוש מספיק על דברי השיר מחכם‬

22. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 12. 23. Not mentioned in Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit.

174 ]

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‫אחד מחכמי הזמן; המעלה השניה שהוסר כל‬ ‫הטעיות אשר היו בדפוסים הראשונים מחמת‬ ‫[ חסרון ידיעת הפירוש לאומני הדפוס‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit; its first merit is the full commentary on the poems by a contemporary scholar; its second quality is the fact that all errors resulting from lack of knowledge of the commentary by the printers of the earlier editions were corrected]. Zhytomyr (Ukraine): Haninah Lippe, Arjeh Loeb, and Joshua Heshel Shapiro, 1850. 168 x 107 mm. 72 leaves, foliated in Hebrew, paginated in Arabic numerals. Modern halfleather tooled in gilt, marbled boards. Vinograd Zhitomir 75. Copies: JTS; NLI; NYPL.

¶ This edition, with a new vocalization of the poems and a layout that is different from all earlier editions, contains an anonymous commentary concentrating on the poems only. According to Habermann it is based on the Zolkiev edition of 1795 (no. 10 in his listing).24 In his introduction the commentator gives a detailed explanation of the principles of medieval Hebrew prosody, 58. f-1252 which are referred to in his commentary and his introductory lines. Since they do not contain poems, the fables are not commented on. The printers are members of a Ukrainian printing dynasty responsible for a large number of mostly religious Hebrew books that are well known for their excellent typographical quality and their careful text editing. In Hebrew. Censorship: Kiev, July 1848, on recto title page.

59

f-1789

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫[ בן המלך והנזיר‬The Prince and the Hermit]. Meshed (Iran): copied by Nathan ben Isaac, 1861.

226 x 154. 56 leaves [incomplete]. Lacks title page and several leaves in beginning. Modern marbleized board wrappers, title of book in gilt. 24. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 15.

[ 175

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¶ Manuscript in Judeo-Persian, copied from the version composed by the poet Elisha ben Samuel (pen-name Rāghib) in 1680, called Shahzada va-tsufi, in which some influence of other JewishPersian authors can be seen.25 The manuscript was copied in a time when most Jews of Meshed lived a double life after having been forced to convert to Islam since the pogrom of 1839. Judeo-Persian was the (literary) language of Jews in Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia and was written in Hebrew characters. See also f-1686 of this collection, no. 65 in this catalogue.

59. f-1789

60

60. f-1283

60. f-1283

f-1283

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ מנוקד כראוי‬.‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר‬

‫ נדפס פעם ראשון במנטובה שי״ז לפ׳ק; ולרוב תועלתו וחשיבותו נדפס‬.‫ומוגה ועל דרכיו אור נוגה‬ ‫פעם שנית בק״ק וואנזיבעק הרובץ בין שתי קהלות קדושות המפורסמות אלטונה והמבורג יע״א‬ ‫[ ועתה נדפס פעם שלישית בק״ק פ״פ דאדרא באותיות אמשטרדם‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit. Properly vocalized as well as proofread, may light shine on its ways. Printed for the first time in Mantua [5]317 by the abbreviated era (1557); and on account of its great use and importance it was printed for the second time in Wandsbeck, which lies between the two well-known communities of Altona and Hamburg; and now it is published for the third time in Frankfurt an der Oder, with Amsterdam type]. Lviv (Ukraine): A. Drucker, 1870. 154 x 106 mm. 73 leaves, not foliated. Modern brown leather. Copies: Harv; JTS; NYPL. 25. Amnon Netzer, ‫צבי‬-‫[ אוצר כתבי היד של יהודי פרס במכון בן‬Manuscripts of the Jews of Persia in the Ben Zvi Institute] (Jerusalem: Ben-Zvi Institute and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1985), 34–35.

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¶ Seventeenth edition, a reprint of the Frankfurt an der Oder edition of 1766 (f-1271 of this collection, no. 53 in this catalogue).26 The printer copied the statement appearing on the 1766 title page that the book is printed “with Amsterdam type,” even though the type here is much more modern and clearly Eastern European. The use of Amsterdam type served as an indication of firstquality printing. In Hebrew.

61

f-1285

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), .‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר‬

‫המעלה הראשונה פירוש מספיק על דברי‬ ‫השיר מחכם אחד מחכמי הזמן; המעלה‬ ‫השניה שהוסר כל הטעיות אשר היו בדפוסים‬ ‫הראשונים מחמת חסרון ידיעת הפירוש‬ ‫[ לאומני הדפוס‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit. Its first merit is the full commentary on the poems by a contemporary scholar; its second quality is the fact that all errors resulting from lack of knowledge of the commentary by the printers of the earlier editions have been corrected]. Zhytomyr (Ukraine): Isaac Moses Bakst, 1873. 159 x 109 mm. 72 leaves, foliated [1], 2–72 and paginated [1–2], 3–144. Modern dark-red morocco. Copies: Harv; HUC; NYPL; +.

¶ Twentieth edition.27 A reprint of the Zhytomyr edition of 1850 (f-1252 of this collection, no. 58 in this catalogue). In Hebrew.

62

f-1320

61. f-1285

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר; המעלה‬

‫הראשונה פירוש מספיק על דברי השיר מחכם אחד מחכמי הזמן; המעלה השניה שהוסר כל הטעיות‬ ‫[ אשר היו בדפוסים הראשונים מתחת חסרון ידיעת הפירוש לאומני הדפוס‬The Book of the Prince

26. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 17. 27. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 20.

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and the Hermit; its first merit is the full commentary on the poems by a contemporary scholar; its second quality is the fact that all errors resulting from lack of knowledge of the commentary by the printers of the earlier editions were corrected]. Zhytomyr (Ukraine): Isaac Moses Bakst, 1876. 154 x 108 mm. 76 leaves, foliated in Hebrew ([1], 2–75, [76]), paginated in Arabic ([2], 3–150, [151–152]) numerals. Marbled boards, original paper wrapper preserved at the front. Copies: Harv; HUC; NYPL; +.

¶ A reprint of the Zhytomyr edition of 1850, described above.28 The original paper wrapper gives the name of an editor, Fayvel Moldavsky, whose name is mentioned, among others, as an author of a short story and an editor of two other books in Samuel Van Straalen’s British Museum catalogue. In Hebrew. Censorship: Censor’s remark on verso title page, October 7, 1876. 62. f-1320

63

f-1314

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫[ ספר בן המלך והנזיר‬The Book of

the Prince and the Hermit]. Thessaloniki (Greece): Moses Joseph for Jacob Mercado Jonah, 1880. 206 x 125 mm. 60 leaves, foliated: [1], 2–60. Quarter-leather, old marbled boards. No other copies known.

¶ Only known copy of unrecorded edition in Ladino. Ladino is the Spanish language written in Hebrew characters that was used by Jews of Sephardic ancestry, even before the Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 1490s. Another Ladino edition was published in Thessaloniki in 1849 (f-1293 of this collection, no. 57 in this catalogue). The printer of this edition states that he “became determined to print it with clear and clean fonts” and that “whoever the gentleman that will study it, for sure he will enjoy it very much and our God shall deliver the King the Messiah, amen,” hinting that the buyer and reader of this book performs a good deed: advancing the arrival of the Messiah.29 Provenance: Israel Mehlman (1900-1989), with his handwriting on the title page. 28. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 22 (Habermann has 1877). 29. Shlomo Berger, Producing Redemption in Amsterdam: Early Modern Yiddish Books in Paratextual Perspective (Leiden: Brill, 2013), 70. Though Berger focuses on Yiddish books printed in Amsterdam, the parallel is obvious.

178 ]

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63. f-1314

64

64. f-1322

f-1322

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ס׳ בן מלך ונזיר פאן אראבישען אין‬

‫לה״ק איבערטראגען אונד אין יידישעם זיננע אונד גייסטע בעארבייטעט פאן הג׳ הצ׳ ר׳ אברהם‬ ‫הלוי בר׳ חסדאי זצ״ל אין דייטשער שפראכע איבערזעצט אונד ערקלערט ממני הק׳ יהודא כהן‬ ‫[ קרויס רב בק״ק לאקענבאך יע״א ש׳ עת הקץ לפ״ק‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit, translated from the Arabic into the Holy Tongue, and edited according to Jewish insights by R. Abraham ha-Levi ibn Hasdai, translated into German and annotated by me, Judah Kohen Krausz, rabbi in Lackenbach]. Paks (Hungary): M. Rosenbaum, 1905. 225 x 143 mm. 42 leaves, foliated [1–4], 5–41, [42]. Includes Sefer Ben maskil, by Judah Loeb Loewinger, rabbi in Krasna, without fable content (folios 26–38). Marbled boards, linen spine and corners, original paper wrapper identical to the title page, pasted onto the front board. Copies: NLI.

[ 179

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¶ This is actually a translation into German, written with Hebrew characters, and not an edition in Yiddish, although Hebrew words are occasionally used to express a particular Jewish concept, as in Yiddish.30 The translator left out the poems, since, as he puts it in his introduction, “they only repeat in verse what is already there in prose.” There he also points out that he omitted other parts, in order to make the book suitable for schoolchildren. Comparison of the original texts of the fables with the translations indicates that Krausz simplified the text considerably and left out most of the redundancies. The fables appear on folios 9v, 14v, 15r–v, 16r–17r, 18r, 18v–19r; the seventh fable apparently was omitted. In German with Hebrew characters. Provenance: old Hungarian stamp, illegible.

65

f-1686

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th century), ‫ספר שהזאדה וצופי והוא שרח על‬

‫[ ספר בן המלך והנזיר‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit (Arabic) and it is a translation of the Book of the Prince and the Hermit, . . . which originally was written in Greek, and translated into Arabic, and from that into the Hebrew language . . .]. Jerusalem (Israel): Simon Hakham, 1907. (237 mm x 198 mm). 56 leaves, foliated [i–ii], 3–56 (foliation is confused at the end). Old marbled boards. Yaari Bukhara 21ff. Copies: JTS; LoC; NLI.

¶ Habermann lists this as the 28th edition.31 The title page contains a long passage on the assumed transmission history of the text and on the background of this particular edition: “It is a translation of the Book of the Prince and the Hermit, which originally was written in Greek, and translated into Arabic, and from that into the Hebrew language . . . by Abraham ben Samuel ben Hasdai ha-Levi in Barcelona in the year 5031 (1271), and it was subdivided into 35 chapters. After him, arose the great scholar Elisha ben Samuel Ragiv in the year 5444 (1684), realizing that this book is full of sweetness and that there are many advantages in extracting from it ‘the discipline for success’ (Prov. 1:3), and that the pure words of this poetry were no longer read in Hebrew, he transformed this book from holy [Hebrew] to profane and translated it into Persian including the poetical parts in the style of the Hebrew used in the Prince and the Hermit. Until now this work remained in manuscript and was never printed. I, the least among publishers, Simon Hakham, saw that many in our community in Persia and cities in Bukhara and its surroundings run after this book because it is so sweet and pleasing, and decided to publish it and to clean up on the basis of the [Hebrew] Prince and the Hermit all the errors that had entered into it. And I drew money from my own pocket and printed it with large letters and vocalization, so that men and women, 30. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 27. 31. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 28.

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young and old, can enjoy it.” The title page and the footnotes, as well as a quote from the Hebrew text on folio 2v, are in Hebrew. The main text, however, is in Judeo-Persian, using Hebrew characters. The book was meant for local use as well as for export to Bukhara, as can be seen from the statement of the price of the volume at the bottom of folio 2r: “one ruble in the land of Israel; outside Israel: one ruble, 20 kopeck.” Jews have lived in Bukhara (the capital of the former khanate in Russian Central Asia, now within Uzbekistan) from the 13th century onward, having moved there from communities in Iran and Iraq. They were completely isolated from other Jews. At the end of the 15th century they still had an active Jewish community, but in the course of the 17th and 18th centuries they lost contact with other Jewish communities and the spiritual existence of the Jews in Bukhara spiraled downward. By the late 65. f-1686 18th century the community in Bukhara was no longer observing Jewish law, since there were no printed books or even manuscripts of prayer books. As happened in other distant and isolated Jewish communities in the 18th century, messengers of the Jewish community in Israel collected money from Jewish communities in the Diaspora. Joseph Mamon Maghribi, one such messenger, was sent by the community of Safed in 1793; he decided to stay and help the Bukharan Jews to revive their community. In 1820 the first prayer book for the Bukharan community was printed in Shklov, Lithuania. From 1830 to 1890, a handful of Hebrew books were published in Vilna and Shklov for the Jews of Bukhara, as they did not have their own press. From the late 1860s onward, many Jews from Bukhara went to visit Palestine, and the 1880– 1890s saw a large migration of them to Palestine, both to settle as well as to visit and pray at the graves of holy men. Simon Hakham (1843–1910), the printer/publisher of this work, was one of them, together with his wife and only remaining child, who would both die within four years of their arrival. In Jerusalem he published about 40 books for the Bukharan community, many translated into Judeo-Persian or edited by himself. He also prepared a new Bible translation into

[ 181

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Judeo-Bukharan (see f-2591 of this collection, no. 13 in this catalogue), as the first Pentateuch in Judeo-Persian (the Polyglot Constantinople, 1546) used a different dialect. In Judeo-Persian with title page and footnotes in Hebrew. Provenance: signature of ‫( פינחאס אייכילין‬Pinhas Eichelin) on the title page.

66

f-1591

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai (13th

century), ‫ספר בן המלך והנזיר הנעתק מלשון ערבי‬ ‫ללה״ק ע״י ר׳ אברהם הלוי בר׳ חסדאי זצ״ל עם פירוש‬ ‫מספיק על דברי השיר מחכם אחד מחכמי הזמן והוגה‬ ‫הדק הטיב מכל הטעיות והשיבושים שנפלו בדפוסים‬ ‫[ הראשונים‬The Book of the Prince and the Hermit, translated from the Arabic into Hebrew by Abraham ha-Levi bar Hasdai, of blessed memory, with a full commentary on the poems by a contemporary scholar; and all errors occurring in the earlier editions were corrected]. Warsaw (Poland): Lewin Epstein Brothers, 1922. 198 x 140 mm. 60 leaves, foliated [1], 2–60. Bound with: Book of the War on Wisdom and Wealth by Judah ben Isaac ben Shabtai ha-Levi (without fable content). Modern brown linen. Copies: Harv; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ According to A. Habermann this edition is based on the 1884 Warsaw edition (Habermann, no. 23; not in the Lindseth collection).32 In Hebrew. 66. f-1591

67

f-1282

Abraham ben Samuel ibn Hasdai

(13th century), ‫ בן המלך‬.‫אברהם בן חסדאי‬ ‫ הברמן‬.‫מ‬.‫דבר א‬-‫ הוסיף הערות ואחרית‬,‫ ההדיר‬.‫[ והנזיר‬The Prince and the Hermit. Edited, with notes and addenda [by] A. M. Habermann]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Mahbarot le-sifrut and Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1951. 190 x 115 mm. 207 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–414. Publisher’s blue cloth. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +. 32. Habermann, The Prince and the Hermit, no. 29.

182 ]

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¶ The modern scholarly edition of the Hebrew text, edited by A. M. Habermann (1901–1981) from MS Hunt. 225 (Neubauer 349), Bodleian Library, Oxford, and the earliest Constantinople (of 1518, see also f-1297 of this collection, no. 50 in this catalogue) and Mantua (of 1557, see also f-1928 of this collection, no. 51 in this catalogue) editions. Habermann added modern vocalization. The edition further includes indexes of poems and of proverbs and sayings, variant readings, the text of a shortened Judeo-Arabic version translated into Hebrew by Joshua Blau, a discussion of the stories included, a listing of printed editions and translations, an index of prosody, footnotes, a bibliography, a general introduction to the book, and addenda and corrigenda. In Hebrew.

68

f-1488

Rashi (Solomon ben Isaac; 1040–1105),

ascribed, ‫לקוטי הפרדס אשר חבר הנשר‬ ‫[ הגדול רבינו שלמה זצ״ל‬Anthology of the Paradise, written by the great luminary R. Solomon of blessed memory, and Judah alHarizi: Refuʾot ha-geviyah (Physical Cure), 67. f-1282 Aristotle: Sefer ha-Tapuah (De Pomo), Galenus: Sefer ha-Nefesh (De Anima), Ethical teachings, Takanot me-Rabenu Gershon (Rulings of R. Gershom), Judah al-Harizi: Mishle hakhamim ve-hidotam (Parables of the Sages and their Riddles), and a Fable on a Lion from Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan’s Mishle shuʿalim (Fox fables)]. Venice (Italy): Daniel van Bomberghen, edited by Hiyya Meir ben David, 1519. 4° (245 x 187 mm). 1–54, 63 missing the final blank, 1[7]–2[8]4, [1][(9)]4 missing the final blank. 34 leaves, numbered 1–23, 1–11 in modern pencil, with 22 additional blank leaves at the end. Later dark-red leather with 5 raised bands, tooled in gold on the spine. Vinograd Venice 10; Cowley 656; Habermann Bomberg 12; Roest 995 (Rosenthal Anhang 867); StCB 6927,75; Yudlov 791; Zedner 721. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; NLI.

[ 183

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¶ First edition of this anthology by “the school of Rashi”: texts assembled after the death of Rashi (1040–1105), a great Bible and Talmud scholar from Troyes, France. This book is a compilation of various works and pieces, including halakhic rulings, ethical teachings, and one fable. The fable on a lion represents the second printed rendering in Hebrew of Aesop’s fables and appears on the last page of the volume (folio [11]r). The text of the fable contains some slight grammatical differences from Mishle shuʿalim (Mantua, 1557). It is no. 68 in Habermann’s critical edition of the Fox Fables and was translated by Hadas in 1967 as “Lion, Man, Pit, Snake.” In Hebrew. Provenance: (1) Abraham Azriel PaS; (2) Elkan Nathan Adler; (3) Hebrew Union College Library, Cincinnati, deaccessioned as a duplicate; most probably one of the Adler duplicates that were donated to HUC Library after the bequest to JTSL.

68. f-1488

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Aesop Though we know little about Aesop, the famous fables ascribed to him are still used in various versions and media for different (initially adult, now mostly young) audiences all over the world. Aesop is said to have been a slave and a storyteller, living in Greece from around 620 to 560 bce . We cannot be sure if he existed at all, but we do know that three centuries after his supposed death the oral material was brought together in a collection by a pupil of Aristotle. Unfortunately this collection has not survived. It is via the Latin fable books of Phaedrus (1st century ce) and the Greek fable books of Babrius (2nd century ce) that Aesop’s fables have come to us. Some Aesopian fables have older (e.g., Indian) ancestors. Others are of a much later origin. Moreover, many an editor, author, or translator has emended the stories, retold them, or even added their own materials to the collection. The Lindseth collection shows several examples of these practices; see, for example, f-1325, f-1487, f-1611, f-2537, and f-2565, nos. 155, 187, 315, 337, and 340 in this catalogue. In Chronicles of Moses (Istanbul, 1517, f-1398 of this collection, no. 47 in this catalogue), we find the first rendering in Hebrew: “Riddles of Isopet,” comprising 20 of Aesop’s fables.

[ 185

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69

f-0628

Aesopus. Fabularum Æsopicarum Delectus [Florilegium of Aesopian Fables]. Oxford (United

Kingdom): Johan. Croke, for the Sheldonian Theatre, 1698.

8° (211 x 137 mm). a8, A–H8, I4. 76 leaves, paginated [16], 1–128, 2[8]; frontispiece (opp. a11). 19th-century green morocco. Engraved frontispiece, signed “M. Burg.” Wing 1:A-729. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; +.

¶ First edition of these 237 “Aesopian” fables. The first 158 fables are presented in the original Greek text, followed by a translation into Latin verse, partly by the editor, Anthony Alsop (1669/70–1726). Numbers 159–168 are in Hebrew (based on an unidentified old French manuscript in the Bodleian Library, written by a so-called “Jesopito”) with Latin translations by Alsop and others. The next eight fables are from Luqman’s Arabic fables and were translated into Latin verse as well. The last section encompasses 61 fables taken from different Latin sources. In the Hebrew section “The Lion and the Fox” appears on page 82. An old lion said to himself one day, “Behold, I have aged and my sight is abandoning me, and I will not be able to go out into the fields to tear up my prey as I have done in the past, and now I shall perish with hunger. I have no fortune! Should I take ill, and the other animals come to see me, then I shall see what to do.” And so he did. When the fox came amongst the visitors, and stood in the opening of the lion’s den, and bowed to 69. f-0628 the lion, asking after his fortunes, the lion said to him: “Why are you standing outside, my son, why do you not approach me and come into my den, so that I may give you my blessing before I die!” The fox replied: “Because I have seen more go in than have come out!” The printing of the Hebrew and Arabic versions may be interpreted as a show of learning. In Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin. Provenance: Marquis de Queux de St. Hilaire.

186 ]

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70

f-1615

Aesop. Æsop’s Fables / ‫משלי איזופ‬

/t 312 tales in Hebrew and English. By Philip Blackman. London (United Kingdom): B. W. Hecht, 1938. 212 x 143 mm. 231 leaves, paginated [i–xxii], [1], 2–420. Publisher’s light-blue cloth. Rowland Smith 18. Copies: BL; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ First and only edition. The work is meant as a pleasant way for children to learn Hebrew. According to the author this is a better method than the more traditional one, where children learned Hebrew from the prayer book: “The study of the Prayer Book with beginners has done more to kill the study of Hebrew than anything else. The story is a natural method (. . .)” (page [v]). The translation is not meant to be read independently, but only to facilitate the understanding of the Hebrew text. The fables are arranged according to their length, start- 70. f-1615 ing with the shortest. Interestingly, most of the titles appear to have been made after traditional Jewish proverbs from biblical and talmudic or midrashic sources, for example: “They have eyes and do not see” (page 226). Contains 312 fables. In English and Hebrew.

71

f-2566

Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy (1828–1910), .‫ טולסטוי‬.‫נ‬.‫ מנסחים על ידי ל‬.‫משלי אזופוס‬

‫[ תרגם מרוסית ישראל זמורה‬Aesop’s Fables. Formulated by L. N. Tolstoi. Translated from Russian by Israel Zmora. Tel Aviv (Israel): Mahbarot le-sifrut, 1951. 210 x 140 mm. 28 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–50, [51–56]. Each fable with 1 engraved unsigned illustration, printed in blue. Red quarter-linen. Copies: LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Only edition. Lev or Leo Tolstoy is one of Russia’s greatest writers. In addition to his wellknown novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, he wrote short stories, plays, and philosophical works. This book contains adaptations of 46 Aesopian fables. An unsigned epilogue on pages [53–54] claims that Tolstoy deliberately left out all explanations, promythi, and epimythia. The first fable on page 5 is titled “The Dove and the Ant,” in which a dove rescues an ant from drowning, to be rescued by the ant in return from being caught by a bird-catcher. It is a literal translation, but the epimythium is indeed missing. In Hebrew. Provenance: Library of Kibbutz Yehiam, with release stamp, signed 1976(?).

[ 187

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Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula, The Fable of the Ancient Meshal ha-kadmoni, or “The Fable of the Ancient” (see 1 Sam. 24:14), was written by the Castilian scholar Isaac ibn (or Abu) Sahula (b. 1244) in 1281 and is based on old rabbinic narratives. Ethical themes are debated between a cynic and a moralist (the author), using original tales, parables, and numerous fables. The book was written in rhymed prose (maqama) and embellished with puns and parodies based on biblical and later expressions. The author indicates that his motive was to show Arabic-reading Jews that the Hebrew language was an equally suitable vehicle for entertainment. Called the “illustrated Hebrew book par excellence” by Abraham J. Karp, former Hebraica curator at the Library of Congress,33 the work survives in a fair number of illustrated manuscripts, at least nine Hebrew printed editions (including two editions in the incunable period; Brescia, c. 1491 and Italy, c. 1497, both printed by Gershom Soncino), and numerous translations into Yiddish and other languages. The book was described by Galit Hasan-Rockem as follows: “Its sources were in the Talmud and Midrash . . . their moral lessons are Jewish, and the animals, well versed in Jewish learning: the deer is an expert in Talmud, the rooster, a Bible scholar, and the hare knows the posekim [legal authorities]. They are also knowledgeable in such fields as logic, grammar, and biology.”34 One fable describes the difficult relationship between a king (the lion) and his courtiers, the stag and the fox. The fox’s task is to bring the lion food, but after a while all the lion’s subjects flee from him and there is no one left to eat. To save his own life the fox proposes that the lion eat the stag. The king refuses and the fox is banned from court. The fox then tries to lure the wolf to poison the lion and become king instead. However, the wolf declines. Word of the fox’s rebellion reaches the lion, and he summons the wolf to verify the story. The wolf affirms the plot, and the treacherous fox is sentenced to death by the bear who is appointed as executioner.

33. Abraham J. Karp, From the Ends of the Earth: Judaic Treasures of the Library of Congress (Washington: Library of Congress, 1991), 125. 34. Galit Hasan-Rockem, “Fable,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 6:668.

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72

f-0178

Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula (b. 1244), ‫משל‬

‫ ספר סופר אמרי שפר נקרא משל הקדמוני‬.‫[ הקדמוני‬The Fable of the Ancient. A book containing beautiful sayings named The Fable of the Ancient]. Venice (Italy): Meir ben Jacob Parenzo, [1546]. 4° (201 x 139 mm). 64 leaves, foliated [1], 2–64. 80 woodcut illustrations. Brown/light-blue marbled boards. Vinograd Venice 319; Cowley 274; Roest 486; StCB 5415,3; Zedner 380. Copies: BRos; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Third edition. Meir Parenzo (d. 1575) worked as a typesetter and corrector for a number of Hebrew presses, including Bomberg, and published several works independently. In Hebrew.

73

72. f-0178

f-1340

Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula (b. 1244),

‫ספר התפוח אשר לאריסטו‬ ‫וספר משל הקדמוני אשר‬ ‫חיבר ר׳ יצחק בן שלמה בן‬ ‫“[ מתולא‬The Apple” by Aristotle and “The Fable of the Ancient” by Isaac ben Solomon ben Matula (sic)]. Frankfurt an der Oder (Germany): Johann Christoph Bekmann (mentioned on title page of The Fable of the Ancient), 1693. 8° (147 x 88 mm). 73. f-1340 128 leaves, foliated [1–6], [1], 2–30, 32–59, 57–116, 118–121. Folios 18 and 121 are missing. 80 woodcut illustrations. Contemporary gilt stamped brown-red leather.

[ 189

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Vinograd Frankfurt an der Oder 63; Cowley 274; Roest 486; StCB 5415,4; Zedner 380. Copies: BRos; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Fifth edition of The Fable of the Ancient, but the first time printed together with Aristotle’s The Apple (De Pomo, a pseudo-Aristotelic work). Johann Christoph Bekmann (1641–1717) was a university professor, librarian, and chronicler in Frankfurt an der Oder. He is known for several books on the history of the kingdom of Anhalt and on the March Brandenburg (Eastern Germany) and for the first alphabetical catalogue of the university library. Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg, who is hailed on the title page of this book, would—as Frederick I King of Prussia—commission Bekmann with the task of writing the history of Brandenburg. In Hebrew. Provenance: Leib Manssohn.

74

f-1253

Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula (b. 1244), ‫ספר התפוח אשר לאריסטו וספר הקדמוני‬ ‫“[ אשר חיבר ר׳ יצחק בן שלמה סהולה‬The Apple” by Aristotle and “The Fable of the Ancient” written by R. Isaac ben Solomon Sahula]. Frankfurt an der Oder (Germany): [Prof. Elsner?], 1800. 74. f-1253

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8° (164 x 91 mm). 88 leaves, foliated [1], 2–8, 10–15, 17–72, 81–84, 65–68, 91–100. 77 woodcut illustrations (the same woodcuts as in f-1340 of this collection, no. 73 in this catalogue). Modern brown cloth. Vinograd Frankfurt an der Oder 471. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Sixth edition. In Hebrew.

75

f-1278

Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula (b. 1244), ‫יצחק בן‬

‫ משל הקדמוני‬.‫[ שלמה בן סהולה‬The Fable of the Ancient. Vocalized edition (. . .) With an afterword by I. Zmora]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Mahbarot le-sifrut and Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1953. 180 x 105 mm. 156 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–14, [15–16], 17–68, [69–70], 71–139, [140–142], 143–178, [179–180], 181–233, [234–236], 237–305, [306], 307–311. 79 illustrations. Original stone-red quarter-cloth, purple boards. Copies: BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Seventh edition. In Hebrew.

76

75. f-1278

f-0881

Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula (b. 1244), ‫יצחק‬

‫ צילום המהדורה‬.‫ משל הקדמוני‬,‫בן שלמה אבן סהולה‬ ‫ הברמן‬.‫ מ‬.‫ עם מבוא מאת א‬. . . ‫[ הראשונה‬The Fable of the Ancient. Fascimile of the first edition (. . .( with a foreword by A. M. Habermann]. Jerusalem (Israel): Moʿadon bibliofilim Kedem, 1977. 198 x 150 mm. 192 pages, paginated [1-4], 5-12, [13–192]. Numerous black-and-white illustrations. Original gilt stamped red linen boards. Copies: BL; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Fascimile of the first edition, Brescia (Italy) 1491. In Hebrew.

76. f-0881

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Kalonymos ben Kalonymos, Epistle of the Living Creatures Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337), from Arles, Provence, was the author of the satirical Even Bohan (Touchstone) and translator of scientific Arabic books into Hebrew. His Iggeret baʿale hayim or “Epistle of the Living Creatures” (1316), a Hebrew translation of a chapter of the 10thcentury Arabic encyclopedia known as The Letters of the Brethren of Purity, contains a dialogue between men and beasts, in the presence of the King of Ghosts, in which the question is discussed whether man has a right to dominate the world. While its sources are mainly Indian, and there are parallels with Bidpa’i’s Kalilah and Dimnah, Kalonymos stresses the Epistle’s superiority. In the introduction to the translation, he states that this book is of unique expressive beauty. Ignorant people may err, though, and think that it is of the same type as Kalilah and Dimnah, the Tales of Sendabar, the Mahbarot (narratives in rhymed prose) of al-Hariri, and the like—which it clearly is not—for this book contains some pleasant and edifying tales, with a few deep secrets interspersed. He furthermore claims that he was able to complete this book in seven days. “I sometimes encountered strange, uncommon expressions in the proverbs and lovely secrets, alongside pretty poems, rooted in the sweetness of the Arabic tongue, the profoundness of which I have never before encountered, one language and few words (Gen. 11:1) in smooth metaphors, and hard and difficult words, woven into rhyme. Had I translated those word by word, their meaning would have been rendered an enigma, their beauty spoilt.” Because Kalonymos wanted to add to the book a Jewish flavor, he changed certain content and deleted various passages and substituted verses from the Qurʾan with verses from the Hebrew Bible. In the story, a Jew (an addition of Kalonymos) and a Muslim come to the King of the Ghosts and try to show how men occupy a higher rank in the world, since they have wise laws and preachers, houses of worship, and various feasts, none of which are participated in by the creatures. The King of the Ghosts then argues that the very fact that men need laws and preachers shows that they are capable of sin and therefore are not superior to the animals, which are simple and innocent. “You humans must fast and repent and wash yourselves clean for you are steeped in sin (. . .) you have been given laws because only these can restrain you from your evil deeds (. . .) you must always cleanse your bodies, because you lead an impure life (. . .) you glory in your festivals, but (. . .) every day for us is a festival (. . .) every day we praise our Creator.”

192 ]

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77

f-1379

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337), ‫אגרת‬

‫[ בעלי חיים‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures]. Mantua (Italy): Joseph [ben Jacob Shalit] of Padua, 1557. 8° (138 x 82 mm). 12, 2-214, 224+1. 91 leaves, not foliated. Modern brown leather. Vinograd Mantua 37; Cowley 374; Roest 631; StCB 6068,5; Zedner 408. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. The printer, Joseph ben Jacob Shalit, printed first in Sabbioneta, near Mantua, but moved to Mantua in 1555, and there printed several works, the last of which was the Fox Fables of 1557–1559. He emphasizes that the table of contents, listing themes and chapters at the beginning of the book, was prepared by himself as well. As he was also a teacher (in fact, after publishing the Fox Fables he devoted himself entirely to teaching), he says in the beginning of the Epistle that he intended it for the use of children. The colophon is followed by a poem by Abraham ibn Ezra (although Zedner attributes it to Abraham ben Machir), providing a poetic summary of the book’s argumentation. In Hebrew.

77. f-1379

Censorship: Domenico Vistorini, 1598.

78

f-1277

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337), ‫ספר‬

‫[ אגרת בעלי חיים‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures]. Frankfurt am Main (Germany): Johann Wüst for Moses Welsch, 1704. 8° (156 x 86 mm). 18+4, 2–68, 78+4. 64 leaves, foliated [i– iv], [1], 2–60. Modern dark-brown leather. Vinograd Frankfurt am Main 186; Cowley 374; Roest 631 (Rosenthal Anhang 36); StCB 6068,6; Zedner 408. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ Second edition. The printer praises this work as an important introduction to the realm of philosophy and physics. In Hebrew.

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 193

78. f-1277

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79

f-2218

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337), ‫ איבר זעצט פון‬. . . .‫ספר אגרת בעלי חיים‬

‫[ לשון הקודש אין לשון אשכנז ע״י הבחור כ״ה חנוך סג״ל מפרנקפורט דמיין‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures. (. . .) Translated from the Holy Tongue into Yiddish by Henoch Segal of Frankfurt am Main]. Hanau (Germany): Johann Jacob Beausang, 1718. 4° (180 x 148 mm). A–L4. 44 leaves, foliated [1], 2-44. The present copy lacks folio A2 (larger part of chapters 1 and 2). Contemporary brown quarter-calf, red marbled boards. Vinograd Hanau 90; Cowley 374; Roest 631 (Rosenthal Anhang 38); StCB 6068,7; Zedner 408. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; NLI.

¶ First edition in Yiddish, part of the title and the entire imprint in Hebrew. Translated from the Hebrew Mantua edition of 1557 (f-1379 of this collection, no. 77 in this catalogue). The translator says that he printed this book to raise money to print the talmudic tractates of his grandfather. In his afterword (folio 43v) the translator writes that if one sees a difference between this edition and the Hebrew one he should not say that the translator does not understand Hebrew. The reason for the discrepancy is that Yiddish differs from Hebrew and therefore texts cannot be translated literally. He compares it with someone from another town who tries to speak the local language: interference occurs, which is a cause for ridicule and misunderstandings. Kalonymos’s original Hebrew afterword follows on folios 43v–44r. In Yiddish.

79. f-2218

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80

f-1332

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337), ‫ והוא ספר מלא חכמות‬.‫אגרת בעלי חיים‬ ‫ ע״י החכם רבי קלונימוס ז״ל‬. . . ‫[ אלהית וטבעית ומוסר גדול נעתק מלשון ערב ללשון הקדוש‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures. A book full of divine and natural wisdom and profound moral, translated from Arabic into Hebrew (. . .) by the learned Kalonymos]. Berlin (Germany): Moses ben Mordecai of Landsberg, 1762. 8° (167 x 93 mm). 1–24, 38, 4–156. 64 leaves, foliated [i–ii], [1], 2–62. Contemporary red quarter-leather, black-red speckled boards. Gilt stamped spine. Vinograd Berlin 224; Roest 631; Zedner 408. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Third edition. The title page states that this book has already been printed several times but is hard to come by. The copies that can be found are incomplete and contain many errors. “For those who wish to know the mysteries of its wisdom, it has been edited anew with great care by the rabbinic scholar Rabbi Judah Loeb Minden, author of the book Milim le-Eloha” (Berlin, 1760). Judah Loeb Minden (dates unknown), a lexicographer from Berlin, published the first Hebrew dictionary of the Bible (Milim le-Eloha) produced by a Jew using German as the translating language. He studied under the same rabbi as Moses Mendelssohn (philosopher and father of the Jewish Enlightenment), David Fraenkel. In Hebrew.

80. f-1332

Provenance: Jewish National and University Library (now National Library of Israel), Jerusalem; several inscriptions on title page.

81

f-1289

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos

(1287–1337), ‫ וועלכש אין זיך‬.‫ספר אגרת בעלי חיים‬ . . . ‫בגרייפט איינה פר נונפטיגה אונטררידונג צווישן דיא (בהמות חיות עופות) מיט דעם מענשן‬ ‫ הנוך סג״ל מק״ק פראנקפורט‬. . . ‫ ללשון אשכנז‬. . . ‫[ ע״י החכם ר׳ קלונימוס ונעתק‬The Epistle

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of the Living Creatures. Comprising a rational discussion between (cattle, wild beasts, birds) and humans (. . .) by the learned Kalonymos and translated into Yiddish by Henoch ben Zevi Hirsch Segal]. Offenbach (Germany): Hirsch Segal Spitz of Pressburg, 1779. 4° (193 x 153 mm). 16+4, 210, 36+2. 27 leaves, foliated [1], 2–27. Modern black cloth, gilt stamp on front. Vinograd Offenbach 98; Roest 631 (who erroneously has 1769 as year of printing); Wiener 177. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Second Yiddish edition (for first edition see f-2218 of this collection, no. 79 in this catalogue). Hirsch Segal Spitz of Press81. f-1289 burg opened a printing house in Offenbach in 1767. After his death in 1809 his son Abraham took over, but had to close down in 1832 due to the economic competition from the Rödelheim press.35 In Yiddish.

82

f-1721

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337), ‫ ספר מלא חכמה אלהית‬.‫אגרת בעלי חיים‬

‫ העתיק אותו החכם ר׳ קלונימוס ז״ל מלשון ערבי ללשון עברי‬.‫[ וטבעית ומוסר השכל‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures. A book full of divine and natural wisdom and wise moral. Translated by the learned Kalonymos himself from Arabic into Hebrew]. Warsaw (Poland): D. L. Sklower, 1842. 8° (190 x 107 mm). 1–114 122. 46 leaves, foliated [1], 2-46. Modern brown-red quarter-leatherette, brown speckled boards. Printed on blueish paper. Vinograd Warsaw 274. Copies: Harv; JTS; NYPL; +.

35. Marvin J. Heller, Printing the Talmud (Leiden: Brill, 1999), 108.

196 ]

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¶ Fifth edition. In the preface, the editor Isaac ben Jacob underlines the fundamental similarity (but for the quality of reason) between animals and humans, and hence the efficacy of the fable as a genre of moral instruction. In the colophon there is a reference to Joseph Albo’s Sefer ha-ʿIqarim (Book of Principles, 15th century). See f-1273 of this collection, no. 84 in this catalogue. In Hebrew. Provenance: illegible stamp with Prussian heraldry; Yechiel Mekhil Grinberg.

83

f-1257

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos

(1287–1337), ‫ חובר מאת החכם הכולל‬. . . .‫ספר אגרת בעלי חיים‬ ‫[ רבי קלונימוס ז״ל‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures. (. . .) Written by Kalonymos]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Judah Leib Lipman, 1874. 169 x 112 mm. 54 leaves, foliated [1], 2–54, paginated on verso side: 4–106. Modern black cloth. No other copy found.

82. f-1721

¶ Eighth edition. Due to the popularity of Ivan Krylov’s fables, Jewish fable books were published in large numbers during this period in Zhytomyr and Vilnius. In Hebrew. Provenance: Bookplate of Sigmund Seeligmann.

84

f-1273

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos

(1287–1337), .‫ ספר מלא חכמה אלהית וטבעית‬.‫ספר אגרת בעלי חיים‬ ‫העתיק אותו החכם ר׳ קלונימוס ז״ל מלשון ערבי ללשון‬ ‫[ עברי‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures. A book full of divine and natural wisdom. Translated by the learned Kalonymos from Arabic into Hebrew]. Warsaw (Poland): D. Blasser, 1879. 83. f-1257

[ 197

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187 x 105 mm. 36 leaves, foliated [1], 2–36; on verso side [1], 2–36; with misnumberings. Modern gilt stamped black cloth. Copies: Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI: NYPL; +.

¶ Eleventh edition, also incorporating pseudo-Aristotle’s The Apple (De Pomo). The title page describes both the content and the meaning of this booklet. “The subject of the book is as if all kinds of animals speak and discuss with each other: man and cattle, wild animals and birds, and moving creatures, what they do, what their concerns are, what their powers and their natural condition. The intention of the book is to offer comforting words and edifying lessons; dispersed in it is profound secret wisdom that even learned men do not grasp at once.” Follows a reference to Joseph Albo’s Sefer ha-ʿIqarim (Book of Principles, 15th century) III:1–2 “that brings a solid fundament concerning the exploration of practical versus theoretical reason, which is most noble.” According to a proven maskilic recipe, here Kant’s distinction between pure and practical reason is projected onto the work of a medieval Jewish philosopher (see also f-1721 of this collection, no. 82 in this catalogue). In Hebrew. Provenance: Stamp: Buchbinder D. L. Wilenski, Wirballen [=Virbalis, Lithuania]; “This book I have bought of Wilenski” in handwriting, both on verso title page. 84. f-1273

198 ]

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85

f-2423

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337), Ig-

gereth Baale Chajjim: Abhandlung über die Thiere, von Kalonymos ben Kalonymos; oder, Rechtsstreit zwischen Mensch und Thier vor dem Gerichtshofe des Königs der Genien; Ein arabisches Märchen. Nach Vergleichung des arabischen Originals aus dem Hebräischen ins Deutsche übertragen und mit Textescorrecturen wie mit sachlichen Erläuterungen versehen von Dr. Julius Landsberger (. . .) [Epistle of the Living Creatures: Treatise on the animals, by Kalonymos ben Kalonymos; or, Trial between man and animal before the court of the King of Ghosts; An Arabic fairytale. Translated from the Hebrew into German after comparison with the Arabic original, with textual corrections and explanatory notes, by Dr. Julius Landsberger (. . .)]. Darmstadt (Germany): G. Jonghaus, 1882. 231 x 140 mm. 159 leaves, paginated [i–iii] iv–xxxiv, 1–284. Printed light-blue wrappers. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NYPL. 85. f-2423 ¶ First edition in German. Julius Landsberger (1819– 1890) was a rabbi and a scholar, well versed in Arabic and Hebrew. In his introduction he not only discusses Kalonymos’s translation and all editions but also puts the original The Letters of the Brethren of Purity in its Arabic context. On Landsberger, see also f-1391 and f-1392 of this collection, nos. 171 and 172 in this catalogue. In German.

Provenance: B. Guastalla, bookplate.

86

f-1678

Kalonymos ben Kalonymos (1287–1337),

‫ נכתב בערבית וניתרגם‬.‫אגרת בעלי חיים‬ .‫ טופורובסקי‬.‫ י‬. . . ‫ ההדיר לפי ההוצאה הראשונה‬.‫בשינויים קלים על ידי קלונימוס בן קלונימוס‬ ‫ הברמן‬.‫מ‬.‫[ אחרית דבר מאת א‬The Epistle of the Living Creatures. Written in Arabic and translated with minor changes by Kalonymos ben Kalonymos. Edited on the basis of the first edition (. . .) by I. Toporovsky with an afterword by A. M. Habermann]. Jerusalem (Israel): Mosad ha-Rav Kook, 1949.

[ 199

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215 x 136 mm. 100 leaves, paginated [i–viii], [1], 2–10, [11], 12–160, [161], 162–166, [167], 168–191, [192]. Original brown quarter-cloth, light-brown paper boards; black and green printed off-white dust jacket. Copies: BodL; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Twelfth edition. Israel Toporovsky (1889–1960), born in the Ukraine, was a Hebrew writer and editor.36 In Hebrew. Provenance: Bookplate on flyleaf of Dr. Isaiah Aviad [Oskar Wolfsberg] (1893–1957). 86. f-1678

36. Getzel Kressel, ‫[ לכסיקון הספרות העברית בדורות האחרונים‬Lexicon of Hebrew Literature in Recent Times] (Merhavia: Sifriyyat Poʿalim, 1965–1967), 2:14.

200 ]

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Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan, Fox Fables Mishle shuʿalim (Fox Fables) is the first independent collection of fables in Hebrew literature. Its author, Berechiah ha-Nakdan, probably a native of France who spent some time in England as well, wrote fables, translated a medieval work on physics from Latin into Hebrew, and wrote two ethical anthologies in Hebrew. The Fox Fables must have been finished before the year 1286 since a manuscript containing the text was sold in that year (Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Cod. Hebr. 207). His nickname is Ha-Nakdan, i.e., the punctuator, or the person responsible for adding the vowels and accents to biblical and liturgical texts in order to preserve the tradition of correct reading and pronunciation. In his introduction Berechiah shows a clear awareness of the fact that he was saving the literary work of many ages: “How could I watch them perish? If I would not write them down in this book as a remembrance, what virtue would there be in my effort?” Berechiah wrote his work “to give wisdom to simpletons, knowledge and cleverness to the young ones, my heart whispers good things, to satisfy the hearts as a moist garden with the fables of the foxes and [other] animals.” It was suggested37 that Berechiah’s intentions were not merely educational, but that he also intended to lay bare the evils done to the Jewish people by Christians. Such a political undercurrent is evident in many talmudic fables as well, and it would only be natural for Berechiah to have taken a similar approach. Berechiah’s statement in the introduction that he considers his fables to be “covered sapphires, that will be seen by the eyes of the righteous” may well be interpreted in this manner. The harsh wording of the closing words of his work is clearly political too: “Finished are the fables of Berechiah, praise to the Ruler. His fables he uses metaphorically, he gathers insight as gold and silver. He smashes haughtiness and drops those who support it. His fable supports the gentle-hearted ones, but shakes the haughty ones, and breaks proud heads. Clear words he gathers as spices and puts them in a pan, preparing to cook them. The wise consider them a balsamic oil, the mockers and wicked see them as brooms.” Berechiah’s fable collection contains Aesopian fables as well as fables from Oriental and vernacular sources. One fable is from a talmudic source (Tractate Berakhot 61b) and tells about the Fox and the Fishes. The talmudic fable is told by Rabbi Akiva to explain why he, in spite of a governmental decree, keeps teaching Torah. Studying Torah is life, abstaining from it would bring death. Berechiah’s version, however, stresses that all animals are being hunted by others and that even between man there is jealousy. The epimythium warns against bad counselors who pursue their own interests and calls for vigilance against decoys. One of the fables (no. 36) is called “The Wolf and the Animals” in which the animals come to the lion to complain about the wolf who attacks and eats them all. The lion admonishes the wolf and tells him to eat only dead meat from now on and punishes him by forbidding him to eat meat at all for two years. The wolf swears that he will not, but after a while is overcome by a longing for meat. He reasons to himself: Night is when you close your eyes and daytime when you open them. He opens and closes his eyes: one day. And he continues doing so until he has counted two years. 37. Marc Michael Epstein, “‘The Ways of the Truth are Curtailed and Hidden’: A Medieval Hebrew Fable as a Vehicle for Covert Polemic,” Prooftexts 14 (1994): 205–231.

[ 201

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87

f-0872

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫משלי שועלים לר׳ ברכיה הנקדן‬ [Fox Fables by Berechiah ha-Nakdan]. Mantua (Italy): Ventorino Rufinelli for Joseph ben Jacob Shalit Ashkenazi of Padua, 1557. 8° (152 x 98 mm). 1–224. 88 leaves, foliated [1], 2, 4, 4–87, [88]. Contemporary vellum. Vinograd Mantua 44; Cowley 69; StCB 4575,1; Yudlov 1261; Zedner 91. Copies: BL, BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI.

¶ Editio princeps of Berechiah’s Fox Fables, comprising 107 fables. Includes a poem on the game of chess by Bonsenior ibn Yahya. In Hebrew.

88

f-1270

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫משלי שועלים לרבי ברכיה‬

‫ המועתקים מלשון עברי‬.‫הנקדן‬ ‫ללשון רומי על ידי המעתיק‬ 87. f-0872 ‫ מלכיאור הנאל מחבורת יהושוע‬/ Parabolae vulpium Rabbi Barachiae Nikdani. Translatae ex Hebraica in linguam Latinam. Opera R. P. Melchioris Hanel Societatis Jesu [Fox Fables by Berechiah ha-Nakdan. Translated from Hebrew into Latin by the translator, Melchior Hanel S J]. Prague (Czech Republic): Typographia Universitatis, 1661. 8° (152 x 91 mm). 18+1, 2–278, 288+2. 454 pages, paginated [i–xviii], [1–4], 5–435, [436]; page 189 misnumbered as 489. 1 engraved frontispiece by J. Ch. Smischeck, showing a fox sitting on a podium surrounded by animals and birds. Contemporary vellum. Vinograd Prague 443; Cowley 69; De Backer-Sommervogel IV 66 no. 2; Roest 159; StCB 4575,2; Zedner 91. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

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¶ Second edition with the first Latin translation of a Jewish fable book. Melchior Hanel (1627– 1689) took over translating the Fox Fables from his teacher Athanasius Kircher S J (1602–1680), a German Jesuit scholar and polymath, who was more interested in publishing his own ideas. Hanel’s vocalized Hebrew text with Latin translation was intended for teaching Hebrew, even though the Prague University Press was not equipped with a complete Hebrew type case.38 Haim Schwarzbaum (1911–1983) states that both Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Johann Christoph Gottsched studied this “rather inaccurate” translation.39 In Hebrew and Latin.

88. f-1270

38. Henry Stadhouders, “De Hebreeuwse Esopet in Latijns gewaad” [The Hebrew Esopet in Latin Garb], in Verhaal als identiteits-code: opstellen aangeboden aan Geert van Oyen bij zijn afscheid van de Universiteit Utrecht, ed. Bob Becking and Annette Merz (Utrecht: Utrecht University, 2008), 293–313. 39. Haim Schwarzbaum, The Mishle Shuʿalim (Fox Fables) of Rabbi Berechiah Ha-Nakdan: A Study in Comparative Folklore and Fable Lore (Kiron: Institute for Jewish and Arab Folklore Research, 1979).

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89

f-1296

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫משלי שועלים להחכם השלם‬ ‫[ רבי ברכיה הנקדן‬Fox Fables by Berechiah ha-Nakdan]. Berlin (Germany): n.p., 1756.

8° (166 x 98 mm). 11, 2–164, 171. 62 leaves, foliated [i], 1–61. Modern pinkish quarter-cloth, black boards. Illustrated title page (2 standing foxes and a lion). Vinograd Berlin 211; Roest 159; Zedner 91. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL;+.

¶ Third edition (though the title page states this is the second edition), comprising 107 fables. The printer’s foreword is taken from the Mantua edition. In Hebrew.

89. f-1296

90

f-2457

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan

(12th/13th century), ‫[ משלי שועלום‬Fox Fables]. Germany or Amsterdam (The Netherlands): n.p., [c. 1756]. 165 x 100 mm. 64 leaves. Stamped pale calf boards with 5 raised bands on spine. In matching case.

¶ Manuscript in Hebrew in handsome Rashi script, probably copied from the Berlin edition of 1756 (f1296 of this collection, no. 89 in this catalogue). 90. f-2457

204 ]

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91

f-2560

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫משלי שועלים‬

‫[ לרבי ברכיה הנקד‬Fox Fables by Rabbi Berechiah ha-Nakdan]. Prague (Czech Republic): Katzische Buchdruckerey, 1767. 4° (200 x 160 mm). 1-124, 132 (lacking the final blank). 49 leaves, foliated [1], 2–49. Modern half-linen. Vinograd Prague 900; Roest 159; Zedner 91. Copies: BL; BRos, JTS; LoC; +.

¶ Fifth edition. This is a reprint of the Freiburg edition of 1583, translated by Jacob Koppelman.40 The title page, with its unusual incorporation of musical notation, was copied from one used by Shabtai Meshorer (the Singer) Bass of Dyhernfurth (now Brzeg Dolny) (1641–1718). In Hebrew and Yiddish. Provenance: Jewish National and University Library (now National Library of Israel), Jerusalem (deaccessioned).

92

91. f-2560

f-1554

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫ספר משלות שועלים אשר חיבר הרב הגאון רב‬

‫[ נטרונאי הנקדן‬The Book of Fox Fables by R. Natronai haNakdan]. Lviv (Ukraine): Naphtali Hertz Grossman, 1809. 8° (167 x 98 mm). 1–134. 52 leaves, foliated [1], 2–27, [28], 29–32, [33], 34–48, 25–27. Modern gray cloth. Vinograd Lemberg 303. Copies: Harv; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ Sixth edition. The printer claims that these fables have a long history. Not only does he state on the title page that they are 40. Israel Zinberg, A History of Jewish Literature: Old Yiddish Literature from Its Origins to the Haskalah Period, vol. 7. Transl. and ed. by Bernard Martin (Cincin92. f-1554 nati, OH/New York: HUC Press/Ktav Publishing House, 1975), 262.

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based on the famous fables of King Solomon, he also calls this book Meshalot rather than Mishle. By using this talmudic word, the printer wants to give the impression that these fables are the ones referred to in the Talmud as the fables of Rabbi Meir and Johanan ben Zakkai. In Hebrew.

93

f-0908

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫ספר משלי שועלים להחכם‬

‫[ השלם רבי ברכיה הנקדן‬The Book of Fox Fables by Berechiah ha-Nakdan]. Hrodna (Belarus): Simhah Zimmel ben Menahem Nahum, 1818. 8° (149 x 82 mm). 1–126, lacking 12.6. 70 leaves, foliated [1], 2–11, 11–24, 26–64, 64, 66–70. Modern green linen. Vinograd Grodno 120. Copies: BL; Harv; JTS; NLI.

¶ Seventh edition. In Hebrew.

93. f-0908

94. f-0827

206 ]

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94

f-0827

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫ספר משלי שועלים להרב‬

‫[ רבי ברכיה ב״ר נטרונאי הנקדן זצ״ל‬The Book of Fox Fables by Berechiah ben Natronai haNakdan]. Warsaw (Poland): Nathan Schriftgiesser, 1844. 8° (154 x 92 mm). 1–66. 36 leaves, foliated [1], 2–30, [31–36]. Modern dark-red leatherette. Vinograd Warsaw 305. Copies: Harv; NLI; +.

¶ Ninth edition. Hebrew translation of a selection of the fables written by Berechiah. In Hebrew. Censorship: Warsaw, March 3, 1844, J. Tugendhold, censor.

95

f-1537

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫ספר משלי שועלים מהרב‬

‫ ועתה הוספנו בו מליצות יפות מהמושלם הרבני מוה׳ אלי׳‬.‫רבי ברכיה ב״ר נטרונאי הנקדן זצ״ל‬ ‫[ אליווענשטיין נ״י‬The Book of Fox Fables by Berechiah bar Natronai ha-Nakdan, of blessed memory. To which are now added beautiful poems by the learned Elijah Olivenstein]. Warsaw (Poland): Aaron Zeev Wolf Kleyff, 1853. 150 x 104 mm. 39 leaves, foliated [i], 1–35 [36–38]. Modern blue cloth. Vinograd Warsaw 504. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Tenth edition, based on the Warsaw edition of 1844; but the only edition of Olivenstein’s four “beautiful poems,” which appear on the three final leaves. Three of these are somewhat unsophisticated, strongly ethical fables: “The Spring and the Grave,” “Embarrassing Wisdom,” and “A Shouting Voice.” The untitled fable on the last page reads: “Earth screamed at Clouds for they had darkened the skies. Earth told Wind to blow Clouds away. Said Wind to Earth: ‘Sun has not ceased glowing; he is still shining behind Clouds. You, Earth, are in the wrong for there is no reason to scream. For the verse states “but there went up a mist from the earth”’ [Gen. 2:6].“ In Hebrew.

95. f-1537

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96

f-0826

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan

(12th/13th century), ‫ דאס ספר‬.‫ספר משלות שועלים‬ ‫[ האט מחבר גיוועזן הרב הגאון רב נטרונאי‬The Book of Fox Fables. The book has been written by R. Natronai]. Lviv (Ukraine): A. N. Süss and B. Leib Necheles, 1863. 179 x 118 mm. 32 leaves, not foliated. Modern darkred quarter-leatherette, purple leatherette boards. No references available. No other copy found.

¶ Only known edition of this collection. Translation into Yiddish of a selection of Berechiah’s Fox Fables. This edition is unrecorded in the standard bibliographies of Jewish books, nor does it appear in the Encyclopædia Judaica’s list41 of the many versions that exist of these Fox Fables. In Yiddish.

97

f-1294

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan

96. f-0826

(12th/13th century), ‫ על היות השועל נכנס‬.‫ספר משלי חיות משלי שועלים שמו‬ ‫בעובי הקורה בתחבולותיו על כל נברא מהחיות למינהם לכן‬ ‫ להרב רבי ברכיה ב״ר נטרונאי הנקדן זצ״ל‬.‫[ שמו עליהם‬The Book of Animal Fables Named Fox Fables. In which the fox plays his tricks with all living creatures, which is why they carry his name. By Berechiah Bar Natronai ha-Nakdan]. Warsaw (Poland): Hayyim Kelter, 1874.

186 x 103 mm. 23 leaves, not foliated. Modern gilt stamped black cloth. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Twelfth edition, containing 82 fables. In Hebrew. Provenance: Bookbinder D. L. Wilenski, Wirballen [=Virbalis, Lithuania]; This book I have bought of D. L. Wilenski, M. Hilenberg. 97. f-1294

41. Galit Hasan-Rockem, “Fable,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 6:668.

208 ]

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98

f-1558

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan

(12th/13th century), ‫ספר משלי חיות משלי‬ ‫ על היות השועל נכנס בעובי הקורה‬.‫שועלים שמו‬ ‫בתחבולותיו על כל נברא מהחיות למיניהם‬ ‫ להרב רבי ברכיה ב״ר נטרונאי‬.‫לכן שמו עליהם‬ ‫[ הנקדן זצ״ל‬The Book of Animal Fables Named Fox Fables. In which the fox plays his tricks with all living creatures, which is why they carry his name. By Berechiah Natronai ha-Nakdan]. Jerusalem (Israel): S. Zuckerman, 1920. 205 x 133 mm. 24 leaves, foliated [1], 2–24. Contemporary black quarter-linen, black-red speckled boards. Copies: HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI +.

¶ Eighteenth edition, based on the Warsaw 1844 edition (f-0827 of this collection, no. 94 in this catalogue). The printer claims that the table of contents is his own invention. In fact the editio princeps already has one. In Hebrew.

99

f-0578

98. f-1558

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century),

Mischle schualim. Die Fuchsfabeln des Berekhja ben Natronaj. Nach der ersten Ausgabe herausgegeben und eingeleitet von Lazarus Goldschmidt. Mit Holzschnitten von Leo Michelson [Mishle shuʿalim. The fox fables by Berechiah ben Natronai. Published after the first edition and introduced by Lazarus Goldschmidt. With woodcuts by Leo Michelson]. Berlin (Germany): Erich Reiss Verlag, 1921. 230 x 155 mm. 72 leaves, paginated [i–iv], v–xxi, [xxii], [1–2], 3–120, [121]. 32 woodcut illustrations by Leo Michelson. Original quarter-vellum, black boards. Copies: BodL; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL +.

¶ Nineteenth edition. Leo Michelson (1887–1978) was a Latvian-American artist who participated in the beginnings of German Expressionism and was a member of the Paris School, before he left France for New York in 1939. In Hebrew with German introduction.

[ 209

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99. f-0578

100

99. f-0578

f-1382

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫ספר משלי חיות משלי‬

‫ על היות השועל נכנס בעובי הקורה בתחבולותיו על כל נברא מהחיות למינהם לכן‬.‫שועלים שמו‬ ‫ להרב רבי ברכיה ב״ר נטרונאי הנקדן זצ״ל‬.‫[ שמו עליהם‬The Book of Animal Fables Named Fox Fables. In which the fox plays his tricks with all living creatures, which is why they carry his name. By Berechiah Bar Natronai ha-Nakdan of blessed memory]. Bardejov (Slovakia): M. Ch. Horovitz, 1922. 179 x 118 mm. 38 leaves, foliated [1], 2–37, [38]; paginated: [1–2], 3–74, [75–76]. Contemporary blue quarter-linen, brownish boards. Copies: HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Twentieth edition, based on the Warsaw 1844 edition. In Hebrew. Provenance: Zalman b. Binyamin Lipschitz.

210 ]

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100. f-1382

101

101. f-1266

f-1266

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫ספר משלי חיות משלי‬

‫ על היות השועל נכנס בעובי הקורה בתחבולותיו על כל נברא מהחיות למינהם לכן‬.‫שועלים שמו‬ ‫ להרב רבי ברכיה ב״ר נטרונאי הנקדן זצ״ל‬.‫[ שמו עליהם‬The Book of Animal Fables Named Fox Fables. In which the fox plays his tricks with all living creatures, which is why they carry his name. By Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan]. Bardejov (Slovakia): M. Ch. Horovitz, 1925. 200 x 126 mm. 14 leaves, incomplete. Publisher’s printed blue paper wrappers. Copies: NLI; +.

¶ Twenty-first edition, published by the same publisher only two years after the previous edition. A remarkable interest in Berechiah’s Fox Fables in a town so small (2,000 souls). The index of the book lists 82 fables. There are, however, only 33 in this copy. In Hebrew.

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102

f-1291

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), ‫משלי שועלים לרבי ברכיה הנקדן‬

[Fox Fables by Berechiah ha-Nakdan]. Jerusalem (Israel)/Tel Aviv (Israel): Schocken, 1946. 237 x 167 mm. 152 pages, paginated [I–IV], V– XIII, [XIV–XVI], 1–135, [136]. Printer’s green quarter-linen, gray marbled boards; blue printed off-white dust jacket. 19 drawings, mostly of animals, by Gustav Doré. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL +.

¶ Twenty-third edition, based on the Mantua edition of 1557 (f-0872 of this collection, no. 87 in this catalogue) and four manuscripts. It contains 119 fables, 12 of which had never been published before and were added from the manuscripts, and an introduction with bibliographical information by A. M. Habermann. In Hebrew.

103

102. f-1291

f-0197

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan

(12th/13th century), Fables of a Jewish Aesop. Translated from the Fox fables of Berechiah ha-Nakdan by Moses Hadas. Illustrated with woodcuts by Fritz Kredel. New York/London (United Kingdom): Columbia University Press, 1967. 216 x 135 mm. 127 leaves, paginated [i–iv], v–xi, [xii–xx], 1–233, [234]. Frontispiece and 7 illustrations after woodcuts by Fritz Kredel. Off-white cloth, dust jacket. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition in English. A second edition appeared in Boston in 2001. 103. f-0197

212 ]

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104

f-1290

Berechiah ben Natronai ha-Nakdan (12th/13th century), The Mishle shuʿalim (Fox

Fables) of Rabbi Berechiah ha-Nakdan. A study in comparative folklore and fable lore by Haim Schwarzbaum. Kiron (Israel): Institute for Jewish and Arab Folklore Research, 1979. 230 x 160. 713 pages, paginated [1–4], [i], ii–lv, [lvi], 1–658. Original printed white paper wrappers. Copies: BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. Haim Schwarzbaum (1911–1983) was an eminent scholar of comparative folklore, even though he never finished his studies or worked in an academic institution. This book consists of two parts: a comprehensive and detailed introduction to the question of “The Fable in Context,” and a comparative examination of each of Berechiah’s 119 fables. “His notes explore fully the medieval fable tradition, extending the bibliographical coverage from the ancient cultures of the Near East, Central Asia, and India to modern fable scholarship and theories. Many of these notes amount to brief studies in the history of a particular fable and its geographical distribution.”42 In English. Dedication: For Prof. Theodor Herzl Gaster—With admiration and respect. Haim Schwarzbaum, Kiron, 19 VII ’79 [in Hebrew]. 104. f-1290

42. Dan Ben-Amos, “Obituary: Haim Schwarzbaum (1911– 1983),” Journal of American Folklore 97, no. 386 (1984): 464– 466. http://www.jstor.org/stable/540546.

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Judah Al-Harizi’s Sefer Tahkemoni (Book of the Wise One) Judah ben Solomon Al-Harizi (c. 1166–1225) was a well-known author, poet, traveler, and translator of philosophical and legal works from Arabic into Hebrew. He is famous for translating AlHariri’s maqamat from Arabic into Hebrew and is one of the first to use this rhymed prose style himself. He did so in his Sefer Tahkemoni, a narrative travelogue which he finished after 1220. The book’s narrator, who voices Al-Harizi’s views, is traveling in search of wisdom and learning. In each of the book’s 50 episodes he meets with the main character, an eloquent, cunning, but dubious person who appears in different forms and disguises. The book comprises many fables and riddles, but also portrays the Jewish scholars and communities Al-Harizi came across on his travels from Toledo (Spain) to Aleppo, via Cairo, Jerusalem, and Baghdad. In the well-known fable of the Pen and the Sword, the narrator begins by saying that he once was about to throw away a pen that wouldn’t work, when his teacher told him the following account: The scribes and soldiers of a king debated about whose work was more valuable to the kingdom. Meanwhile, the pen and the sword were doing likewise. The sword said that he was most powerful because all things fall before his coming. “I give power to the strong. Hawks are never hungry if I am near. How can the pen, which even a wind could blow down, think to compare to me?” The pen answered: “Indeed, you speak the truth, for with you around, children will always be separated from their parents, and streets will always be littered with dead lying about. You are certainly more powerful than me in regards to strength; but my strength is of spirit. Before you, everyone flees in fear but when they see me, they are happy. Only criminals will associate themselves with you, but evil people will never associate with me. And when I am called to the king’s chamber, you will never be there.” The sword answered back: “Just think back to the good old days: how could the king have conquered all that he did without my services? I guard him from enemies and when people see me in his hands, no one dares to come close.” Said the pen in response: “Those who are haughty, fall when I send my ‘troops,’ my words are like glory atop kings’ heads, my parables gladden the heart. There is no evil in my actions. With me, the Lord inscribed the Ten Commandments. And when the sword raises its ugly head to boast, I will be the victor in the end.” “The Cock’s Reproach” tells of a person who visited a villager. Since he was ill, the guest requested cock’s meat rather than red meat for a meal. The villager, in attempting to comply with his guest’s request, ran after the fat cock in his yard. The cock gracefully escaped his clutches and ran to the top of the roof of the synagogue, which was full of people. From there, he said the following: “Blessed be the Lord who has given cocks intelligence. I have been only good to you! All these years, I have woken you up in the morning to say prayers and made sure my children were always ready to serve you. Yet you repay me with evil. Just because I have grown old you want to kill me. Is this just behavior?” Upon hearing this speech the townsmen convinced the villager to forgo killing the cock, whereupon the cock offered a prayer of thanks for his salvation.

214 ]

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105

f-1999

Judah ben Solomon Al-Harizi

(c. 1166–1225), ‫[ ספר הנקרא תחכמוני‬The Book Called the Wise One]. Istanbul (Turkey): Obadiah Sabak, 1578. 4° (199 x 142 mm). 184, 192. 78 leaves, foliated [1], 2–76, [77–78]. Modern red leather with gilt trim on boards and spine, marbled endpapers. Vinograd Constantinople 270; Cowley 358; StCB 5700,1; Yaari Constantinople 196; Yudlov 1273; Zedner 401. Copies: BRos; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Editio princeps. The fable of the Cock’s Reproach appears on folio 21v, the fable of the Pen and the Sword on folio 58r. In Hebrew.

106

f-1486

Judah ben Solomon Al–Harizi (c. 1166–1225),

105. f-1999

‫ חברו החכם ר׳ יהודה בן שלמה בן אלחריזי‬.‫ספר תחכמוני‬ [The Book of the Wise One. By Judah ben Solomon ben AlHarizi]. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Solomon ben Joseph Proops, 1729. 8° (191 x 126 mm). π2 1-194. 78 leaves, foliated [i–ii], 1–75, [76]. Modern gray paper over cardboard, tooled in black on the spine: “SEFER TACHMONI AMST 1729,” 1 paper flyleaf at back and front. Vinograd Amsterdam 1359; Cowley 358; Roest 612; StCB 5700,2; Zedner 401. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; NLI; +.

¶ Third edition. The fable of the Pen and the Sword appears on folio 57r, the fable of the Cock’s Reproach on folio 20r– 21r. In Hebrew.

107

f-1540

Judah ben Solomon Al–Harizi (c. 1166–1225),

‫ על‬. . . ‫ספר תחכמוני מאת רבי יהודה בן שלמה אלחריזי ז״ל‬

106. f-1486

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,‫ אחרי שום עין בקרת להסיר כל סיגי דפוסים הקדומים‬. . . ‫כן הובא עתה מחדש על מזבח הדפוס‬ ‫ שטערן‬. . . ‫ מאת מענדל‬. . . ‫[ בעיון נמרץ‬The Book of the Wise One by R. Judah ben Solomon Al-Harizi, of blessed memory; . . . Therefore it is now brought to the altar of printing again with great care . . . since nobody could examine the early editions, with strong devotion . . . by Mendel Stern]. Vienna (Austria): Edlen von Schmidbauer and Holzwarth, 1854. 203 x 127 mm. 72 leaves, foliated [i–ii], 1–70. 2nd title page in German. Later black quarter-cloth, darkblue boards. Vinograd Vienna 1007; Zedner 401. Copies: BL; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Fourth edition in Hebrew. The editor was Max Emanuel (Mendel) Stern (1811–1873), a prolific writer and editor of the periodical Kokhve Yitshak (Stars of Isaac) (f-1549–1551, f-2629–2634 of this collection, nos. 177a–i in this catalogue). Printed on the title page is an acrostic poem that spells out the name Rabbi Jehudah al-Harizi. The fable of the Cock’s Reproach appears on folio 18r and the fable of the Pen and the Sword on folio 51v. In Hebrew. Provenance: J. Barberus (19th century), in Latin script on the Hebrew title page.

107. f-1540

108

f-1542

Judah ben Solomon Al-Harizi (c. 1166–1225),

‫עשרה שערים מספר תחכמוני‬ / Zehn Makamen aus dem Tachkemoni oder Diwân des Charisi [Ten Chapters from the Book of the Wise One]. Prague (Czech Republic): Carl Bellmann’s Verlag, 1858. 230 x 157 mm. 290 pages, paginated [i–iv], v–xlii, [1–3] 4–247, [248]. Half-calf board, original yellow wrappers.

108. f-1542

216 ]

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9/4/23 4:14 PM

Vinograd Prague 1508; Roest 613; Zedner 401. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Fifth edition. Edited by Saul Isaac Kämpf (1818–1892). The fable of the Cock’s Reproach appears on pages 123ff. In Hebrew and German.

109

f-1680

Judah ben Solomon Al-Harizi (c. 1166–1225), Iudae

Harizii Macamae. Pauli de Lagarde studio et sumptibus editae [Makamot (rhyming prose) by Judah Harizi. Edited by Paul de Lagarde]. Hannover (Germany): Orient-Buchhandlung Heinz Lafaire, 1924. 235 x 177 mm. 208 pages, paginated [i–iv], 1–204. Contemporary marbled board. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Second, unrevised edition of the Göttingen edition of 1883. Paul Anton de Lagarde (1827–1891) was a German biblical scholar, an Orientalist, and a violent anti-Semite. The fable of the Cock’s Reproach appears on pages 53ff and the fable of the Pen and the Sword on pages 149ff. In Hebrew with a Latin foreword.

109. f-1680

Provenance: Bookplate of Bibliothek der Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums.

110

f-1723

Work of Stories. ‫[ חבור המעשיות והמדרשות וההגדות‬Work of Stories, Homiletical Tales and Narratives]. Venice (Italy): Daniel Zanetti, 1599.

8° (147 x 103 mm). 1–48, 56. 38 leaves, no foliation (single catch words), (folios 1 and 8 supplied in facsimile). Modern blind-tooled red leather. Vinograd Venice 893 (doubting the work’s existence); Zedner 185 (“no other copy known”); Copies: HUC; NLI; +.

¶ Second edition, of which only four copies are known. The work contains selected readings from the Midrash, including two fables, which appear on folios 7v and 28v–29r. The shorter one on folio 7v tells of a hunter who caught a bird that could speak like humans. The bird told the hunter, “Free me and I will teach you three wise things.” “No,” said the hunter. “First teach them to me and then I will free you.” So the bird said: “After you do something, never regret that you did it; and if someone tells you something which cannot be done, do not believe him; and if you cannot reach some-

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thing do not weary yourself with trying to reach it.” So the hunter freed the bird, who immediately said: “Oh, you poor man! Why did you free me? I have pearls in my gut that are worth about 1,000 gold coins.” The hunter tried to catch the bird again, but only succeeded in getting caught in the bramble and cut himself all up. The bird, seeing this, laughed and said, “See, you cannot even listen to my three bits of wisdom for one day! I told you to never regret what you have done. Why did you regret having let me go? I told you not to believe someone who says something which cannot be done. Why did you believe that I actually had pearls in my gut? I told you not to ever try to reach something you cannot. Why did you try to reach me?” On folio 18v a new section starts entitled ‫מעשים על עשר הדברות נאים‬ ‫ויפים ונחמדים מאד‬, “Stories on the Ten Commandments, very pleasant, beautiful, and nice,” and the longer fable on folios 28v–29r refers to the fifth commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother.” It describes a son who, acting upon his father’s deathbed request, used 110. f-1723 to throw his bread into the river; as a result, one particular fish grew so big that he ate the other fishes. The other fishes went to the Leviathan to ask for advice. The Leviathan invited the boy underwater, who explained that he had acted upon his father’s wish. The Leviathan then asked the boy to open his mouth and spat into it three times. As a result, the son gained wisdom and knew the languages of animals and 70 other languages. The son was brought back to the coast by the big fish and caught by two birds, who brought him to his mother who offered a ransom. The remainder of this relatively long fable deals with the whereabouts of the ransom, which changes possession a number of times between various animals, and ends with the epimythium: “Wisdom preserves the life of him who possesses it” (Eccles. 7:12), with the addition “and of him who fulfills the Commandments.” In Hebrew. Provenance: Joshua Sabbetai, son of Samuel of Ascoli, of Ancona.

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111

f-1321

Work of Stories. ‫[ חבור המעשיות והמדרשות וההגדות‬Work of Stories, Homiletical Tales and Narratives]. Verona (Italy): Francesco Rossi for the partners, 1647.

8° (156 x 100 mm). 1–48, 58+1, 6–78 (signed irregularly). 57 unnumbered leaves. Modern brown blind-tooled calf, tooled in gold on the spine: “‫ חבור מעשיות‬VERONA 1647.” Vinograd Verona 14; Benayahu Verona 3; Cowley 407; Roest 73; StCB 3872 (who also refers to another issue); Yudlov 1269. Copies: BodL; BRos; NLI.

¶ Fourth edition. For a discussion of the fable content see the description of the second edition (Venice, 1599, f-1723 of this collection, no. 110 in this catalogue). The two fables appear on folios 7v and 28v–29v. The section ‫מעשים על עשר הדברות‬ ‫נאים ויףים [!] ונחמדים מאד‬, “Stories on the Ten Commandments. . .,” appears on folios 18v–40r. The work also contains the “Story of a Jerusalemite,” erroneously ascribed to the son of Moses Maimonides, Abraham ben Moses ben Maimon, about a married man who desires a she-demon, marries her, and has children with her, without being considered a sinner, since she is not human (folios 42r–52r); as well as the “Story of Bustanai,” about Bustanai ben Haninai, the first exilarch in Babylonia after the Arab conquest in the 7th century ce (folios 52r–56v). The two works have no fable content and share an intermediate title page (folio 41r). The partners referred to in the imprint are the Verona rabbis Samuel Aboab and Jacob Hagiz and Aboab’s sons Jacob and Joseph. Abraham Ortona was the typesetter. In Hebrew. Provenance: (1) Samuel Yosef Agnon (1888–1970); (2) Abraham Montefiore; (3) practically illegible partly erased owner’s inscription in a Latin hand.

111. f-1321

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The Alphabet of Ben Sira The Alphabet of Ben Sira (not to be confused with the pseudepigraphical Wisdom of Ben Sira) is a compendium containing a double list of alphabetically arranged proverbs—22 in Aramaic and 22 in Hebrew—with comments and satiric stories, probably written in 10th-century Babylonia. Despite, or because of, its sometimes heretical and obscene character it has been a popular work, as is also witnessed by the many complete manuscripts and substantial manuscript fragments extant. Four versions of the book have been printed, based on different, sometimes newly discovered manuscripts (some of which can be found in this collection). Most scholars are of the view that the book consists of two parts, of which the second part, with the Hebrew proverbs, is of a later date. Joseph Dan, however, states that the complete work is written by a single hand and contains four parts: the story of Ben Sira’s birth, Ben Sira at the age of one in a dialogue with his teacher who teaches him the alphabet (with Hebrew proverbs in alphabetical order), a story of Ben Sira at the court of Nebuchadnezzar, and an Aramaic list of proverbs in alphabetical order.43 The fable of the Fox, the Fish, and Leviathan is situated in the second part. In it the fox and the weasel cheat the Angel of Death, who is ordered by Leviathan to throw pairs of all animals into the sea. By pointing to their reflection in the water they make the Angel of Death believe a pair of them is already there. When Leviathan sends the fish to lure the fox into the water, he knows to outsmart them, too. The satirical character of the book is present in this fable as well in that Leviathan wants to eat the fox’s heart to obtain his wisdom. In the Babylonian Talmud (Tractate Horayot 13b), however, the Sages count eating an animal’s heart as one of five things that cause forgetfulness.

43. Joseph Dan, “Ben Sira, Alphabet of,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 3:375–376.

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112

f-2553

The Book of Ben Sira. ‫[ זה ספר בן סירא עם מעשיות שבתלמוד‬This is the Book of Ben Sira with Stories from the Talmud]. Istanbul (Turkey): Astruc de Toulon, 1519.

4° (180 x 141 mm). Original quire structure was lost after restoration. 33 unnumbered leaves of 80 as compared to the Lunzer facsimile (f-2554) are present. Included are leaves 41–51, 54–56, 58, and 62–79. Leaves 47 and 74–79 are damaged with some loss of text. Modern paper cover. Vinograd Constantinople 115; StBC 3873, 1363; Yaari Constantinople 60; Yudlov 165. Copies: Harv; NLI; +.

¶ First edition.44 This work is an anthology of 17 selections of light readings (among others “The Alphabet of Ben Sira,” “The Book of Eldad the Danite,” “The Midrash on Esther,” “Ways of Life by Rabbi Eliezer the Great,” and “Stories from the Talmud”), two of which pertain to the fable collection. Missing leaves 1–18v contain the first printing of “The Alphabet of Ben Sira.” Leaves 39r–60r comprise 112. f-2553 “Stories from the Talmud,” a popular work that had already found a wide audience before its author was known. The first edition to mention the author (Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin) was printed in Ferrara in 1557, with the title “Hibbur yafeh me-ha-yeshuʿah” (A Nice Treatise on Comfort); see f-2580 of this collection, no. 123 in this catalogue. Our copy begins with leaf 41, which is the third folio of “Stories from the Talmud.” There is a fable on leaf 47v–48r in which Rabbi Judah the Prince (a leader of the Jewish community in Roman Palestine in the 2nd century) went to the butcher. One butcher had a calf to slaughter, but the calf was able to escape from his hand and ran to Rabbi Judah and attached himself to him so that he should save it. Rabbi Judah grabbed it, returned it to the butcher, and ordered him to slaughter it because this is for what it was born. This fable does not appear in the Amsterdam edition of 1746 (f-1298 of this collection, no. 124 in this catalogue). For a variant reading of the fable, see Tractate Baba Metsiʿa of the Babylonian Talmud (f-2428 of this collection, no. 20 in this catalogue), printed by Bomberg in 1521. In Hebrew and Aramaic. 44. Louis Ginzberg mentions that Elkan Adler is in possession of one of two copies of a 1514 edition from Thessaloniki of the Alphabet of Ben Sira that is not known to bibliographers (Louis Ginzberg, “Ben Sira, Alphabet of,” in The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 1 (New York, 1901), http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/2888-ben-sira-alphabet-of, accessed January 24, 2018.

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113

f-2578

The Book of Ben Sira. ‫ספר אלפא ביתא דבן סירא מעשה‬

‫תורה לרבינו הקדוש ז״ל ספר אורחות חיים לרבי אליעזר הגדול‬ ‫[ ז״ל מדרשות ומעשיות שבתלמוד‬The Alphabet of Ben Sira, The Work of Torah by Rabbi Judah the Prince, Ways of Life by Rabbi Eliezer the Great, Midrashot and Stories from the Talmud]. Venice (Italy): Giovanni dei Farri and his brothers, 1544. 8° (138 x 85 mm). 1–108, 114. 84 leaves, foliated [1], 2–84. Folios 1, 2, 8, 17, and 39 defect with some loss of text, folios 9 and 41 substituted in photocopy. Modern brown threequarter-cloth. Vinograd Venice 215; Cowley 67; StBC 1364; Zedner 90. Copies: NLI; +.

¶ Third edition of The Alphabet of Ben Sira. In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance: Pinehas ben Zalman, his signature on the blank folio 84v. 113. f-2578

114

f-1279

The Book of Ben Sira. ‫[ ספר בן סירא‬The Book of Ben Sira]. Amsterdam (The Nether-

lands): Asher Anshel ben Eliezer and Issachar Ber ben Abraham Eliezer, 1697.

12° (131 x 75 mm). 47 leaves, foliated [1], 2–47. Modern off-white paper wrappers, dark-red matching box. Vinograd Amsterdam 646; Cowley 67; Roest 158, StBC 1365; Zedner 90. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ This edition is an abridged version of the first edition, Constantinople 1519. Apart from “The Alphabet of Ben Sira” it contains “The Fables of Aesop” (folios 25v–33r), “Works of Torah” (folios 33v–41r), and “Ways of Life” (folios 41v ff). On the title page it is written: “I added new fables and stories that were not in print until now. So don’t save your money, but buy it and put it in your pockets,” probably referring to the anonymous fables of leaf 25v that he mistakenly attributed to Ben Sira but were already printed in 1517 (Istanbul, see f-1398 of this collection, no. 47 in this catalogue) and Venice 1544 (see f-0831 of this collection, no. 48 in this catalogue) as Aesop’s fables. The fable of the Goat, the Calf, the Lion, and the Sheep is on folio 27v. These four animals made a partnership. Whatever they would earn together they would split four ways. They captured a deer and killed it and split it into four parts. Then the lion got up and said that he wanted all four parts: “Part 1 because I am the King of the Animals, part 2 because I am stronger than

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all of you, part 3 because I worked harder to capture it, and part 4 is my part anyway. Whoever is going to say against me is going to get me angry.” And because the lion was stronger than all of them, he took all the shares. The lesson: Do not go into partnership with someone who is much stronger than you. In Hebrew and Aramaic.

115

f-1258

The Book of Ben Sira. ‫[ ספר בן סירא‬The Book of Ben

Sira]. Istanbul (Turkey): Isaac de Castro and son, 1823.

8° (179 x 115 mm). 1–114, 126. 50 leaves, foliated [1–2], 3–50; leaf 28 is missing. Contemporary brown-yellow boards. Vinograd Constantinople 651; Yaari Constantinople 487. Copies: Harv; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First translation of The Book of Ben Sira into Ladino. The sequence of the Ben Sira books is reversed in this edition, “Another Alphabet of Ben Sira” being printed before “The Book of Ben Sira” which is titled “Stories of Ben Sira in the Way of Riddles.” It also contains other stories in Ladino, first printed in Hebrew in the 1517 edition of Chronicles of Moses (see f-1398 of this collection, no. 47 in this catalogue). In Ladino.

116

114. f-1279

f-2144

The Book of Ben Sira. ‫[ ספר בן סירא‬The Book of Ben Sira]. North Africa, 19th century.

168 x 114 mm. 62 leaves, foliated 2, 2–62. Modern beige morocco and gray boards. No references found.

¶ Manuscript on paper. In the Orient it was not uncommon to copy a printed book manually rather than buy the edition, as Hebrew presses were a rarity and the presence of many scribes made copying costs less expensive. 115. f-1258

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This manuscript, written in many hands, contains not only “The Book of Ben Sira.” On folio 37v a collection of Aesopian fables starts, here called “Moral in the Form of a Fable.” The “Midrash on the Ten Commandments,” not a Midrash sensu stricto but a narrative work, begins on page 47r, but is a bit mixed up and not complete. In Hebrew and Aramaic.

117. f-1380

116. f-2144

117

f-1380

The Book of Ben Sira. ‫[ ספר בן סירא‬The Book of Ben Sira]. Calcutta (India): Eleazar

ʿIraqi ha-Cohen, 1856.

147 x 105 mm. 30 leaves, foliated [1], 2–30. Bound together with Sefer Eldad ha-Dani (The Book of Eldad the Danite). Vinograd Calcutta 33; Yaari Calcutta 24, 26. Copies: BL; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Based on the Amsterdam 1697 edition, reprinted in Livorno 1828, here reprinted in Calcutta with the Amsterdam prologue. Eleazar ʿIraqi ha-Cohen (c. 1816–1864), of Yemenite descent, was born in Cochin where he worked as a ritual slaughterer, teacher, and cantor. He was the first He-

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brew printer in India. He set up the press in Calcutta in 1841 but stopped printing in 1856 due to lack of interest from the small Jewish community of Calcutta. Sefer Eldad ha-Dani (The Book of Eldad the Danite), which is bound together with this edition of The Book of Ben Sira, was the last work that he published. In Hebrew and Aramaic. Provenance: [. . .] known as Isaac Shalit [. . .]

118

f-1275

Moritz Steinschneider (1816–1907), Alphabetum Siracidis utrumque, cum expositione

antiqua (narrationes et fabulas continente). In integrum restitutum et emendatum e Cod. MS. Biblioth. Leydensis a M. Steinschneider / ‫ עם הפירוש הישן‬,‫אלפא ביתא דבן סירא ראשונה ושניה‬ ‫[ הכולל משלים ומעשיות ומדרשות‬The Alphabet of Ben Sira, First and Second, with Original Commentary Including Stories and Fables]. Berlin (Germany): A. Friedlander, 1858. 143 x 93 mm. 40 leaves, paginated [i–iii], vi [misnumbered], foliated [1], 2–37 [skipping folio number 24]. Contemporary red quarter-cloth, black-gray speckled boards. Vinograd Berlin 726; Cowley 68; Roest 158; Wiener 685; Zedner 90. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ First critical edition based upon the printed edition of Venice, 1544 and a manuscript from the Leiden University Library, The Netherlands that differed a great deal from the printed edition (thus Steinschneider in his introduction, pages [iii]–vi). Moritz Steinschneider is often called the father of modern Jewish bibliography. Apart from several odd jobs and running a Jewish girls’ school later in his life, he wrote some major bibliographical works (e.g., the Catalogus librorum hebraeorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana—also consulted for this catalogue—and catalogues of Hebrew manuscripts in the libraries of Leiden, Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin) and several books on medieval Hebrew and Arabic translations. As a bibliographer, Orientalist, and scholar with an “exceptionally broad scientific interest,” Steinschneider was “a pioneer in a number of fields of literary history” with an “immense 118. f-1275

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influence on the course taken by Jewish studies in the twentieth century.”45 For more on Steinschneider, see f-1326 of this collection, no. 173 in this catalogue. The fable of the Cat and the Mouse (folio 25r) refers to another famous fable: that of the Sun and the Moon. “Why does the cat eat the mouse more than other moving creatures? In the beginning they were friends. Once, the mouse went to snitch on the cat to God by saying: I and the cat made a partnership and we don’t have anything to eat now. So God told him: Since you snitched on your friend because you wanted to eat him, now you are going to be his food. So the mouse asked: What did I do wrong? God told him: You should have learned from the sun and the moon. They were born equal but because the moon snitched on the sun, I took away from her light and I gave it to the sun.” In Hebrew and Aramaic.

119

f-1274

The Alphabet of Ben Sira. ‫[ ספר א״ב דבן סירא‬The Alphabet of Ben Sira]. [Baghdad

(Iraq): Solomon Hazin, c. 1890].

155 x 103 mm. 28 leaves, foliated [1], 2–28. Modern red quarter-leatherette, brown-black marbled boards. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ The title page states that this book is published in accordance with the most complete edition published in Berlin by M. Steinschneider. Moritz Steinschneider’s critical notes are left out, though, and the Hebrew alphabet version is printed before the Aramaic alphabet version. Although Baghdad is one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Middle East, the first printing house was not established until the middle of the 19th century. The printer, Solomon Hazin, did not have permission from the government to print this book, so he published it without a name, date, or place. In Hebrew and Aramaic.

119. f-1274

45. Reimund Leicht and Gad Freudenthal, “Introduction: Studying Moritz Steinschneider,” in Reimund Leicht and Gad Freudenthal, eds., Studies on Steinschneider: Moritz Steinschneider and the Emergence of the Science of Judaism in NineteenthCentury Germany (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2012), xv–xxxii, esp. xxvii and xxviii.

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120

f-1295

Eliezer Schenkel

(fl. 1896), ‫ספר א״ב דבן סירא‬ ‫ראשונה ושניה עם הפירוש הישן הכולל משלים ומעשיות‬ ‫[ ומדרשות‬The Alphabet of Ben Sira, First and Second, with Original Commentary Including Stories and Fables]. Krakow (Poland): Joseph Fischer, 1896. 190 x 110 mm. 22 leaves, foliated [1], 2–22; paginated 4–42 on verso side. Modern gilt stamped black cloth. Copies: NLI; +.

¶ This is a reprint of the Baghdad edition of 1890 (f-1274 of this collection, no. 119 in this catalogue). The publisher, Eliezer Schenkel, claims on the title page that this book was published for the first time in 1542, 354 years earlier, and that since then the book was not around, intentionally misrepresenting the edition he reprinted it from. The 1542 edition is the Isny edition, which does not have the commentary and the fables. Apparently, in order to promote his book, he said that it had not been published for centuries, when actually it had been published six years before. The fable of the Cat and the Mouse (see f-1275 of this collection, no. 118 in this catalogue) appears on page 8. In Hebrew and Aramaic.

121

120. f-1295

f-1288

Eli Yassif

(1946–), .‫סיפורי בן סירא בימי הביניים‬ ‫ מאת עלי יסיף‬.‫[ מהדורה ביקורתית ופרקי מחקר‬The Tales of Ben Sira in the Middle Ages. Critical text and literary studies. By Eli Yassif]. Jerusalem (Israel): Magnes Press (Hebrew University), 1984. 237 x 170 mm. 167 leaves, paginated [1–10], 11–12, 2 1–320, [321–322]. Publisher’s red cloth, dust jacket. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First critical edition, based on 16 manuscripts, with an exhaustive critical study. Eli Yassif is a well-known Israeli scholar in the field of Jewish folklore, Hebrew storytelling, and the history of folklore research. In Hebrew and Aramaic.

121. f-1288

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122

f-2554

The Book of Ben Sira. The Alphabet of Ben Sira. Facsimile of the Constantinople 1519

edition. London (United Kingdom): Valmadonna Trust Library, 1997.

210 x 136 mm. 108 leaves, paginated [1–8], 9–13, [14–16], 17–37, [38–198], 3–18, [1–2]. Cardboard case covered in gray paper. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Thirty-second edition. No. 28 of this edition of 500 copies designed and printed in Verona by Stamperia Valdonega on Favini laid paper. For the original edition, see f-2553 of this collection, no. 112 in this catalogue. In Hebrew and Aramaic, with an English introduction.

122. f-2554

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Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin (c. 990–1062), ‫חיבור יפה מהישועה‬ [A Nice Treatise on Comfort]

In the days of Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin, Kairouan was the main center of Jewish learning in Northern Africa. The famous academies of Sura and Pumbedita were declining, and the actual focus of authority had moved to Baghdad, where the Islamic study of Philosophy and Sciences resided in the House of Wisdom (“Beit al-hiqmah”). With the diminishing influence of the califate in Baghdad, the center of Islamic culture would soon move to Al-Andalus, the present Spain and Portugal. Kairouan was situated exactly in the middle between these two centers, the one already waining, the other waxing. Nissim ben Jacob’s father was the rosh kallah, the head of the learned assembly, in Kairouan, and he himself was later appointed rosh kallah as well. He was in close contact with both centers of Jewish learning and played an important part in the transmission of this learning to AlAndalus. He even held lectures in Granada, when his daughter was married to the son of Samuel ha-Nagid. When Nissim ben Jacob’s son died, Samuel ha-Nagid composed a poem to comfort him. The marriage did not last, though: his daughter was left by her husband. And there were other hardships. Living in a time when Kairouan was periodically sacked, Nissim ben Jacob had to leave Kairouan for Sousse. With all this ill fortune it may not come as a surprise that he wrote a book about “relief after adversity,” as was its original title. Nissim ben Jacob wrote the book in Judeo-Arabic, which was the spoken language of all Jews under Islamic rule. In Arabic literature, “comfort”-literature is a common genre, and it was probably this Arabic genre which Nissim ben Jacob had in mind when he wrote “Hibbur yafeh me-hayeshuʿah.” However, he thoroughly reworked the genre into a frame fitting for the rabbinical tales he wanted to tell, together with traditional Jewish values. The same holds true for the content: the few non-Jewish stories that were included have been retold in a fully Jewish context, with references to the traditional rabbinical sources. The book was paraphrased later in Hebrew, first as Stories from the Talmud (Istanbul, 1519 and Venice, 1544; see f-2553 and f-2578 of this collection, nos. 112 and 113 in this catalogue) and later as A Nice Treatise on Comfort, or Book of Stories, which was printed for the first time in Ferrara, 1557 (f-2580 of this collection, no. 123 in this catalogue), from a different manuscript than the edition of 1519.46 The book contains one fable, from a rabbinical source, called “The Fox in the Vineyard.” A fox sees a vineyard with many ripened grapes, but also with a high wall around it. There is only one small hole in the wall, so the fox decides to starve himself until he is lean enough to slip through the hole into the vineyard. This done, the fox eats happily of the delicious grapes. But then the harvest starts and the fox wants to exit, lest he be found by the owner and killed. But because of the “banquet” held by the fox, he can no longer get out of the yard. The fox has to starve himself again, to slip back through the hole. Outside the wall the fox weeps, because he is as hungry as he was before. 46. Shraga Abramson, ‫[ רב ניסים גאון חמישה ספרים‬Latin title: R. Nissim Gaon Libelli Quinque] (Jerusalem: Mekitse Nirdamim, 1965), 379–384.

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123. f-2580

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123

f-2580

Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin (c. 990–1062), ‫[ חיבור יפה מהישועה‬A Nice Treatise on Comfort]. Ferrara (Italy): Abraham Usque, 1557.

8º (150 x 102 mm). 1-68 (lacking the original leaves 1–8, substituted by facsimiles from the BL copy, lacking the final blank). 47 leaves, foliated [1], 2–39. Restored, pages seized. Modern parchment. Vinograd Ferrara 47; StBC 3876; Zedner 615. Copies: BL; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ First separate edition of this popular work, for the first time under this title and with the author’s name. Abraham Usque was a Converso printer from Portugal who fled the Inquisition and settled in Ferrara. At the beginning of the book Nissim ben Jacob writes: “Dear sir . . . You were distressed in your letter to me . . . about what happened to you . . .. After your son’s demise . . . you wished to read something that would comfort you . . . you asked me to write a book of instruction on the subject . . .. I hastened to comply with your request . . . and I mention in this book . . . impressions, tales and stories on everything that was in peril and was saved from it . . . except for what is found in the Scroll of the Book of Esther, the Scroll of the Hasmonees and in the 24 books of Scripture . . .. Instead I will present tales that are known only to the learned and the wise.” The fable of the Fox in the Vineyard is on folios 7v–8r. In Hebrew. Provenance: Israel Mehlman, his penciled notes on the front flyleaf.

124

f-1298

Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin

(c. 990–1062), ‫חיבור יפה מהישועה להחכם רבינו נסי׳ ב״ר‬ ‫ הובא שנית לבית הדפוס ע״י בנן של‬. . . .‫יעקב נ״ע ממעשים‬ ‫קדושים ה״ה הבחור הנחמד המשכיל ונבון כהר״ר שמואל יצ״ו‬ ‫בן החכם השלם הדיין המצויין כמוה״רר ברוך מאנסאנו זצ״ול‬ [A Nice Treatise on Comfort by Nissim ben Jacob. (. . .) For the second time brought to print by Samuel son of the late Baruch Mansano]. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Hertz Levi Rofeh and his son-in-law Kosman, 1746. 8º (169 x 110 mm). 1–58. 40 leaves, foliated [1], 2–40. Gray quarter-linen, black-white marbled boards. Vinograd Amsterdam 1591; Roest 906; StBC 3876; Zedner 615. Copies: HUC; NLI: NYPL; +.

¶ Second edition, based on the printed edition of Ferrara, 1557. The fable of the Fox in the Vineyard appears on folio 7r. In Hebrew. Provenance: Sigmund Seeligman (Amsterdam).

124. f-1298

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125

f-1552

Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin (c. 990–1062),

‫חיבור יפה מהישועה‬ ‫[ להחכם רבינו נסים ב״ר יעקב נ״ע ממעשים‬A Nice Treatise on Comfort by Nissim ben Jacob]. Kopys (Belarus): n.p., 1815. 12º (165 x 113 mm). No quire signatures; 19 leaves of 28 (lacks last 9 leaves), no foliation, handwritten pagination. Modern gray cloth. Vinograd Kopys 47. Copies: JTS; NLI. ¶ Fifth edition. Based on the Amsterdam edition of 1746, as the concluding statement of Samuel Mansano shows (see f-1298 of this collection, no. 124 in this catalogue). In order to avoid the paying of fees to the censor, printers in Poland sometimes omitted the imprint and printed a vase with flowers instead. The information about Kopys, 1815 is from Vinograd. The fable of the Fox in the Vineyard appears on folio [5r]. In Hebrew.

126 125. f-1552

f-1280

Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin (c.

990–1062), ‫ והוא חיבור יפה מהישועה להחכם‬.‫ספר מעשיות‬ ‫ הספר היקר הזה הובא‬. . . .‫רבינו נסים ב״ר עקם נ״ע ממעשים‬ ‫[ פעם רביעית לבית הדפוס ע״י מוהר״ר יונה ראטינר מלבוב‬Book of Stories. Which is a nice treatise on comfort by Nissim ben Jacob. (. . .) This nice booklet has been brought to print for the fourth time by Jonah Ratiner from Lemberg]. Lviv (Ukraine): Chave Grossman, wife of Naphtali Hertz Grossman, 1838.

8º (183 x 115 mm). 1–64. 24 leaves, foliated [1], 2–24. Contemporary brown half-leather, green-blue marbled boards. Vinograd Lemberg 615; Roest 906. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

126. f-1280

¶ Eighth edition. Chave Grossman took over the printing press of her husband Naphtali Hertz Grossman after his death in 1827 (see f-1554 of this collection, no. 92 in this catalogue). Their daughter Feige continued after her (see f-1588 of this collection, no. 175 in this catalogue). The fable of the Fox in the Vineyard appears on folios 4r–v. In Hebrew.

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127

f-1276

Nissim ben Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin (c. 990–

1062), ‫ והוא חבור יפה מהישועה לרבינו נסים גאון‬.‫ספר מעשיות‬ ‫ ועתה יצא לאור מחדש בתקונים והוספות‬. . . .‫ז״ל בר׳ יעקב נ״ע‬ ‫ מאתי ישראל דוד מיללער‬,‫מראה מקומות בש״ס ומדרשים‬ ‫[ מהוראדנא‬Book of Stories. Which is a nice treatise on comfort by Nissim ben Jacob; (. . .) Published anew and edited with emendations and references to the Talmud and the Midrashim. By me, Israel David Miller]. Warsaw (Poland): Meir Jehiel Halter, 1893. 193 x 108 mm. 44 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–88. Modern gray cloth. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; +.

¶ Fourteenth(?) edition. The fable of the Fox in the Vineyard appears on page 15. In Hebrew.

128

127 f-1276

f-2610

Mayse-bukh. ‫[ איין שין מעשה בוך‬A Beautiful Fable Book]. Frankfurt am Main (Germany):

n.p., 1683.

4° (183 x 140 mm). A–2A4, B2, lacking leaf D4, quires V, X, Y and leaves Z1–3, Z4 preserved. 80 leaves, not foliated, mostly cropped. Incomplete. Original vellum boards with brown cloth spine. No references found. No copies located.

¶ Fourth edition. The Mayse-bukh is a famous medieval collection of 255 fables, folk tales, and other narrative material. Most of the stories originate in the Talmud and in ancient Jewish literature, but European sources are also used and adapted for a Jewish audience.47 It was first published in Basle in 1602 and compiled during the 20 preceding years. The title page of this edition invites “dear men and women to have a look at 47. Jacob J. Maitlis / Astrid Starck, “Mayse-Bukh,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 13:702–703.

128 f-2610

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this beautiful fable book with more than three hundred fables, all taken from talmudic literature (gemara).” The fable on folio 12v tells about the honest ass of Rabbi Jose. In order to earn some income Rabbi Jose leased the ass for people to ride upon or to carry goods. When the work was done, the borrowers tied the money around the neck of the ass to take home. If the payment was too much or too little, the ass would not move until it was set right. One day a man put the requested amount of money around the ass’s neck, but forgot his shoes that were hanging from the animal’s back. The ass noticed the shoes did not belong to his master and so did not move until they were taken off him. In Yiddish.

129

f-2599

Mayse-bukh. ‫ וואו ארינן פיל וואונדרליכי שיני מעשות אויז דעם זוהר אונ׳ אנדרי‬.‫מעשה בוך‬

‫ דז איר ניט האבט שון אינן‬. . . ‫[ קבלה ספר גיצאוגן‬Fable Book. In which are included many strange and beautiful fables taken from the Zohar and other mystical books (. . .) that you do not already possess]. Nuremberg (Germany): Henoch ben Loeb Buchbinder, 1763. 4° (205 x 155 mm). 194, 202. 80 leaves, irregularly foliated [1], 2–78. Half-vellum, paper boards. Vinograd Nuernberg 15; Roest 82. Copies: BRos; JTS; NLI.

¶ Twelfth edition. In Yiddish. Provenance: Vorstand der SynagogenGemeinde Hannover, blue stamp on title page and last page. Israel Mehlman, his notes on the verso of the front flyleaf.

129. f-2599

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130

f-1614

Maʿaseh book. Maʿaseh Book: Book of Jewish tales and legends. Translated from the Judeo-

German by Moses Gaster [Schiff Library of Jewish Classics]. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society of America, 1934. 162 x 105 mm. 2 volumes, 374 leaves, paginated 1–2, [3–8], ix–xliii, [xliv], 21–8, 9–316; [i–iv], v–x, 317–694. Publisher’s blue cloth. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition in English. Moses Gaster’s (1856–1939) introduction sketches the history of this famous anonymous medieval Yiddish collection of narrative material, and deals briefly with the terminology used to refer to these stories, some of which originate in the Talmud, others in ancient Jewish literature. It was probably first published in Basle in 1602 and compiled during the 20 preceding years. There are numerous fables in this collection, like “R. Hanina and the Frog” (vol. 1, pages 265– 276), which describes at length the adventures that befall R. Hanina who, in carrying out his father’s last wishes by buying the first thing that he can, purchases a silver casket that is later revealed to contain a frog. He raises the frog, which turns out to be the son of Adam and Lilith, the female demon. The frog rewards R. Hanina and his wife with great riches and power. In the course of the fable R. Hanina is tried and tested a number of times, but due to his kindness and his faith he eventually overcomes all difficulties and evil. In English. 130. f-1614

131

f-1342

Anonymous. ‫[ ספר שו״ת הגאונים‬Responsa of the Geonim]. Thessaloniki (Greece): Joseph ben Isaac Molco for Hayyim Shabtai Nehama, 1802.

2° (293 x 208 mm). 28 leaves, foliated [i–ii], 1–26. Modern cloth. Vinograd Salonica 518. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition, printed as the third part of a set that also included other responsa titles (Naharot Dammeshek by Solomon Camondo and Ben Meshek). In the Geonic period (c. 600–1040)

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Jewish communities in the expanding diaspora turned to the academies in Babylonia with questions concerning halakhah, ethics, disputes, science—in short, all things they needed advice on. Only a few of the many thousands of answers, or responsa, that were sent in return have been published, mostly in collected editions with varying content. On leaf lv, nr. 13 we find a responsum by Hai Sherira Gaon (939–1038) of Pumbedita (Babylonia) on the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b: “R. Johanan also said: ‘R. Meir had three hundred fox fables, and we have only three left.’ Know that these fables contain a great amount of wisdom and ethical teachings, told as if by animals. For example, the book by the members of the Caste system [i.e., the Indians] called Kalilah and Dimnah, in which there are animal fables and wise sayings. All those fables of R. Meir were based on Scriptural verses. They [i.e., Indians] also tell of a tale in which a fox is met by a lion who wishes to kill him. Said the fox to the lion, ‘What 131. f-1342 have I got on my bones which can possibly satisfy you? Come with me and I’ll show you a fat man who you will enjoy eating up.’ The fox showed him a man, who was sitting in front of a covered hole. When the lion saw the man, he was afraid to pounce on him. ‘You have nothing to fear,’ said the fox. Of course, the lion pounced but fell in the hole. ‘I thought you told me I have nothing to fear about this man,’ said the lion to the fox from down in the hole. ‘Yes,’ said the fox, ‘but your grandfather did have what to fear, and it is on you that the punishment has fallen.’ Said the lion to the fox, ‘Parents have eaten sour grapes and children’s teeth are blunted?’ [Jer. 31:29]. ‘Well, you should have thought of that earlier,’ retorted the fox. There are [so concludes Hai Gaon] many and various bits of ethical truths in this story and others like it.” In Hebrew.

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132

f-1337

Jacob Mussafia (1810–1854), editor. ‫ יהגיה איתן‬,‫ אשר העתיק מקובץ כ״י‬.‫תשובות הגאונים‬

.‫ מוהר״ר יעקוב מוסאפיה זצ״ל מ״ץ בק״ק איספאלטרו בדאלמאציאה יע״א‬,‫והוסיף בהן הערות‬ ‟‫[ יוצאות לאור בפעם ראשונה ע״י חבר “מקיצי נרדמים‬Responsa of the Geonim. Copied from a manuscript source, and edited and annotated by Jacob Mussafia, of blessed memory, teacher of righteousness in Split, Dalmatia. Published for the first time by the society Mekitse nirdamim (Rousers of the slumberers)]. Elk (Poland): Rudolph Siebert, 1864. 217 x 137 mm. 46 leaves, foliated [i–ii], 1–44 (rectos) and 1–44 (versos). Modern darkbrown quarter-leather, lighter-brown leather sides. Cowley 210; Roest 890; Zedner 268, 601. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of this collection of Geonic responsa, based on an unknown Provençal manuscript; including a responsum by Hai Sherira Gaon (939–1038) of Pumbedita (Babylonia) on the Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 38b: “R. Johanan also said: ‘R. Meir had three hundred fox fables, and we have only three left’” (no. 30, folio 13). Hai Gaon makes a connection with Kalilah and Dimnah and claims that all of R. Meir’s fables were based on biblical verses. See f-1342 of this collection, no. 131 in this catalogue. In Hebrew.

132. f-1337

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Book of Delight Sefer Shaʿashuʿim (Book of Delight), written around the year 1200, is a collection of fables, folk tales, epigrams, and short passages of philosophy and science in rhymed prose. The main plot is the story of how a giant named Enan appears before the narrator (Joseph ben Meir ibn Zabara, a doctor in Barcelona) and convinces him to travel with him to a land “as pleasant as a garden, where all men are loving, all men wise.” Joseph resists and tells several stories to prove that it is better to remain at home. But Enan coaxes him and they travel together, telling stories along the way. When they reach Enan’s city, Joseph discovers that he is a demon and breaks away to return home. The story has certain autobiographical aspects. Ibn Zabara was born in Barcelona, traveled a great deal, and then returned to his native city where he died. The first edition of this book was published in Istanbul (Constantinople) in 1577 together with other texts by Isaac Akrish. The second edition was published in 1865, in Ha-Levanon, a Parisian monthly. There have been several translations in the 20th century, not to mention two critical editions (see f-1269 and f-1679 of this collection, nos. 133 and 135 in this catalogue). The Book of Delight comprises three fables of which the first, “The Fox and the Leopard,” serves as a frame for several stories. One of these is the fable of the Fox and a Lion. The lion liked the fox but the fox did not trust him. One day he went to the lion and said he had a headache and that the way to cure it was to be tied up hand and foot. The lion did so and after a while the fox claimed that he was cured. Time passed, and the lion got a headache. He went to the fox and said: “Just as you got cured by being bound, bind me too.” The fox obliged and then killed him. The moral of the story is that one should watch out for someone who gives advice according to what would benefit himself. The well-known fable of the Fox in the Vineyard in chapter 8 is presented as a warning for overeating.

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133

f-1269

Joseph ben Meir ibn Zabara (b. 1140), ‫ עם‬.‫ספר שעשועים לר׳ יוסף בן מאיר בן זבארה‬

‫[ שנויי נוסחאות הערות והוספות ובצירוף מבוא מפורט מאת ישראל דוידזון‬Book of Delight by Joseph ben Meir ibn Zabara. With variant readings and a detailed introduction by Israel Davidson]. Berlin (Germany): Eshkol, 1925. 236 x 158 mm. 204 pages, paginated [i–v], vi–vii, [viii, 1–5], 6–73, [74], 75–93, [94], [i–ii, 1], 2–6, [7], 8–14, 15–35, [36], 37–40, [41], 42–44, [45], 46–53, [54], 55–64, [65], 66–80, [81], 82–100, [101], 102–115, [116], 117–123, [124], 125–129, [130], 131–141, [142], 143–147, [148–153], 154, [155], 156– 168, [169–171], 172–173, [174–177], 178–192, [193], 194, [195–197], 198–200, [i–iv]. Dark teal-green cloth. Copies: BodL; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Second revised edition of Israel Davidson’s critical edition of 1914. Davidson (1870–1939) was a professor of medieval Hebrew literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York. He wrote many articles and books in Hebrew and English on this subject, including the monumental Otsar hashirah ve-ha-piyut (Thesaurus of Medieval Hebrew Poetry), an indispensable scholarly reference work. Abraham Avrunin wrote a review of Davidson’s revised edition. See below. In Hebrew.

133a

133. f-1269

f-1725

Judah Arjeh (Lajos) Blau (1861–1936) and Tzadok (Simon) Hevesi (1868–1943), .‫הצופה לחכמת ישראל‬

.‫נערך ויצא לאור ע״י דר יהודה אריה בלוי ודר צדוק העוועשי‬ ‫ שנה אחת עשרה‬/ Hazofeh: quartalis hebraica. Edd Dr. L. Blau & Dr. S. Hevesi. Tomus xi [The Watcher of Israel’s Wisdom. Edited by Dr. L. Blau and Dr. S. Hevesi. Volume xi]. Budapest: Katzburg and Moritz Kohn Vácz., 1927. 220 x 138 mm. 326 pages, paginated [i–vi], [1], 2–320, old wrappers and in memoriam preserved. Cowley 523; Rowland Smith, Second supplementary catalogue of Hebrew printed books in the British Library, 1893–1960, 733. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI: NYPL; +.

133a. f-1725

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¶ Volume 11 of Hebrew-language academic quarterly that started in 1911 and continued until 1931 with the exception of the World War I years. Lajos Blau was a scholar and rector of the Rabbinical Seminary of Budapest; Simon Hevesi was chief rabbi of Budapest and established the National Cultural Association. Abraham Avrunin’s notes to and review of Israel Davidson’s edition of Sefer Shaʿashuʿim (Book of Delight; Berlin, 1924; f-1269 of this collection, no. 133 in this catalogue) appear on pages 175–179. In Hebrew.

134

f-1387

Joseph ben Meir ibn Zabara (b. 1140), The Book

of Delight. By Joseph ben Meir Zabara. Translated by Moses Hadas; with an introduction by Merriam Sherwood. Records of Civilization. Sources and Studies, volume 16. New York: Columbia University Press, 1932.

230 x 150 mm. 109 leaves, paginated [i–ix], x–xi, [xii], [1–3], 4–203, [204–206]. Publisher’s dark-green cloth. Rowland Smith 433. Copies: BL; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition in English, based on Israel Davidson’s Sefer Shaʿashuʿim (The Book of Delight, New York, 1914). Provenance: Halkin, inscribed “To Mr. Halkin with the compliments of Merriam Sherwood.”

134. f-1387

135

f-1679

Judith Dishon, ‫[ ספר שעשועים ליוסף בן מאיר אבן זבארה‬The Book of Delight by Joseph

ben Meir Zabara]. Jerusalem (Israel): Rubin Mass, 1985.

243 x 175 mm. 294 pages, paginated [1–9], 10–50, [51], 52–131, [132], 133–146, [147], 148–172, [173], 174–196, [197], 198–225, [226], 227–243, [244–245], 246–255, [256–257], 258–275, [276], 277–281, [282], 283, [284–285], 286–287, [288], 289, [290], 291–292, [i–ii]. 2nd title page and copyright page in English. Modern hardboard with dust jacket. Copies: BodL; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Critical study of Joseph ben Meir ibn Zabara’s classical work by Judith Dishon. With extensive bibliography and numerous footnotes. Dishon published several books and numerous articles about medieval Hebrew literature and wrote three children’s books. In Hebrew.

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136

f-1395

Bidpa’i (1st millennium bce), Deux versions hébraïques du

livre de Kalîlâh et Dimnâh: La première accompagnée d’une traduction française; Publiées d’après les manuscrits de Paris et d’Oxford. Par Joseph Derenbourg [Two Hebrew Versions of the Book of Kalilah and Dimnah: The first with a French translation; Published according to the manuscripts of Paris and Oxford. By Joseph Derenbourg]. Paris (France): F. Vieweg, 1881. 253 x 150 mm. 204 leaves, paginated [i–vii], viii–x, [xi–xii], [1], 2–395, [396]. Contemporary reddish-brown quarterleather, reddish-brown marbled boards. Van Straalen 47. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Critical edition of the two only known Hebrew translations of the famous “Kalilah and Dimnah” stories, known to have existed before Abraham Elmaleh’s translation of Louis Cheikho’s Arabic text in 1927. The first translation is said to have been made by a 136. f-1395

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certain R. Joel, probably at the beginning of the 12th century. This translation into Hebrew was used by John of Capua for his Latin translation of “Kalilah and Dimnah,” which became the main source for all future translations in Western Europe. Of the second translation, made by Jacob ben Eleazar in the 13th century, only the beginning has survived. According to Derenbourg this translator referred to the Talmud and Midrash more often, whereas “R. Joel” refers only to the Bible. Published as the 49th work of the series Bibliothèque de l’école des hautes études. In Hebrew and French. bound with:

136a

f-1396

Johannis de Capua (2nd half of the 13th century), Directorium vitae humanae: Alias pa-

rabola antiquorum sapientum; Version latine du livre de Kalilah et Dimnah. Publiée et annotée par Joseph Derenbourg [A Guide for Human Life: Or fables of the ancient sages; The Latin version of the book of Kalilah and Dimnah. Published and annotated by Joseph Derenbourg]. Paris (France): F. Vieweg, 1887 and Émile Bouillon, 1889. 253 x 150 mm. 201 leaves, paginated [1–8], [i], ii–xix, [xx], 2[1–4], 5–373, [374]. Contemporary reddish-brown quarter-leather, reddish-brown marbled boards. Copies: BL; Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Latin translation of “Kalilah and Dimnah,” by John of Capua. John of Capua was a Jew who converted to Christianity sometime around 1265. Derenbourg supposes that he was a student of R. Hillel of Verona before his conversion. Derenbourg did not hold the translator in high esteem: “[. . .] mais sa traduction de nos contes nous révèle un médiocre hébraïsant et un détestable latiniste” (page xvi). According to him, the translation was made between 1263 and 1305. The translation appeared in two separate volumes, in 1887 and 1889, as the 72nd work in the series Bibliothèque de l’école des hautes études. In Latin.

137

f-1287

Bidpa’i

136a. f-1396

(1st millennium bce ), ‫ספורי כלילה ודמנה‬ ‫ תרגמו מערבית בידי אברהם‬.‫מאת בידבה הפלוסוף ההודי‬ ‫ עם מבוא מאת המתרגם‬.‫[ אלמאליח‬Stories of Kalilah and Dimnah by Bidpa’i, the Indian philosopher. Translated from the Arabic by Abraham Elmaleh, with an introduction by the translator]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Dvir, 1926.

242 ]

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240 x 180 mm. 88 leaves, paginated [i–vi], vii–xviii, [xix–xx], 1–155, [156]. Publisher’s dark-gray cloth. Rowland Smith 139. Copies: BL; Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of Abraham Elmaleh’s translation into Hebrew of the critical Arabic edition by Louis Cheikho (1905). Two medieval Hebrew translations from the Arabic exist as well, edited by Joseph Derenbourg in 1881 (f-1395 of this collection, no. 136 in this catalogue). Elmaleh’s translation was based on a manuscript found by Cheikho in a monastery in Deir-al-Chir, Lebanon. That manuscript, dated 1339, was not the oldest, but seemed to be the closest in style to the other preserved works of the original translator of “Kalilah and Dimnah” into Arabic, ʿAbdallah ibn al-Muqaffaʿ (d. 757). Elmaleh’s introduction owes a lot to Cheikho’s “préface.” The stories of Kalilah and Dimnah were written originally in Sanskrit by Bidpa’i, who is supposed to have lived in the first millennium bce . There is a legend that the stories were secretly copied by a Persian doctor, translated into Pahlavi by a certain Buzurdjmir, and kept as 137. f-1287 a treasure by the Persian kings until the time of Ibn alMuqaffaʿ. Elmaleh includes this legend in his edition. There is also an independent translation of the Pahlavi version into Syriac by a certain monk called Bud and another Syriac translation, based on the Arabic translation of Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ. Both translations confirm Cheikho’s assumption that the manuscript that he found was closest to the original Arabic translation. The present edition comprises 31 fables in Hebrew prose. About half of these are interwoven into the story of the Lion and the Bull. In this story, the jackal Dimnah is jealous of the friendship between the bull and the lion and tries, against the advice of his brother Kalilah, to make the lion believe that the bull wants to kill him. All the personae in this story make extensive use of fables to prove their points. In the end, the lion kills the bull and is comforted by Dimnah. A second chapter, which seems to be a later addition, recounts how the lion regrets his deed and how Dimnah is put to trial. Here, the personae do not use fables for their accusations or defenses. Abraham Raphael ben Zion Elmaleh’s (1885–1967) translation displays a peculiar kind of Hebrew. At the beginning of the 20th century, Hebrew had not yet undergone its revival as a spoken language, and the ideal to write secular stories in biblical Hebrew, rather than rabbinic Hebrew (which was considered to be an awkward distortion of the Holy Language), was widespread. Later on this ideal was dropped, and influences from all layers of the Hebrew language were accepted in Hebrew writing, as is the case in Elmaleh’s work. In Hebrew.

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138

f-1384

Bidpa’i

(1st millennium bce ), ‫ תרגמו‬.‫ספורי כלילה ודמנה מאת בידבה הפלוסוף ההודי‬ ‫ מהדורה שניה‬.‫ עם מבוא מאת המתרגם‬.‫[ מערבית בידי אברהם אלמאליח‬Stories of Kalilah and Dimnah by Bidpa’i, the Indian philosopher. Translated from the Arabic by Abraham Elmaleh, with an introduction by the translator. Second edition]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Dvir, 1950. 237 x 167 mm. 88 leaves, paginated [i–vi], vii–xviii, [xix–xx], 1–155, [156]. Red quarter-cloth, printed off-white boards, the Hebrew text lettered in “arabicizing” script. Copies: Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI.

¶ Second edition of this Hebrew version. A second printing from the same setting of type as the first edition.

138. f-1384

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POST-MEDIEVAL WORKS

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139. f-3103

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139

f-3103

Philippe d’Aquin (1576–1650), ‫ כולל לקט שכחה ופאה קודש הילולים‬:‫מעריך המערכות‬

‫ פיליפא דאקיאן‬. . . ‫ לה׳ מכל המלות מהשורשים‬/ Dictionarium Absolutissimum complectens alphabetico ordine (. . .) Authore Philippo Aquinate [Assessor of Battlefields. Comprising the gleanings, forgotten sheaves, and corners of the field holy to praise the Lord, of all the words according to their roots (. . .) Philippe d’Aquin]. Paris (France): Antonio Vitray, 1629. 2º (371 x 260 mm). 1–496, 504. 596 pages, paginated [i–xii], 1–584. Modern half-leather. Vinograd Paris 76; Cowley 40; Roest 105; Zedner 51. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI.

¶ Only edition. Philippe d’Aquin, a medical doctor and professor of Hebrew language at the University of Paris, is the adopted name of Judah Mordecai Cresque of Carpentras after his conversion to Christianity. He wrote several scholarly works and translations from Hebrew to Latin, Italian, and French. Assessor of Battlefields is a major lexicon of rabbinic Hebrew and Aramaic, though not without errors and largely plagiarized from earlier lexicographical works. The fable of the Weasel and the Pit (pages 160–171) is taken from Nathan of Rome’s famous 11th-century dictionary Arukh. It tells the story of a girl who was en route to her father’s house, got lost, fell into a well, and was helped out by a man on the promise of marrying him. A passing weasel and the well would be their witnesses. The girl remained faithful to her vow and spurned all other suitors. Lust, however, overpowered the man and he forgot her, returning to his city and to his work. He married another woman and she bore him a son. When the son reached three months of age he was bitten by a weasel and died. Then she bore him another son, who fell into a well and died. “This is not a coincidence,” his wife told him. “Tell me of your deeds.” The man related to her the whole story. He divorced her and she told him to go to the lot that God assigned to him. The man did so; he approached the girl, they married, and they had many children and accumulated wealth. “Of one like her Scripture speaks (Ps. 101:6), ‘My eyes are upon the trusted people of the land, to have them at my side.’” In Hebrew and Aramaic, with a foreword in Latin.

140

f-1728

David ben Solomon Gans (1541–1613), Chronologia Sacra-Profana . . .‫ צמח דוד‬Ger-

men Davidis. Auctore R. David Ganz. Cui addita sunt Pirke vel capitula R. Elieser. Utraque ex hebræo in Latinum versa, & Observationibus illustrata. Per Guilielmum Henric. Vorstium [A Chronology of the Sacred and Profane. Tsemah David, called Seed of David. By R. David Gans. To which were added Pirke or Chapters of R. Eliezer. Both translated from Hebrew into Latin and illustrated with observations. By Willem Hendrik Vorst]. Leiden (The Netherlands): Johannes LeMaire, 1644. and:

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Midrash – Pirke Rabbi Eli’ezer ‫ פרקי רבי אליעזר‬/ Capitula R. Eliezer . . . , cum ve-

terum Rabbinorum Commentariis. Ex Hebræo in Latinum translata. Per Guilielmum Henric. Vorstium [Chapters of R. Eliezer, with commentaries by the old rabbis. Translated from the Hebrew into Latin. By Willem Hendrik Vorst]. Leiden (The Netherlands): Johannes LeMaire, 1644. 4° (212 x 115 mm). π4, A–2S4, 2T2, ***4, 3A–4L4. 308 leaves, paginated [8], 1–314, [18], [4], 1–254, [16], [2 blank]. Printer’s marks, a triangular diagram, and 10 decorated woodcut initials with foliate designs. Contemporary Dutch off-white parchment. Cowley 147; StCB 4805,8, 7354,2, 4018; Zedner 204. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NYPL; +.

¶ Apparently the first Latin edition of the Midrash Pirke Rabbi Eliʿezer (Moritz Steinschneider refers to an otherwise unknown Amsterdam edition of 1644 as well). Willem Hendrik Vorst (c. 1615–1652) was a Christian pupil of Menasseh ben Israel (1604– 1657) and translated various Hebrew works into Latin, including David Gans’s historical work to which the midrashic text was added. Vorst’s intention was to show Christians the disagreements between the various Jewish authorities and “to use the work of a Jewish writer, even without commenting upon it, specifically to counter that writer’s goals.”48 His translation of Pirke Rabbi Eliʿezer is the only work in which Vorst suggests there may be something of value. “From time to time,” he allows, “it contains plausible expositions that can serve either for illustrating sacred history or for explaining the rites and traditions of the Hebrews.” His publishing intentions, however, had caused him to fall into disfavor among Jews and non-Jews. Steinschneider (StCB 7354,2) quotes Wolfius, who refers to this work, saying “enormes sunt et inexcusabiles hallucinationes” (the “hallucinations” are enormous and inexcusable). The Latin translation of the fable of the Sun and the Moon appears on page 9. “On the fourth day God created the two large luminaries, neither one larger than the other. They were both equal in their height, description, and brightness, as the verse says A ‘ nd God made the two luminaries . . .’ [Then] tension arose among them: each one said to the other, ‘I am larger than you.’ There was no peace between them. What did God do? He made the one larger and the other smaller, as the verse says ‘the larger luminary for rule by day and the smaller luminary for rule by night.’” In Latin. 140. f-1728

48. Aaron L. Katchen, Christian Hebraists and Dutch Rabbis (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984), 235–246.

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141

f-3109

Elijah ben Moses Loanz (1564–1636), ‫[ ויכוח יין עם המים‬A Debate between Water and

Wine]. Amsterdam (The Netherlands): Jan Janson, by Leib ben Moses Sussman, 1757. 8° (172 x 104 mm). 18. 8 leaves, foliated [1], 2–8. Modern half-leather, marbled boards. Vinograd Amsterdam 1756; Roest 337; Zedner 230. Copies: BL; BRos; NLI; +.

¶ Second edition of the debate, with a Hebrew commentary. A Debate between Water and Wine first appeared in print as an appendix to a collection of Sabbath hymns by the author’s teacher, Akiva Frankfurter, published posthumously in Basle in 1599, with a Yiddish translation, a Hebrew commentary, and a Yiddish translation of the commentary. The second edition lacks the instruction to sing it to the tune of “Dietrich von Bern,” a popular German folk song about the mythical hero of that name. Elijah ben Moses Loanz was a rabbi and a prominent kabbalist, also named Elijah Baʿal Shem as he was well known for writing amulets and incantations. His Sabbath song “A Debate between Water and Wine,” a popular theme throughout medieval Europe, is a polemic against the excessive consumption of wine. The debate between the two focuses on who is more important, and who has caused more harm to the world at large. Wine begins the war of words by boasting that he is praised many times in Scripture. Water responds that were not it for the rains that enable the vines to grow, there would be no wine. Further on in the song, Water accuses Wine of being the source of suffering, as the Jewish people were almost annihilated during the time of Haman because they participated in the celebration of the coronation of Ahasuerus and became inebriated with wine. To this Wine responds by rhetorically asking whether or not Moses was punished because of Water. And so the debate continues until, at the end of the song, Wine and Water make peace with one another and conclude that the righteous people drink the right amount of wine. In Hebrew. 141. f-3109

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142

f-3116

Rabbi Elijah ben Moses Loanz (1564–1636), [A Debate between Water and Wine]; Rabbi Jonathan Eybeschutz (1690–1764 ), [Two Sermons]; [First Ketubah of America].

[New York]: Yosef Goldman, 2005.

218 x 140 mm. 18 leaves, no pagination. Original printed paper wrapper.

¶ First and only edition of a wedding souvenir, provided by Yosef Goldman, of Yosef Goldman Rare Books & Manuscripts, to the guests of one of his children’s wedding. The booklet contains three facsimile texts with English introductions, one of which is a fable by the famous German halakhist and kabbalist Elijah ben Moses of Loanz. “A Debate between Water and Wine” was first printed in Basle in 1599 and reprinted in Amsterdam in 1757. “This polemic against the excessive consumption of wine was a product of Loanz’s belief that wine is the cause of all evil. It consists of a debate between Wine and Water concerning which is more important and which has caused more harm to the world at large. Wine begins the war of words by boasting that he is praised many times in Scripture. Water responds that were not it for the rains that enable vines to grow, there would be no Wine. Further on (. . .) Water accuses Wine of being the source of suffering, as the Jewish people were almost annihilated during the time of Haman because they participated in the celebration of the coronation of Ahasuerus and became inebriated with wine. To this Wine responds by rhetorically asking whether or not Mosheh Rabbeinu was punished because of Water. And so the debate continues until (. . .) Wine and Water make peace with one another and conclude that the righteous people drink the right amount of wine.” In Hebrew and English.

143

f-1583

Isaac Satanow (1732–1804), ‫[ חלק ראשון מספר החזיון‬First Part of the Book of Vision].

Berlin (Germany): n.p., [c. 1775].

8º (169 x 111 mm). π4, 1*4, 2**2, 1–174, 182. 80 leaves, foliated [1], 2–4, [5–10], 1–68, [69–70]; 4 plates on irregular folded leaf (203 x 357 mm) between folios 14 and 15. 4 wood-cut diagrams. Contemporary brown quarter-leather, wooden boards, covered with brown paper. Vinograd Berlin 303 [1780]; Roest 478 (Rosenthal Anhang 575); Zedner 373. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ Only edition. Isaac Satanow was born in Satanov (Ukraine) and moved to Berlin in 1771. He was among the most prolific Hebrew writers of the Haskalah. His writing covers many literary genres, even in the different parts of the book described here. He was well versed in traditional Jewish literature and lore, but was also one of Judaism’s most liberal thinkers. Satanow was a genuine artist of forgery. He could copy the style of many authors. For example, he published Sefer Divre rivot (The Book of Polemics) in Berlin around 1800, but wrote on

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the title page that it was published in Constantinople, so that readers would consider the book older than it actually was. In other books, he proves to be able to copy such disparate literary styles as that of the biblical books of Psalms and Proverbs, of the kabbalistic Zohar, and of Ben Sira. He also wrote his own rabbinic approbations for his books as if they had been written by contemporary rabbis. When he forged he did leave traces, however. In the present volume, although his name was omitted from the title page, the poems and diagrams are signed with his initials. In 1780, in order to raise funds to publish his own works, Satanow moved from his home in Berlin to Russia as he had heard that the publishing of hitherto forbidden kabbalistic books had started there. He saw the potential of this market and with the funds he got from selling kabbalistic books he was able to move back to Berlin in 1783 to print his own works. A poem honoring the book and its author by Naphtali Herz Wes143. f-1583 sely (1725–1805) is included at the end. Hebrew style is a main subject of this Sefer ha-Hizayon (Book of Vision). In an almost mystical experience the author flies to the land of Israel. His experiences in the Holy Land serve to show how the Hebrew language can be used or has been used in the past. The book is divided into eight gates or sections. Most of the sections are written in biblical style (so-called melitsah) or in makama style (rhyming prose, based on Al-Harizi’s Tahkemoni), but plain prose appears as well. The other sections include treatises on criticism and knowledge, on poetry, on different scientific topics, on aesthetic problems, as well as a picturesque description of the universe. As such, Sefer ha-Hizayon may be seen as one of a number of scientific encyclopedias that were produced during the Haskalah. The third section, starting on folio 18v, begins with a discussion between an official and a teacher about the fact that nearly all of the 300 fables ascribed to Rabbi Meir in the Talmud are missing. In his answer, the teacher includes three fox fables. On folio 22v one finds the fable of the Fox and the Rooster. A rooster is standing on a high tower, when a fox comes by. The fox says: “Hello, rooster. Why don’t you come down from your tower? Don’t you know that all species have made peace and live next to each other? Come down, let us enjoy ourselves!” While the rooster is still thinking, a pack of dogs comes running toward them and is clearly heading for the fox. When the fox starts to run away, the rooster says: “Didn’t you just say that all animals made peace together? Why are you running away?” The fox answers: “You’re right about the peace, but maybe the dogs have not heard about it yet!” In Hebrew. Provenance: Joseph Levy; Joseph Salom[on] Sohn and Jozel Rafnower.

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144. f-1335

252 ]

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144

f-1335

Ha-Meʾasef. ‫ כולל שירים ומכתבים אשר נאספו ונקבצו יחד על ידי אנשי חברת דורשי‬.‫המאסף‬

‫[ לשון עבר בקעניגסבערג‬The Collector: Containing poetry and letters. Collected and brought together by the Society of Promoters of the Hebrew Language in Königsberg]. Kaliningrad (Russia): Daniel Christoph Kanter, for the Society of Promoters of the Hebrew Language, 1784. 8° (179 x 110 mm). π1 (main title), 2π1 (portrait), 3π2 (intermediate title and corrections), [1]8 (prospectus), A–F8 (Hebrew text), A8, B2 (German appendix, left to right), χ2 (intermediate title and corrections), G–M8 (Hebrew text), 2A8, 2B4 (German appendix, left to right), Hebrew quires also signed with Hebrew letters used as numerals. 132 leaves, paginated π[1–4], 1–16, 1–96, 1-20, χ[1–4], 97–192, 1–24. Steel-engraved frontispiece portrait of Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) by M. S. Loewe, lettered in Latin script. Contemporary dark-brown quarter-leather, black boards. Bound with: Nahal ha-besor, [Berlin], April 15, 1783. Vinograd Königsberg 26; Roest 77–78; StCB 3713; Zedner 632. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First volume of the famous Haskalah journal Ha-Meʾasef, including the prospectus Nahal habesor (River Besor, mentioned in 1 Sam. 30:9–10, a river valley in the Negev that David crossed in pursuit of the Amalekites; this is clearly a pun on the Hebrew root “bsr,” meaning “announcing good news”). Both Moritz Steinschneider and Leeser Rosenthal (in Yodeʿa sefer 918) mention Naftali Herz Wessely (1725–1805), one of the luminaries of the Haskalah and advisor of the journal, as its author, and indeed part of the text was signed by him on page 10, and dated April 15, 1783. The final part of the text, however, was signed by Isaac Euchel (1756–1804), and three other founders of “Die Gesellschaft der hebräischen Literatur-Freunde” (The Society of Promoters of the Hebrew Language): Mendel Bresselau, Simon Friedländer, and Zanwil Friedländer. The Society, to which this copy belonged, was the first publisher of Ha-Meʾasef. Both the journal (ibidem, page 9) and the prospectus (ibidem, page 16) have the autograph signature of Isaac Euchel, a founding editor of Ha-Meʾasef. Careful comparison of this apparent owner’s inscription with Euchel’s signature as it appears on a petition he sent to the King of Denmark on October 21, 1784, asking for permission to open a Jewish school, shows that the handwriting is indeed Euchel’s.49 Euchel contributed many articles to the journal, including a biography of Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786), the founder of the Haskalah movement. The journal soon became the voice of the Jewish Enlightenment. Haskalah goals included getting Jews to adopt the German language and to give up Yiddish, to assimilate into the local culture, and, for literary use, to write biblical (“Classical”) Hebrew instead of what they considered the inferior rabbinic Hebrew. The best way to implement these ideals was by means of education, which is 49. The document consists of 18 leaves and is kept in the Landesarchiv Schleswig-Holstein, in Schleswig, Germany, Abt. 5.2, Nr. 439. I. Euchel’s signature appears twice, on fols. 2r and 16r. Thanks are due to Prof. Moshe Pelli, University of Central Florida, for pointing out this important source, and to Dr. Malte Bischoff of the Landesarchiv in Schleswig for providing photocopies of the document.

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why so many enlightened scholars were engaged in this field. Ha-Meʾasef is a clear exponent of this attitude, and sought to broaden the use of biblical Hebrew and to adapt it to modern usage. Fables were considered a particularly effective means toward this goal, which explains why HaMeʾasef contains no less than 55 of them. The journal opens with an untitled fable (pages 1–2), inviting prospective contributors, regardless of age or experience, to submit material. Written partly as prose and partly as poetry, it was submitted by an anonymous young member of the Society, most probably Joel Loewe (Brill; 1762–1802). It tells of a young tree that spoke to a few young men who had mocked it for being small and lowly in relation to the tall oaks surrounding it in the forest. “I chose to grow here, among the great big trees, so that passers-by would know that those tall trees were once as small as I. Please, I implore you, return to me at a later date and you shall see me and perhaps even decide to rest in my shade.” The moral is: Though I may be young and inexperienced, do not mock my attempt at writing. Perhaps in time I will be as good a writer as you, senior members of the Society. Elsewhere in the journal (pages 88–91), Loewe writes on the importance of fables. He explains that from time immemorial, fables have been used to teach a moral by using animals, thus avoiding criticizing people directly. He emphasizes the value and importance of teaching morals through fables and points out that contrary to Aesop, biblical parables are not fables per se. The fable of the Sun and the Moon appears on pages 101–102, signed by Loewe. A footnote explains that it is meant as an illustration of his remarks on pages 88–91, referred to above. This first volume of Ha-Meʾasef boasts a total of nine fables, most of which were printed in the poetry section, in accordance with the notion of the editors of Ha-Meʾasef that fables were part and parcel of Hebrew poetry, regardless of their formal structure. The journal was planned to appear in monthly installments (of one quire each, and indeed the quires do have separate headings linking each to a month), but it did in fact appear as a quarterly. After what is called “two seasons” of three months (i.e., after six months and at the end of the year), a sheet with an additional title page and corrections and a German appendix were added. The title pages and corrections were printed on blue paper and in this copy were bound preceding the two sections to which they refer. The copies in the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, the Bodleian Library, the British Library, and the National Library of Israel all have the prospectus bound in front of the volume, and it seems justified to consider it an integral part of the first volume. This is supported by the fact that it does not have a separate title page, indicating, for example, an alternative date of publication. The prospectus is also included, furthermore, in the 1862 Vienna enlarged second edition of the first volume, edited by Meir Letteris (f-1585 of this collection, no. 144e in this catalogue; other volumes included in the Lindseth collection, all of which include fables, are 2 [of 1785, f-1327], 4 [of 1788, f-1339], 5 [of 1789, f-1329], and 7 [of 1797, f-1328], nos. 144a–d in this catalogue). In Hebrew and German (the German in Latin and Hebrew characters [page 16 of the prospectus]). Provenance: The Society of Promoters of the Hebrew Language.

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144a

f-1327

Volume 2. ‫ כולל שירים ומכתבים אשר נאספו ונקבצו יחד על ידי אנשי חברת דורשי‬.‫המאסף‬

‫[ לשון עבר בקעניגסבערג‬The Collector: Containing poetry and letters. Collected and brought together by the Society of Promoters of the Hebrew Language in Königsberg]. Kaliningrad (Russia): Daniel Christoph Kanter, for the Society of Promoters of the Hebrew Language, 1785. 8° (179 x 110 mm). π1 )(4χ2, A–F8, *18, 2χ2, G–M8, 2A–B8, C4. 132 leaves, paginated [12], [1], 2–96, [1], 2–16, [4], [97], 98–192, 2[1], 2–40; plate opp. π1r. The German appendices (*18 and 2A–B8, C4) were paginated from left to right and the quires signed at the Latin beginnings of the quires. Steel-engraved frontispiece portrait of Naphtali Herz Wessely (1725–1805) by M. S. Loewe, lettered in Latin script. Contemporary dark-brown quarterleather, black boards. Vinograd Königsberg 26; Roest 77–78; StCB 3713; Zedner 632. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ A fable entitled “The Snow, the Earth, and the River,” written by Meir Obernik (signed ‘‫ק‬-‫)’ר‬, appears on page 85: “The snow, having covered the earth completely, proudly boasts how white and pure and strong he is. ‘Today I have shown you up, O Earth, for now you are as white as I am, whereas before your appearance was dirty.’ The earth kept silent but the flowing river was angry. When, later that day, the snow melted into the river, bringing with it all manner of dirt and grime, the river cried: ‘Where is the big-talker? Where is your whiteness and purity?’ The moral is: ‘As the snow, so too all who boast—in one moment they change and are gone—but the earth . . . remains forever!’” [The latter half of this quote is based on Eccles. 1:4]. In Hebrew and German.

144b

144a. f-1327

f-1339

Volume 4. ‫[ המאסף‬The Collector]. Kaliningrad (Russia)/Berlin (Germany): in der orien-

talischen Buchdruckerey, for the society Seekers of Good and Wisdom, 1788. 8º (182 x 104 mm): π2, χ8, 1–138, 2π2, 2χ2, 14–248, 254. 210 leaves, paginated [20], [1], 2–208, [8], [209–211], 212–392. π1.2 and 2π1.2 are later added title pages and indices on pinkish paper; 2χ1 is an additional title page (of the same kind as in vol. 1 and 2); 2χ2 is an errata slip to the 2nd half of the book, lacking the German supplement on early burial. 2 monochrome steel engravings. Modern dark-blue cloth.

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Vinograd Königsberg 26; Roest 77–78; StCB 3713; Zedner 632. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; NLI: +. ¶ A fable on page 43, written by Baruch Lindau (1759–1849) and entitled “The Poor Man and the Dream,” tells of the “discussion” between a poor person and his dream. The dream wishes to remove the poor person from the realities of the world, such as his hunger, poverty, and general affliction, and thus invites him to linger longer in his dream. The poor person replies that he is well aware of his dire condition but, after all, how can the dream help him, seeing how the dream will be gone once he wakes up? Answers the dream, “If so, why all the worries? For like me, so too all earthly treasures are vanity and as nothingness!” In Hebrew and German.

144b. f-1339

144c

144c. f-1329

144c. f-1329

f-1329

Volume 5. ‫ כולל שירים ומכתבים אשר נקבצו ונאספו יחד על ידי אנשי חברת שוחרי‬.‫המאסף‬

‫[ הטוב והתושיה‬The Collector: Containing poetry and letters. Collected and brought together by the members of the society Seekers of Good and Wisdom]. Kaliningrad (Russia) and Berlin (Germany): in der orientalischen Buchdruckerey, for the society Seekers of Good and Wisdom, 1789. 8º (184 x 105 mm). π2, χ1(=24,8), 1–248(-24,8), A8. 202 leaves, paginated [6], [1–3], 4–377, [378– 382], [1], 2–16; plate opp. sig. π1r. Quire A is a German appendix, numbered with Arabic numerals in Latin direction. Steel-engraved frontispiece portrait of Isaac Daniel Itzig (1750–1806) by

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M. S. Loewe, lettered in Latin script. Contemporary dark-brown quarter-leather, black boards. Vinograd Königsberg 26; Roest 77–78; StCB 3713; Zedner 632. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ The fable of the Worm in the Cheese (pages 121–123) tells of a worm, crawling around with his fellow worms in a piece of cheese, and eyeing the big, wide world outside. Then a fly flies over and says, “how can you speak of the world to your fellows when you’ve barely seen any of it? I, on the other hand, have seen much by flying overhead and know that you are not the only animals in the universe; there are many besides you.” Then the worm decides that the true heritage of the worm in the world is this piece of cheese: “For the sun does not shine, nor the rain pour, save to help the grain grow so to feed the cows who give milk, and from the milk, cheese is made so that we, the worms, may live and eat of it! We are the most chosen of all creation!” Then someone walks into the room, picks up the worm-infested piece of cheese and swallows it in one bite. The epimythium says: “Go to the worm, Man, and become smart. Build, add, make a name for yourself (. . .) once you are dead and gone, your deeds are forgotten.”

144d

f-1328

Volume 7. ‫ כולל שירים ומכתבים אשר נקבצו ונאספו יחד על ידי אנשי חברת שוחרי‬.‫המאסף‬

‫ עם‬.‫ חברים להחברה הנ״ל‬,‫וואלף ויואל בר״יל‬-‫ הובא לדפוס על ידי אהרן בן‬.‫הטוב והתושיה‬ ‫[ צורת המהנדס ר׳ אברהם קאסל ז״ל‬The Collector: Containing poetry and letters. Collected and brought together by the members of the society Seekers of Good and Wisdom. Edited by Aaron Wolfsohn and Joel Brill, members of the above-mentioned society. With an illustration by the late Abraham Kassel]. Wroclaw (Poland): Royal Prussian privileged Grass’s Oriental and German City Press, for the society Seekers of Good and Wisdom, 1797. 8º (171 x 99 mm). π1, 1–68, 21–58, A8, B6(B4+2[6],1.2), (-B5.6), 31–68, 41–88(8,8+B5.6 +1). 218 leaves, paginated [2], [1–2], 3–179, [180], [1], 2–24, [181–183], 184–404, [25], 26–28, [2]. 6 monochrome steel engravings. Contemporary dark-brown quarter-leather, black boards. Vinograd Königsberg 26; Roest 77–78; StCB 3713; Zedner 632. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ A fable on page 20, entitled “The Fox and the Grapes,” tells of a small fox who cannot reach the grapes in the vineyard and decides the grapes are probably bitter anyway. Provenance: Hahn. 144d. f-1328

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144e

f-1585

Meir Letteris (c. 1800–1871), ‫ המאסף‬Der Sammler. Jahrbücher der hebräischen Literatur-

freunde in Königsberg. Jahrgang 1784. Zweite vollständige, mit neuen Beilagen vermehrte Ausgabe / ‫ כולל שירים ומכתבים אשר נאספו ונקבצו יחד על ידי אנשי חברת‬.‫המאסף לשנת התקמ״ד‬ ‫[ דורשי לשון עבר בקאניגסבערג‬The Collector of the Year 5544 (1784). Containing poetry and letters. Collected and brought together by the members of the society Seekers of Good and Wisdom of Königsberg]. Vienna (Austria): Joseph Holzwarth, 1862. 8° (172 x 109 mm). 139 leaves, paginated [4], i–vi, 1–234, [4], 1–30 (additional material, paginated left to right). Original dark-brown quarter-leather, black boards. Zedner 133, 188. Copies: BL, BRos.

¶ Second edition of the first volume, with additional material in German edited by Meir Letteris. In Hebrew and German.

144e. f-1585

145

f-1560

Judah ben Mordecai Hurwitz (d. 1797), . . . ‫ דברי‬. . . ‫מחברת חיי הנפש ונצחיותה‬

‫[ יהודא איש לבית לוי הורוויץ‬Treatise on the Life of the Soul and Its Immortality. The words of Judah, of the house of Levi, Hurwitz]. Pavlivka (Ukraine): Solomon, Elimelekh, and Abraham, 1787. 4º (200 x 152 mm). B[et]4; g[imel]2, dalet2, a[lef]22, a[lef]32, bet2, gimel2, d[alet]2, a[lef]22, b[et]4, zayyin4, h[et]4. 32 leaves, partly unnumbered, partly with faulty foliation. Lacking the title. Brown half-calf. Vinograd Poryck 4; Roest 453; Zedner 291. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI.

¶ Only edition. Judah ben Mordecai Hurwitz was a physician and a Hebrew writer. He was born in Vilnius (Lithuania), studied in Padua (Italy), but spent most of his life in Grodno (Poland). He was acquainted with Moses Mendelssohn and Naphtali Herz Wessely. In his books and fables, he called for conciliation between the followers of Hasidism and the Mitnaggedim, the opponents of Hasidism who claimed that Hasidism falsified the authenticity of the Jewish religious experience. He claimed that rather than two different viewpoints, the two ideologies are actually quite similar. Hurwitz did not see a real problem with the Haskalah movement. He believed that a practicing religious Jew could partake of the studies of the maskilim without any danger.

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An original fable in rhymed prose appears on leaves 24r–25r, entitled “Mishle hokhmah” (Fables of Wisdom). An ox decided to rebel against his master, ran away from the field, and began to gore at all passersby. Soon he saw a donkey and invited him to join him in his rebellion against his master. “Heaven forfend,” cried the donkey, “for me to ever break loose of my master’s yoke. I am more lowly than the youngest slaves of my master. I respect the elderly woman in the master’s home as well as the young boys.” Replied the ox: “In my youth I was as loyal and innocent as you are. I too was afraid of the young and the elderly woman. I was utterly frightened by the young boys and girls and I suffered whatever they served me. But now that I have matured intellectually, I am my own boss.” The donkey was very angry and cried: “I know a thousand oxen like you but still a young boy or even an old woman controls 145. f-1560 them quite easily.” “The donkey knows the threat of his master [based on Isa. 1:3] and is ever obedient for his fear of the elderly woman and children, and a thousand donkeys carrying their burden upon them are easily controlled by a young boy. But not I! I trample underfoot elderly women and children. If anyone told me today that he was my master, I would surely fight back with him,” replied the brazen ox. So the two animals began fighting, until a ram happened by and proposed that he settle the affair. “I see,” said the ram after the animals had explained to him the matter of controversy, “that both of your positions are weak. The ox refuses to bend under the yoke of his master while the donkey is stubbornly subservient to him. I propose that the ox should return to his master and realize the master’s power—but return quickly, lest he be punished for his tardiness. The donkey should throw off from himself his stupidity and the subservience he feels toward his master, lest he soon be buried as a donkey is buried [based on Jer. 22:19].” Both Hasidim and Mitnaggedim were loyal to religious law. When the Haskalah movement came along in the latter half of the 18th century, its proponents encouraged a breach with the religious law and complete assimilation into the surrounding culture. This of course was rejected by both Hasidim and Mitnaggedim. In the fable the donkey represents the Hasidim who follow their leader as well as religious law, while the ox represents the followers of the Haskalah who preach a complete breach with religious law. The lesson that Hurwitz wants to teach is that each group must give in to the other’s arguments in order for true unity to exist in Judaism. In Hebrew. Provenance: Presentation copy, “A gift to R. Wolf from the author”; Isaiah Berger (see also f-1536 of this collection, no. 158 in this catalogue).

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146. f-1523

146a. f-1388

146b. f-1307

146c. f-1313

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146

f-1523

Aaron Wolfsohn-Halle (1754–1835), ‫ והוא מבוא הלמוד לנערי בני ישראל‬.‫אבטליון‬

‫וואלף חבר לחברת שוחרי הטוב והתושיה‬-‫ מאת אהרן בן‬.‫[ ולכל החפצים בלשון עבר‬Avtalyon. A primer for the boys of the children of Israel and for all those who love the Hebrew language. By Aaron, son of Wolf, member of the society Seekers of Good and Wisdom]. Berlin (Germany): Verlag der Berliner Freyschule, 1790. ¶ Aaron Wolfsohn-Halle is one of the most outspoken representatives of the Berlin Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment movement that advocated in the use of pure biblical Hebrew. Born in Halle, he taught in a Jewish public school in Wroclaw (then Breslau) from 1792 until 1807 before coming to Berlin. It was there that he became concerned by the fact that children were supposed to learn the biblical stories and the biblical Hebrew language at the same time. This, he felt, was not advisable, so he decided to rewrite the biblical stories in simplified Hebrew prose with German annotations and a list of German translations of Hebrew words in Hebrew characters, a pioneer attempt that was received with mixed enthusiasm by his contemporaries. Among his other literary products are a number of translations in Moses Mendelssohn’s German translation in Hebrew characters of the Hebrew Bible and a stage play in which Moses Maimonides and Moses Mendelssohn meet in paradise. He was also one of the editors of the Haskalah journal HaMeʾasef. On the title page of the first edition he is referred to as a member of the society Shohare ha-tov ve-ha-tushiyah ve-doreshe leshon ʿEver (Seekers of Good and Wisdom and Promoters of the Hebrew Language), the society responsible for the publication of Ha-Meʾasef. Avtalyon was named after a 1st-century bce scholar, whose most famous dictum is mentioned in the talmudic Sayings of the Fathers (1:11): “Ye Sages, be heedful of your words, lest ye incur the penalty of exile and be exiled to a place of evil waters, and the disciples who come after you drink thereof and die, and the Heavenly Name be profaned.” Avtalyon contains six fables, appearing in a separate section entitled “Ethical Fables”: “The Lion and the Mouse,” “The Fox and the Raven,” “The Donkey and His Load,” “The Scorpion and His Son,” “The Lion and the Fox,” and “The Ram and His Reflection.” “The Donkey and His Load” recounts how a donkey, carrying salt on his back, passed through a river. He fell into the water and the salt was quickly dispersed into the water. When he came out, he realized that his burden was much lighter. Thus, when he next came to the river, this time carrying a load of sponges, he decided to again lighten his load, and thus intentionally walked into the water. Of course, when the sponges absorbed all the water, his load became heavier; as a result, he could not extricate himself from the water and died there. The moral reads: “A road may seem right to a man, but in the end it is a road to death” (Prov. 14:12; 16:25). In Hebrew. 8° (152 x 100 mm). π2, 2π4, 3π1; 1–38, 4–64, 76. 49 leaves, paginated [14], [1], 2–83, [84]. Contemporary quarter-leather with marbled boards, with a label with an old Tongeleth shelf-mark: 20 G 35. Vinograd Berlin 391; Roest 1152; StCB 7395; Zedner 780. Copies: BL; BRos; JTS; +.

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¶ First edition. The fables appear on pages 45–52. Provenance: Amsterdam Ashkenazic literary society Tongeleth; ownership stamps and certificate of donation, dated 1816; signed by Meir Lohnstein, who paid Dfl. 1.10 for the book.

146a

f-1388

‫ מאת אהרן וואלפסזאהן‬.‫ והוא מבוא הלמוד לנערי בני ישראל ולכל החפצים בלשון עבר‬.‫אבטליון‬ ‫[ אבער לעהרער אונד אינשפעקטאר אן דער קעניגליכען ווילהעלם שולע צו ברעסלויא‬Avtalyon. A primer for the boys of the children of Israel and for all those who love the Hebrew language. By Aaron Wolfsohn, head teacher and inspector of the Royal Wilhelm School in Breslau]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Schmid, 1800. 8° (187 x 114 mm). A–F8. 48 leaves, foliated [1–5], 6–37, [38–48]; folio 33 misbound between folios 40 and 41. Contemporary marbled paper over wooden boards. Vinograd Vienna 152; see StCB 7395. Copies: BRos; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Second edition, with additions. The approbation does not appear and the introduction to the first edition was published in a shortened form. A short introduction to this second edition is included. The fables, without additions, appear on leaves 34v–37r. The author statement on the title page and the imprint are in German in Hebrew characters. Provenance: Levi [Can. . .]; a Hanover library.

146b

f-1307

‫ מאת אהרן וואלףסזאהן‬.‫ והוא מבוא הלמוד לנערי בני ישראל ולכל החפצים בלשון עבר‬.‫אבטליון‬ ‫שולע צו ברעסלויא‬-‫[ אבער לעהרער אונד אינשפעקטאר אן דער קעניגליכען ווילהעלמס‬Avtalyon. A primer for the boys of the children of Israel and for all those who love the Hebrew language. By Aaron Wolfsohn, head teacher and inspector of the Royal Wilhelm School in Breslau]. Prague (Czech Republic): Hrabische Erben Buckdruckerey, 1806. 8° (170 x 108 mm). π4 A–L4. 48 leaves, foliated [4], [1], 2–33, [34–44]. Contemporary marbled boards. Vinograd Prague 1077; Freimann Prague 2; StBC 7395,1; Zedner 780. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +. ¶ Third edition, apparently a reprint of the first edition. The fables appear on leaves 31r–34r. The author statement on the title page and the imprint are in German in Hebrew characters. Provenance: Marcus A. Friedländer. Censorship: Carolus Fischer, Cæs. Reg. Censor, Revisor & Translator in hebraicis, Prague 7 July 1806.

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146c

f-1313

‫ מאת אהרן וואלפסזאהן‬.‫ והוא מבוא הלמוד לנערי בני ישראל ולכל החפצים בלשון עבר‬.‫אבטליון‬ ‫[ אבער לעהרער אונד אינשפעקטאר אן דער קיניגליכען ווילהעלם שולע צו ברעסלויא‬Avtalyon. A primer for the boys of the children of Israel and for all those who love the Hebrew language. By Aaron Wolfsohn, head teacher and inspector of the Royal Wilhelm School in Breslau]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Schmid, 1814. 8° (174 x 105 mm). A–F8. 48 leaves, foliated [1–6], 7–37, [38–48]. Old quarter-parchment with dark-green paper boards. Vinograd Vienna 377; Cowley 710; StCB 7395,1; Zedner 780. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; HUC; +.

¶ Fourth edition (the title page states third), an unchanged reprint of the second edition. The approbation does not appear, the introduction to the first edition was published in a shortened form, and a short introduction to the second edition was included. The fables, without additions, appear on leaves 34v–37r. The author statement on the title page and the imprint are in German in Hebrew characters. Provenance: Israel Levi.

147

f-0377

Shalom ben Jacob Cohen (1772–1845), ‫ספר משלי אגור חלק ראשון אדער מאראלישעס‬

‫ מחובר ומתורגם אשכנזי מאת שלום ברי״ך ממעזריטש‬. . .‫בוך‬-‫[ פאבעל‬The Book of Fables of Agur, first part, or moral fable book (. . .) written and translated into German by Shalom ben Jacob Cohen of Mezeritsh]. Berlin (Germany): in der orientalischen Buchdruckerey, 1799. 8° (164 x 98 mm). 112–2, 2–58, 64. 88 pages, without the 4 preliminary pages containing a eulogy for “N. ben U. F. Ries,” called for by Roest, paginated [1–9], 10–88; page 88 misnumbered as 85. Modern quarter-calf. Vinograd Berlin 466; Cowley 632; Roest 283; StCB 7108,2; Zedner 189. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; NLI; JTS.

¶ First and only edition. Shalom ben Jacob Cohen was a writer, a poet, and, from 1809 until 1811, the editor of the Haskalah journal Ha-Meʾasef. He also founded the annual Bikure ha-ʿitim. He traveled extensively and lived and worked in Berlin, Amsterdam, London, Hamburg, and Vienna (where he served as senior proofreader in the Hebrew printing office of Anton Schmid). He strongly opposed the Reform movement and regarded the establishment of a Reform Temple in Hamburg as a blasphemy. He died in Hamburg. Mishle agur (The Fables of Agur), named after the biblical sage Agur, son of Jakeh (Prov. 30:1), is Cohen’s first work. Its primary objective was to teach children clear and easy Hebrew. It

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contains 20 original rhyming Hebrew fables, which Cohen also translated into German, written in Hebrew characters, albeit without the rhyme. Pride, misfortune, charity, honor, etc., are actors in many of the fables. The author’s introduction on pages 3–6 is an inspired plea for the use of fables in education. The 15th fable, entitled “The Snake and the File” (pages 66–67) describes how a snake once saw a file lying on the ground. It started to bite the file in order to “kill” it with its venom, but the only effect was that it hurt its nose and broke its teeth. The file then started to ridicule the snake by telling him that “you can make me red with your blood, but you cannot damage me.” The epimythium stresses the negative personal effects of indecent behavior toward other people. In Hebrew and German in Hebrew characters. Provenance: Kalman Lieben, perhaps identical with Koppelmann Lieben (1811–1892), Prague scholar and bibliophile; stamp of Prager Israelitische Cultus-Gemeinde.

147. f-0377

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148

f-1589

Shalom ben Jacob Cohen (1772–1845),

‫ תבנית מכתבים ואגרות עבריות‬.‫כתב יושר‬ ‫ תוכחת‬,‫ ללמד לבני יהודה כתוב איש אל רעהו במליצה נקיה וקלה דברי שלום ואהבה‬.‫ואשכנזיות‬ ‫ הוא הספר‬.‫ ר׳ שלום הכהן‬.‫ הכל בלשון צח ונעים‬.‫מוסר וארחות יושר גם מכל חפץ מסחר וקנין‬ ‫ הלא‬:‫ ועתה נוספו ונצמדו אליו שני חלקים חדשים‬.‫כתב יושר אשר נדפס בעיר וויען בשנת תק״פ‬ ‫ שירי נועם‬,‫[ המה שפה ברורה‬Straight Writing. Collection of Hebrew and German letters and epistles. To teach the sons of Judah writing to one another, in a clear and easy style, words of peace and love, ethical reprehension and ways of rectitude, also all matters of trade and commerce. All this in a pure and pleasant language. R. Shalom Cohen. This is the book “Ketav yosher” that was published in Vienna in the year 1820. And now two new parts have been added, and they are “Clear language” and “Songs of pleasantness”]. Warsaw (Poland): H. Bomberg, 1847. 12º (152 x 97 mm). 96 leaves, paginated [4], [1] 2–188. Modern black cloth. Vinograd Warsaw 361. Copies: JTS; NLI.

¶ Third edition. The newly added parts contain eight fables,

among them “The Woman and the Crocodile” (page 145). A woman and her child were sitting beneath the bushes next to a river, where she was looking for fruits. Suddenly, a crocodile appeared and grasped away the child. The woman cried out in despair: “Please, take me if you have to devour someone, but let my child go!” But the crocodile said: “You can save both yourself and the child if you tell me something true.” “Alas, poor me!” the woman said, “I knew there was something the matter here, for how can you enjoy a truth from my mouth, if my whole fate is a lie! Did you not recognize wickedness at a first glance? For a woman is what I am and the ways of a woman are mine.” “Fool!” said the crocodile, “Take your child, for what you said is true.” An additional fable (page 164), is entitled “The Hunted.” “Why so glum, chums?” asked the donkey of the lion and the tiger. Said they to him, “Hunters and ambushers we fear and as a result are bitter.” “Hunters?!” said the donkey, “Where 148. f-1589 are they? Far? Or near? Hurry, let us run from an enormous tragedy!” “You have nothing to fear,” they said to him. “You are a donkey and donkeys have no enemies.” Moral: Increased wisdom results in increased hatred; add knowledge and get jealousy; but a fool and an imbecile live peacefully, in the darkness of ignorance as in the shade of a tree. In Hebrew and German in Hebrew characters. Provenance: David L. Guthman; H. H. Löwenstein; Joseph Onderwijzer, Bronx, New York.

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149

f-1324

Shalom ben Jacob Cohen

(1772–1845), ‫ תבנית מכתבים ואגרות עבריות‬.‫כתב יושר‬ ‫ תוכחת‬,‫ ללמד לבני יהודה כתוב איש אל רעהו במליצה נקיה וקלה דברי שלום ואהבה‬.‫ואשכנזיות‬ ‫ הוא הספר‬.‫ ר׳ שלום הכהן‬.‫ הכל בלשון צח ונעים‬.‫מוסר וארחות יושר גם מכל חפץ מסחר וקנין‬ ‫ הלא‬:‫ ועתה נוספו ונצמדו אליו שני חלקים חדשים‬.‫כתב יושר אשר נדפס בעיר וויען בשנת תק״פ‬ ‫ שירי נועם‬,‫[ המה שפה ברורה‬Straight Writing. Collection of Hebrew and German letters and epistles. To teach the sons of Judah writing to one another, in a clear and easy style, words of peace and love, ethical reprehension and ways of rectitude, also all matters of trade and commerce. All this in a pure and pleasant language. Shalom ha-Cohen. This is the book “Ketav yosher” that was published in Vienna in the year 1820. And now, two new parts have been added: they are “Clear language” and “Songs of pleasantness”]. Warsaw (Poland): Nathan Schriftgiesser, 1859. 156 x 94 mm. 84 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–168. Contemporary black half-cloth, brown marbled boards. Vinograd Warsaw 719. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; NYPL.

¶ Fourth edition, with the same content as the third, but typeset anew and with a different pagination. The fable “The Woman and the Crocodile” appears on page 160. The fable on page 149 entitled “The Frog” deals with a frog who became jealous of the ox’s height and very agitated as a result. The moral: “Many have tried to make a name for themselves when there was no chance, and when they finally realized this, upon their friends did they pour out their wrath and cruelty, for jealousy kills the unwary.” In Hebrew and German in Hebrew characters. Provenance: Zamuel Liweranz; Simeon Klozenlerer Shereletz.

149. f-1324

150

f-1312

Moses Philippson (1777–1814), .‫ אדער קינדערפריינד אונד לעהרער‬,‫ספר מודע לבני בינה‬

‫ אונד לעזעבוך פיר דיא יוגענד יידישר נאטיאן אונד פיר יעדן ליבהאבר דער העברעאישן‬-‫איין לעהר‬ ‫ ערשטר טהייל‬.‫ מאת משה בן לא״א כ״ה אורי פייבש ארנסוואלד זצ״ל מישבי דעסויא‬.‫שפראכע‬ [Book of Knowledge for the “Sons of Insight,” or children’s friend and teacher. Textbook for the youth of the Jewish nation and for everyone who loves the Hebrew language. By Moses, son of the late Uri Fayvesh Arnswald, citizen of Dessau. First part]. Leipzig (Germany): Heinrich Gräff, and Dessau (Germany): the author, 1808.

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8° (164 x 97 mm). π2, [1–24], 3–204, 212. 83 leaves, paginated [12], [1], 2–164, lacking 10 pages at the beginning and 2 pages at the end. Modern dark-brown quarter-leatherette, brown leatherette boards. Vinograd Leipzig 50; Roest 931; Zedner 635. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI.

¶ First edition of the first part of this Hebrew primer. The second part was published in Dessau by Philippson alone. Moses Philippson received an Orthodox upbringing. He was attracted to the works of Moses Mendelssohn and German literature. A teacher at the modern school of Dessau, founded in 1799, he supplemented his income by printing books and selling them at fairs; among them were a Hebrew reader and the periodical Der neue Sammler (The New Collector). He died before the completion of his Hebrew-German and GermanHebrew dictionary. There are eight fables on pages 82–92. They appear in Hebrew and in a German translation in Hebrew characters. The 150. f-1312 fable on page 92, entitled “The Lion and the Mouse,” is about a mouse who, upon seeing a sleeping lion, crawled atop of him. But the lion woke up and grabbed the mouse. The mouse started pleading for his life, saying: “What good is it to you to kill such a small creature like me?” And the lion released him. Later that night the lion was caught in a trap set by hunters, but when he cried out for help none of the animals dared come near. Except for the mouse. He chewed away at the ropes which held the lion prisoner till they loosened, thereby saving the lion. The moral is: “Be not insensitive to anyone.” In Hebrew and German in Hebrew characters.

151

f-1727

Tsir neʾeman. ‫[ ציר נאמן‬The Faithful Shepherd]. Ternopil (Ukraine): Nahman Pineles, 1815–1817.

¶ Only edition. Of this almanac only three volumes were published, the second and third being part of this collection. The editor was Joseph Perl (1773–1839), a well-known educator, satirist, and early adherent of the Haskalah movement. Having established the first modern Jewish school in Galicia, with a curriculum including both secular and Jewish studies, he was one of the first to bring the German Haskalah to the Ukraine. Although this is not mentioned elsewhere, the content of the almanac clearly indicates that Perl primarily aimed at a juvenile audience. Each issue ends with mishle musar (ethical fables) and hidot (riddles). The second volume includes four fables, the third volume three.

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On folio 26v of volume 2 a fable entitled “The Raven and the Dove after the Flood” appears. The raven and the dove were flying outside Noah’s ark. The raven told the dove how happy she was that she finally had been set free from her prison. The dove was shocked and said: “Don’t you know that Noah saved our lives by letting us into the ark and by feeding us all the time?” The raven did not really care and said to the dove: “Come sister, we are free! Let us fly away, to the end of the earth, and even the hand of Noah will not touch upon us.” But the dove refused: “Look, Noah is waiting for us, to know whether or not he can set free our brothers and sisters. He is even waving to us! Come, let us go back.” “Do what you want,” said the raven, “but not me. Do I look like a dog, who follows its master everywhere?” Thereupon the dove returned to the ark on its own, saying to the raven: “It’s better to be the servant of a righteous man than to be free with the wicked.” The fable on leaf 21v of volume 3, entitled “The Wolf Shepherd,” tells of a wolf who decided to disguise himself as a shepherd but the sheep recognized his voice. When they started crying, the real shepherd, who had been sleeping nearby, awoke and chased the wolf, finally killing him. The moral is: “He who sets traps for others, invariably falls into them himself.” In Hebrew.

Volume 2. ‫ לוח השנה משנת חמשת אלפים תקע״ה לבריאת עולם לחשבון עם ישראל‬.‫ציר נאמן‬

‫ ונוסף לזה לוח הלב‬. . . [The Faithful Shepherd. Almanac for the year 5575 from the creation of the world according to the Jewish calculation (1814/1815). Followed by “Table of the Heart”]. 8° (180 x 112 mm). [1]4, 24, 31, 4–134. 49 leaves, foliated: [9], 1–11, [1], 2–29. Sig. 31 is a folded half sheet. Original printed blue paper wrappers. Vinograd Tarnopol 12. Copies: HUC; NLI; NYPL.

151a

f-1316

Volume 3. ‫ לוח השנה משנת חמשת‬.‫ציר נאמן‬

.‫אלפים תקע״ו לבריאת עולם לחשבון עם ישראל‬ ‫[ ונוסף לזה לוח הלב‬The Faithful Shepherd. Almanac for the year 5576 from the creation of the world according to the Jewish calculation (1815/1816). Followed by “Table of the Heart”]. 8° (172 x 114 mm). 1–24, 32, 4–124. 46 leaves, foliated [10], 1–12, 1–24. Original printed off-white paper wrappers. Vinograd Tarnopol 16. Copies: HUC; NLI; NYPL.

151a. f-1316

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152c. f-1308

152

f-1306, f-1308-1311, f-1386

Bikure ha-ʿitim. ‫[ בכורי העתים‬Firstlings]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Schmid, 1821–1831. ¶ Bikure ha-ʿitim is a Haskalah journal in the tradition of Ha-Meʾasef, at times reprinting complete sections from that publication. The Firstlings was started at the initiative of Shalom ben Jacob Cohen (1772–1845), who earlier had tried to re-establish Ha-Meʾasef (for Cohen, see also f-0377, f-1589, and f-1324 of this collection, nos. 147, 148, and 149 in this catalogue). By the time of the journal’s publication, the Haskalah movement had abandoned most of its radical emancipatory standpoints, and above all advocated the critical study of the Hebrew language and the Hebrew Bible. The primary readers of Bikure ha-ʿitim were Central and Eastern European, in particular Galician Jews, rather than those of Germany and the rest of Western Europe. The annual appeared 12 times, from 1820 until 1831, with different editors. In these 12 annuals a total of 66 fables were published. In 1844 and 1845, there were unsuccessful attempts to start a “Bikure ha-ʿitim ha-hadashim” (The new firstlings). In Hebrew and German with Hebrew characters.

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152a

f-1311

Volume 2. ‫ הכוללים כמה דברים נחמדים ועניני‬:‫ הם פרי תבואה לשנת תקפ״ב‬.‫בכורי העתים‬

‫ למען ישמע חבם‬,‫ להוביל שי לבניהם השומעים לקולם‬,‫ נועדים לברכת הורים‬,‫מדע ותועלת‬ ‫[ ויוסיף לקח‬Firstlings. They are the fruits of the harvest of the year 1821/22. Comprising some pleasant words and matters of interest and benefit, meant as a blessing for parents to bring it as a gift to their children, who listen to their voice, in order that their love will hear and add to their learning]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Schmid, 1821. 8º (189 x 113 mm). A–O8, P2. 114 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–228. Modern dark-brown quarter-leatherette, brown leatherette boards. ¶ This volume contains ten fables, partly appearing in sections reprinted from the first volume of Ha-Meʾasef. A fable on page 57 is called “The Controversy between the Sun and the Moon,” in which the sun and the wind [sic] argue who is stronger. When someone passes by, the wind blows and blows, trying to get the person to remove his coat. Of course, the wind only succeeds in getting the person to wrap it closer around him. Then the sun shines down brightly and the coat comes off. The moral is: “When one wishes to turn a person from his wrongdoing, do not scream at him, lest he continue in his wrong. Teach him patiently, as a father might do for his son, and he will surely listen.”

152b

f-1306

Volume 3. ‫ הכוללים כמה דברים נחמדים ועניני‬:‫ הם פרי תבואה לשנת תקפ״ג‬.‫בכורי העתים‬

‫ למען ישמע חבם‬,‫ להוביל שי לבניהם השומעים לקולם‬,‫ נועדים לברכת הורים‬,‫מדע ותועלת‬ ‫[ ויוסיף לקח‬Firstlings. They are the fruits of the harvest of the year 1822/23. Comprising some pleasant words and matters of interest and benefit, meant as a blessing for parents to bring it as a gift to their children, who listen to their voice, in order that their love will hear and add to their learning]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Schmid, 1822. 188 x 120 mm. A–P8. 120 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–240. Contemporary black half-linen, black boards.

¶ This volume contains five fables. “The Snow, the Earth, and the River,” a fable by Meir Abernik (pages 80–81), was taken from the second volume of Ha-Meʾasef. In it, the snow, having covered the earth completely, proudly boasted how white and pure and strong he was. “Today I have shown you up, O Earth, for now you are white as I am, whereas before your appearance was dirty.” The earth kept silent but the flowing river was angry. When, later that day, the snow melted into the river, bringing with it all manner of dirt and grime, the river cried: “Where is the big-talker? Where is your whiteness and purity?” The moral is: “As the snow, so too all who boast—in one moment they change and are gone—but the earth remains the same forever!” (The latter half of

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this quote is based on Eccles. 1:4: “One generation goes, another comes, but the earth remains the same forever.”) Provenance: ‘Tarbut’-library, Charkov(?).

152c

f-1308

Volume 5.

‫ חבור כולל דברי חכמים‬.‫ מנחת בכורים לראשית שנת תקפ״ה‬.‫בכורי העתים‬ ‫ ועוד נלוה אליהם‬,‫ להבין אמרי בינה‬,‫ לדעת חכמה ומוסר‬,‫ אשר עודם בחיים חיתם‬,‫וחידתם‬ ‫[ מבחר המאסף‬Firstlings. Offering of the first fruit for the beginning of the year 1824/25. A work, comprising words of the sages and their riddles, as they happened during their lifetimes, in order to know wisdom and ethics, to understand words of insight, and added to these selections from Ha-Meʾasef (The Collector)]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Schmid, 1824. 8° (188 x 116 mm). A–K8, L2, 2A–2C8. 106 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–160, [161–164], [1–3], 2–48. 2 A–2C8 are in German and start at the Latin end of the book. Contemporary green quarter-linen, dark-yellow marbled boards.

¶ This volume contains six fables. Among these are two fables by Mordecai Lichtenstein (pages 36–37 and 80). In the second, “The Bird and the Mouse,” a bird is sitting quiet and frightened, when a mouse comes by. “Why don’t you sing?” asks the mouse. “I’ve been harassed this night by a terrible creature, one that even eats bread from our master!” says the bird. The mouse responds, “I think I know who did this: it’s my old enemy. Because of him, I left the house and live outside now in the fields. But don’t worry, he won’t dare to kill you. He knows that if he hurts you, who gives the humans so much joy, he will be paid likewise.” “You are right,” says the bird, “and I will not be afraid of the cat any longer. Instead, I will fear you now, because if the cat kills me, he will be punished and you will have got rid of your enemy.” The epimythium says: The heart betrays, it is like a net to a bird. Provenance: Israel and Mina Fine.

152d

f-1386

Volume 9.

‫ חבור כולל דברי חכמים‬.‫ מנחת בכורים לראשית שנת תקפ״ט‬.‫בכורי העתים‬ ‫ להבין אמרי בינה‬,‫ לדעת חכמה ומוסר‬,‫ ועניני מדה ותועלת‬,‫[ וחידתם‬Firstlings. Offering of the first fruit for the beginning of the year 1828/29. A work comprising words of the sages and their riddles, and worthy and useful things, in order to know wisdom and ethics, to understand words of insight]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Edl. v. Schmid, 1828. 8º (198 x 110 mm). A–O8, P3, *8. 123 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–230, [16]. Contemporary brown quarter-leather.

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¶ This volume contains one fable, “The Deer” (pages 221–222), authored by Judah Jeitteles (1773–1838; see f-1674 of this collection, no. 153 in this catalogue). It tells of a deer who gazes at himself in the reflection of a pool. Looking at his antlers, he feels very content about their strength and beauty. But then he saddens while looking at his legs: how thin they are! Suddenly he sees hunters coming toward him, and swiftly runs away and escapes into the woods. But then his antlers get stuck in a thorny branch and the hunters find him. Just before he dies, he thinks, “How stupid I was to despise the useful and esteem the worthless.” The epimythium, a free adaption of various sentences from Proverbs, reads: He who despises something, will be sorry afterwards, and its absence will cause grief; a road may seem right to a man, and in the end turns out to lead the wrong way. A note at the end of this fable states that it was taken from “a second volume of Bene ha-neʿurim which is still in the process of being written,” but which apparently never appeared. Provenance: Joseph Onderwijzer, Bronx, New York.

152e

f-1309

Volume 10.

‫ חבור כולל דברי חכמים‬.‫ מנחת בכורים לראשית שנת תק״ץ‬.‫בכורי העתים‬ ‫ להבין אמרי בינה‬,‫ לדעת חכמה ומוסר‬,‫ ועניני מדה ותועלת‬,‫[ וחידתם‬Firstlings. Offering of the first fruit for the beginning of the year 1829/30. A work comprising words of the sages and their riddles, and valuable and worthy things, in order to know wisdom and ethics, to understand words of insight]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Edl. v. Schmid, 1829. 8º (190 x 114 mm). A–D8, E4, F2, a–l8. 126 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–76, [i–iii], iv–vi, 7–174, [175–176]. Contemporary brown half-leather, gray marbled boards. ¶ This volume contains three fables, including “The Fig-Tree and the Birds” (page 150), authored by Baruch Schönfeld (1787–1852), a teacher in various places in Hungary and Moravia (see f-1381 of this collection, no. 166 in this catalogue). Under a fig-tree lived many birds. They enjoyed its shade in the summer, they were protected from the rain by its leaves and branches and they ate its delicious fruits. Then lightning struck the tree and its branches and fruits were destroyed. Now the tree was all alone and all the birds had gone. The epimythium says: In good times, many friends you have. But in times of sorrow, even your acquaintances will forget you. In “The Man and the Lion” (pages 172–173), a fable by Judah Jeitteles, the lion claims he is the king of all beasts, including man. Man, however, counters that he is the master of all created things, including the lion—for, look at the statues roundabout which testify to man’s tearing apart of the lion! The narrator ends by saying that were the lion to know of the brutality of Man to Lion, one would instead see Man torn apart by Lion. The moral is: “Relatives cannot testify.” Provenance: Moses Lewinsohn.

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152f

f-1310

Volume 12.

‫ חבור כולל דברי חכמים‬.‫ מנחת בכורים לראשית שנת תקצ״ב‬.‫בכורי העתים‬ ‫ להבין אמרי בינה‬,‫ לדעת חכמה ומוסר‬,‫ ועניני מדה ותועלת‬,‫[ וחידתם‬Firstlings. Offering of the first fruit for the beginning of the year 1831/32. A work comprising words of the sages and their riddles, and valuable and worthy things, in order to know wisdom and ethics, to understand words of insight]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Edl. v. Schmid, 1831. 8º (189 x 114 mm). A–M8, N2. 98 leaves, paginated [i–iv], v–x, 11–195, [196]. Contemporary dark-brown quarter-cloth, black boards. Vinograd Vienna 531 (2), 548 (3), 592 (5), 641 (9), 651 (10), 686 (12); Roest 68; StCB 3429, Add. col. lxxxii; Zedner 631. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +. ¶ This volume contains eight fables. In “The Ram and the Leopard” (pages 144–145), apparently by Joseph Weisse (1812–1897), a ram gets stuck in a bush and cries for help. A leopard comes to free him. “Oh, thank you,” says the ram, “you gave me back my life. How can I ever repay you?” “With your life,” says the leopard, and he devours the poor ram. In “The Horse and the Bull” (page 145) a young boy proudly rides atop a horse with the reins in his hands. A passing tells the horse how ashamed he would be to ever be seen giving the boy a ride. Responds the horse: “I would be ashamed if I were to topple a young, weak boy to the ground.” The moral is: “Better to be patient than defiant; better is one who controls his passions than one who conquers a city.”

153

f-1674

Judah Jeitteles (1773–1838), ,‫ אמרי מוסר וחכמה‬,‫ מכתמים‬,‫ כולל משלים‬.‫בני הנעורים‬

‫ ונספק על הכרך הזה ספר‬.‫ כרך ראשון‬.‫יונה לבית ייטלש‬-‫ מאת יהודה בן‬.‫ ומליצות מוסר‬,‫חדות‬ ‫[ תולדות אבי המחבר החכם הרופא זצ״ל‬The Youth. Comprising fables, epigrams, ethical and wise sayings, riddles and ethical poems. By Judah ben Jonah Jeitteles. First volume. To this volume has been added a biography of my father, the author, sage and physician, of blessed memory]. Prague (Czech Republic): Schollische Buchdruckerei, 1821. 8º (178 x 114 mm). π4 (π4+1), 1–128, 134. 111 leaves, paginated [10], [1], 2–193, [194–200]. 2nd title page in German. Portrait of Jonah ben Moses Jeitteles opp. sig. π2r. Contemporary brown half-leather, yellowish speckled boards. Vinograd Prague 1169; Roest 540; Zedner 319. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; NLI; JTS; NYPL; +. ¶ Only edition. This collection of elegant Hebrew poems has 11 fables in the first section. On page 100 is a fable about a dog, swimming across a river with a piece of meat in his mouth. When he looks into the water, he sees another dog, also swimming with a piece of meat in his mouth. The

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153. f-1674

dog tries to catch the other dog’s piece, and loses his own. The promythium cites Proverbs 28:22: “A miserly man runs after wealth; he does not realize that loss will overtake it.” Judah Jeitteles was an important member of the Jewish Enlightenment in Prague and wrote in Ha-Meʾasef (f-1335 of this collection, no. 144 in this catalogue) and Bikure ha-ʿitim (f-1386 and f-1309 of this collection, nos. 152d and 152e in this catalogue). He was head of the Jewish German-language school, favoring a combination of religious and secular education. Judah Jeitteles introduced the term “Haskalah” for the Jewish Enlightenment. He was the son of a famous physician, Jonas Jeitteles (1735–1806), who promulgated the smallpox vaccination in Prague. His biography precedes Bene ha-neʿurim (The Youth). A note at the end of a fable appearing on page 221 in the ninth volume of Bikure ha-ʿitim (f-1386 of this collection, no. 152d in this catalogue) indicates that a second volume had been in preparation, but it was apparently never published. In Hebrew.

154

f-1923

W. Heinemann (fl. 1823), ‫ ספר ראשית הלמוד לשון עברי‬/ An Introduction to the Hebrew

Language. By W. Heinemann. London (United Kingdom): G. and W. B. Whittaker, 1823. 8º (183 x 110 mm). 58 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi–vii, [viii], [1], 2–105, [106–108]. Contemporary off-white linen, blue-gray paper wrappers. Cowley 241; Rowland Smith 353; StCB 5204,1. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; HUC; +.

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¶ Only edition. Hebrew textbook, comprising 12 fables in Hebrew, none of them original. This is a very early Hebrew primer printed in England. The author states in his preface that he wrote this book as a result of “the deficiency of elementary works for the Hebrew language.” Scant information is available regarding the author. One may surmise from his surname and from the fact that the title page describes him as a professor of “the Hebrew and German Languages,” that he was a Jew from one of the German-speaking countries. Additionally, the sources of many of the fables in this book, for example Avtalyon (f-1523, f-1388, f-1307, and f-1313 of this collection, nos. 146, 146a, 146b, and 146c in this catalogue), hint at a German background. The late 18th and early 19th centuries saw the arrival of many Jews from German-speaking lands who left the Continent for the relatively freer atmosphere of Great Britain. Fables are interspersed throughout the text and are clearly noted as such in English. One such fable, “The Lion and the Fox” (page 82), de154. f-1923 scribes how an old lion, well on in years, said to himself one day, “Behold, I have aged and my sight is abandoning me, and I will not be able to go out to the fields to tear up my prey as I have done in the past, and now I shall perish of hunger. I have no fortune! Should I take ill, and the other animals come to see me, then I shall see what to do.” And so he did. When the fox came amongst the visitors, and stood in the opening of the lion’s den, and bowed to the lion, asking after his fortunes, the lion said to him: “Why are you standing outside, my son, why do you not approach me and come into my den, so that I may give you my blessing before I die!” The fox replied: “Because I have seen more go in than have come out!” In “The Crab and His Son” (page 74), a crab says to his son: “Why don’t you walk in the same direction as every other creature? You keep on going backward!” “If that’s what you want, father, I’d love to. But please, show me first how to do it, and then I will.” The epimythium says: “Purify yourself before you clean others.” In English and Hebrew. Provenance: William Friend, Esq. M.A.

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155

f-1325

Meir ben Pesah Hesse (fl. 1829), ‫ מסוקל לנערי בני ישראל ונפנה הדרך‬.‫נתיב הלשון‬

‫ מאתי הצעיר מאיר‬.‫ ובמליצה ישרה יחזקו ולא ירפו ממנה‬,‫לפניהם להגיד מחשבותם בלש״הק‬ ‫[ ב״ר פסח העססע יצ״ו‬The Path of Language. Paved for the youth of Israel, in order to ease for them the expression of their thoughts in the holy language, and they will hold to a correct style and not turn away from it. By me, Meir, son of Pesah Hesse]. Hamburg (Germany): Samuel and Judah Bonn in Altona, 1829. 8° (196 x 115 mm). 40 pages, paginated [1–5], 6–40. Blue cloth, black spine; bound with: Meir Hesse, editor, Bakashat ha-lamedin (attributed to Moses Mendelssohn), Hamburg 1829, printed in Altona by Samuel and Judah Bonn, as usual. Vinograd Altona 233; Roest 444; Zedner 286. Copies: BL; NLI; +.

¶ Only edition. It contains two fables from the first volume of Ha-Meʾasef. “The Foolish Decree” (page 6) was taken from the first volume of Ha-Meʾasef (page 142) and had already been reprinted in the second volume of Bikure ha-ʿitim (page 84). A deer went to the brook to quench his thirst and, upon noticing his reflection in the water, commented about how beautiful his antlers were and how thin and sickly looked his legs. Just then a lion passed by and tried to catch him, but the deer used his great speed to successfully run away. Then, while resting in the shade, his antlers got caught in the thicket; as he tried to free them, the lion came and killed him. Before he died, the deer lamented how he had earlier cursed his legs which had then saved his life, and praised his antlers that were now the cause of his death. “Grace is deceptive, beauty is illusory, it is the good and the practical that is to be praised.” (The first half of the quote is based on Prov. 31:30.) In his second edition of Ha-Meʾasef of 1862–1865, Meir Letteris claims on page 151 that the fable was taken from Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, but the Hebrew is rather an adaptation of an Aesopian fable, and Lessing apparently translated his version from a 1757 English edition of Aesop. In Hebrew. 155.. f-1325

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156

f-1260

Giuseppe Tivoli

(fl. 1831), ‫ להבין משל‬.‫שיר‬-‫דברי‬ ‫ מעשה ידי יוסף יעקב חי‬.‫ומליצה דברי חכמים וחידתם‬ ‫ איש טריאסטי‬,‫ טיוולי‬/ Carmi Ebraico-Italiani di Giuseppe Tivoli [Poetic Words. To understand fables, rhetorics, the works of the Sages and their riddles. The work of Joseph Jacob Hay Tivoli (Giuseppe Tivoli) of Trieste / Hebrew-Italian Poems by Giuseppe Tivoli]. Padua (Italy): Tipografia del Seminario, 1831. 4º (238 x 160 mm). π6, 2–94, 102, the 1st quire, π, consists of 6 loose leaves, pasted together and bound as 1 quire. 40 leaves, paginated [4], [1–3], 4–76, lacking 4 pages called for by Vinograd. 4 small monochrome woodcut plates; 1 small monochrome iron engraving. Contemporary black half-linen, black boards. Vinograd Padua 42. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; LoC; +.

156. f-1260

¶ First and only edition. Collection of mostly Hebrew poems, including two fables, by Giuseppe Tivoli, a Hebrew teacher in the Jewish communities of Padua and Trieste and a member of a wellknown family of Italian bankers. Both fables are translations with the original printed alongside. On pages 64–67 is the fable “The Dancing Bear,” a translation of Christian Fürchtegott Gellert’s (1715–1769) “Der Tanzbär.” Pages 72–73 present the famous fable “The Fox and the Raven,” together with the original “Le corbeau et le renard: Fable de M. de La Fontaine.” A raven is sitting in a tree with a piece of cheese in his mouth. The fox, attracted by the cheese, begins to flatter the raven. The raven then opens his mouth to show what a beautiful voice he has, and drops the cheese. The fox grabs it and says: “You should know, my dear Sir, that a flatterer lives on whoever listens to him.” In Hebrew, German, French, and Italian.

157

f-1587

David Zamosc (1789–1864), ‫[ אש דת‬Fire of Faith]. Wroclaw (Poland): Leo Sulzbach and Son, 1834.

¶ Only edition, three volumes in one. The first volume contains reading lessons in Hebrew and German, the second is a grammatical work on the Hebrew language (based not only on the Jewish grammars of Judah Leib Ben Zeʾev and Shalom Cohen, but also on the classic grammar of biblical Hebrew by the Christian German scholar Wilhelm Gesenius), and the third a collection of occasional poetry. This third volume contains one fable in Hebrew verse (page 17). In it, the

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frogs prayed to God to give them a king. God thereupon appointed one of the frogs as their king. The frogs envied their new king and revolted against him, then chose a stork to rule them: “And she drank their blood and filled her belly with their dead bodies.” The epimythium reads: “Let us carve this fable out in our hearts, to listen to the voice of a king from among our brothers.” David Zamosc was born in Kempen, North Posen (Germany). At the age of 13 he moved to his uncle’s house in Wroclaw, where he received both a religious and a secular education. Apart from a short commercial adventure, which he financed with money won in a lottery in 1820, he spent his life teaching and writing, mostly educational works, in Wroclaw. In Hebrew and German in Hebrew characters.

Volume 1.

.‫ צום אונטערריכט אים לעזען אונד אנפאנגסגרינדע דער רעליגיאן‬.‫אש דת‬ ‫ פיר דיא‬.‫נעבסט איבונגסשטיקקע צום איבערזעטצען אויס דעם העברעאישען אינס דייטשע‬ ‫ ערשטער טהייל‬.‫ פאן דוד זאמושטש‬.‫[ איזראעליטישע יוגענד‬Fire of Faith. For teaching to read and the first principles of faith. With exercises to translate from Hebrew into German. For the Israelite youth. By David Zamosc. First volume]. Wroclaw (Poland): Leo Sulzbach and Son, 1834. 8º (185 x 113 mm). [1]4, ([1]1+χ2), 2–174 . 70 leaves, paginated [1–2], [1], [i], ii–iii, [3–9], 10–135, [136].

Volume 2.

‫ צווייטער‬,‫ אדער אש דת‬.‫אהל דוד‬ ‫ קליינע העברעאישע שפראכלעהרע אין איינער‬.‫טהייל‬ ,‫ נאך בן זאב‬.‫פאססליכען דארשטעללונג פיר אנפאנגער‬ ‫ פאן דוד זאמושטש‬.‫ געזעניוס‬,‫[ שלום כהן‬David’s Tent. Or Fire of Faith, second volume. Concise Hebrew grammar, in a presentation appropriate for beginners. After (Judah Leib) Ben Zeʾev, Shalom Cohen, (Wilhelm) Gesenius. By David Zamosc]. Wroclaw (Poland): Leo Sulzbach and Son, 1834. 8º (185 x 113 mm). [1]4, 2–124. 48 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–94, [95–96].

Volume 3. .‫ דריטטער טהייל‬,‫ אדער אש דת‬.‫שיר דוד‬

157. f-1587

,‫כולל שירים חברתי לכבוד אוהבי ומיודעי לשורר בבה״כ‬ ‫ ושאר‬,‫ או באסיפת החברה‬,‫או בביתם ביום שמחת לבם‬ ‫ ולזכרון אנשי אמת הנאספים אל אבותם‬,‫מכתבים‬ ‫ פאן דוד‬.‫ כאשר עיני הקורא תחזינה משרים‬,‫היקרים‬ ‫[ זאמושטש‬David’s Song. Or Fire of Faith, third volume. Comprising songs, which I wrote for my loved ones and acquaintances, to sing in the synagogue or in their houses on days in which their hearts rejoice or when the community convenes; as well as other writings, in remembrance of the noble men who are now gathered

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with their beloved fathers, as the eyes of the reader will rightly see. By David Zamosc]. Wroclaw (Poland): Leo Sulzbach and Son, 1834. 8º (185 x 113 mm). [1]4, 2–84. 36 leaves, paginated [1–7], 8–63, [64]. 3 volumes bound as 1, modern black cloth. Vinograd Breslau 198; Cowley 604; Roest 1017; StCB 6992,1; Zedner 668. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; NLI; +. Provenance: Jewish National and University Library (now National Library of Israel), Jerusalem (deaccessioned).

158

f-1536

Judah Leib Ben Zeʾev (1764–1811), ‫ כולל שירים ומשלים‬.‫ למודי המישרים‬.‫בית הספר‬

‫ חברו יהודא ליב בן זאב ז״ל‬.‫ אמרי בינה ומוסר השכל‬,‫[ דברי חכמים‬School. Teachings of the upright. Comprising poems and fables, words of the Sages, sayings of insight and good behavior. By Judah Leib Ben Zeʾev]. Vienna (Austria): Anton Edlen von Schmid, 1836. 8º (196 x 124 mm). a–k8. 80 leaves, paginated [1–6], 7–158, [159–160]. Modern gray cloth. Vinograd Vienna 778; Cowley 68; Roest 156; Zedner 89. Copies: NLI; +.

¶ Eighth edition. This book must have been an extremely popular textbook for schools, since no less than 12 editions appeared. The entire work consists of two parts, the first being “Mesilat halimud” (The Path of Learning). Usually, the two parts were bound together, but in this copy the first part is not present. The book includes six fables in Hebrew verse, two of them originally by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert and one of Aesop’s fables. On page 43 the fable “The Fly and the Bee” appears, where a fly complains to a bee that she despises him. “Do you actually know how great I am? When the horse and the great warrior die on the battlefield, they become dinner for me; look, that heap of bones there is my witness.” But the bee, knowing what she’s worth, only says: “Is that all?” and flies away. The first two lines read: “To the despised it always seems, when others do not pay him honor, as if he is being disregarded.” Judah Leib Ben Zeʾev was an important member of the Jewish Enlightenment. He was born in Krakow and received a traditional education there, while secretly studying secular subjects. He moved to Berlin in 1787 to join the maskilim, but was persecuted by the Orthodox Jews for his liberal opinions and returned to his native city. In Hebrew. Provenance: Sept. 14th, 1926, Isaiah Berger (in Hebrew and English; see also f-1560 of this collection, no. 145 in this catalogue). 158. f-1536

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159

f-1547

Selig Friedrich Korn

(1803–1850), Braminen und Rabbinen, oder: Indien das Stammland der Hebräer und ihrer Fabeln. Eine Beweisführung für Bibel-Exegeten und Geschichtsforscher. Von F. Nork [pseud.] [Brahmans and Rabbis. Or, India the country of origin of the Hebrews and their fables. An argumentation for biblical exegetes and historians. By F. Nork (pseud.)]. Meissen (Germany): F. W. Goedsche, 1836. 213 x 125 mm. 181 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi–xviii, 1–344. Integral lithographed vignettetitle (zodiac), signed “Lithogr. Anst. v. F. W. Goedsche u. Steinmetz in Meissen.” Contemporary brown quarter-cloth, patterned boards. Copies: BL; BodL; HUC; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition. Selig Korn converted to Christianity after the death of his parents. He used a number of pseudonyms, including Friedrich Nork. This work is a learned but unsuccessful attempt to prove the Indian background of all narrative material in the Old Testament, not just the few fables. In German.

159. f-1547

Provenance: Rabbi S. M. Neches (of Jerusalem?, 20th century?); I. Kaufmann, bookseller, New York.

160

f-1559

Abraham Baer Gottlober (1810–1899), ‫ כולל שירים ומכתבים‬.‫[ ספר פרחי האביב‬The

Book of Spring Flowers. Comprising poems and letters]. Jozefow (Poland): David Saadiah Isaiah Wax, 1837. 8° (174 x 100 mm). 14, 26, 3–124, 134+2, 14–194. 160 pages, paginated [i–xxii], 1–88, 1–48, [1–2], the additional leaves called for by Vinograd apparently missing. Half-leather with paper boards. Vinograd Jozefow 49; Roest 424; Zedner 274 (1836); Zeitlin 124, erroneously listing 1835. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Abraham Baer Gottlober, born in Volhynia (then Russia), was a prolific Hebrew and Yiddish author. Initially a follower of the Haskalah, he later became much more nationalistic due to the 1881 pogroms. He joined the Hibbat Zion movement, the first Zionist organization that actually man-

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aged to send a group of immigrants to what was then Palestine. Apart from fiction, he also wrote scholarly works on Karaites and on Kabbalah in Yiddish and Hebrew. Being well versed in German as well, he published a Hebrew translation of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Nathan der Weise (Nathan the Wise) in 1874. On the second title page (and in his introduction), he mentions that some of the chapters are original and some were translated. Spring Flowers is his first publication. “The Two Sheaves,” a fable translated from the original Russian, appears on pages 32–33: “An upright sheaf of grain proudly said to her drooping companion: ‘You are like a poor person begging at the door, all stooped over. You have no strength to raise your head like me.’ ‘Oh, dear,’ said the second sheaf, ‘let us not fight. True, you have been granted height, but your head is light, there is nothing in it to burden it down. Thus, you may raise it so high and proudly, yet it is deficient and poor. Were your head only filled like mine is, you would certainly stand bent over like me.’ Moral: ‘Thus, humans, be not so ever-proud! And as in a mirror, look into the [lesson of the] fable and observe who lifts his head heavenward and who stares down at the earth and lowers his eyes!’” In Hebrew. Provenance: Shalom Rosenthal of Viershuv.

160. f-1559

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161. f-1529

161

f-1529

Abraham Baer Gottlober (1810–1899), ‫ אדער דיא גרוסע אסיפה אין וואלד‬:‫דער סעים‬

.‫ג‬.‫ב‬.‫ פון א‬.‫[ ווען דיא חיות האבען אויסגעקליבען דעם ליב פאר א מלך‬The Assembly: Or the great gathering in the woods where the animals chose the lion for king. By A. B. G.]. Zhytomyr (Ukraine): Abraham Shalom Schadov, 1869. 151 x 103 mm. 25 leaves, paginated π[2], [1–3], 4–47, [48]. Contemporary dark-red quarter-linen, black boards. Copies: Harv; +.

¶ First edition, comprising one long fable in Yiddish verse. It tells how all the animals gathered in a long meeting to choose a king. One by one, each steps forward to promote themselves and to show why they were the best candidate. In the end, of course, the lion was chosen as king. On Abraham Baer Gottlober see f-1559 of this collection, no. 160 in this catalogue. In Yiddish.

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162

f-1690

Adam Martinet (1800–1877), ‫ תפארת ישראל‬oder Hebräische Chrestomathie der biblisch-

en und neuern Literatur. Von Dr. Adam Martinet [The Glory of Israel, or Hebrew chrestomathy of biblical and modern literature. By Dr. Adam Martinet]. Bamberg (Germany): Verlag der Lachmüller’schen Kunst- und Buchhandlung, 1837. 8º (216 x 132 mm). π8, 1–218, 22–294, 302. 210 leaves, paginated [i–vii], viii–xvi, [1], 2–404. Contemporary marbled brown boards. Vinograd Bamberg 1; Cowley 412; Roest 769; StCB 6266,1; Zedner 513. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos. ¶ Only edition. Part two of Martinet’s and G. Riegler’s Hebräische Sprach-schule für Universitäten (. . .). The only Hebrew book printed in Bamberg until 1863. Adam Martinet was a teacher in the Catholic lyceum and the Catholic gymnasium in Bamberg. In the St. Joseph’s church in Gaustadt there is a memorial stone commemorating his role in the foundation of this parish. Much of the material Martinet uses comes from Haskalah sources, for which he seems to be full of admiration. The book has seven fables, all in Hebrew. In “The Woman and the Bee” (page 192) by the maskil Aaron Wolfsohn-Halle (1754–1835), a woman is looking through a small window and sees a bee flying from flower to flower. She says: “Bee, how can you enjoy all these flowers 162. f-1690 and hurry toward them to suck the honey out of them? Don’t you know that between the sweet vine and fig-tree other bitter plants grow that can cause your death? Aren’t you afraid of dying?” “Of course,” answers the bee, “I am as scared of death as you are. But look, I only eat the sweet, and the bitter I leave where it is.” In the epimythium, Wolfsohn-Halle expresses his irritation toward Orthodox Jews, because they try to keep him away from non-traditional literature: “I say to them: Listen you teachers! I shall do just as the bees do.” In Hebrew and German.

163

f-1319

Giuseppe Almanzi (1801–1860), ‫ איש פאדובה‬,‫ אשר שר יוסף אלמנצי‬.‫[ הגיון בכנור‬Gentle

Sounds with a Harp. Which were sung by Joseph (Giuseppe) Almanzi, citizen of Padua]. Vienna (Austria): Franz Edlen von Schmid, 1839. 12º (149 x 88 mm). A–E12, F6. 66 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–126, [127–132]. Contemporary

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brown quarter-linen, black-white speckled boards. Vinograd Vienna 812; Cowley 37; Roest 61; StCB 4413,1; Zedner 44. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; LoC; NYPL; +. ¶ Only edition, containing three fables in Hebrew verse. “The Wolf and the Fox” (page [3]) is a translation of Phaedrus’s “Lupus et vulpes, judice simio,” with the Latin original printed next to it. It tells of a wolf and a fox who are fighting over a prey. They accuse each other of having stolen it. After a long fight they decide to ask the monkey to serve as judge. And the monkey says: “You, wolf, are trying to get back what you did not lose; and you, fox, stole what you denied to have taken.” The fable on page 12 is presented as “One of Aesop’s Fables.” It tells of a raven who stole another bird’s feathers and was very proud to show them off. However, all the other birds realized what had happened and began to tear out the feathers from the raven’s wings, until he was left as black and plain as before. The moral is: “If you wear someone else’s garb in the East, then you shall surely return to the North more 163. f-1319 naked than an insect.” Besides being a learned writer, Almanzi was famous for his large collection of rare printed books and manuscripts. Many Jewish scholars came to his library for research, among them Leopold Zunz and Moritz Steinschneider. After Almanzi’s death, Samuel David Luzzatto edited a catalogue of the collection, entitled Yad Yosef (Joseph’s Hand). In 1865 the British Museum bought Almanzi’s manuscript collection, together with 14 Hebrew incunabula and some 200 later editions, for 1,000 pounds. In Hebrew and Latin. Provenance: Bookstamp of “Bet ha-Midrash de Ashkenazim be-Amsterdam ʿEts H.ayim” (The Ashkenazic Talmudic Academy ʿEts H.ayim in Amsterdam).

164

f-1338

Aaron Zevi ben Moses Judah Ashkenazi (fl. 1833–1839), ‫ חלק ראשון‬.‫יד אהרן‬

[The Hand of Aaron. First volume]. Thessaloniki (Greece): Saadi Halevi Ashkenazi, 1839.

159 x 104 mm. 60 leaves, foliated [1], 2–60. Modern dark-brown quarter-leatherette, brown cloth boards. Vinograd Salonica 744; Van Straalen 2. Copies: BL; NLI; NYPL.

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¶ First and only edition, volume 1 only. Aaron Zevi Ashkenazi was a self-appointed collector of charity donations for the Holy Land. He called this book “The Hand of Aaron” because, at the time of its composition, he suffered a terrible eye malady and thus it was as if his hand had written it independently. The book itself describes the holy sites and graves of holy people in Israel. Saadi Halevi Ashkenazi (1819–1903) was a journalist, musician, and publisher who descended from a long line of printers, originally from Holland.50 There is a fable on leaves 9r–11r. A fox once decided to go live with humans who would certainly not let him go hungry. On the way he met a wolf, who upon hearing of the fox’s intentions, was utterly amazed. But the fox reassured the wolf by saying that humans only hated animals who were uncivilized; by living in a man’s home, one would learn to be civil. So the wolf joined the fox. They presented themselves as servants to an aristocrat in the city, who gladly accepted them. The fox, being the smartest animal of the forest, decided not to eat, drink, or 164. f-1338 sleep and, after a few days, cut off all the hair on his body, explaining to the master that the hairs weighed him down, preventing him from fully serving him. The master was very happy with the smart fox and promoted him to head butler. Once he followed the master into the bathroom and there the master ordered the fox to rub him with hair-removing ointment. The fox did so, and poured some on himself as well. When the master noticed that the fox’s hair was not growing he was very happy and ordered him dressed in finery. Meanwhile, the wolf was eating and drinking, not working, and generally being very mean to the humans. The fox, seeing this, was surprised by the wolf ’s behavior. “Don’t you know,” said the fox to the wolf, “that the master is planning to kill you in mid-winter and sell your fur? That’s why he keeps you fed so well! You would be wise to run away pretty fast to avoid that fate.” Of course, the wolf got very upset. The next day the master ordered that all animals in the palace be brought to jail so that the following day they could be slaughtered and de-furred. When the wolf saw the fox in prison, he laughed and said: “So what good was all your cunning? You will suffer the same fate as all of us.” “No,” answered the fox, “you will yet see how cunning I am.” The next morning as the master awoke, he called for his chief butler, but there was no answer. “What did you do with my butler,” cried the master to his servants. “You told us to take all animals to prison yesterday, sir.” “Not my trusted and good friend the fox,” said the master. So the fox was freed. The moral is: “Souls are sent to this world with no intention 50. Olga Borovaya, “Halevy, Bezalel Saadi,” in Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, ed. Norman A. Stillman. http://dx.doi. org/10.1163/1878-9781_ejiw_SIM_0009090, accessed May 1, 2019.

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of eating or drinking, only serving the Creator full-heartedly. Thus, the righteous are like the fox who did not allow himself to eat, drink, or sleep. Evil people are like the wolf who continuously eat, drink and are merry, and do not serve their Master properly.” In Hebrew. Provenance: Jacob Elijah Efrati.

165

f-3105

Moses Laski (fl. 1840–1860), ‫[ נאמני ארץ או חולדה ובור‬Trusted of the Land, or the Weasel and the Pit]. Warsaw (Poland): W. J. Lebenssohn, 1840.

166 x 100 mm. π2, 24, 2-94, 102. 78 pages, paginated [1–3], 4–8, [9], 10–19, [20], 21–34, [35], 36–48, [49], 49 [=50], 51–63, [64], 65–78. 5 small ornamental illustrations. Contemporary quarter-leather. Vinograd Warsaw 207; Roest 660; Zedner 425. Copies: BRos; BL; Harv; NLI; +.

¶ First edition. Moses Laski, of whom little is known, wrote this booklet in honor of Czar Nicholas I after he was exempted to pay the non-resident tax (the “daily ticket”) Jews from outside of Warsaw were obliged to pay for living in the city. The tax decree was established in the Middle Ages and reenacted by the Prussian authorities in 1797, ruling that only Jews who were a resident before 1796 were allowed to stay. The decree was abolished by the French in 1811, but was once more reenacted by the Russian authorities in 1815. Trusted of the Land is a collection of five poems based on a talmudic fable, known popularly as “The Weasel and the Pit.” In it a young damsel on the way to her father’s house and fell into a pit. A young man came along and offered to help her out if she would marry him. She agreed, but asked who would serve as witnesses to the agreement. At that very moment, a weasel passed by. The young man declared that the pit and weasel would act as the witnesses and he helped her get out of the pit. As the times passed, however, the young man wed another girl and had two 165. f-3105 children with her. The first fell into a pit and died; the second was fatally bitten by a weasel. The man’s wife asked what could be the cause of this, and he related to her the account of his vow to the damsel in the pit. The wife made him divorce her so that he could fulfill his original vow. In Hebrew. Provenance: Several owner inscription on flyleaf, among others: Joachim Dawidowicz; Joseph Geisler (1854).

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166

f-1381

Baruch Schönfeld (1787–1852), ‫ והוא‬.‫ענף עץ אבות‬

‫קבוץ משלים ספורים ומליצות יסודם ומקורם מדרש אגדה‬ ‫ מאת ברוך שענפעלד‬.‫[ וזהר‬A Branch from the Fathers’ Tree. Collection of fables, stories and sayings from Midrash, Agadah and Zohar. By Baruch Schönfeld]. Ofen (Buda, Hungary): in der königl. ung. Universitäts-Buchdruckerei, 1841. 184 x 117 mm. 45 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–6, [7–8], 1–82. Contemporary black quarter-linen, black marbled boards. Vinograd Ofen 72; Cowley 624; Roest 1052; StCB 7143,2; Wachstein 63; Zedner 686. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition, containing eight fables in Hebrew verse, all of them of rabbinic origin. In “The Dove and the Hawk” (page 52), a dove leaves her house and flies away. Suddenly a hawk appears; the dove tries to find shelter in a cleft of 166. f-1381 a rock but sees a snake lying there. The poor dove has nowhere to go and cries out to her master for help. Immediately, her master hurries toward her and takes her back to the dove-cote. The epimythium says: “Thus was Israel’s situation after they fled from Egypt. In front of them was the sea, behind them Pharaoh. But they cried for help and God saved them.” Baruch ben Moses Schönfeld was a teacher in various towns in Hungary and Moravia. He published several collections of poetry, both his own and translations of others. In Hebrew.

167

f-1584

Isaac Benjacob

(1801–1863), ‫ ומאמר מכתם ללמד כולל דרכי‬.‫מכתמים ושירים שונים‬ ‫יעקב מווילנא‬-‫ מאת יצחק אייזיק בן‬.‫[ המכתם חקיו ומשפטיו‬Various Epigrams and Poems. With an essay on the epigram, to teach all its rules and manners. By Isaac Benjacob of Vilnius]. Leipzig (Germany): C. L. Fritzsche, 1842. 159 x 100 mm. 80 leaves, paginated [i–vii], viii–xii, [xiii–xiv], [1], 2–143, [144–146]. 2nd title page in Latin. Contemporary black quarter-leather, blue-black marbled boards. Vinograd Leipzig 86; Roest 148; StCB 4541,1; Zedner 84. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; LoC; NYPL.

¶ Only edition, containing three fables in Hebrew verse. On page 17 the fable “The Hare to the Hunter [Says]” appears: “I thank God for being a hare, and that your arrow, aimed for me, missed my left side. But I swear, had I been a human, or even an invalid, that would not have happened to me.” Isaac Benjacob was a well-known enlightened scholar from Vilnius (Lithuania). He published

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various medieval texts and a Hebrew Bible with commentary, together with Abraham Dov Lebensohn. He is most famous, however, for his work as a bibliographer. The result of that work, Otsar ha-sefarim (Treasure of Books), was printed after his death in 1880 by his son Jacob Benjacob, with the help of Moritz Steinschneider. In Hebrew. Provenance: Arnold D. Schuk, Vilnius (Lithuania); Judiska Församlingens Bibliotek, Stockholm (Sweden).

168

f-1924

Joachim Rosenfeld

167. f-1584

(fl. 1842), ‫תנובות‬ ‫ מאת‬.‫ אשר צמחו עלי ערוגות עשתנותי והוא חבור כולל שירים ומליצות בלשון עבר‬.‫שדה‬ . . . ‫ למשן ירוץ כל קורא בו נעתקו רבה מהם ללשון אשכנזי מאת‬.‫שמואל נחום ראזענפעלד‬ ‫ רפאל פירשטענטהאל‬/ Sammlung hebräischer Gedichte und prosaischer Aufsätze verschiedenen Inhalts. Von Joachim Rosenfeld. Zum Theil ins Deutsche übersetzt von R. J. Fürstenthal [The Produce of the Field. Which have grown on the garden-beds of my thoughts. A collection of poems and essays in the Hebrew language. By Samuel Nahum Rosenfeld. Partly translated into German by R. J. Fürstenthal]. Wroclaw (Poland): H. Sulzbach, 1842. 192 x 114 mm. 53 leaves, paginated [4], [1], 2–102. Contemporary dark-gray boards. Vinograd Breslau 252; Roest 971; Zedner 660. Copies: BL; BRos; LoC; NLI.

168. f-1924

¶ Only edition, including two fables in Hebrew verse, with German translations. In “The Goose and the Snake” (page 84), a goose is boasting: “Look at me, who can be compared with me? I am the best of all creatures. I can fly like an eagle, I can swim across the waters, and when I am tired, I can even walk on land and eat grass!” But the snake, hearing all this, replies: “So you think you are good? Can you fly as high as an eagle and build your nest high on the mountain peaks? Can you run as fast as a deer, who escapes her hunters swiftly? Or can you even swim like a fish, in the depths of the oceans? Don’t raise your voice about the little bit that you own: soon your smallness becomes clear, and you will be thought of even lower than before.” In Hebrew.

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169

f-1617

Jerusalem.

,‫ שירים ומליצות‬,‫ דברי חכמה ודעת‬.‫ הבנויה כעיר שחברה לה יחדו‬.‫ירושלים‬ ‫ וכל יקר בשפתנו הקדושה‬,‫[ באורי כתבי קדש‬Jerusalem. Built up, a city knit together. Scholarly articles, poems and essays, commentaries to the Holy Scriptures, and everything precious in our Holy Tongue]. Zholkva (Ukraine): Saul Meyerhoffer, 1844. 190 x 113 mm. 46 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–91, [92]. Contemporary dark-gray quarter-linen, green-black marbled boards. Vinograd Zolkiev 953; Cowley 453; Fürst 386 (“Hebräische Zeitschrift in zwanglosen Heften”: Hebrew journal in “forceless” issues [i.e., appearing irregularly]); Roest 832; Zedner 631. Copies: BL.

¶ Only edition. Volume 1 only of three. The title is a quotation from Psalm 122:3. Jerusalem tried to continue the tradition of Ha-Meʾasef and Bikure ha-ʿitim, as mentioned by the editors, Abraham Mendel Mohr (1815–1868) and Jacob Bodek (1819– 1855), in their preface; but only three volumes appeared. One fable in Hebrew verse appears on page 61, “The Roses and the Aloes,” by Naphtali Mendel Schorr (1806–1883) of Brody. A pioneer in Hebrew newspaper publishing in Galicia, Schorr also published the journal Ha-tsir (1858). “On the tops of trees and in the midst of plants, a war was fought. Roses and the aloe plants fiercely contested to whom belongs the kingdom? And, while no one heard, along came the planter and scooped them all up, to give to his beloved, his dove, his only, his love. There they dried out. As a book, they were desiccated, ugly to behold. So ended the war, ended so abruptly and they were as naught. Such is the same as an old man, as a child. Men fight, but suddenly death appears, dragging them to deep darkness and everlasting peace in their graves.” In Hebrew.

170

169. f-1617

f-1255

Baer Goldberg (1801–1884), Chofes Matmonim (. . .) Berl Goldberg / ‫ הוא‬.‫חפש מטמונים‬

‫ עם הערותיו‬,‫ [הו]ציאם לאור ע״י הדפוס‬.‫קבוץ דברים יקרים ועתיקים לחכמי ישראל הקדמונים‬ ‫[ והערות שאר אנשי מדע איש בער גאלדבערג מילידי פולין‬The Searcher for Hidden Things. A collection of old and precious words of Israel’s sages. Prepared for the press, with his own notes and those of other scholars, by Baer Goldberg, of Polish ancestry]. Berlin (Germany): for Gustav Bethge, 1845.

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206 x 126 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [4], [1], 2–92. Modern black leatherette. Bound with: Abraham ibn Ezra’s Sefer Sefat yeter, edited by Gabriel Hirsch Lippmann (Frankfurt am Main, 1843). Vinograd Berlin 635; Cowley 215; Roest 419; StCB 5151,1; Zedner 272. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; NYPL; +.

¶ f-1255, f-1391, and f-1392 are three partly overlapping editions of one collection of fables. In his foreword, Baer Goldberg describes how he found in the private library of Jeremiah Heinemann in Berlin a manuscript with unpublished rabbinic works. Among these were 72 fables in Syriac, written in Hebrew script. Goldberg edited the fables and added some references to the Bible and the Talmud, but otherwise “I have not touched them, I have not added to them or subtracted from them.” A year later, Julius Landsberger again published 32 of these fables, with annotations, as part of his dissertation. In his preface Landsberger mentions that because of Goldberg’s lack of knowledge of the Aramaic language, he overlooked the fact that eight fables appeared twice in his collection. Landsberger further mentions that he and his friend M. Buka had divided the fables between them, which explains why he published only 32 of them. In 1859 Landsberger eventually published the entire collection with a lengthy introduction on the origin of fables, an annotated and vocalized text with a translation into German, and a glossary. Landsberger shows that the Greek fables of Syntipas largely resemble this Syriac collection and that in all likelihood these Syriac fables represent the original. However, almost all of the fables also appear in Aesopian collections. One of the fables that appears only in this Syriac collection and in Syntipas’s fables, is “The Bull and the Lion” (page 20 in “Matle de-Sufus”). A bull used his

170. f-1255

171. f-1391

172. f-1392

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horns to kill a sleeping lion and then walked away. The mother of the lion saw her son and started to cry and wail. A passing donkey heard her cries and said: “How many parents have been crying because of the deaths caused to their children by your son!” The epimythium reads: “Only those who do not see their own faults, complain about others’.” In Syriac in Hebrew characters.

171

f-1391

Julius Landsberger (1819–1890), Fabulæ aliquot aramææ; Interpretando correctae adnota-

tionibusque instructae. A Julio Landsberger [Some Aramaic Fables. Corrected and annotated. By Julius Landsberger]. Berlin (Germany): Julius Sittenfeld, for the author, 1846. 196 x 117 mm. 20 leaves, paginated [1–9], 10–39, [40]. Contemporary brown quarter-leather, light-brown boards. Roest 658; StCB 6111,1; Zedner 424. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; NLI; +.

¶ For a description see f-1255 of this collection, no. 170 of this catalogue. In Syriac in Hebrew characters and in Latin. Provenance: Leo Polak, bookplate.

172

f-1392

Julius Landsberger (1819–1890), ‫מתליא דסופוס‬. Die Fabeln des Sophos. Syrisches Original der griechischen Fabeln des Syntipas. In berichtigtem vocalisirtem Texte zum ersten Male vollständig mit einem Glossar herausgegeben nebst literarischen Vorbemerkungen und einer einleitenden Untersuchung über das Vaterland der Fabel. Von Dr. Julius Landsberger [Sophos’s Fables. Original Syriac version of the Greek fables of Syntipas. The present vocalized text is the first complete edition, with a glossary, a literary introduction and an investigation into the homeland of the fable. By Julius Landsberger]. Poznan (Poland): Louis Merzbach, 1859. 172 x 110 mm. 169 leaves, paginated [8], [i], ii–cxliv, [1], 2–186. Original dark-brown cloth. Vinograd Posen 8; Cowley 385; Roest 1086; Zedner 731. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; JTS; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ For a description see f-1255 of this collection, no. 170 in this catalogue. In Syriac in Hebrew characters and in German. Provenance: M. Kalisch.

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173

f-1326

Moritz Steinschneider (1816–1907), Manna. Von M. Steinschneider [Manna. By M. Steinschneider]. Berlin (Germany): J. Rosenberg, 1847.

178 x 111 mm. 57 leaves, paginated [6], [1], 2–114. Modern black cloth. Roest 1091; StCB 7271,11. Copies: BodL; BRos; Harv; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition. Moritz Steinschneider was born in Prossnitz, Moravia, on March 30, 1816. His father was an enlightened Jew who raised his son within the Jewish tradition but sent him to a Christian school, apparently for his secular education, and introduced him to general art and classical music. In 1836 he went to Vienna to study Semitic languages, and in 1839 went to Leipzig. He then moved to Berlin, where he took classes in German, Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, Greek literature, Oriental literature, Ethiopic, geography of Palestine, and church history. In 1841 Steinschneider returned to Prague, where he would serve as a teacher at the “Lehr- und Erziehungsanstalt für israelitische Mädchen,” a Jewish school for girls. Influenced by Leopold Zunz, Steinschneider decided to return to Berlin, where he would radically change his views on Judaism, become an adherent of Zunz’s more liberal ideas, and give up his rabbinical aspirations. In Berlin, Steinschneider served as the director of a Jewish girls’ school from 1869 until 1890. From 1850 onward, he produced hundreds of short ar173. f-1326 ticles, reviews, catalogues, encyclopedia entries, lectures, and other learned papers in all areas of Jewish literary and cultural history. Special mention should be made here of his monumental catalogue of the Hebrew printed books in the Bodleian Library, which was published in Berlin between 1852 and 1860. He wrote it in Latin, because he could not write English and the library did not want a German catalogue. He included not only all the Hebrew books in the Bodleian, but also all other Hebrew books known to him that were printed before 1732. It was not before 1894, when he was in his late 70s, that he was made an honorary professor by the Prussian government. Steinschneider died on January 24, 1907, at 90 years of age. His Manna contains excerpts from Berechiah ha-Nakdan’s well-known Fox Fables, appearing on pages 38–40. In German. Provenance: L. Loew.

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174

f-1318

Eliezer Dov Liebermann

(1819–1895), ‫ תכלכל ענינים שונים מליצות‬.‫מגלת ספר‬ ‫ מאת אליעזר דוב ליבערמאן‬.‫ ערוכים בשפה ברורה ובטוב טעם‬.‫[ וספורים משלי מוסר ומכתבים‬A Book Scroll. Including various rhymes and stories, moral fables and letters in a clear and pleasant language. By Eliezer Dov Liebermann]. Johannesburg (South Africa): n.p., 1854. 161 x 95 mm. 68 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–135, [136]. Apparently incomplete (see Vinograd). Modern brown quarter-leather, darkblue boards. Vinograd Johannesburg 12 (calling for 326 pages). Copies: NLI; +.

¶ Only edition. Eliezer Dov Liebermann (1819–1895) was an educator and an important member of the Eastern European Haskalah. A fable entitled “The Apple” (page 99) tells this story: High atop an apple tree, a horde of bees rested and produced some honey. As a result of this important treasure, the apple tree boasted to the other trees in the forest: “Who is like unto me?” The rose bush, hearing these words, answered him: “Why do you boast so? Is not the honey merely on loan to you? Your own fruits are just as bitter as they were always! Try, why don’t you, to sweeten your fellow trees in the orchard and then they and Man will honor you.” The moral: “It is not mere study, but action, that is of principal importance.” In Hebrew.

175

174. f-1318

f-1588

Samson Bloch (1784–1845), ‫ כולל מחקרי‬.‫ והוא חלק שלישי מספר שבילי עולם‬.‫זהב שבה‬

‫ מכתבי יד שמשון בלאך הלוי זצ״ל‬.‫[ ארץ פורטוגאל ושפניא ותכונת אדמתה וקורותה‬Shebah’s Gold. Which is the third part of “Ways of the World.” Comprising studies on the land of Portugal and Spain, as well as the contents of their soils and their history. From the manuscripts of Samson Bloch]. Lviv (Ukraine): F. Grossman, 1855. 8º (181 x 109 mm). [1]4, 2–74, 81, 9–134, (13,4+1), 294, [210]2; 18, 214, 22–64. 88 leaves, paginated [1–128], 1–47, [48]. Modern gray cloth. Vinograd Lemberg 1239; Roest 232. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; NYPL; +. ¶ First separate edition in Hebrew. This is the third volume of the work Shevile ʿolam (Ways of the World). The title word “shebah” represents the initial letters of the author Samson Bloch haLevi. The first two volumes discussed Asia (Zolkiew, 1822) and Africa (Zolkiew, 1828); this third discusses Europe. There are numerous editions, including separate editions of the parts and complete editions, both in Hebrew and translated into Ladino. Shevile ʿolam was the most important

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Haskalah work of general geography, based on German sources. Since it was Bloch’s custom to translate geography books without considering their particular time frame, he had finished translating the material for the book about Europe when friends told him that, as a result of political upheavals in the first decades of the 19th century, his sources had become outdated. As a result, Bloch stopped writing the third part. After Bloch’s death, Abraham Menahem Mendel Mohr finished it. Five fables appear on pages [53–57], all translated from German sources. The fable on page [55] is entitled “The Wolf on His Deathbed,” written by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: “When the wolf was nearing death’s door, he recalled the deeds and iniquities of his youth. He said: ‘If my actions have been naughty, still I would not count myself among the evil highwaymen who rob people at night. I have considered my days of youth, how once as I wandered aimlessly in the forests I came upon a lost goat. How easily I could have torn it to shreds, without anyone challenging me! But I had compassion for it, because of its youth. May God remember this at 175. f-1588 the time when all my actions come before You. Consider that and judge me fairly!’ ‘Oh, your words are true,’ answered the fox, ‘I too was there then. But if I recall correctly, you said those words at the very time your mouth was full of another goat which you had torn from its mother’s teats.’” Samson Bloch, born in Kulikov (Galicia), had a traditional Jewish education but was soon attracted to Haskalah. He was among the first maskilim in Galicia and was involved in the publishing of, among others, Bikure ha-ʿitim. “His position of honor in Haskalah literature and its era he acquired via his one original work, Shevile ʿolam, which was the first attempt on a large scale to transmit knowledge of geography to Hebrew readers. The book was written with the encouragement of [Nahman] Krochmal and [Salomon Leib] Rappaport (. . .) and was greatly popular among Hebrew readers for dozens of years.”51 In Hebrew.

176

f-1261

Mordecai Aaron Guenzburg (1795–1846), ,‫ מליצות‬,‫ כולל קבוצת מכתבים שונים‬.‫דביר‬

‫ מאת מרדכי אהרן גינצבורג‬.‫ ללמד את ילידי בני עמנו לשון למודים‬,‫משלי מוסר ותולדות אנשי שם‬ [Spoken Word. Containing a collection of different letters, rhymes, moral fables and the histories of famous men, to teach the children of our nation the language of education. By Mordecai Aaron Guenzburg]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Joseph Reuben ben Menahem Man Romm, 1855. 51. Getzel Kressel, ‫[ לכסיקון הספרות העברית בדורות האחרונים‬Lexicon of Hebrew Literature in Recent Times] (Merhavia: Sifriyyat Poʿalim, 1965–1967), 1:249.

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12º (159 x 100 mm). [1] 6, 2–196, 203. 117 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–234. Modern gray quarter-cloth, red marbled boards. Vinograd Vilna 902; Cowley 214. Copies: Harv; NLI; +. ¶ Second edition of this Hebrew textbook (first edition: Vilnius, 1844). The author writes in his preface that Devir (Spoken Word) is meant as a follow-up to his Qiryat sefer (Vilnius, 1835), an apparently very successful collection of samples of business and private letters. According to him, Qiryat sefer largely contributed to a clearer and more concise use of the Hebrew language. He mentions that he “even came to the gardens of children, where nice-smelling and beautiful-looking flowers were growing.” About half of the present book consists of letters, including those by Moses Montefiore’s secretary, who accompanied his patron on a trip to Palestine and gives a detailed account of their adventures. The book contains 38 fables in Hebrew prose, appearing on pages 179–197. In “The Bee and the Spider” (page 179), 176. f-1261 the spider tells the bee: “You get everything from the flowers and the budding trees. But they give you their sweet juices that you need, nothing originates in you. You just do the labor. But me, I can be proud of the work I do because this is completely my creation.” So the bee answers him: “Even so, my honey is wanted by everyone and your web is of no use to anyone.” The epimythium says: “It is better to copy helpful things than create useless things.” In “The Eagle, the Lion, and the Sheep” (page 180), the eagle asks the lion: “Why can’t I be king? Don’t I have the same might and strength as you have?” “Yes, you do,” answers the lion, “but you don’t have the same goodness and nobility of heart.” “And why can’t I be king?” asks the sheep, “I do have that goodness of heart.” “But you don’t have the might and strength,” says the lion. The epimythium reads: “The Throne is prepared by Might and Goodness.” This clearly betrays the fable as kabbalistic: Goodness and Might are stages of the Divine Emanation, immediately under the Deity itself. In Hebrew.

176a

f-1263

Mordecai Aaron Guenzburg (1795–1846), ,‫ מליצות‬,‫ כולל קבוצת מכתבים שונים‬.‫דביר‬

‫ מאת מרדכי אהרן‬.‫ ללמד את ילידי בני עמנו לשון למודים‬,‫ ותולדות אנשי שם‬,‫משלי מוסר‬ ‫ יצא לאור ע״י חיים זלמן אליאשעוויטש‬.‫[ גינצבורג ז״ל‬Spoken Word. Containing a collection of different letters, rhymes, moral fables and the histories of famous men, to teach the children of our nation the language of education. By Mordecai Aaron Guenzburg. Edited by Hayyim Zalman Eliasewich]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Samuel Joseph Fuenn and Abraham Zevi Rosenkranz, 1864.

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164 x 102 mm. 102 leaves, paginated [2], [1], 2–202. Modern gray quarter-cloth, blue boards with white flower-design. Cowley 214. Copies: BodL; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Third edition. No changes in content, but with a different pagination. In Hebrew.

177

f-1549–1551, f-2629–2634

Kokhve Yitshak. ‫ כולל פרי מחקר וילדי מליצה מחכמי הדור ומנעימי השיר‬.‫כוכבי יצחק‬

‫ להבין דברי חכמים‬,‫ ולהדריכם בנתיב ההגיון‬.‫ להועיל וללמד בני יהודה קסת הסופר‬.‫בזמננו‬ ‫ לאמת ולאמונה‬,‫ ונחתה קסת נחושה זרועותם‬,‫ לעורר קנאתם לשפת קודש‬,‫משליהם וחידותם‬ ‫ נאספו לאגודה אחת מאת מענדל בר״י שטערן‬.‫ ולהרים קרנה כמקדם‬/ Kochbe Jizchak. Eine Sammlung ebräischer Aufsätze, literarhistorischen, philologischen, exegetischen und poetischen Inhalts. Zur Förderung des ebräischen Sprachstudiums. Herausgegeben von M. E. Stern [Stars of Isaac. Containing the fruits of research and the poetic offspring of the sages of our generation and from those who excel in poetry in our days. To benefit from it and to teach the children of Judah the inkstand of the writer. Edited by M. E. Stern]. ¶ Only edition, several volumes. Max Emanuel (Mendel) Stern (1811–1873) was born in Pressburg (now Bratislava) and lived most of his life in Vienna. He was a prolific publisher and editor. Kokhve Yitshak, 36 volumes in total, was published by Stern between 1845 and 1869; a final volume appeared in 1873, edited by Mordecai Weissmann-Chajes. In these volumes, several fables appear, some versified. The fable of the Goat and the Wolf appears in volume 6, page 15, the fable of the Fly and the Bee on page 12 of volume 16. In “The Raven and the Fox” (volume 32, page 30), a raven found a piece of meat in a garden, which had been poisoned by the gardener, who loathed the neighbor’s cats. When the raven sat down high in a tree to eat the meat, a fox walked by and said to the raven: “Good morning, sir!” The raven looked up and asked: “You mean me?” “Of course,” said the fox. “Aren’t you the mighty beautiful eagle with your huge wings, who so often shared with me your heavenly prey? And even now, I see you have caught another piece of meat. Can I have some?” The raven, of course, was very flattered and decided to drop the meat. The fox walked off smiling, but soon his happiness turned into agony as the poison started to work. “Let this be an example for all you flatterers,” reads the epimythium. The fable was written, together with three other fox-fables, by I. M. Bak. In Hebrew.

177a

f-2629

Volume 3. Vienna (Austria): Franz Edlen von Schmid and I. I. Busch, 1846. 168 x 114 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–94. Modern paper boards with patterned brown plastic-like covering.

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177b

f-2630

Volume 6. Vienna (Austria): Franz Edlen von Schmid and I. I. Busch, 1846.

181 x 119 mm. 54 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–34, 37 [i.e., 35], 36–45, 45 [i.e., 46], 46 [i.e., 47], 48–108. Original blue paper wrappers.

177c

f-2631

Volume 13. Vienna (Austria): Adalbert della Torre,

1850.

190 x 118 mm. 49 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–90, [2 unpaginated pages], 91–96. Original blue paper wrappers, partially uncut.

177d

f-2632

177a. f-2629

Volume 14. Vienna (Austria): Adalbert della Torre, 1851. 186 x 115 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [1–7], 8–78, 89 [i.e., 79], 80–96. Original blue paper wrappers.

177e

f-2633

Volume 16. Vienna (Austria): Adalbert della Torre, 1852. 182 x 116 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–96. Original blue paper wrappers.

177f

f-2634

Volume 18. Vienna (Austria): Edlen von Schmidbauer and Holzwarth, 1853. 198 x 126 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–96. Original blue wrappers, only front cover remains.

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177g. f-1550

177g

177h. f-1549

177i. f-1551

f-1550

Volume 20. Vienna (Austria): U. Klopf the elder and Alexander Eurich, 1855. 190 x 114 mm. 40 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–80. Modern grayish-green cloth.

177h

f-1549

Volume 25. Vienna (Austria): J. Holzwarth, 1860. 187 x 112 mm. 62 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–124.

Volume 26. Vienna (Austria): Friedr. Förster, 1861. 187 x 112 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–96. Modern grayish-green cloth, including the original printed paper wrappers of volume 25. Provenance: J. Knöpflmacher & Söhne, booksellers.

177i

f-1551

Volume 31. Vienna (Austria): J. Holzwarth, 1865. 187 x 112 mm. 72 leaves, paginated [1], 2–144.

Volume 32. Vienna (Austria): J. Holzwarth, 1865. 298 ]

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187 x 112 mm. 52 leaves, paginated [1], 2–104. Modern grayish-green cloth, including the original printed lower paper wrapper of volume 31. Vinograd Vienna 997 (20), 1129 (25), 1174 (26), 1017 (31); Cowley 521, 669; Roest 1094; StCB 7278,1; Zedner 631. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NYPL; +.

178

f-1590

Meged jerahim. ‫ מליצה‬,‫ מוסריי‬,‫ הגיוניי‬,‫ מדותיי‬,‫ למודיי‬,‫ כולל פרי מחקריי‬.‫מגד ירחים‬

‫ מאת יוסף כהן צדק‬.‫ וגמלו פרי הדר על תלמי חכמים ונבונים בגן שפת עבר‬,‫ אשר הנצו ציץ‬,‫ושיר‬ / Meged Jerachim. Eine Sammelschrift für Freunde der hebräischen Literatur. Herausgegeben von Joseph Kohn [The Finest of Months. Comprising the scholarly, learned, ethical, philosophical fruit as well as prose and poems, and the fruits of splendor that ripen on the furrows of sages and scholars in the garden of the Hebrew language. By Joseph Kohn]. Lviv (Ukraine): E. Winiarz, 1856 (= 1855) [first issue]/M. F. Poremba, 1856 [second issue]/M. F. Poremba, 1856) [third issue]/M. F. Poremba, 1858 [fourth issue]. 216 x 139 mm. 1st issue: 32 leaves, paginated [i– iii], iv–vi, [1], 2–58; 2nd issue: 32 leaves, paginated [59], 60–74, 80–127; 3rd issue: 36 leaves, paginated [128–132], 133–159, 159–198; 4th issue: 36 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–72. The editor apologizes at the end of the 2nd issue for the misnumbering. Modern brown leatherette. Vinograd Lemberg 1216, 1261, 1313; Zedner 630. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Only edition. Hebrew literary annual, which appeared four times. It was edited by Joseph Kohn (1827–1903), who was a pioneering editor in Galicia. He published the first Hebrew newspaper there, HaMevaser, which attracted contributors from all over Europe, and he also wrote many literary and scholarly works. In Meged jerahim, four fables in Hebrew verse appear on pages 39–40. In the first, “The Hawk and the Nightingale,” a nightingale is singing happily in a tree, when suddenly a hawk appears, killing and devouring the nightingale within a second. When the hawk finishes his meal, he says: “First my jealousy ate me, now I ate you.” In Hebrew.

178. f-1590

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179

f-1543

Immanuel Bondi

(1820–1908), ,‫ משלים ומליצות‬,‫ כוללים מכתבים‬.‫מכתבי שפת קדש‬ ‫ נוסחות מצבות מאנשים מצויינים‬/ Hebräische Chrestomathie des theoretisch-praktischen Lehrbuches der hebräischen Sprache. Von E. Bondi [Hebrew Letters. Containing letters, fables and rhymes, versions of tombstone inscriptions of outstanding men. Hebrew chrestomathy of the theoretical and practical primer of the Hebrew language. By E. Bondi]. Prague (Czech Republic): Eigenthum und Verlag von Wolf Pascheles, 1857. 220 x 147 mm. 66 leaves, paginated [1–7], 6–126, [127–130]. Contemporary brown leather board, red painted edges, boards stamped in gilt. Vinograd Prague 1501; Roest 235; Zedner 155. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv, HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Third(?) edition in Hebrew, compiled by Wolf Pascheles. Menahem Mendel Immanuel Bondi was born in Dobris, Bohemia. In the first part (pages 5–39) the text appears in Hebrew with a German translation in the footnotes. Pascheles added some of the best poetry of the day to the book, by scholars such as Solomon Judah Leib Rapoport of Prague (1790–1867), Isaac Schpitz (1764–1842), and Meir Letteris (c. 1800–1871). Also included is an autobiography by Samuel David Luzzatto (1800–1865) on pages 62–74. There is bibliographical confusion concerning Bondi’s books. According to Pascheles, this volume was the third edition. The first two editions are unknown. The book includes a section of mostly anonymous fables (pages 9–21). The fable on page 20 is entitled “The Spider and the Bee.” A spider saw a bee fluttering to and fro and said: “For whom do you work? What is all the bustle you make?” Said the bee in response: “In order to fill my quota of food.” Said the spider: “And where do you find then enough to satisfy you?” Said 179. f-1543 the bee: “In flowers that grow abundantly in gardens, fields, and grassy plains.” Said the spider: “I laugh at you and your stupidity! You have a mighty stinger that can suck the blood out of your victims and yet you work hard looking for flowers? Oh, how I wish I were like you! I wish I could fly around like you. Here I just sit and wait for my victims to fall in my web that I have set. . .” Said the bee: “Enough with your evil talk, you blood-sucker. Only such an evil being like you would wish to overpower someone more righteous than yourself. It is true that I work all day to produce honey of which I eat little, leaving most of it for man. But I find favor in the eyes of God and man. Man loves me. But you, however, they hate. As soon as you turn they try to undo the evil web you have spun to entrap innocent folk.” In Hebrew and German. Provenance: Dr. Josef Zalud.

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180

f-1250

Judah Leib Gordon (1831–1892), ‫ קבוצת משלי מוסר כתובים בשירים בלשון‬.‫משלי יהודה‬

‫אשר גארדאן‬-‫ מאת יהודה ליב בן‬.‫[ יהודים‬Fables of Judah. Collection of fables, written in Hebrew verse. By Judah Leib ben Asher Gordon]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Joseph Reuben ben Menahem Man Romm, 1859. 167 x 102 mm. 122 leaves, paginated [i–iii], iv–xxvi, [xxvii–xxviii], [1], 2–212. Few misnumberings and 4 uncounted leaves. Contemporary brown quarter-leather with brown-red marbled boards. Vinograd Vilna 1064; Cowley 218; Roest 423; Zedner 274. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of these hundred fables written in Hebrew verse. Judah Leib Gordon had already published a collection with lyrical poems, but decided that he wanted to give the people not only something to enjoy, but also something useful. After a lengthy introduction on fables, he opens the book with a poem, which begins: “By now, the footsteps of my poetry’s daughter, are ready for a new abundant land, where every living being speaks and thinks (. . .), where the woods become a town.” “The Donkey and the Horse,” a fable from Jean de La Fontaine, appears on page 78: A donkey and a horse are being driven toward a town. The donkey has been loaded heavily with grain and bread, whereas the horse carries nothing. The donkey, suffering under his load, speaks to the horse: “Please, horse, can’t you carry a bit from my load? It’s too much, I shall not be able to bear this much longer.” The horse answers angrily: “How dare you, donkey, speak to me, a horse? Does a slave speak to a prince?” And the horse refuses to listen any further to the poor donkey. After a few miles, the donkey falls down and dies. Now, the horse has to carry the donkey’s load and his skin as well. Judah Leib Gordon is one of the great Hebrew poets. He 180. f-1250 was an important spokesman of the Haskalah and advocated many of the basic maskilic ideas. For example, he wanted Jews to stop speaking Yiddish, since it was only a “jargon,” and speak Russian instead. He wrote many angry articles against the conservative religious establishment, and even wrote, influenced by similar trends in Russia, about the position of women. After having spoken in favor of assimilation into the general Russian society, he was shocked by the pogroms of 1881 and the revival of anti-Semitism in Russia. In his later years, though never really a Zionist, Gordon became more attached to Palestine-focused circles. Personally, he believed that European Jews were more likely to thrive in the Western-European countries and the Anglo-American world. In Hebrew. Provenance: Isaac Meller Rakishki.

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181

f-1494

Judah Leib Gordon (1831–1892), .‫ משלים קטנים לילדים גדולים‬.‫גם אלה משלי יהודה‬

‫ כמו שנדפס בהשחר שנה שניה‬,‫[ מאת יהודה ליב גארדאן‬These Too Are Judah’s Fables. Small fables for big children. By Judah Leib Gordon (as printed in “Ha-Shahar,” volume 2)]. Vienna (Austria): n.p., 1872. 212 x 136 mm. 16 leaves, paginated π[1–2], [1], 2–28, [29–30]. Modern black quarter-cloth, gray boards. Friedberg gimel 341 (with reference to Mishle Yehudah [Judah’s Fables], mem 3916). Copies: no copies located.

¶ Separate edition of these 20 fables, which had appeared earlier in volume 2 of Ha-Shahar (The Dawn). The index on page [29] also lists where some of these fables were published before they appeared in Ha-Shahar. The fable “Foreign Children” (page 13) tells of a chicken that finds some abandoned eggs and takes care of them. When they break open, she feeds the chicks and keeps them warm. At night, she lets them sleep under her wings, and even then, her heart keeps worrying about them. The chicks soon are big enough to go out on their own and find their own food. The chicken follows “her” chicks until they come to a stream. The chicks jump into the water and start swimming to the other side, but the chicken remains on the ground. Then she understands that she has nurtured the chicks of a goose. “Or the kids of learned Jews,” says the last sentence. In Hebrew. 181. f-1494

182

f-1485 and f-1532

Judah Leib Gordon (1831–1892), ‫ בארבעה‬.‫ ישנים גם חדשים‬.‫כל שירי יהודה ליב גארדאן‬

‫ יוצאים לאור על ידי אגדת אנשים אוהבי שפת עבר בס״ט פטרבורג‬.‫[ ספרים‬Collected Poems of Judah Leib Gordon. Old and new. In four parts. Published by the Society of Friends of the Hebrew Language in St. Petersburgh]. St. Petersburg (Russia): G. F. Pines and Isaiah Zederbaum, 1884. Regular edition (f-1485): 192 x 135 mm. Vol. 1: 85 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi–xxii, [1], 2–147, [148]; vol. 2: 116 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi–xxii, [1], 2–209, [210]; vol. 3: 107 leaves, paginated π[1–4], [1–2], 3–209, [210]; vol. 4: 108 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi, [1], 2–208, [209–210]. 2nd title page in Russian. All 4 volumes still have their original printed paper wrappers: orange, off-green, pink, and off-white, respectively; bound together in contemporary blue cloth. Van Straalen 273. Copies: BL; BRos; NLI; NYPL. Deluxe edition (f-1532):

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277 x 174 mm. Vol. 1: 93 leaves, paginated [i–ii], χ[1–2], [iii–iv], v–xxii, 1–162; vol. 2: 115 leaves, paginated [i–iv], v–xviii, 1–212; vol. 3: 93 leaves, paginated π[1–4], [1–2], 3–182; vol. 4: 96 leaves, paginated [i–iv], v–vi, 1–186. 1 monochrome photograph (portrait). Vols. 1 and 2 each have been bound in modern blue cloth; vols. 3 and 4 have been bound together in original brown cloth with gilt edges. Copies: HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First editions. As mentioned by the editors in the preface, both editions appeared at the same time: the regular edition cost three rubles, the deluxe edition ten. The editions have different paginations, but both have at the end of volume 2 an index of all fables included, also mentioning the original sources. There are exactly 100 fables, many of them originally by Aesop, Jean de La Fontaine, and Ivan Krylov. The fourth volume contains the fable “The Frogs Who Sought a Rabbi” (page 183). The fable alludes to political events in the latter half of the 19th century when the Russian government under Czar Alexander II ordered the Jewish community to elect a “chief rabbi” who would be able to teach the Russian language to his congregants. Gordon satirizes the traditional Jewish community by manifesting their disdain of anything intellectual or enlightening. “The frogs were in an uproar. Since the carrot-top was made king over them, things were not going well. A new decree had been levied on them: they had to elect a rabbi who was educated in Haskalah [i.e., secular knowledge]. While they tried to ‘escape’ from this harsh decree, election day dawned upon the pond. All the nominees gathered together with the voters, hoping to win them over at the last minute. Among these hopefuls, came the Sun. ‘Elect me! See how bright and warm I am! With me, you can be assured that you will not be sunk in [intellectual] darkness forever!’ The frogs were not convinced. ‘We are not used to brightness; we prefer the dark lily pond. We have never traveled beyond the limits of this pond. We are not interested in your promises.’ Then the owl approached and was rebuffed as well. ‘You are an Epicurean; a denier of all oral tradition! You merely rely on your intellect. We have no need for philosophers and intellectuals!’ Who [moans the narrator] will you elect then, o sacred community? If every individual that has some intellect you reject, who will be your rabbi? Then stood a member of the frog community and cried to the rest, ‘Remember days of yore when the carrot-head ruled over our ancestors. He defended them against all evil, but our ancestors did not appreciate his goodness and rebelled. Since the new government took over, there has never been another chance to do anything but what they tell us!’ The frogs immediately elected this member as their rabbi for he showed them fighting power. Later, all this new rabbi did was eat, sleep, burp, and sleep some more. The community, thus, never amounted to much.” In Hebrew. 182. f-1532

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183

f-1724

Judah Leib Gordon (1831–1892), ‫ יצא על פי הצעת מחלקת‬.‫ גורדון‬.‫ל‬.‫ מאת י‬.‫משלים‬

10 ‫הספר‬-‫ מגילות לבתי‬.‫ישראל‬-‫[ החנוך של ההנהלה הציונית בארץ‬Fables. By J. L. Gordon. Published on account of the educational department of the Zionist Executive in Israel. Scrolls for schools 10]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Omanut, 1929. 167 x 118 mm. 16 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–22, [23], 24, [25], 26–32. 2 illustrations. Original green paper wrappers. Copies: HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. This textbook for children consists of three fables. “The High-Hearted Donkey” (page 24) tells about a donkey that goes out with his king, the lion, to hunt in the fields and to roar with his voice. They come across another donkey, which greets the first and says: “Good morning, brother!” The first donkey becomes very angry, and says: “How insolent! How dare you call me brother?! Can’t you see I am a companion of the lion right now?” “So what?” answers the second, “are you for that reason no longer a donkey?” In Hebrew.

184

183. f-1724

f-3203

Jacob Reifmann (1818–1895), ‫[ ארבע כנפים‬Four Wings].

Zamosc (Poland): by the author, 1851. 8º (160 x 120 mm). 57 leaves, foliated 1–57 [pencil, by later hand], of which text appears on 48 of them. Contemporary red boards.

¶ Seemingly unpublished manuscript in Hebrew by rabbinic scholar Jacob Reifmann, presented to his friend Yechiel Mendelssohn. The booklet contains four poems concerning the loss of truth and righteousness. In the introduction the author writes on poetry, language, and fables providing one sample fable, titled “Caligula’s Horse,” in Aramaic. In Hebrew and Aramaic.

184. f-3203

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185

f-1541

Jacob Reifmann (1818–1895), ‫ כולל‬.‫מאמר חוט המשלש‬

‫ מאתי יעקב רייפמאן‬.‫ הרשומים בעבר השני‬,‫שלשה ענינים שונים‬ [The Threefold Thread. Containing three different subjects, summarized on the second page. By me, Jacob Reifmann]. Prague (Czech Republic): Simeon Freund, for the author, 1859. 191 x 121 mm. 30 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–60. Modern gray cloth. Vinograd Prague 1510; Cowley 592; Roest 957; Zedner 652. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition, comprising 40 fables in Hebrew verse in the second part of the book, which also provides a short survey of Jewish fables. Jacob Reifmann was a Polish scholar in the field of rabbinics. He had a traditional upbringing but grew estranged from Hasidism and became an active participant in the Haskalah movement and a prolific writer. In this work, he actually concentrates on the fables in the Talmud and Midrash, and, in a long appendix, on 12 of his own fables and another by one of his students. Reifmann’s positive inclination toward Haskalah can be seen in the remark he always makes before citing an example from talmudic or midrashic sources: “translated from midrashic language into pure Hebrew language.” In one of Reifmann’s own fables, “The Fool and the Rabbit” (page 42), a fool asks a rabbit: “Why do you keep your eyes open while sleeping?” The rabbit answers: “Why do you keep your eyes shut when you are awake?” In Hebrew.

185. f-1541

Provenance: Joseph Doctorowitz. Rabbi Shemaryahu Leib Hurwitz, Brooklyn, NY.

186

f-1557

Jacob Reifmann (1818–1895), ‫ יכלכל‬.‫מאמר משלח מנות‬

‫ אנכי יעקב רייפמאן‬. . . ‫ אשר שלחתי‬.‫שתי מנות מדעיות‬ [Book of Sending Gifts. Comprising two scholarly gifts. Sent (. . .) by me, Jacob Reifmann]. Prague (Czech Republic): Simon Freund, 1860.

186. f-1557

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174 x 117 mm. 40 leaves, paginated [1–9], 10–79, [80]. Modern gray-green cloth. Vinograd Prague 1523; Cowley 592; Van Straalen 198. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Only edition, comprising one fable in Hebrew verse. “The Raven and the Tree” (page 26) is based on a midrash that recounts that the tree that provided wood for Noah’s ark was of the same tree from which Haman chose to hang Mordecai. Here, the raven criticizes the tree: first he helped people and saved them from death; now he has become an instrument for killing them! The tree answers that he did not change at all: by killing Haman, he has saved the entire holy people from a terrible death. This booklet was meant as “a scholarly gift” on the occasion of Purim, as explained on page [2], citing Esther 9:19 and 22: “and an occasion for sending gifts to one another.” In Hebrew.

187

f-1487

Jacob Reifmann (1818–1895), .‫עם‬-‫ משל אזופי דרש טוב לישרון ודבר שלום לכל‬.‫צפור‬-‫קן‬

‫[ מאתי יעקב רייפמאנן‬Bird’s Nest. An Aesopic fable, a nice exposé for Jeshurun and a word of peace to all people. By me, Jacob Reifmann]. Berlin (Germany): Julius Sittenfeld, 1870. 160 x 112 mm. 15 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–30. 2nd title page in French. Later off-white halfpaper, speckled boards, original printed blue wrappers retained. Cowley 592; Zedner 199. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; LoC; +.

¶ Only edition. The fable tells of two birds growing up under one mother. While in the nest, they were both alike. When, however, the mother bird died, the babies changed drastically. The older one was soon forced to leave the nest, having done nothing to deserve such. Things became so tense that the two birds were brought before the king Eagle. The younger one complained that the older one was not eating what he ate and would not do the same sorts of activities. “Since we differ so much,” he asked, “how can we live together?” After listening to their stories, the eagle advised the two birds not to forget the love of their former, youthful years: “Why should you destroy an internal love, one implanted within you both by your Creator, for the ever-changing present circumstances? Why should your present differences prevent you from retaining the love you had for each other previously?” The epimythium reads: “Listen, all ye Nations! When you come to love another, ask not from what reli187. f-1487

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gion he is but rather, is he an upright person? Do not hinder friendship because of intellectual differences: one thinks the sun revolves around the earth, while the other believes the opposite. One thinks there are four basic elements [i.e., earth, wind, fire, and water], while the other believes in 63 elements [the number of the elements then listed in the periodic table]. And if it is possible for intellectual differences to be tolerated, why cannot the same be for religious differences?” The fable is preceded by a statement on its language (pages [5]–8): “A Hebrew I am therefore in Hebrew I write.” At the end of the volume (pages 29–30), a December 1868 letter from the Alliance Israélite Universelle explains that the board of the Alliance could not fulfill Reifmann’s request to translate the fable into French. They felt that the beauty of the Hebrew language would be compromised should they attempt to translate the poetic fable. In Hebrew.

188

f-1527

Shalom Jacob Abramovitsh (1835–1917), .‫ והוא אספת מאמרים שונים‬.‫משפט שלום‬

‫חיים משה אברמאויץ‬-‫[ מאת שלום יעקב בן‬Peaceful Judgement. Being a collection of essays. By Shalom Jacob Abramovitsh]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Joseph Reuben ben Menahem Man Romm, 1860. 170 x 119 mm. 62 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–132; 7–8 has been left out of the numbering, but no leaf seems to be missing there; pages 117–118, 123–128, and 133–146 are missing. Modern grayish-green cloth, including the original printed paper upper wrapper. Vinograd Vilna 1066; Roest 47; Zedner 34. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. Shalom Jacob Abramovitsh, known as Mendele Moykher Sforim (Mendele the Bookseller), is one of the great authors of Yiddish and Hebrew literature. He was born in Kapuli, a small town in Belorussia. At the age of 13, upon the death of his father, he started to wander through Lithuania, studying at various talmudic academies. Through these wanderings, he became acquainted with life in the shtetl, and it is these descriptions for which his stories became famous. His own views on this traditional life are not always clear: on the one hand, there is a nostalgic love for the simple Jew; on the other, he can be quite critical of ghetto life. Peaceful Judgment (Mishpat shalom), comprised mostly of critical essays, contains one fable (page 13). Called “The Dove,” it is written in Hebrew verse. A young dove tells her friends that they should come with her to visit a kind man whom she saw offering grain to the birds. But an old dove warns them: the man seems kind, but while offering them grain, he is grasping his net. In Hebrew. Provenance: Solomon Hornstein. 188. f-1527

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f-3117

Ha-Carmel. .‫ מכתב עתי לבני ישראל בשפת קדש עם נוספות בלשון רוססיא ואשכנז‬.‫הכרמל‬

‫יצחק פין‬-‫[ יצא לאור מדי שבוע בשבוע על ידי שמואל יוסף בן‬The Carmel. Periodical for the Israelites. In the holy tongue, with additional notes in Russian and German. Published weekly by Samuel Joseph ben Isaac Fuenn]. Vilnius (Lithuania): S. J. Fuenn, 1860–1880.

¶ First edition. Ha-Carmel, published at intervals between 1860 and 1880 for a total of 12 volumes, was one of the most prominent and important 19th-century Hebrew periodicals. This weekly, a voice for the more moderate elements of the Haskalah movement, brought Jewish news from around the world; articles on science and health; extensive, highly patriotic coverage of the ever-changing Russian laws pertaining to Jews; and poems and fables. Samuel Fuenn (1818–1890), the editor of HaCarmel, was a leading figure in the Russian Haskalah and a teacher at the (government-sponsored) Rabbinical Seminary in Vilnius. Six fables appear in these five volumes (vol. 1, pages 56 and 189; vol. 3, pages 32 and 56), of which four are by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, translated into Hebrew by Judah Leib Gordon. In volume 2 (pages 360–361) there is a study of the fable of the Trees in Judges by Eliezer Zweifel (1815–1888), a Hebrew author and essayist who belonged to the Haskalah movement and at the same time was sympathetic toward Hasidism (see also f-1323 of this collection, no. 207 in this catalogue). The first fable of this collection, by Aaron Jonathanzohn, consists of an exchange between a deer and a donkey. The donkey suggests to the deer that he follow him in order to save himself from hunters, since the donkey himself has no problems with them. The deer declines, replying: “Let them chase me and injure me; all my life I will run from place to place, but one thing is for sure: a donkey as my guide will do me no good!” The lesson: Following one’s own instincts is superior to blindly following a donkey-like leader. In Hebrew, Russian, and German.

Volume 1

‫ יצא לאור מדי‬.‫ מכתב עתי לבני ישראל בשפת קדש עם נוספות בלשון רוססיא ואשכנז‬.‫הכרמל‬ ‫ שנה ראשונה‬.‫יצחק פין‬-‫[ שבוע בשבוע על ידי שמואל יוסף בן‬The Carmel. Periodical for the Israelites. In the holy tongue, with additional notes in Russian and German. Published weekly by Samuel Joseph ben Isaac Fuenn. First year]. Vilnius (Lithuania): S. J. Fuenn, 1860–1861. 294 x 215 mm. 179 leaves, nos. 1–2 and 4–50, various paginations. Contemporary red cloth. Provenance: Gift by A. L. Lewinsky, Jaffo 1865.

Volume 2

‫ יצא לאור מדי‬.‫ מכתב עתי לבני ישראל בשפת קדש עם נוספות בלשון רוססיא ואשכנז‬.‫הכרמל‬ ‫ שנה שנית‬.‫יצחק פין‬-‫[ שבוע בשבוע על ידי שמואל יוסף בן‬The Carmel. Periodical for the Israelites. In the holy tongue, with additional notes in Russian and German. Published weekly by Samuel Joseph ben Isaac Fuenn. Second year]. Vilnius (Lithuania): S. J. Fuenn, 1861–1862. 283 x 215 mm. 192 leaves, nos. 1–50, various paginations. Contemporary red cloth. Provenance: Meir B. Brik (nos. 16 and 17).

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189. f-3117 (vol. 1)

189. f-3117 (vol. 2)

189. f-3117 (vol. 3)

189. f-3117 (vol. 4)

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Volume 3

‫ יצא לאור מדי‬.‫ מכתב עתי לבני ישראל בשפת קדש עם נוספות בלשון רוססיא ואשכנז‬.‫הכרמל‬ ‫ שנה שלישית‬.‫יצחק פין‬-‫[ שבוע בשבוע על ידי שמואל יוסף בן‬The Carmel. Periodical for the Israelites. In the holy tongue, with additional notes in Russian and German. Published weekly by Samuel Joseph ben Isaac Fuen. Third year, 1862–1863]. Vilnius (Lithuania): S. J. Fuenn and Abraham Zevi Rosenkranz, 1863. 277 x 215 mm. 176 leaves, including 2 extra leaves between pages 166 and 167 (249–203 mm), nos. 1–2, 4–50, various paginations. (Remnants of) stamps of 1 kreuzer on several title pages, stamped in Lemberg (Lviv). Contemporary red cloth.

Volume 4

.‫יצחק פין‬-‫ יצא לאור מדי שבוע בשבוע על ידי שמואל יוסף בן‬.‫ מכתב עתי לבני ישראל‬.‫הכרמל‬ ‫[ שנה רביעית‬The Carmel. Periodical for the Israelites. Published weekly by Samuel Joseph ben Isaac Fuenn. Fourth year]. Vilnius (Lithuania): S. J. Fuenn, 1863–1864. 288 x 222 mm. 200 leaves, nos. 1–50, various paginations. Contemporary red cloth.

Volume 5

‫ יצא לאור מדי‬.‫ מכתב עתי לבני ישראל בשפת קדש עם נוספות בלשון רוססיא ואשכנז‬.‫הכרמל‬ ‫ שנה חמישית‬.‫יצחק פין‬-‫[ שבוע בשבוע על ידי שמואל יוסף בן‬The Carmel. Periodical for the Israelites. In the holy tongue, with additional notes in Russian and German. Published weekly by Samuel Joseph ben Isaac Fuenn. Fifth year]. Vilnius (Lithuania): S. J. Fuenn, 1864–1865. 288 x 224 mm. 96 leaves, nos. 1–50, various paginations. Contemporary red cloth. Vinograd Vilna 1055, 1096, 1123 en 1154; Cowley 521; Zedner 632. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

190

f-1489

Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769–1844), ‫ חבור כולל מאה תשעים ושבעה‬.‫תקון משלים‬

‫ נעתק מלשון רוססיא לשפת עבר מאת משה בן דוד הכהן‬.‫ ונחלק לתשעה ספרים‬.‫משלי קרילאוו‬ ‫[ רייכערסאהן‬Collection of Fables. A work containing 197 of Krylov’s fables. Divided into nine books. Translated from the Russian into Hebrew by Moses Reicherson]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Joseph Reuben ben Menahem Man Romm, 1860. 171 x 112 mm. 208 leaves, paginated [4], [i], ii–xvi, [1], 2–394, [395–396]. 2nd title page in Russian. Modern dark-blue leather. Vinograd Vilna 1065; Cowley 383; Roest 649; Zedner 419. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition. Although he was born in a provincial town near St. Petersburg (February 13, 1769), it would not go unnoticed for too long that Ivan Andreevich Krylov was a creative

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genius. He composed poetry and played the violin at an early age, and wrote the first of five comic operas at age 14. After completing his francophile education, Krylov became the center of a small intellectual circle in St. Petersburg. In 1789 he published a satirical journal, Pochta dukhov (Mail with Spirits), and soon began composing Orientalist tales. Having faced political persecution from the repressive government of Catherine the Great, Krylov left St. Petersburg around 1797. He tutored at the country estate of a patron and afterward served as the governor’s secretary. In 1801 he moved to Moscow, where he would stay 190. f-1489 for five years. During his earlier years Krylov constantly experimented with literary forms, notably the fable. In 1805, when he received warm praise from renowned poet Ivan Dmitriev, he began focusing on the genre. The first collection, containing 23 fables, appeared in 1809 and was an enormous success. He eventually produced 203 fables (in nine books), and many of them would soon become familiar to poets and the masses alike, including the Jewish population. Building on Russian antecedents such as Ivan Dmitriev and Konstantin Sumarokov, Krylov went on to equal or to surpass them, using the best features of each model. Krylov died in St. Petersburg on November 21, 1844. This collection was translated from the original Russian into Hebrew by Moses Reicherson (1827–1903). Reicherson, born in Vilnius, was a Hebrew author and grammarian. In 1890 he moved to New York, where he worked as a Hebrew school teacher. He published an autobiography in Sefer Zikaron le-sofre Yisraʾel ha-hayim itanu ka-yom (Memorial Book of Israelite Authors of Our Days) (Warsaw, 1890). Reicherson was inspired to learn different languages, such as Russian, German, and French, by a gentile teacher, a regular customer in his father’s tavern. He studied together with Judah Leib Gordon, who later became a famous poet and fabulist. Reicherson was the first to translate the proverbs and fables of Krylov into Hebrew. In his introduction Reicherson describes the fables that appear already in the Bible and the Talmud. He claims that the fable itself is of Jewish origin. He further underscores the importance of fables for the education of children. Following his theory, fables teach not only ethical behavior but also animal and human psychology. He further reasons that the fables presented will help in learning to understand the Russian language, since it is not a free translation but rather one that can be followed line by line with the original Russian. In Hebrew.

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191. f-1334

191

f-1334

Ivan Andreevich Krylov

(1769–1844), ‫ אדער קרילאווס פאבלען‬,‫באסני קרילאוו‬ ‫דייטש פאן צבי הירש הכהן‬-‫ איבער זעצט פון רוסיש אין יודיש‬.‫(משלים) אין ניין אבטהיילונגען‬ ‫[ רייכערסאהן‬Basni Krylov, or Krylov’s fables (mesholim) in nine parts. Translated from the Russian into Jewish-German by Zevi Hirsh Reicherson]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Judah Leib ben Eliezer Lipman, 1879. 145 x 109 mm. 2 parts in 1 volume; part 1: 79 leaves, paginated π[2], [1], 2–156; part 2: 85 leaves, paginated π[4], iv–v, [3], 4–166. 2nd title page in Russian. Monochrome steel-engraved portrait of Krylov, appearing 3 times. 2 volumes, bound together in modern brown half-linen with black boards; the original printed pink paper lower wrapper of the 1st volume and both original printed yellow wrappers of the 2nd volume preserved. Zedner 129. Copies: BL; Harv; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition, edited by Zevi Hirsh Reicherson (1857–1892), son of Moses Reicherson, who is known for translating Krylov’s fables into Hebrew. The son was the first to translate Krylov into Yiddish. Although done at the fairly young age of 20, Reicherson’s translation is considered the best among the various Yiddish translations. It is also the first complete Yiddish translation of

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Krylov. Reicherson was friendly with Abraham Kahn, a well-known Haskalah author. In fact, Reicherson and Kahn had begun to translate Krylov’s fables into Yiddish together, but Reicherson’s father intervened, encouraging his son to translate it himself instead. The translation received a good review by Shalom Aleichem (pen name of Shalom Rabinovitz, 1859–1916), who lauded it as “the best Yiddish translation of Krylov available.” The collection contains 197 fables in nine books. The author writes in his introduction that he translates Krylov into pure Yiddish for the benefit of his fellow Jewish men and women. But, he continues, the biggest advantage of his translation will be in helping those who cannot read Russian, for it will be a direct translation. He actually included many Hebrew and Russian words. In Yiddish with Russian headings. Provenance: E[. . .] Leibowitz; Jewish National and University Library (now National Library of Israel), Jerusalem (deaccessioned).

192

f-1586

Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769–1844), ‫ נעתקו משפת‬.‫ בתשעה ספרים‬.‫משלי קרילאוו‬

‫ צרפתים תקנתים והוצאתים‬.‫ יושב טאראשצא‬,‫רוססיא לשפה העברית מאתי מאיר זאב זינגער‬ ‫[ לאור בהוצאותי יצחק גאלדמאן‬Krylov’s Fables. In nine volumes. Translated from the Russian into Hebrew by me, Meir Wolf Singer of Tarashtsa. Refined, corrected and published in my publishing house, Isaac Goldman]. Warsaw (Poland): Isaac Goldman for the author, 1885. 174 x 113 mm. 2 parts in 1 volume; part 1: 113 leaves, paginated [4], [i], ii–viii, 3–216; part 2: 118 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–236. Contemporary black quarterleather, black linen boards. Copies: BodL; NLI; +.

¶ First edition. Translated from the original Russian into Hebrew by Meir Wolf Singer (c. 1840–1913). Singer was born near Kyiv. Although he was an educator, he was known most widely for his translations of literary classics, such as those by Ivan Krylov, Jules Verne, and others. The book contains 201 fables in nine smaller books. Asterisks indicate that Krylov took these fables from Jean de La Fontaine. The first fable in book eight (page 159, part 2), “The Lion in His Old Age,” was mistakenly not attributed to La Fontaine. The book also includes a poem by Singer himself (pages 3–16). The publisher, Isaac Goldman, writes in his preface that he hopes that this translation, published 20 years after the

192. f-1586

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previous Hebrew translation of Krylov, “will be useful to the Jewish youth who are learning the vernacular in addition to Hebrew. This edition of the fables will help them learn both languages as they can confront the Russian and the Hebrew here. Compare the two and learn both. Moreover, they will see that the Hebrew language, both in prose and in poetry, can transmit all types of ideas, much like a living language.” The Hebrew rendering of the publication year reads in translation “Like the Fable of the Ancients.” In Hebrew, each fable with a Hebrew and a Russian heading. Provenance: (1) Jakobsson. (2) Stockhomls Judiska Center. (3) Moses Samuelowitsch Domorasky—Rajgrod.

193

f-1259

Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769–1844), ‫ כוללים מאתים‬.‫ בתשעה ספרים‬.‫משלי קרילאוו‬

‫ נעתקים משפת רוססיה ללשון עברית מאת חיים זיסקינד‬.‫[ ואחד משלי מוסר ודרך ארץ‬Krylov’s Fables. In nine volumes. Comprising 201 ethical and moral fables. Translated from the Russian into Hebrew by Hayyim Susskind]. Berdychiv (Ukraine): Jacob Sheftel, 1891. 179 x 136 mm. 87 leaves, paginated [i–ii], iii–viii, [1], 2–165, [166]. 2nd title page in Russian. 1 monochrome steel-engraved plate. Modern dark-red cloth. Rowland Smith 487. Copies: BL; Harv; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition, containing 201 of Ivan Krylov’s fables, translated into Hebrew verse. On page 2, the translator, who is otherwise unknown, writes a short history of Krylov and gives bibliographical information on his books. He says that this is the complete work of Krylov and writes that the book has already been translated twice into Hebrew and once into Yiddish, adding up to three Hebrew translations, each different from the other: “All those who want to assimilate and forget about the Hebrew language, should learn from this how powerful the Hebrew language is. Nothing like this happened in any other language. I wish they would learn to love their language.” In Hebrew. Provenance: Isaac Osherowich, Gurwich.

193. f-1259

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194

f-1254

Ivan Andreevich Krylov

(1769–1844), ‫תקון‬ ‫ נעתק‬.‫ חבור כולל מאתים ואחד משלי קרילאוו‬.‫משלים‬ ‫מלשון רוססיא לשפת עבר מאת משה הכהן רייכערסאהן‬ [Collection of Fables. A work containing 201 of Krylov’s fables. Translated from Russian into Hebrew by Moses Reicherson]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Abraham Zevi Rosenkranz and Menahem Mendel Schriftsetzer, 1892. 152 x 94 mm. 216 leaves, paginated [4], i–xviii, [1], 2–409, [410]; pages i–xii misbound. Original blue linen. Rowland Smith 487. Copies: Harv; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Second, slightly extended edition of this first translation of Krylov’s fables into Hebrew verse, by Moses Reicherson (who also translated Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s fables, see f-0879 of this collection, no. 251 in this catalogue). With 201 fables in Hebrew.

195

193. f-1254

f-2581

Ivan Andreevich Krylov

(1769–1844), ‫משלי‬ ‫ נעתקו משפת רוסיא לשפת העברית מאתי מאיר‬.‫קרילאוו‬ ‫[ זאב זינגער‬Krylov’s Fables. Translated from the Russian into Hebrew by Meir Wolf Singer]. Berdychiv (Ukraine): Meir Epstein, by Hayyim Jacob Sheftel, 1902. 161 x 110 mm. 2 parts in 1 volume; part 1: 226 pages, paginated [1–2], i–ii, i–viii, 3–216; part 2: 238 pages, paginated [1–2], 3–234, [1–4]. Copies: BodL; HUC; JTS; +.

¶ Seventh edition of Meir Wolf Singer’s translation of Krylov’s fables, the first edition appearing in 1885 (see f-1586 of this collection, no. 192 in this catalogue). This edition contains an extra approbation by Rabbi Hayyim Hezekiah Medini of Hebron. In Hebrew, each fable with a Hebrew and a Russian heading.

195. f-2581

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196

f-1694

Hayyim Chemerinsky (1862–1917), (‫ חיים טשעמערינסקי (ר׳ מרדכ׳לע‬.‫[ משלים‬Fables. (By) Hayyim Chemerinsky (Reb Mordkhele)]. Dnipro (Ukraine): Farlag Visnshaft, 1919.

197 x 132 mm. 47 leaves, paginated [2], χ[2], 2[2], [i], ii, 2[i], ii–xxi, [xxii], 1–62, [63–64]. 1 monochrome portrait of the author. Modern red quarter-linen, dark-red linen boards. Copies: Harv; NYPL.

¶ First edition. The book contains ten fables in Yiddish by Ivan Krylov, translated by Hayyim Chemerinsky. Chemerinsky, who was born in Grodno, came from a traditional Jewish home and was given a traditional Jewish education. In his youth he became a wanderer. In 1904 his first article appeared in print, in the Yiddish journal Der freynd (The Friend). His nickname “Reb Mordkhele” appears, among others, in the running titles. Between 1917 and 1921, when the Communists took over, Jews in Russia were able to publish freely. The main cities of publication were Kyiv, Moscow, and Odessa, but many small towns had smaller presses as well. One of these was Yekaterinoslav (now called Dnipro). These publishing houses existed only a few years. After that there were constant disputes with the government and censorship about how much they could print and where they could print. In his introduction (pages iii–xxi), J. Novakovsky writes: “The book contains ten fables from Krylov. Written on his sickbed before death, some had been printed previously, but 196. f-1694 as Chemerinsky did not have his original manuscripts, he began translating them anew. His Yiddish was extremely rich; he knew all the dialects of the language. His translations are deeper and better than the original. So actually they are not literal translations. In his fables we find real Jewish characters. Not only are they dressed in Jewish clothes and speak Yiddish, but their very movements and desires are all typically Jewish.” In Yiddish.

197

f-2579

Ivan Andreevich Krylov

(1769–1844), ‫ אידיש פסח קאפלאן‬.‫[ קרילאווס משלים‬Krylov’s Fables. Yiddish by Pesach Kaplan]. Bialystok (Poland): Farlag A. Albek, 1921. 230 x 160 mm. 80 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–155, [156–160]. Title taken from original yellow printed wrapper. Later blue linen. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

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¶ Second edition (first edition, 1918), first volume. Pesach Kaplan (1870–1943) was an author, a journalist, and a teacher, and one of the prominent Jewish inhabitants of Bialystok.52 In his introduction the publisher, Aaron Albek, wrote about the popularity of his friend Kaplan’s translations at literary events and in Jewish schools in Bialystok and its surroundings, after a limited number of them had been published by the Bialystoker Kultur-lige. Albek decided to publish these improved translations into Yiddish, as part of a series of three volumes. “The Bird” (pages 14–15), tells of a bird that wants to set the sea aflame. Fish, birds, wild animals, even cityfolks who read newspapers and are acquainted with inflated stories, assemble at the coast. Some say this must be the devil, others foresee the coming of the Messiah. The bird, however, does not succeed in setting the waters in flames, grows tired of it, and flies away. In Yiddish.

198

197. f-2579

f-2700

Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769–1844), ‫[ משלי קרילוב‬Krylov’s Fables Translated by Yehudah Elroʾi]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Sifriat Paz/Dr. Hava Margolin, [1944].

170 x 120 mm. 32 pages, paginated [1–2] 3–18, [19], 20–32. Illustrated by Moses Matusovsk. Calligraphic letters by Zevi Bergman. With a portrait of the author. Cardboard wrapper. Copies: HUC; NLI; +.

¶ The only edition of this translation of 15 of Krylov’s fables in Hebrew verse. The publisher, Dr. Hava Margolin, was forced to become a businesswoman after her husband, author and philosopher Dr. Julius Margolin, got trapped in Europe during World War II and was imprisoned in Siberia. A patron of literary figures, she founded a small children’s press in her apartment in Tel Aviv. Upon her husband’s return to Mandatory Palestine in 1946, the publishing house closed after just three years of operation.53 In the introduction on page [2] it says that although Krylov’s fables are well suited for the young to read and to learn from, their depth and beauty are only fully revealed to grown-ups. In “The Cloud” (page 28), a heavy cloud passes the thirsty field and pours all of its water into the sea, boasting about its generosity. The hill answers: “What good did such kindhearted52. Heidi M. Szpek, “What a Thunderous Voice! Remembering Pesach Kaplan,” Jewish Magazine. http://www.jewishmag. com/157mag/pesach_kaplan/pesach_kaplan.htm, accessed March 8, 2017. 53. Gaby Levin, “A Body Broken, But Free,” Haaretz, January 21, 2011. http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/a-body-brokenbut-free-1.338344, accessed September 30, 2016.

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198. f-2700

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ness do over here? The sight of it saddens the heart. If you had scattered your waters over the field, you would have saved that plot of land from hunger. The sea has plenty of water, even without your doing.” In Hebrew. Provenance: inscription on title page, “For dear Dalya, Joseph. Chanukah, 15 December 1944.”

199

f-1675

Ivan Andreevich Krylov (1769–1844), ‫ אליצקי‬.‫ ל‬.‫[ פון קרילאווס משלים‬Of Krylov’s Fables. (By) L. Olitzky]. Warsaw (Poland): Farlag Yidish Bukh, 1950.

204 x 148 mm. 116 leaves, paginated [i–iv], v–xx, 21–224, [225–232]. 15 monochrome steel engravings, including a portrait of the author. Original off-white paper wrappers, printed in green. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First edition. Translated by poet and author Leib Olitzky (1894–1975), who was born in Trisk, Poland (see also f-2527, f-2310, and f-2526 of this collection, nos. 295, 296, and 297 in this catalogue). He worked as a teacher in Warsaw until 1939. From 1942 to 1945 he worked in the military hospital in Ofah, moving to Moscow in 1945. In 1946 he returned to Poland and settled in Lodz, but in 1949 he moved back to Warsaw. In 1959 he settled in Israel. Each of the fables is dated twice: once in Ofah, obviously written during his hospital service, and later in Lodz, after he had reworked them. The editor states on page xx that “the progressive Jewish reader, friend of the Red Army and Russian Manhood, will find in these translations not only a masterpiece of art, but through these fables he will recognize the Russian working man, the worker who is building a world of peace and freedom.” In this postwar period, Communism was very popular among Jewish intellectuals, who hoped to find happiness and freedom in the Russian Communist movement. The fable of the Pike and the Cat (pages 65–66), tells of a pike who wants to catch mice like his friend the cat. The cat tries to warn him off and tells him to stick to his last, but to no avail. The pike answers that he has caught bigger fish. The two go hunting and while the cat is successful and catches plenty of mice, when he checks on the pike he finds him gasping for breath and his tail eaten off by mice. In Yiddish. 199. f-1675

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200

f-1691

Meir Letteris (c. 1800–1871), ‫ יבואו בו כל השירים והזמירות הבאים בספר‬.‫תפש כנור ועוגב‬

‫ מאת הרב החכם המליץ הגדול מוהר״ר מאיר‬.‫דברי שיר אילת השחר ועוד נוספות רבות ונכבדות‬ ‫[ הלוי לעטעריס‬Who Takes the Harp and Lyre. Incorporating all of the poems from Divre shir (Poetical Words) and Ayelet ha-shahar (Morning Star), together with further wonderful additions. By Meir Letteris]. Vienna (Austria): L. C. Zamarski and C. Dittmarsch, for Jacob Schlossberg, 1860. 165 x 105 mm. 92 leaves, paginated π[i–iv], i–xvi, [1–3], 4–162, [163–164]. 2nd title page in German. Modern black cloth. Vinograd Vienna 1159; Cowley 391; Zedner 430. Copies: BL; BRos; BodL; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First collected edition of Divre shir (1822) and Ayelet ha-shahar (1825), newly corrected and enlarged by Jacob Schlossberg and including two fables (pages 73–75 and 135–136). The first, entitled “A Wailing Dove,” became a popular song among many Jews, much to the author’s astonishment. The song gives an allegorical description of the relationship between God and the Jewish people. As early as in the Talmud, God’s sadness about the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of his people has been depicted as the sound of a wailing dove. “‘Oh, but I am forlorn! I am but wandering away from the clefts of the rocks. My lover has left me, since he had grown angry with me for I had been unfaithful to him. They saw this from afar and since then I have been hounded by adversaries. From the day my lover has departed, my eye has filled with tears. Without you, my dear, for what use is living? I would be better off in the shadow of death than anywhere in the world. There, there are two birds that imbibe of the sweet sap of the trees. They peacefully found a home surrounded by olive branches and flowers. Oh, but I am dispersed, in exile; where will I find a home? For into my habitat of the cave in the mountains, a worm has climbed. My lover has abandoned me after he had grown angry at me for he had led me into a storm wind. Even an osprey and a hawk are two of a kind. But a dove sighs, alone among all the creatures. Together in one nest, birds of prey are at rest but the innocent cry out, the hope of the poor has been lost. Oh, I am forlorn! I wander from my cave, I descend. Around me begins a storm. Oh, return to me, the life of my soul! Return to me, my consolation! See my bitterness. Have compassion on an abandoned soul. Bring me back my love to my caves; return and let me be enveloped in your wings.’ So my [the narrator’s] ear heard on a quiet night, so emotional a plea, and when I hear the sound of a dove sighing, my very soul knows that it is the crying for my nation. . .” Letteris is generally regarded as one of the greatest Hebrew poets of the Haskalah period. In Hebrew. Provenance: Ephraim L. Lisitzky, posthumous stamps.

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200. f-1691

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201

f-1496

Eliezer Jekutiel Singer ( fl. 1861), ‫ כולל טעמי קצת מצות ודעת באור איזה‬.‫טעם ודעת‬

‫ מאתי א׳ ברמ״ז מברודי‬.‫[ הלכות ואגדות בדרך הגיוני משלי מוסר מליצה וצחות‬Good Sense and Knowledge. Comprising a few commandments and knowledge concerning these laws, and narrative in a sensible manner, moral fables, rhetoric and pure language, by me, E. Barma’z of Brody]. Lviv (Ukraine): D. H. Schrenzel, 1861. 205 x 120 mm. 15 pages, paginated [1–3], 4–15. Modern linen, marbled boards. Vinograd Lemberg 1708. Copies: HUC; NLI; +.

¶ The name of the author appears on the title page as “E. Barma’z.” This is the penname of Eliezer Jekutiel Singer. On page 15 he signs his name as “J. L. Singer.” The author apparently published six similar pamphlets of halakhic and midrashic miscellanea. In his introduction to this volume, he states that “despite my many troubles and involvements, I still enjoy publishing my thoughts on rabbinic literature and on literary topics.” In the same introduction, he states that just as a rich man is ethically required to share his wealth with the not-so-wealthy, so too the wise man is ethically required to share his wisdom with everyone else. Two fables appear on pages 14–15, “The Fox and the Rooster,” and “The Bird and the Trap.” In the second fable a bird was pleasantly singing in his cage. “You will always sing in a cage, bird!” cried the master of the house. “Oh, how pleasant is my trap, though. And who is as smart as you to appreciate my singing?” asked the bird. “Let me out and you will hear my singing take on a new song.” When 201. f-1496 the trapper went to open the cage, the bird, understanding his predicament, decided to make a run for it and just narrowly escaped the hungry clutches of the bird catcher. The epimythium is a quote from Ecclesiastes 7:19: “Wisdom is more of a stronghold to a wise man.” In Hebrew.

202

f-1556

Ha-Levanon. ‫ ﻫﺎﻟﺒﺎﻧﻮن‬/ ‫ הלבנון‬/ Libanon. ‫מבשר ומודיע כל דבר הנדרש לאיש יהודי לדעת‬

‫ כבוד הלבנון בו אוסף מחדושי תורה מחכמי וגאוני הזמן ומכ״י אשר בבתי‬.‫באשר הוא יהודי‬ ‫ יוצא לאור ע״י יחיאל ברי״ל‬.‫[ עקד הספרים המפורסמים‬The Lebanon. Comprising any subject

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of interest for a Jew, because they are related to Judaism. (Comprising as well) the virtue of the Lebanon; in which are collected novellae on Thora from the sages of our time and manuscripts from well-known libraries. Edited by Jehiel Brill]. Paris (France): Jehiel Brill, 1863–1886. 209 x 130 mm. 192 leaves, paginated [1], 2–384. Modern burgundy leather. Vinograd Jerusalem 121; Cowley 511; Roest 241; Zedner 631. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Biweekly, second year (1864), containing 24 issues in which no. 5 is missing. Brill was a pioneer of the Hebrew press in Palestine. He started publishing this magazine as a monthly in Jerusalem in 1863, but after a year the publication was suspended. Brill left for Paris and started publishing it again as a biweekly; later on it became a weekly. Although the frequency and place of publication were often changed, the name remained the same. The magazine was mostly intended for Jerusalem’s traditional Jewish community. On page 190 starts an edition of Sefer Shaʿashuʿim (The Book of Delight) of Joseph ben Meir ibn Zabara, based on a manuscript that differs entirely from the one used for the Constantinople edition of c. 1575–1578 (which is the first edition); it is published here for the first time. The manuscript used by Brill was located in the Baron Horace (Naphtali Herz) Günzburg library, presently in the State Library of St. Petersburg. Israel Abrahams discusses this edition in his The Book of Delight, and 202. f-1556 Other Papers (Philadelphia, 1912, page 20). He claims that it is shorter and less accurate than the Constantinople edition. Israel Davidson published a critical edition in 1914 based on both manuscripts and concluded that the Paris edition contained passages that were earlier than those of the Constantinople edition, but that even the two versions do not reflect the original one. For more on Sefer Shaʿashuʿim, see in this catalogue page 238. In Hebrew.

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203

f-1677

Isaac ben David Siebenberger (1797–1879), ‫[ ספר מעגל ישר‬The Straight Circle]. Warsaw (Poland): n.p., 1864.

182 x 122 mm. Part 1: 44 leaves, foliated π[1], [1], 2–42, [43]; Part 2: 44 leaves, foliated π[1–2], 1–106. 2 parts bound in 1, contemporary dark-blue quarter-cloth, black boards. Vinograd Warsaw 919; Van Straalen 219. Copies: BL; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Third edition. Isaac ben David Siebenberger (1797–1879), born in Warsaw, was a Hebrew writer and educator. On folio 101 “A Wailing Dove” by Meir Letteris (c. 1800–1871) appears. Letteris was a pupil of Nachman Krochmal and an important figure in the Galician-Austrian Haskalah. “A Wailing Dove” is his best-known poem and “has been set to music for generations.” The song gives an allegorical description of the relationship between God and the Jewish people. As early as in the Talmud, God’s sadness about the destruction of the Temple and the dispersion of his people has been depicted as the sound of a wailing dove. Here, as an addition, the Jewish people are depicted as a blind crying girl, who, in contrast to the hardships of her daily life, finds light in her own soul. See also f-1691 of this collection, no. 200 in this catalogue. In Hebrew.

Part 1. ‫ עם הוספות חדשות‬,‫חלק ראשון כולל דקדוק לשון עברית או קיצור תלמוד לשון עברי‬

‫ ונערי לבב החפצים להשכיל פיהם גם בלי‬,‫ לתועלת המורים ותלמידיהם‬,‫ בלשון צח וקל‬,‫ומועילות‬ ‫ מאת מוקירכם יצחק הנ״ל לפ״ק‬.‫[ מורה ישיגו מאויים‬Part one, containing a Hebrew grammar or a short study of the Hebrew language, with new and useful additions, in clear and light language, for the sake of the teachers and their pupils, and the whole-hearted boys who wish to understand their language, also without a teacher, will find delight in it. By your dear aforementioned Isaac, 1864].

Part 2. ,‫חלק שני או מסלת הלמוד החדש בשני מבואים‬

203. f-1677

‫ יורה דעת קרוא כתב עברית מהחל עד תמם‬,‫מבוא החיצון‬ ,‫ קריאה תמה זכה בלי שגיאה‬,‫ מלות‬,‫אותיות הברות‬ ‫ והכנוים ושמות‬,‫ שמות מלות הגוף‬,‫ובאור מלות עברית‬ ‫ ולמודי‬,‫ ול״פ‬,‫המספר מתורגם לשון יהודית אשכנזית‬ ‫ וספורי מוסר ללמד נערי‬,‫ בלשון צח וקל‬,‫מוסר השכל‬ ‫ מאת יצחק ב״ר‬.‫ כתוב על לוח לבך לפ״ק‬.‫ב״י לשון הקדש‬ ‫[ דוד זיבענבערג‬Part two, or the path of modern education. Comprising two parts, the first part teaching how to read Hebrew from the beginning to perfection: letters, syllables, words, pure correct readings without errors, and explanation of Hebrew words, names, names of parts of

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the body, suffixes and numbers, translated into Yiddish and Polish. As well as ethical teachings in clear and easy language and moral stories to teach Jewish boys the Holy Tongue. By Isaac ben David Siebenberger, 1864]. Provenance: Joseph Onderwijzer, Grodny, New York.

204

f-1555

Marcus Weissmann-Chajes (1831–1914), ‫ מאת מרדכי ווייסמאן‬. . . ‫ספר משל ומליצה‬

‫ אות ד ה מחברת ו‬.‫ חיות‬/ Talmudische Sprüche in gereimter Form nebst Erklärungen. Von M. Weissmann. 6. Heft [Book of Fable and Proverb (. . .) By Marcus Weissmann-Chajes. Letters dalet and he, sixth volume]. Lviv (Ukraine): J. M. Stand, 1864. 167 x 104 mm. 24 leaves, paginated [i–ii], [1], 2–18, [19], 20–46. Modern dark-gray cloth. Cowley 705; Roest 1141; Zedner 776. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition of the sixth and last part of this series of fables and proverbs covering the Hebrew letters dalet and he. The series, written between 1860 and 1864, was never finished, and the six volumes that appeared were printed by different printers in different places. The author was born in Tarnow, Galicia, and lived and died in Vienna. He was a writer and the publisher of several journals and newspapers. This part contains four fables. The fable on page 28 is based on Midrash Kohelet on Ecclesiastes 7:9. A donkey, carrying his burden, was walking along the road when he saw the skin of a young lion. He picked it up and put it on, thinking: “When I come to town everybody will be scared of me.” And indeed as he entered the town, all the people cried “There is a lion outside” and fled. This made him happy and he said: “If I roar like a lion even more, animals will be scared.” But when he did so, everyone realized it was only a donkey and they paid no more attention. So he roared even louder and people said to each other: “Catch the impostor. Do not be fooled by his appearance.” So they beat him with sticks and stones. In Hebrew.

204. f-1555

Provenance: Silberstein, Tarnow; Abraham Führer; Samuel Englander of Posfalu.

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205

f-1749

Solomon ben Israel Jacobsohn (d. 1866), ‫ מאת שלמה יאקאבזאהן מלבוב‬.‫שירי שלמה‬

‫ בלא״א מו״ה ישראל יאקאבזאהן זלה״ה מקראקא‬/ Schirei Schlomo von S. Jacobsohn [Songs of Solomon. By Solomon Jacobsohn of Lemberg, son of Israel Jacobsohn of Krakow]. Lviv (Ukraine): J. M. Stand for J. Kohn, 1865. 165 x 105 mm. 180 pages, pagination: [i–iv], [I], II–IV, [1–2], 3–169, [170–172] (final unnumbered pages comprise the index). Contemporary quarter-leather, marbled boards. Cowley 309. Copies: HUC; NLI; NYPL.

¶ First and only edition. Solomon ben Israel Jacobsohn, a Galician writer and poet, published his collection of poems in Lemberg but took it to Vilnius to be distributed. He died there. The work is bound together with Friedrich Schiller, Ha-Shodedim/Die Räuber, Lviv (Ukraine): S. L. Kugel Lewin & Comp., 1871, the first time this play of Schiller’s was translated into Hebrew. Songs of Solomon contains two fables (pages 46 and 49). The first is called “Hanefim ha-shnayim,” literally “two flatterers.” A German translation in Hebrew characters directly below the Hebrew title, however, reads “Tsvay politiker,” i.e., two politicians. The fable must therefore be understood in a direct political sense as a harsh criticism of political behavior: “A fox once invited his friend, the stork, to a dinner party. Cunningly, the fox set the table with the meat and soup placed on a very wide plate. Of course, the fox, who had a big mouth, could easily lick up the meat and the soup, but the poor stork could barely lift any of the food to her long beak. As a result, she became quite angry and promised to take revenge against the fox. Some time later, the stork in205. f-1749 vited the fox to a dinner party and the fox greedily accepted. The stork, too, cunningly set the table with very narrow and deep jars. The stork could easily eat the food but the fox, who sat down to eat immediately, could not reach the food so far down in the jar. So he returned home, embarrassed and as hungry as he had come. It was by his own cunning that he had fooled himself. [Moral:] My words are directed toward you, oh politicians! Understand my message! Do not be so ‘wide-mouthed’ or ‘loose-tongued.’ Do not try to trick your fellow man! Stay away from deception and flattery, for if you oppress someone today, he will surely oppress you tomorrow! Then, surely, you both will be singed, your hand will be burned, but by your own hot coal!” The second fable is called “The Ox and the Frog” (page 49). In Hebrew.

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206

f-1538

Solomon Zalman ben Joshua Salkind (1806–1868), ‫ משמיע חדשות‬.‫שמע שלמה‬

‫ לשלמה זלמן בן יהושע זאלקינד מווילנא‬.‫ שירים חדשים גם ישנים‬.‫[ גם ישנות‬Hear, O Solomon. Proclaiming old and new. Poems old and new. By Solomon ben Joshua Zalman Salkind of Vilnius]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Reuben ben Menahem Man Romm, 1866. 158 x 100 mm. 72 leaves, paginated [i–vii], viii, 1–135, [136]. Imperfect: 71 leaves only, lacking pages [i–ii] (title transcribed according to the BL copy). 2nd title page in Latin. Original brown quarter-calf, patterned boards. Van Straalen 206. Copies: BL; Harv; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. Salkind was a well-known educator, a teacher in the rabbinical school at Vilnius, and the author of a number of books and poems. One fable appears here (page 125): “The Children and the Frogs,” after a poem by “Krasitsky, the Pole,” who may be identified 206. f-1538 probably as Napoleon Stanislaw Adam Ludwik Zygmunt Krasinski (1812–1859), poet and dramatist, one of Poland’s foremost Romantic messianic poets. The fable was originally translated and published in Salkind’s Shirim li-Shelomoh (Poems by Solomon, 1842). The poem tells of children throwing stones at frogs. An old frog tells the children to stop, since what is mere play for them is a deadly threat for the frogs. In Hebrew. Provenance: Solomon Zevi Hirsh Rabinowitz (c. 1900); Sem Katz (20th century) of New York.

207

f-1323

Eliezer Zweifel (1815–1888), ‫ גם טעם‬.‫ יצפון לזקנים ולנערים לקח טוב ומישרים‬.‫תושיה‬

‫ מאת אליעזר צבי הכהן צווייפעל‬.‫ בו יחד צמודים‬,‫[ ולשון למודים‬Wisdom. Including good advice and ethical lessons for old and young. With scholarly remarks included as well. By Eliezer Zweifel]. Zhytomyr (Ukraine): A. S. Schadov, 1867. 151 x 104 mm. 70 leaves, various paginations. Modern brown quarter-cloth with dark-brown spine. Van Straalen 252. Copies: BL; HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition. Eliezer Zweifel was a Russian apologist, Hebrew author, and an important member of the Haskalah. He was, however, bitterly criticized by his fellow maskilim for his

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sympathy toward Hasidism. Fables appear on pages 52–54. “The Swine” (page 52) tells of a pig, chased away by guard dogs, who returns to his pit after having been to the Prince’s yard. “Tell us,” plead his friends, “what you saw there. We have heard that there are great jewels and foodstuffs there.” “Oh, no, there is none of that there,” replies the pig. “There, all I could see was mud and dirt and I absolutely loved it!” With this fable the author criticizes those readers who carefully search a book to find an error, but close their eyes to the beauties within. In Hebrew. Provenance: Y. S. Avidor.

208

f-1539

Micah Joseph Lebensohn (1828–1852), ‫כנור‬

207. f-1323

‫[ בת ציון‬Harp of the Daughter of Zion]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Joseph Reuben Romm, 1870. 151 x 106 mm. 55 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–108. Lacks 1st title page. Illustration of a harp on the 2nd title page. Van Straalen 132. Copies: BL; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition. This collection of poetry includes five fables. It was published after the death of the author by his father, Abraham Dov Lebensohn. Despite his short life, Micah Joseph Lebensohn was a well-known and prolific member of the Haskalah and is considered one of the foremost poets of this movement. In “Strength Is Better than Beauty” (page 74), the mountains and heights envy Mount Atlas and speak to him angrily: “Let us build a wall of grassy pasture and greenish fields; a young maid would walk on it and sing a song every evening. It will be glorious. Flowers will brighten the paths. But you giant, on your forehead only eagles land. Why do waters boil inside you? Why do you begin to storm? Who covers you with snow?” “Quiet, you despicable beings,” the mountain answers them. “I carry the earth and tolerate all.” In Hebrew. 208. f-1539

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209

f-1592 and f-1582

Ha-Shahar. ‫[ השחר‬The Dawn]. Vienna (Austria): Perez Smolenskin, 1868–1885. ¶ Perez ben Moses (Peter) Smolenskin (1840/2–1885) was one of the first Jewish thinkers to put the return to Palestine and the creation there of a political and cultural Jewish homeland on his agenda. He wrote extensively about this issue, namely in Ha-Shahar. Smolenskin foresaw that the 1881 pogroms were not just historical exceptions, but that an increasingly disastrous process was developing. The only rescue, he believed, was a Jewish national home. In his youth, Smolenskin had studied in the Lithuanian talmudic academy of Shklov, but when he started reading secular and Enlightenment books, he had to leave and fled to the Hasidic centers of Lubavich and Vitebsk. From there he went to Odessa and finally to Vienna, where he founded Ha-Shahar. Volume 2 contains 20 fables, all of them by Judah Leib Gordon (1831–1892), under the title “These Are Jewish Fables as Well.” Volume 6 has only one fable, “Leviathan and the Fish of the Deep” (page 362), written by Abraham Baer Gottlober (1810–1899); it is meant as a warning to the Orthodox Jews: they should not be too happy that Abraham Geiger is dead, because his words and ideas have been disseminated and will multiply—just as the fish of the deep should not rejoice because of Leviathan’s death, because he spread his seed before he died. In Hebrew.

209a. f-1592

209b. f-1582

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209a

f-1592

Volume 2. ‫ יוצא לאור על ידי פרץ‬.‫ יאיר נתיב על דרכי בני ישראל בעתות העבר וההוה‬.‫השחר‬

‫ שנה שניה‬.‫[ בן משה סמאלענסקין‬The Dawn. Enlightening the path on the ways of the children of Israel in the past and the present. Edited by Perez Smolenskin. Year 2]. Vienna (Austria): Joseph Holzwarth, 1871. 218 x 141 mm. 229 leaves, paginated [i–ii], [1–3], 4–448, 2[1–8]. Modern reddish-brown quartercloth, gray boards. Cowley 644; Van Straalen 191. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; LoC; NYPL; +. Provenance: Seminary “Ha-kibutsim.”

209b

f-1582

Volume 6. ‫ יוצא לאור על ידי פרץ‬.‫ יאיר נתיב על דרכי בני ישראל בעתות העבר וההוה‬.‫השחר‬

‫ שנה ששית‬.‫[ בן משה סמאלענסקין‬The Dawn. Enlightening the path on the ways of the children of Israel in the past and the present. Edited by Perez Smolenskin. Volume 6]. Vienna (Austria): Spitzer and Holzwarth junior, 1875. 218 x 141 mm. 443 leaves, various paginations. Modern reddish-brown quarter-cloth, black boards. Cowley 644; Van Straalen 191. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; LoC; NYPL; +. Provenance: Juzef [sic] Ekselman.

210

f-1927

Zimrat ha-arets. ‫ יוצא לאור על‬. . . ‫ חוברת אחת בכל תקופת השנה‬,‫ מכתב עתי‬.‫זמרת הארץ‬

‫ הצעיר מתתיהו שמחה בן יהודה ראבענער‬,‫ ידי המשבי״ר‬/ Simrath ha-arez. Vierteljahres-Schrift; Ebräisches Organ für Religion und Bildung. Redigirt von M. S. Rabener [Song of the Earth. A Hebrew quarterly (. . .) published by “The Breaker,” (acronym of) Mattitiah Simhah ben Judah Rabener]. Iasi (Romania): Mattitiah Simhah ben Judah Rabener, 1872. 209 x 128 mm. 1st issue: 32 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–64; 2nd issue: 32 leaves, paginated [1–4], 2 [1], 2–60. 2 issues, bound in 1; modern brown cloth. Copies: HUC, NLI, NYPL; +.

¶ Volume 1: issues 1 and 2. The second issue includes the famous fable of the Sun and the Moon (pages 13–15), but interpreted in a less traditional and more enlightened way by Mattitiah Rabener’s uncle, Eliezer Igel. Here the moon is gratified for having caused the institution of month-

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ly sacrifices. The moral is, in Igel’s words, that you should not always think of your gain. If you cause others good, this should in itself be your reward. In his younger days, Rabener (1826–1886) was a student of Jacob Ornstein and had the reputation of being an “iluy,” a very gifted student. After losing his fortune in business, he became a preacher and a teacher in various places, ending up in Iasi. He was a leading figure of the Haskalah in Chernivtsi; he translated German literature into Hebrew and even wrote a German play, entitled Shulamit. In Hebrew.

211

f-2513

Abraham Kohn

(1807–1848), .‫מפלס נתיב‬ “‫ללמוד השפה העבריה על דרך הספר ”פתח שפת עבר‬ ‫אשר חבר אברהם ב״ר שלום הכהן ז״ל וישם עליו‬ ‫ זיגמונד מאננהיימער‬.‫ נוספות ותקונים‬/ The Leveller of the Path. Hebrew Reader and Translator for the Use of Schools. From the second edition of the work “‫ ”פתח שפת עבר‬by Abraham Kohn, late preacher at Lemberg, Austria. 210. f-1927 Revised, augmented and improved by S. Mannheimer. New York: J. Lehrberger and Co., 1873. 211 x 136 mm. 46 leaves, paginated [i-iv], 1–88. Black board, with black spine. Van Straalen 126. Copies: BL; HUC; JTS; LoC; NYPL.

¶ First edition by Sigmund Mannheimer (1835–1909) after the second edition of Abraham Kohn’s book. Kohn was a Reform rabbi who in 1844 became a preacher in Lemberg, where he established a Reform temple and a modern school. His death is surrounded by mystery. It is said that he was poisoned by Orthodox men who opposed his Reform ideas. Thirty years after the original, Mannheimer, who used this book as an introduction to the study of the Bible, revised and renamed it as he states in the preface (page 3): “My long experience has suggested so many desirable changes, that the book has been 211. f-2513

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almost entirely rewritten.” In the second edition (see f-2514 of this collection, no. 254 in this catalogue) he made more changes and stopped listing Kohn’s name on the title page. One of the 23 fables appears on page 54: A thirsty bee goes down to a stream to drink and falls in. The current flows over her and she thinks she is dying. A dove, sitting in a tree and seeing her distress, picks a leaf and brings it to the water so the bee can climb on it, rest a moment and fly to the dry land. The next day a hunter aims to shoot the dove; this time the bee sees the dilemma and stings him in his hand, which makes the hunter fire his weapon and scare away the dove. And the little bee pays her debt, as she saves her own life-saver from death. In Hebrew.

212

f-1524

Nogah ha-yareah. .‫ יוצא לאור פה טארנאפאל‬.‫ ישלח נגהו בעשר חוברות לשנה‬.‫נוגה הירח‬

‫[ מאת בעריש גאלדענבערג‬The Shining of the Moon. Sending its brightness in ten issues every year. Edited by Berisch Goldenberg (1825–1898), here in Ternopil]. Ternopil (Ukraine): Berisch Goldenberg, 1872–1880. 219 x 138 mm. Issue 1/2: 32 leaves, paginated 1–47, [48], 25–40; issue 3: 32 leaves, paginated 1–64; issue 4: 24 leaves, paginated 1–48. All 3 issues still have their original paper wrappers;

212. f-1524

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issue 1/2 has printed blue paper wrappers and issues 3 and 4 have printed pink paper wrappers. They are bound together in contemporary gray cloth. Friedberg nun 127. Copies: HUC; NLI.

¶ Volume 2, issues 1/2, 3, and 4 (1873). The first issue has been numbered 1/2, of which the second half is incomplete. This volume comprises two fables, both in Hebrew verse. “The Story of the Bear” (Maʿaseh dov), in third issue (page 40), tells of a learned bear who wants to live among humans. But when his fellow bears hear about his plans, they kidnap him, “because they feared that the whole world would learn about their stupidity.” Actually, this is the story of Dov Friedmann (1827–1876), the son of an important Hasidic rabbi, who wanted to leave Hasidism and convert to Catholicism, but was kidnapped by his family. Set free by the government, he stayed for a while with the maskilim of Chernivtsi, until the son of his eldest brother convinced him to return. He repented and went back, but, or so is said, he never smiled again. Berisch Goldenberg (1825–1898), Hebrew scholar and editor of this journal, was born in Vyshnivets (Ukraine). He contributed many articles on linguistics, Jewish history, and Hebrew poetry to various journals. He established a school in Ternopil in 1850. In Hebrew. Provenance: Eliyah Sinai ben R. Zahariah Kopchik.

213

f-1262

Hayyim Witkind ( fl. 1873), ‫ שירים‬,‫קבוצת מכתבים‬

‫ הוא יסול דרך חדשה לבני‬.‫ומשלי מוסר בשני חלקים‬ ‫הנעורים בליטעראטור העברית למען ילמדו לשונם דבר‬ ‫ הובא לדפוס ע״י האחים ליפשיץ‬. . . ‫ חבר מאת סף‬.‫צחות‬ . . . ‫ אשר קנו הזכות מן המחבר‬,‫[ מביאליסטאק‬Collection of Letters, Poems and Moral Fables; in two parts. It should pave a new way for children in Hebrew literature, so that they learn to speak their language clearly. Authored by Saf (. . .) Brought to the press by the Lipshitz brothers of Bialystok, who bought the rights from the author (. . .)]. Warsaw (Poland): Isaac Goldman, 1873. 177 x 120 mm. 80 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–160. Lacking 3 additional leaves at the end called for only by Friedberg. Contemporary marbled boards. Friedberg quf 30; Van Straalen 205. Copies: BL; Harv; HUC; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. Includes 18 moral fables in Hebrew verse (pages 151–160) and a verse translation of Ivan Krylov’s

213. f-1262

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fable of the Singer and the Donkey (page [4]). “The donkey said to the singer: ‘Please sing something so that I should know if you are such a good singer.’ He started singing, and all the birds and animals became quiet so that they could hear his song. The singer asked him: ‘Well, what do you say?’ He said: ‘You sing beautifully but it is a shame that you are not friends with my friend the rooster. Then you would learn to sing like him.’ ‘Shame on you!,’ said the singer to the donkey. ‘How could you admire the rooster’s singing more than mine!’ The moral is: May God save us from critics like this.” In Hebrew. Provenance: I. S. Schmulowitz (19th century).

214

f-1390

Samuel David Luzzatto (1800–1865), ‫ כולל שירים ומצבות לרשד״ל‬.‫ חלק שני‬.‫כנור נעים‬

‫ ז״ל‬/ Poesie ed epitaffii di Samuel David Luzzatto da Trieste: Opera postuma [Beautiful Lyre. Part two; comprising poems and epitaphs by R. Samuel David Luzzatto]. Padua (Italy): [Isaiah Luzzatto], 1879. 216 x 144 mm. 199 leaves, paginated [i–iii], iv–v, [vi], 1–392. Contemporary dark-blue quartercloth, dark-green boards. Van Straalen 156. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. Posthumous edition of Samuel David Luzzatto’s poetry, including five fables in Hebrew verse. The “Opera postuma” were published by his son Isaiah. Luzzatto was a leading personality in the more progressive religious movement in Italy. He started writing when he was eight, and the first thing he wrote in Hebrew was a biography of Aesop. When still young, he already saw the necessity of new modern commentaries to the Holy Scriptures, in addition to the medieval commentaries. In 1829 he was appointed professor at the newly established rabbinical college of Padua. He corresponded extensively with leading scholars such as Abraham Geiger, Leopold Zunz, and Moritz Steinschneider. On pages 48 and 49, two translations of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s fables appear. They were published earlier in Kokhve Tsiyon (Zion’s Stars), nos. 9 and 13. In the first, a rabbit asks a lion: “Why is it that you run away when you hear the voice of a human being?” The lion answers: “All of us big and mighty and lofty animals flee frightened from what is small and ugly, like the elephant is scared of the gnat.” “Ah,” says the rabbit, “that’s why I am always afraid of the abominable dog!” In Hebrew. 214. f-1390

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215

f-1256

Aaron Rosenfeld (1846–1916), ‫ ראזענפעלד‬.‫ מאת א‬.‫[ גן שעשועים לילדי ישרון‬Play-garden

for the Children of Israel. By A. Rosenfeld]. Warsaw (Poland): Alexander Ginz, 1880.

170 x 110 mm. 74 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 3–140, I–VIII; pages 31–32 missing. Modern black leather. Van Straalen 202. Copies: BL; HUC; NLI.

¶ First edition. Stories in the style of the Russian educator Konstantin Ushinsky (1824–1871) and fables of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and Ivan Andreevich Krylov. Aaron Rosenfeld graduated from the rabbinical college in Zhytomyr, Ukraine, and taught in various places. He published many books of poems and stories, as well as textbooks. This, his most famous work, became a popular children’s reader and signaled the beginning of a new era in Jewish education and Jewish children’s literature. A fable appears on page 24: The bee asked a person: “Do you know a creation better than me?” The man said: “Yes I do. The sheep. I use her wool for clothes, and her milk to drink. But from you I only have honey. Furthermore, I take the sheep’s wool and milk without any effort of worry. But when I eat your honey, I shiver from the fear that you may give me one of your cursed stings. A man does not want your bite and not your honey.” In Hebrew with Russian footnotes.

216

215. f-1256

f-1566

Solomon Rubin (1823–1910), ‫חמור‬-‫[ תהלת הכסילים או צואת בעור בן‬In Praise of Fools,

or the ethical will of donkey, the son of ass]. Vienna (Austria): Georg Brög, 1880.

194 x 124 mm. 97 leaves, paginated 1–193. 2nd title page in German. Contemporary marbled board. Van Straalen 203. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. In Praise of Fools is a parody in the style of Erasmus’s In Praise of Folly (written in 1509). The entire book (pages 25–193) is a fable narrated by a donkey in classical rabbinic phraseology. Many of the ideas are either parodies of or direct quotes from rabbinic literature. The German secondary title Lob der Thoren oder das neueste Testament eines gläubigen Langohr’s (In praise of folly or the newest testament of a believing long-ear) contains a noteworthy variation on the Hebrew title.

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Solomon Rubin, born in Galicia, was a Hebrew writer on (Jewish) folklore and superstitions. He also translated several works by Spinoza. In Vienna he met Perez Smolenskin, editor of HaShahar (The Dawn, f-1592 and f-1582 of this collection, nos. 209a–b in this catalogue), and promised him to write a complete work for his journal every year, which he did. In Hebrew.

216. f-1566

217

217. f-1331

217. f-1331

f-1331

Johanan Salomon Wittkower (1830–1889), ‫ משלים‬,‫ קבצת שירים שונים‬.‫אגדת פרחים‬

‫קצרים ומאמרים קטנים לאלף מוסר השכל ולהשיב לב ונפש מתרגמים ומחברים על ידי יוחנן‬ ‫ במש״ז וויטטקאווער‬/ Agudath Perachim: “Blüthenstrauß”, Anthologie deutscher und hebräischer Gedichte für Geist und Herz [Bundle of Flowers. Collection of various poems, short fables and short articles to teach ethics of good sense and to answer heart and soul. By J. S. Wittkower]. Altona (Germany): Johanan Salomon Wittkower, 1880. 220 x 128 mm. 192 leaves, paginated [i–vi], vii–xl, [1], 2–256, χ[1–4], [257], 258–340. Modern dark-brown quarter-cloth, brown boards. Van Straalen 247. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition of this work by an Orthodox Jewish author who tried to reach assimilated German Jewry. In order to prove that Hebrew was at least as beautiful and cultured a language as German, he published this anthology of Hebrew literature (mainly poems and epigrams) next to the German translation. Apart from this the work also contains his Hebrew translations of famous

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works in other languages, such as an epigram by Shakespeare. The approbations of many rabbis and a few editors of Jewish magazines appear at the beginning of the book (pages xvii–xxviii), all stating the importance and high quality of Wittkower’s work. The book is divided into six parts, which comprise a genre each. In the first part, containing moral poems and entitled “Flowers of Lebanon,” two fables appear (pages 22–23 and 58–59). In the last one, “The Bee and the Dove,” a bee falls into a little stream and a dove rescues it. Shortly afterwards, when the dove is resting in peace, a hunter aims at her, but the bee sees what is happening and sits down on the hand of the hunter. He shoots by accident and the dove flies off. The moral: Give the poor your bread today, he could give you his tomorrow. In Hebrew and German. Provenance: A. Rabinowitz, Siauliai (Lithuania).

218

f-1264

Joshua ben Hayyim Meisach (1834–1917), ‫ בו יבואו פרחים ושושנים מגדולי‬.‫גן פרחים‬

‫ אריתי ולקטתי אני יהושע בן חיים הלוי מייזאח‬.‫הרבנים משכילים ומאמנים חכמים ונבונים‬ [Flower-Garden. Containing flowers and roses from the greatest of enlightened, believing, wise, and learned rabbis. Picked and gathered by me, Joshua ben Hayyim ha-Levi Meisach]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Judah Leib ben Eliezer Lipman, 1881. 188 x 133 mm. 76 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–152. Later black quarter-cloth, marbled boards, preserving the original printed blue upper wrapper. Van Straalen 162. Copies: BL; HUC; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. According to the table of contents the work contains four poetic fables by the grammarian Moses Reicherson (1827–1903). The first three of these are in fact translations of German poems by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715–1769), all published originally in his Fabeln und Erzählungen (Fables and Stories) of 1746 and 1748; the fourth is apparently an original composition of Reicherson’s. Only the third one, “The Dancing Bear” (pages 104–105), “Der Tanzbär” in Gellert’s original German, is a fable. The others are stories, although the first, “In the Land of the Lame” (pages 102–103), does have a moral ending. “The Dancing Bear” recounts how a trained bear managed to escape from his owner and return to the woods. The wild bears were happy to see him and 218. f-1264

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asked how he had lived with humans and earned his bread. So he showed them how he danced. The other bears were amazed and wanted to learn to dance too. But they kept falling down, and even those that did not fall could not compare with the dancing bear. Enraged, they shouted: “So you think you’re smart? Well, we don’t want you here!,” and they chased away the dancing bear. The moral warns about the risks of showing off. In Hebrew.

219

f-1393

Solomon Mandelkern (1846–1902), ‫ ספר‬:‫ מאת ד״ר שלמה מאנדעלכערן‬.‫שירי שפת עבר‬

‫ ראשון‬/ Hebräische Gedichte von Dr. S. Mandelkern (1. Buch) [Hebrew Poems by Dr. Shlomo Mandelkern: first book]. Leipzig (Germany): C. W. Vollrath, for the author, 1882. 180 x 110 mm. 56 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–110, [111–112]. Red cloth with black marbled design. Cowley 409; Van Straalen 157. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition of the first part of a series of three books containing, apart from Solomon Mandelkern’s own Hebrew poetry, his translations of poems from various languages. The author grew up in a Hasidic environment, but turned toward the Haskalah movement at an early age, divorcing his pious wife at the age of 19. He studied Semitic languages among other subjects; his

219. f-1393

219a. f-1394

220. f-1397

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greatest contribution to Jewish scholarship was the first Bible concordance to follow the Jewish arrangement of the Hebrew Bible (1896). His work as a writer, poet, and translator (e.g., Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Fables into Russian [1895]) was also of importance. This part contains three fables. One of them, “The Donkey and His Owners” (page 49), is a criticism of Hasidic rabbis, who refused to work because of the merits of their ancestors. A donkey rebels after 13 years of working for his owner in peace. When the owner gave him too much work he said: “Know that I’m a descendant of Balaam’s ass, and the donkey that Simson slayed was related to me as well. And some time ago I was told to be of the flesh of Rabbi Pinhas ben Yaʾir’s donkey.” The owner answered, laughing: “What good is the relationship of those to you? You still have work to finish.” In Hebrew. bound with:

219a

f-1394

Solomon Mandelkern (1846–1902), ‫ ספר‬:‫ מאת ד״ר שלמה מאנדעלקערן‬.‫עבר‬-‫שירי שפת‬

‫ שני‬/ Hebräische Gedichte von Dr. S. Mandelkern. (2. Buch) [Hebrew Poems by Dr Shlomo Mandelkern: second book]. Leipzig (Germany): for the author, 1889. 180 x 110 mm. 58 leaves, paginated: [1-5], 6-115, [116]. See f-1393 (no. 215) above for references and copies.

¶ First edition, part two of the collection. A fable appears on page 90: In the woods lived a very quick monkey, who moved as if flying like a bird. No hunter could shoot him. One day a hunter rested under a tree and fell asleep. The monkey saw him from afar and quickly came closer. He put on the hunter’s shoes, and cried out to his friends to show them his new acquisition. But his voice woke up the hunter, and he trapped the monkey who because of the shoes could no longer move. Now the monkey was caught like a bird in a cage. The moral Mandelkern gives refers to a writer not mentioned by name: Behold the author who thought himself smart, wrote many books and articles, and even haughtily tried his hand at poetry, but his style caught up with him and was soon shown up by harsh reviewers. In Hebrew.

220

f-1397

Solomon Mandelkern (1846–1902), ‫ כולל מאה שלשים ושלשה שירים‬.‫עבר‬-‫שירי שפת‬

‫ ספר שלישי‬.‫ מאת ד״ר שלמה מאנדעלקערן‬.‫ משלים ופתגמים‬,‫ ומכתבים‬/ Hebräische Gedichte. Von Dr. S. Mandelkern. 3. Buch [Hebrew Poems. Containing 133 poems and letters, fables and epistles. By Dr. S. Mandelkern. Third volume]. Leipzig (Germany): the author, 1901. 186 x 127 mm. 39 leaves, paginated 1–78. Original faded blue wrappers. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL, +.

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¶ First edition. In this collection of Hebrew poems, fables appear on pages 21, 22, and 24. “The White Raven” (pages 24–26) tells the story of a newly hatched raven chick that is not black like all other ravens, but white. His startled parents and their neighbors think this must be the work of the devil and kick the poor chick out of the nest. A human naturalist, walking by, picks the dead chick off the ground and takes it to his laboratory to be stuffed and then exhibited in a museum, for all to see. The narrator concludes: “Has anyone seen this type of thing, or perhaps heard of it, even among humans?” In Hebrew.

221

f-1330

Mitspah. ‫ מאסף חדשי (זשורנאל) אשר יכיל בקרבו מאמרים הנוגעים ליהודים‬. . . .‫מצפה‬

‫ יוצא לאור ע״י אלכסנדר הלוי צעדערבוים (מו״ל‬.‫ עם ציורים ותמונות‬,‫וליהדות לפנים והיום‬ “‫בלאט‬-‫[ (ועורך מה״ע ”המליץ“ גם ”יודישעס פאלקס‬Lookout. (. . .) A monthly magazine (journal) comprising articles concerning Jews and Judaism, then and now, with pictures and photographs. Edited by Alexander Halevi Zederbaum (publisher and editor of Ha-Melits and also Yudishes Folks-blat)]. St. Petersburg (Russia): A. H. Zederbaum, first [etc.] issue of the year 1885. 240 x 159 mm. 186 leaves, various paginations. 16 steel-engraved portraits. All 4 issues still have their original printed blue paper wrappers, bound together in black cloth. Cowley 522. Copies: BodL; BRos; HUC; NYPL; +.

221. f-1330

¶ Only edition, complete; comprising volume 1, nos. 1–4 (September–December), all published. At the beginning of the fourth number there appears an index to all four numbers, and a notice from the editor saying that, due to reasons which cannot be explained, Mitspah will no longe be published. Number 1 includes one fable in Hebrew verse, “The Wolf and the Fox” by M. M. Dolitzky (1856–1931), which also appears in Poems of Menahem (f-1385 of this collection, no. 248 in this catalogue): A wolf seeks advice from his friend the fox after a pack of wolves arouse the anger of the lion by slaughtering most of the sheep in the kingdom, thus

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endangering his high position at the lion’s court. The fox explains to the wolf that the lion did not get angry with the wolves for killing the sheep, but for making him look like a bad king in the eyes of his neighbors, the eagles. He advices that the wolf spread the word that the race of sheep is cruel and violent, and that they drink the blood of wolves and foxes. The deed of the wolves will then seem good and beneficial and the wolves will be saved from further misery. And thus it happened. Alexander Zederbaum (1816–1893) was a pioneer of Hebrew journalism in Russia. His papers (in Hebrew, Russian, and Yiddish) supported the Haskalah movement. In Hebrew.

222

f-1581 and f-1530

Ha-Asif. ‫ לתקופת השנה‬.‫[ האסיף‬The Harvest. Yearbook. Collected and edited by Nahum

Sokolow]. Warsaw (Poland): Nahum Sokolow, 1885–1894.

¶ Volumes iii and v: Contrary to many other yearbooks, Ha-Asif does full right to its title. It was a famous yearbook, with all of its articles written in beautiful literary Hebrew. Ha-Asif helped to make Hebrew acceptable as a language for publication. According to Getzel Kressel it even “marked the beginning of Hebrew literature as a public medium.”54 Nahum Sokolow (1859–1936) was a prolific writer and one of the first journalists to reach a secular, enlightened audience as well as an Orthodox one. Above all, he was greatly involved in Zionism and was capable of emphasizing three different aspects of it: cultural through his many writings, practical by his involvement with the Zionist movement, and political as a leader of the movement. He stood close to Theodor Herzl and translated his book Altneuland (Old new land) into Hebrew, which he gave the title Tel-Aviv. The name of the city Tel Aviv was derived from the title of this book. Volume iii contains two fables, both written in Hebrew verse: “Light of the World” by Zevi ha-Kohen Tcherchevsky (page 683) and “The Bird in the Cage” by Abraham Baer Gottlober (page 714). In the first fable, the rainbow boasts that her light is much more beautiful than that of the sun: whereas the sun has only one color of light, she has seven! The sun hears the rainbow and hides her face, which causes the rainbow to fade and then disappear. The moral is expressed in the second half of the poem: Just as the rainbow derives her beauty and her colors from the light of the sun, thus the human mind derives its light and beauty from God. Volume v has two fables in Hebrew verse. In Hebrew.

222a

f-1581

Volume iii. ,‫ ולבקרת‬,‫ למחקר‬,‫כולל מקדש לתורה ולחכמה‬-‫ ספר‬.‫ לתקופת השנה‬.‫האסיף‬

‫ הכינו וגם‬.‫ תרמ״ו‬,‫ שנה שלישית‬. . . ,‫ להליכות עולם ולנמוס המדינה‬,‫לעניני הדת ולעניני העם‬ ‫[ חברו בעזרת גדולי סופרי הדור נחום סאקאלאוו‬The Harvest. Yearbook devoted to Torah and sci-

54. Getzel Kressel, “Sokolow, Nahum,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 18:747.

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222b. f-1530

222a. f-1581

ence, history and literary criticism, religious and secular matters as well as to the ways of the world and manners of the country, (. . .). Third year, 1886. Prepared and also compiled with the help of the greatest authors of the generation by Nahum Sokolow]. Warsaw (Poland): Nahum Sokolow, 1886. 219 x 147 mm. 468 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–16, χ[1–2], 17–296, χ[3–4], 297–416, χ[5–6], 417– 440, χ[7–8], 441–926, [927–928]. 4 black-and-white steel engravings, being portraits of poets and rabbis and monuments in Prague. Modern dark-red cloth. Cowley 520; Van Straalen 295. Copies: BRos; HUC; JTS; LoC; NYPL.

222b

f-1530

Volume v. ‫ שנה חמישית‬.‫ תרמ״ט‬.‫ מאת נחום סאקאלאוו‬.‫ לתקופת השנה‬.‫[ האסיף‬The Har-

vest. Yearbook. By Nahum Sokolow. 1889. Fifth year]. Warsaw (Poland): Nahum Sokolow, 1889.

215 x 141 mm. 308 leaves, various paginations. 5 monochrome steel engravings (portraits). Modern dark-red cloth. Cowley 520; Van Straalen 295. Copies: BL; BodL; HUC; JTS; NLI.

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223

f-1531

Sefer ha-Shanah.

‫ ספר כולל מקדש‬.‫השנה‬-‫ספר‬ ‫ לעניני הדת ולעניני‬,‫ למחקר ולבקרת‬,‫לתורה ולחכמה‬ ,‫ שנה ראשונה‬. . . .‫ להליכות עולם ונמוס המדינה‬,‫העם‬ ‫ סאקאלאוו‬.‫ הכינו וגם חברו בעזרת סופרי הדור נ‬.‫תר״ם‬ [Yearbook devoted to Torah and science, history and literary criticism, religious and secular matters as well as to the ways of the world and manners of the country. (. . .) First year, 1900. Prepared and also compiled with the help of authors of the generation of N. Sokolow]. Warsaw (Poland): Nahum Sokolow, 1900. 233 x 172 mm. 206 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–288, χ[1], 289–294, χ[2], 295–299, χ[3], 300, χ[4], 301–336, [1–2], 3–42, [1-34]. Modern burgundy leather. Rowland Smith 743. Copies: BL; HUC; LoC; +.

223. f-1531

¶ First volume of four edited and published by Nahum Sokolow in the years 1900–1905. The only fable appearing in this volume is by Solomon Mandelkern, who published it again in his own Shire sefat ʿEver (Hebrew Poems, f-1397 of this collection, no. 220 in this catalogue). The fable “The White Raven” (page 130) tells the story of a newly hatched raven chick that is not black like all other ravens, but white. His startled parents and their neighbors think this must be the work of the devil and kick the poor chick out of the nest. A human naturalist, walking by, picks up the dead chick and takes it to his laboratory to be stuffed. The chick is then exhibited in a museum, for all to see. The narrator concludes: “Has anyone seen this type of thing, or perhaps heard of it, even among humans?” In Hebrew.

224

f-1484

Moses Dov Goldmann (1863–1918), ‫ מאת‬.‫שירים‬

‫משה דוב הכהן בן אליעזר אריה גאלדמנן המכונאה ”איש‬ “‫[ מדהבא‬Songs. By Moses Dov ha-Kohen, son of Eliezer Aryeh Goldmann, called “Ish Mi-DeHaBa”]. Vienna (Austria): Jacob Schlossberg, 1886. 173 x 122 mm. 12 leaves, paginated [i–ii], [1], 2–22. Modern dark-red quarter-morocco, black leather sides. Van Straalen 273. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +. 224. f-1484

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¶ Only edition. Includes one fable in Hebrew verse: “The Sheep and the Lame Wolf” wherein the wolf, who is not really lame, symbolizes the dangers of modernity and the sheep the ignorant masses. Moses Dov Goldmann was an educator and journalist of some note. His nickname Ish Mi-DeHaBA on the title page can be read either as “a man of gold” in Aramaic, or as an acronym of his name: Moses Dov Ha-Kohen Ben Eliezer. In Hebrew.

225

f-1533–1535

Kneset Yisrael. ‫[ כנסת ישראל‬The Congregation of Israel]. Warsaw (Poland): Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz, 1886–1888.

¶ First editions. Kneset Yisrael, an organ for national revival, contains “articles, written by Israel’s sages and writers on all areas of Torah and science; historical investigations and literary criticism, anthropology, and folklore. With pictures and photographs of people of fame, thoughts about life and society under Jews and in the common world.” Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz (1845–1910), born to a family of rabbis in Lithuania, was a writer and historian, interested in the Haskalah, and a member of the Zionist movement. In the first volume only one fable appears: “The Nightingale and the Rooster” (columns 452– 453) by M. M. Dolitzky (1856–1931). This fable also appears in Neginot sefat Tsiyon (Melodies in Zion’s Tongue, f-1389 of this collection, no. 249 in this catalogue) and Shire Menahem (Poems of Menahem, f-1385 of this collection, no. 248 in this catalogue). In the second volume, a poem called “Chicken Conversation,” by Isaiah Nissan Goldberg (1858– 1927), appears on columns 109–111 in the third run of numbered columns. Two chickens are complaining to each other why roosters can crow and they cannot. A passing rooster reprimands them and tells them that in earlier days chickens used to be able to crow, but because of the idleness and lies of their talk, their crowing right had been taken from them. The poem ends with a stern remark to the youth of “these” days: Do not waste your time writing poetry, it is better to leave that to your more talented peers. Volume III, although without a fable, is also included here. In Hebrew.

225a

f-1533

Volume I. ‫ ספר שנתי לתורה ולתעודה מאת שאול פינחס ראבינאוויץ‬.‫[ כנסת ישראל‬The Con-

gregation of Israel. An annual of Torah and science by Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz]. Warsaw (Poland): Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz, 1886. 252 x 192 mm. 343 leaves, numbered per column in a number of consecutive runs. 2nd title page in Russian and German. 4 full-page and 17 smaller steel engravings, mostly depicting famous rabbis and synagogues. Richly decorated, printed blue paper wrappers, bound in contemporary black half-cloth with marbled boards. Cowley 521. Copies: BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NYPL; +.

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225a. f-1533

225b. f-1534

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 345

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225b

f-1534

Volume II. ‫ ספר שנתי לתורה ולתעודה מאת העורך שאול פינחס ראבינאוויץ‬.‫כנסת ישראל‬

[The Congregation of Israel. An annual of Torah and science by Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz, editor]. Warsaw (Poland): Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz and Joshua Judah Horowitz, 1887. 252 x 192 mm. 321 leaves, numbered per column in a number of consecutive runs. 2nd title page in Russian and German. 5 full-page portraits of important rabbis. Richly decorated, printed blue paper wrappers, bound in contemporary black half-cloth with marbled boards. Cowley 521. Copies: BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NYPL; +.

225c

f-1535

Volume III. ‫ ספר שנתי לתורה ולתעודה מאת העורך שאול פינחס ראבינאוויץ‬.‫כנסת ישראל‬

[The Congregation of Israel. An annual of Torah and science by Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz, editor]. Warsaw (Poland): Saul Phinehas Rabbinowitz and Joshua Judah Horowitz, 1888.

225c. f-1535

252 x 192 mm. 163 leaves, numbered per column in a number of consecutive runs. 2nd title page in Russian and German. 13 steel engravings, 5 of them are illustrations to an article about elec-

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tricity and the rest are portraits of famous rabbis. Richly decorated, printed blue paper wrappers, bound in contemporary black half-cloth with marbled boards. Cowley 521. Copies: BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NYPL; +.

226

f-1333

Der familyen-fraynd.

‫ ספעקטאר‬.‫ הערויסגעגעבען פון מ‬.‫פריינד‬-‫[ דער פאמיליען‬The Family Friend. Edited by M. Spector]. Warsaw (Poland): Israel Joseph Alapin, 1887. 160 x 105 mm. 50 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–100. Gray quarter-leather, brown leather sides. Copies: Harv; HUC; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Only edition of a vocalized Yiddish periodical containing all sorts of literary works, many from the editor. One fable appears on pages 86–92: “The Pious Bears,” by Solomon Ettinger (1803–1856). Ettinger was a Yiddish poet and dramatist of the Haskalah, born in Warsaw, who opposed traditional Judaism (an attitude that is actually reflected in the fable, which refers to the clash between traditional and enlightened Jews). A terrible plague had hit the animals of the forest, and the bears wondered what sort of sin had brought it about. All the animals came to confess their sins. The lion said that he had once killed a man; the fox said that he had stolen a wolf ’s wife away from him; the elephant said that he had once sworn falsely; the wolf said that he had killed his father; the monkey said that he had constantly mocked people, etc. To all these confessions, the bears said: “That is not a great sin; surely that happens in the forest every day.” They noticed, however, that the mouse was sitting very quietly, and they asked him to confess some sin. The mouse replied that once he had been very hungry but could not find anything to eat in the local synagogue. Then he spotted the rabbi’s wife’s prayer 226. f-1333 book and, out of sheer anger for not having satisfied his hunger, ripped it to shreds. To this, the bears grew very upset and said: “Surely you are the cause of the great plague that has hit our forest. Hang the mouse!” And the cats happily dragged away the mouse to meet his fate. A second volume appeared in 1888.

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227

f-1580, f-1699, f-1341, and f-1700

Shealtiel Eisik Graeber (1856–?), ‫ בית אוצר הספרות‬/ Magazin für hebräische Litera-

tur und Wissenschaft, Poesie und Belletristik [Treasure House of Literature]. Jaroslaw (Poland), 1887, 1888, 1890, and 1892.

¶ [Bet] Otsar ha-sifrut (Treasure House of Literature) was published in five annual volumes between 1887 and 1896, and one monthly in 1902. The first five volumes were edited by Shealtiel Eisik Graeber, a Hebrew writer and publisher born in Jaroslaw, Galicia. He wrote for various Hebrew journals and published extensively. Among his most famous publications are those on Italian Jewish scholars such as Samuel David Luzzatto and Y. M. Ashkenazi (M. I. Tedeschi). Graeber’s publications bridged the cultural gaps between Eastern and Western scholars in the late 19th century.

227a

f-1580

Volume 1. ‫ מאת‬.‫ אמרי בקורת ודברי שיר ומליצה‬,‫ מקדש לתורה וחכמה‬.‫בית אוצר הספרות‬

‫ כוננו ידי שאלתיאל אייזיק גראבער‬.‫ חכמים ונבונים קרואי שם‬/ Magazin für hebräische Literatur und Wissenschaft, Poesie und Belletristik. Geschrieben von mehreren Celebritäten. Edirt von Eisig Gräber [Treasure House of Literature. A sanctuary for Torah and wisdom, criticism and literature. By sages and scholars of name. Edited by Shealtiel Eisik Graeber]. Jaroslaw (Poland): Zupnick, Knoller and Hammerschmidt (Przemysl [Poland]), for the editor, 1887. 220 x 145 mm. 206 leaves, various paginations. 5 steel-engraved portraits outside the pagination. Modern dark-red leatherette, original printed green wrapper preserved at the back. Cowley 218; Rowland Smith 735. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ First volume. Fables appear on pages 39 and 44. “The Fox” (page 39) was written by Naftali Mendel Shur (1806–1883), a pioneer in Hebrew newspaper publishing in his native Galicia. It is based on Midrash Kohelet to Ecclesiastes 5:14: “One of the foxes known from the fables, because of his cunning, went about freely among the gardens. He once saw grapes in a vineyard beyond a fence. He was not able to fit through the fence, however, so he decided to fast. Once he fit through, he ate to his heart’s content, so much so until he could not exit the vineyard. So, of course, he fasted again until he could fit through once more. Thus, he gained nothing! Plow with my calf, understand my fable, o humans! Do not desire over much in life for you will surely leave everything in the grave.” A statement on the reverse of the title page indicates that a few leaves “were printed on a Lublin press.” In Hebrew. Provenance: H. London, Berlin.

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227a. f-1580

227b. f-1699

227c. f-1341

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227b

f-1699

Volume 2. ,‫ מליצה ושיר‬,‫הימים ובקרת‬-‫ דברי‬,‫ האוצר בקרבו תורה וחכמה‬.‫הספרות‬-‫אוצר‬

‫ על ידי שאלתיאל אייזיק גראבער ביאראסלויא‬.‫[ גם תולדות אנשי שם ותמונותיהם‬Treasure of Literature. Contains Torah and wisdom, history and literary criticism, prose and poetry as well as the biographies of famous men and their pictures. By Shealtiel Eisik Graeber in Jaroslaw]. Krakow (Poland): Joseph Fischer, for the editor, 1888. 224 x 146 mm. 442 leaves, various paginations. 8 small steel-engraved portraits. Modern dark-red cloth. Cowley 218; Rowland Smith 735. Copies: BL; BodL; HUC; +.

¶ This second volume contains one fable in Hebrew verse, “The Lamb and the Dog” (page 4[430]), by Abraham Abele Ehrlich (1873–1913). Ehrlich was born in Jelgava, Courland (Latvia), received a traditional Jewish education in his youth, and graduated from the University of Halle in 1868. He earned a living in the rabbinate and was one of the few involved in Hebrew newspaper publishing in the latter half of the 19th century. He published various studies of Hebrew poetry and translations. In the fable, a lamb complains to a dog about her hard fate: for all the good things she does for man, like giving him milk and cheese and wool and even dung, the only reward she gets is being slaughtered by men and wolves. The dog agrees with the lamb, but tells her not to be sorry: it is better to be on the weak side than to belong to the evil-doers. An epimythium explains: “It is better to grow roots than to add thorns; Heaven will straighten out every wrong.” In Hebrew.

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Volume 3. ,‫ מליצה ושיר‬,‫הימים ובקרת‬-‫ דברי‬,‫ האוצר בקרבו תורה וחכמה‬.‫הספרות‬-‫אוצר‬

‫ על ידי שאלתיאל אייזיק גראבער ביאראסלוי‬.‫[ גם תולדות אנשי שם ותמונותיהם‬Treasure of Literature. Contains Torah and wisdom, history and literary criticism, prose and poetry as well as the biographies of famous men and their pictures. By Shealtiel Eisik Graeber in Jaroslaw]. Krakow (Poland): Joseph Fischer, for the editor, 1889–1890. 224 x 146 mm. 461 leaves, various paginations. 7 steel-engraved portraits and 1 reproduction of a photograph. Modern dark-red quarter-leatherette, brown leatherette boards. Cowley 218; Rowland Smith 735. Copies: BL; BodL; HUC; +.

¶ This third volume contains one fable in Hebrew verse, written by Zevi Shershewski (1840– 1909), and is called “The Chicken, the Bee, and the Silk worm” (page 7[82]). Shershewski, born in Pinsk (Belarus), was a Russian Hebrew writer who contributed to current Hebrew journals and was involved with the journal Ha-Melits. In 1883 he opened a bookstore in Rostov-on-Don (Russia). In the fable, the three animals have a contest to see which of them is the best craftsman. Both the chicken and the bee make a lot of noise, whereas the silk worm quietly continues his work. In

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the end, the worm designates himself as the best by remarking: “Can blessing also be bestowed on the work of him, who is not making noise and chaos?” The epimythium reads: “A good craftsman works quietly, without raising his voice.” In Hebrew. Provenance: J. B. Telschitz. Wladyslawow.

227d

f-1700

Volume 4. ,‫ מליצה ושיר‬,‫הימים ובקרת‬-‫ דברי‬,‫ האוצר בקרבו תורה וחכמה‬.‫הספרות‬-‫אוצר‬

‫ על ידי שאלתיאל אייזיק גראבער ביאראסלוי‬.‫[ גם תולדות אנשי שם ותמונותיהם‬Treasure of Literature. Contains Torah and wisdom, history and literary criticism, prose and poetry as well as the biographies of famous men and their pictures. By Shealtiel Eisik Graeber in Jaroslaw]. Krakow (Poland): Joseph Fischer, for A. Faust’s Buchhandlung, 1892. 224 x 146 mm. 406 leaves, various paginations. 2 portraits, the 1st a photo reproduction and the 2nd steel-engraved. Modern dark-red cloth. Cowley 218; Rowland Smith 735. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; NLI; +.

¶ This fourth volume contains one fable, “Conversations among Beasts and Fowl” (pages 657– 675), by Abraham Jacob Paperna (1840–1919), a Hebrew writer, poet, and critic who was born in Kapuli, near Minsk (now Belarus). He was educated in traditional Jewish literature but soon became actively involved in the Russian Haskalah and published articles on Hebrew literature. The fable was published in the same year at the same press as an independent work. It reads: “‘Progress! Civilization! Enlightenment! These are what I hope to attain,’ said a young horse to his friends in the stable. ‘These alone make life bearable, for without them all is lost. What good, anyhow, is piety and righteousness if there is no knowledge of life and living? Progress has come so far that now the work of horses may be replaced by these newfangled automobiles! We horses, as a species, are going far! Why, I am sure that even the women of our species will no longer be merely maids, cooks, and housewives but lawyers and doctors as well!’ An older horse, however, tried to stem the tide of his enthusiasm. ‘All this talk of the advantages of progress are illusory and a waste of time. We are still horses and our work has not yet abated. Telephones, telegraphs, and other new inventions were not created just for you, my dear fellow horses. We have eaten the “peel” of progress, and have thrown away the fruit. Power, beauty, and wealth is now the be-all and end-all.’ Moral: Forget about all else, just lust after money. And if you cannot get it honestly, steal it! No one now will vilify a robber. Money is the spice of life, after all. Do not utter words such as ‘progress,’ ‘civilization,’ ‘enlightenment,’ ‘emancipation,’ or ‘19th century.’ They are merely words without any soul in them. They are mere illusions. Banish from your mind as well any feelings of love, brotherhood, compassion, righteousness, or good. True, they might be exemplary characteristics, but they too are illusory and ultimately false. There can be no compassion during war, and in these days of copper and bronze, we are all soldiers—the fight for food is indeed a battle for life

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or death. No matter civilization’s progress, hate, jealousy, and evil will never completely cease. As Ecclesiastes says, ‘there is nothing new beneath the sun!’” The fable clearly delineates the varying views toward Enlightenment and progress. The young people of the time are quite convinced of the advantages of these concepts. The old people, here satirized in the words of the “evil” older horse, are more hesitant of the advantages. Instead of improving the condition of man, progress has made man that much more primitive, lusting after wealth and evil as enemies in war. In Hebrew. Provenance: Jewish National and University Library (now National Library of Israel), Jerusalem (deaccessioned 1973).

228

f-1336

Simhah Pinsker (1801–1864), ‫ על שמוש הגזרות והבנינים בפעלי שפת‬.‫משלי הגזרה והבניה‬

‫ יצא לאור בהשתדלות ובהוצאות אלמנת‬.‫ מאת המדקדק הגדול הח׳ שמחה פינסקער ז״ל‬.‫עבר‬ ‫ בעל ”השחר“ הח׳ פרץ סמאלענסקין ז״ל עם פתח דבר מאת‬Dr. S. Rubin [Examples of Mood and Inflection. On the use of mood and inflection in Hebrew verbs. By the famous grammarian Simhah Pinsker, of blessed memory. Published with the help of Perez Smolenskin’s widow, director of Ha-Shahar. With a foreword by Dr. S. Rubin]. Vienna (Austria): Georg Brög, 1887. 177 x 116 mm. 25 leaves, paginated [i–iii], iv–vi, [1], 2–43, [44]. Modern gray cloth. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First and only edition of this textbook, which teaches the moods and tenses of the Hebrew verb with the help of biblical proverbs. All paragraphs are named after the grammatical construction they deal with. This is also true for the two well-known fables the book presents at the end, on pages 42–43. In the first, a rabbit seeks help from a fox in her argument with a hawk. The fox refuses, because he does not know the hawk. The moral of this short fable is that a person cannot get justice if his opponent is stronger than he is. If for physical power, who is courageous enough? If for law, who is willing to testify for him? Pinsker was the founder of one of the first successful modern Jewish schools in Russia and father of the famous Leon Pinsker. In Hebrew. Provenance: Main office for the care of war refugees. Director Dr. Rudolf Schwarz-Hiller. Refugees library and reading room. 228. f-1336

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229

f-2600

Zevi ben Abraham Goldsteyn-Gershonovitsh (fl.1888–1904), ‫נוטצליכע בעסיעדעס‬

‫ בעארבייט אונ‬.‫ אין פינף טהייל‬.‫אונ שאנע ערצאהלונגען אויף דער טהעמא פון קרילאווס באסניס‬ ‫גערשאנאוויטש‬-‫[ הערויסגעגעבען פון צבי בן אברהם גאלדשטיין‬Useful Conversations and Beautiful Stories on the Theme of Krylov’s Fables. In five parts. Compiled and edited by Zevi ben Abraham Goldsteyn-Gershonovitsh]. Berdychiv (Ukraine): Jacob Sheftel, 1891. 170 x 130 mm. 68 pages, paginated [i–ii, 1–3], 4–64. Quarter-linen, green boards, original printed wrapper pasted onto front board. Copies: Harv; NLI.

¶ Only edition of 31 selected fables and discussions inspired by Ivan Krylov’s fables by private teacher Avraham Goldsteyn-Gershonovitsh. Though the title page states that this is part 1 of 5, this seems to be the only part that was printed. The fable of the Crow and the Chicken (page 30) is set in 1812 when Napoleon’s armies attempt to conquer the city of Smolensk on their way to Moscow. The inhabitants leave the city and run as far as they can. Not the crow, though. When asked by the chicken why he does not come along, the crow answers that crows are never eaten, neither cooked nor fried. He will get by, and if worse comes to worst, make do with a slice of cheese or a bone. He wishes the chicken well and stays behind. When the French troops are starving, however, the crow ends up in a soup-kettle. In Yiddish.

230

229. f-2600

f-1545

Elias Kalischer (1862–1932), Parabel und Fabel bei den alten Hebräern. Inaugural-Disserta-

tion behufs Erwerbung der Doctorwürde der philosophischen Fakultät der Universität Erlangen. Vorgelegt von Elias Kalischer [Parables and Fables among the Ancient Hebrews. A dissertation to attain the title of doctor at the philosophical faculty of the University of Erlangen. Submitted by Elias Kalischer]. Berlin (Germany): Rudolf Mosse, 1891. 227 x 146 mm. 21 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–40, [41–42]. Modern red cloth. Freimann 153. Copies: BRos; HUC; NLI.

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¶ Only edition. Elias Kalischer was a rabbi and a teacher in, among other places, Bonn, Germany. Pages 31–40 deal in detail with fables in the Books of the Prophets. Kalischer identifies the plant fables in Judges 9:7–15, 2 Kings 14:9, and 2 Chronicles 25:18. In order to show the rather vague distinction between fable and parable in the Hebrew Bible he also discusses Ezekiel 17 and 31, which he accepts as fables. In German.

230. f-1545

231

231. f-1525

f-1525

Ahiasaf. ‫ נערך בעזרת טובי הסופרים‬.‫עם ספרותי ושמושי עם תמונות וציורים‬-‫ לוח‬.‫אחיאסף‬

‫[ העברים‬Ahiasaf. Literary and practical national calendar with photographs and drawings. Edited with help of the best Hebrew authors]. Warsaw (Poland): The Schuldberg Brothers, 1893–1895. 197 x 135 mm. 1st year: 96 leaves, with complex pagination and numerous inserts. Monochrome steel engravings in the 1st year, reproductions of photographs in the 2nd and 3rd year. Modern red cloth. Rowland Smith 743. Copies: BL; JTS; LoC; +.

¶ First three years of this calendar 5653–5655 (1893–1895), bound in one; the calendars proper have been left out. The yearbook contains many contributions by one of the ideological foundingfathers of Zionism, Ahad ha-Am. One fable, “The Dove and the Raven” (page 83), and was written by the editor, Zevi Hirsh Scherschewski (1840–1909), to honor the writer Judah Leib Gordon (1831–1892). Here, a raven complains to a dove that nobody listens to his song, but only to the

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dove’s. Not wanting to criticize the raven’s voice, the dove answers that people perhaps are not only listening to his own voice, but also to the emotion that it expresses. “It is because my voice comes directly from my heart,” says the dove, “that people like to listen to me.” According to Scherschewski, the same holds true for Judah Leib Gordon. In Hebrew. Provenance: A. Sotzky, Chicago.

232

f-1698

Moses Orenstein (1838–1906), ‫ יאיר נתיב על דרכי בני ישראל בעתות העבר‬.‫השחר החדש‬

‫ יוצא לאור על ידי משה אורענשטיין‬. . . ‫ וההוה‬/ Haschachar (die Morgenröthe); Sammlung für Wissenschaft, Bildung und Leben. Herausgegeben von Moses Orenstein. I. Jahrgang [The New Dawn. It lightens the path for the ways of the sons of Israel in past and present times. Edited by Moses Orenstein. Volume I]. Krakow (Poland): Joseph Fischer, for the author, 1893. 218 x 148 mm. 1st issue: 29 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–56; 2nd issue: 58 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–20, [57], 58–84, [1–3], 4–32, [1–3], 4–32, [33–34], apparently complete. Contemporary quartercloth, marbled boards. Rowland Smith 734. Copies: BL; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Volume 1:1–2. A fable appears on page 46 (of issue no. 1) entitled “Order of Atonement” (Seder ha-kaparot), by S. Safrin: “In the middle of the night, the synagogue beadle cries for the congregation to arise and atone for their sins. The religious men wake and, running to the synagogue, grab a white chicken and pray that ‘we deserve life—it is the chicken that must die!’ But when I [i.e., the narrator] did the same, my chicken suddenly began talking to me: ‘I should deserve death for your sins? Before I die, then, for your iniquities, please at least hear me out. Lowly men who live in darkness and in the shadow of death chase after the weak, who no longer is considered a man—he is a scapegoat [who is banished] to a desert land. The weak may cry and scream out loudly but alas! who will hear him? In today’s times, it is the strong who survive. Here no doubt a Jew sheds many a tear, for he is weak among the nations, he is the scapegoat [banished] to a wilderness! Before the tax collector

232. f-1698

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a poor weak man may crumble and cry “Have mercy on me; I cannot pay the tax.” But the collector merely calls a guard and says to throw him out for he has not a penny to pay. “Has righteousness disappeared, belief ceased? I am flesh of your flesh; do you not recognize me?” So says the poor man at the doorstep of the rich. But he is no longer a brother, he is merely a poor person. You will soon enough realize that it is the weak who serve as atonement. Therefore, Man, before death overtakes me, consider my plea: Man may indeed be but they who “live in darkness and under the shadow of death” but on earth they rule the creatures. The teeth of wolves are intended only for pleasure while the innocent lamb is meant only to be beaten and trampled.’ The chicken ceased his soliloquy and I confessed my sins, waving him above my head as prescribed. Then I threw him powerfully, even as he again begged for his life, but the slaughterer got to him first with his knife. . . Moral: It is the weak who serve as atonement.” The liturgy for shlugging kaparot includes the phrase “we deserve life—it is the chicken that must die!” (used in the fable as the wakening call of the beadle) as well as the verse “Men live in darkness and under the shadow of death.” In Hebrew.

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f-2498

Abraham Jacob Paperna (1840–1919), (‫[ משלי הזמן (שיחת חיות ועופות‬Fables of Our

Time (Animal and Bird Conversation)]. Warsaw (Poland): Ben Avigdor’s Printing House, 1893. 140 x 103 mm. 32 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–64. Contemporary brown half-leather, yellow-brown marbled boards. Bound together with N. N. Samueli, Min ha-hayim, i–v (Warsaw 1893/6); Ephraim Dov Lipschitz, Nekudat ha-kesef (Warsaw 1893); Zeev Freidkin, Ani ve-hu (Warsaw 1894); Jacob Vital, Ish ha-ruah (Warsaw 1894); Samuel Leib Gordon, Kinor Yeshurun (Warsaw 1894); David Isaiah Silberbusch, Nefesh ahat mi-Yisraʾel (Warsaw 1894); Ezra Goldin, Li-mekom Torah (Warsaw 1894); Ezriel Nathan Frenk, Me-haye ha-hasidim be-Polin (Warsaw 1896). Copies: Harv; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First and only edition. Mishle ha-zeman (Fables of Our Time) is a long rhyming fable, in which an ox, a nightingale, a rooster, a dog, a cat, and a donkey discuss in long monologues which of them is most fortunate. The animals, however, hardly discuss the circumstances they live in as animals, but rather provide lengthy descriptions of human society. In the end they decide it is the donkey who is the most fortunate of them. The author, Abraham Jacob Paperna, was born in Kapuli in Russia (now Belarus) and was a teacher, a Hebrew writer, and a critic. Influenced by Russian literary criticism, he brought Hebrew literary criticism, which until then concentrated on the personalities of the authors, to a higher, more analytic level. All books and stories in this volume were published by Ben-Avigdor and the spine reads: “BenAvigdor Publishing House, second grouping.” Ben-Avigdor (which is actually a nom de plume for Abraham Leib Shalkovich [1866–1921]) was educated at the Lithuanian talmud academies. He played an important role in the early days of modern Hebrew literature and founded two publish-

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ing houses. He also wrote stories himself, in addition to many articles on the state and importance of Hebrew literature. In 1891 he started in Warsaw the publication of a series of dime novels, of which the present collection is a miscellany volume. He once phrased his motivation as follows: “When I look at the deplorable state, in every respect, of our Hebrew literature, I cannot but acknowledge that one of the major reasons for its lack of development is the absence in our midst of well-established publishers who could pay authors and scholars their fair share for their work.” The efforts of BenAvigdor and his successors, who with their cheap editions managed to raise enough funds to finance the publication of “better” literature, paved the way for the development of an independent modern Hebrew literature, with such authors as Hayyim Nahman Bialik (1873–1934) and Saul Tchernichovski (1875–1943). In Hebrew.

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233. f-2498

Der yudisher Puk.

,‫ סאטירע‬,‫ הומאר‬,‫ וואכענבלאטט פיר וויטץ‬.‫דער יודישער פאק‬ ‫ קריטיק אונד בעללעטריסטיק‬/ The Hebrew Puck [The Hebrew Puck. Weekly for Wit, Humor, Satire, Opinion and Belletristic. New York: November 29, 1894–April 12, 1895. 320 x 235 mm. 160 leaves, paginated [1], 2–16, [17], 18–32, [33], 34–48, [49], 50–64, [65], 66–80, [81], 82–96, [97], 98–112, [113], 114–128, [129], 130–144, [145], 146–160, [161], 162–176, [177], 178–192, [193], 208, [209], 210–224, [225], 226–240, [241], 242–256, [257], 258–272, [273], 274– 288, [289], 290–304, [305], 306–320. Drawings by M. Stein. Modern green marbled cloth. Copies: BL; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Satirical weekly in Yiddish with numerous illustrations, containing five issues in the first year (nos. 1–5) and 15 in the second (nos. 6–20). Satirical journalism was very popular among American Jewish writers at the time. Parody served to lessen the pressure associated with the trials and tribulations of Jewish immigrants in America, many of whom were laboring in sweatshops. Among them were also maskilic Hebrew writers from Eastern Europe, who had hoped to continue their work in the States, but found the masses ignorant and were forced therefore not only to write in Yiddish but also to make a living as a peddler or by joining sweatshops. Satirical journalism enabled them to shear their enlightening and sometimes revolutionary messages in a light and humorous way.

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There are five fables, one on page 7, two on page 68, and two more on page 117. Of the first fable it is stated explicitly that it is a parody on Ivan Krylov, of the others it is said that they are by Krylov, but actually they are parodies as well. In “The Swine” (page 68), a big, dirty swine entered a royal palace, licked everything with his dirty lips, and went away unsatisfied. “What was it like in there?” someone asked him, “someone told me there are precious stones and diamonds.” But the swine laughed and said: “I only saw dirt.” The moral: There are critics who see dirt in the finest literature. If one comes to you, remember the swine, his words, and his laugh. In Yiddish.

235

f-1685

234. f-1693

Abraham Dov Ber Lebensohn (1794–1878), ‫ שירי שפת קדש‬.‫כל שירי אד״ם ומיכ״ל‬

[Collected Poems of Adam and Mikhal. Hebrew poems]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Widow and brothers Romm, 1895. 186 x 125 mm. Part I: 153 leaves, paginated [i–vi], χ[1–2], [vii], viii–xxvi, [3–5], 6–279, [280]. Part II: 156 leaves, paginated [i–iv], χ[1–2], [v–vii], viii–x, 1–288. Part III: 53 leaves, paginated [i–vi], [1], 2–100. With title page in Russian. Before part I, an additional title page of the 3rd part has been inserted. A portrait of the author on page χ[1] of part I. All 3 parts have been bound together in modern green cloth. Rowland Smith 497. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

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235. f-1685

¶ Fourth edition of the first two parts, first edition of the third. These volumes contain A. D. B. Lebensohn’s poems (Adam stands for Abraham Dov of Mikhailishok—his birthplace) and those of his son, Micah (Mikhal) Joseph (1828–1852). Abraham Dov Ber Lebensohn was a leading figure in the Russian Haskalah. One fable is included on page 114 of part II: “An Object and Its Shade, the Wise and the Fool.” Here, the water says to the dry land that every object that can be found on dry land can also be found in the water: “Put an object next to me and you can find it in me—who can tell the difference?” The same holds true for a wise man and a fool. Whatever can be said about a wise man’s character and virtues, a fool can say: “I have the same, that virtue is mine as well.” Who can prove what is a lie and what is true? In Hebrew.

Part I.

‫ אשר שר אברהם דובער‬.‫שירי שפת קדש‬ ‫ מחברת‬.‫חיים (לעבענזאהן) הכוהן ז״ל מווילנא‬-‫בן‬

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‫ תוצאה רביעית עם תולדות המחבר ז״ל‬.‫[ ראשונה‬Hebrew Poems. Composed by Abraham Dover Ben-Hayyim (Lebensohn) ha-Kohen, of blessed memory, of Vilnius. Part one. Fourth edition with a biography of the late author].

Part II. .‫חיים (לעבענזאהן) הכוהן ז״ל מווילנא‬-‫ אשר שר אברהם דובער בן‬.‫שירי שפת קדש‬

‫ תוצאה רביעית עם תולדות המחבר ז״ל‬.‫[ מחברת שניה‬Hebrew Poems. Composed by Abraham Dover Ben-Hayyim (Lebensohn) ha-Kohen, of blessed memory, of Vilnius. Part two. Fourth edition with a biography of the late author].

Part III. ‫חיים‬-‫ הוא שירי שפת קדש חלק שלישי אשר שר אברהם דובער בן‬.‫יתר שירי אד״ם‬

‫[ (לעבענזאהן) הכוהן ז״ל מווילנא‬Remnants of Adam’s Poems: i.e., Hebrew poems, part three, composed by Abraham Dover Ben-Hayyim (Lebensohn) ha-Kohen, of blessed memory, of Vilnius]. Dedication (part II, page [v]): ‫] כמוהר״ר אריה לעבענזאהן ני״ל‬. . .[ ‫[ אל בני יקירי‬To my dear son Aryeh Lebensohn]. Provenance: Unidentified library stamp in Russian.

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Samuel Benjamin Schwarzberg (1865–1929), editor, .‫ מכתב עתי חדשי‬.‫נר המערבי‬

‫ יוצא לאור על ידי חברה מפיצי ספרת‬. . . .‫ על היהדות וספרת ישראל‬,‫יפיץ אור על חיי היהודים‬ ‫[ ישראל באמעריקא‬Western Light. A monthly. Publishing about Jewish life, Judaism and Jewish literature. (. . .) Published by the Publishing Society for Jewish Literature in America]. New York: Mefitse sifrut Yisraʾel be-Ameriqa, 1895. 200 x 140 mm. 346 leaves, various paginations. Cowley 522. Copies: Harv; HUC; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ Volume 1. Western Light was one of the major periodicals of its time. Fables appear on pages 32 (of 36) and 10 (following the prior 36 pages). In “The Horse’s Game” by M. Garsson (page 32), two children are playing horse riding; the one that is the horse has a rope between his teeth, the other is sitting on its back, pulling the rope. When the horse gets tired of being pulled and cries to leave him be, the child maintains his grip on the rope. “Fool,” it says, “let go of the rope and you will be set free!” “True,” answers the horse, “but if I let go of the rope, I will no longer be a horse.” The moral is: “Just like these boys, so are we all. We are as horses and yet, despite our pain, are afraid to let go of the rope lest we no longer be horses.” Moses Israel Garsson (1860–1935), born in Poland, came to the United States in 1881 and worked in business until his death. He contributed articles to Western Light and Ha-Devorah (The Bee) and helped M. M. Dolitzky, another distinguished fabulist, publish his poems in America. In Hebrew. Provenance: N. Shemen.

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236. f-1383

237

237. f-1317

f-1317

Meir Wolf Singer (1840–1913), ‫ והמה העתקות משירי משוררי רוסיא ואשכנז‬.‫דברי שיר‬

‫ הוצאה שלישית‬.‫ מאתי מאיר זאב זינגער‬.‫[ נעתקו לשפת עבר‬Words of Song. Being copies of songs from singers of Russia and Germany, translated into Hebrew. By me, Meir Wolf Singer. Third edition]. Berdychiv (Ukraine): H. J. Sheftel, 1895. 140 x 118 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [i–ii], [ii–iv], v–ix, [1], 2–86, page ix misnumbered “xi.” Gray quarter-leather, brown leather boards. Copies: Harv; LoC; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Third edition. The author was well known for his Hebrew translations of classical works of world literature, among them Ivan Krylov’s fables. The present work includes two fables in rhyming verse. In “The Farmer and the Fox” (page 71), the farmer asks the fox why he must steal chickens from the marketplace. Why does he risk death each time? Are the chickens worth such a risk? The fox answers that he wishes to be honest and upright, but he must eat somehow. The farmer promises to give him food and drink daily if only the fox will guard the chicken coop from

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the other foxes. The fox sticks to the agreement, until one night when he eats them all. The moral is: “One who is righteous will always do good, even when his belly is empty; but the thief, even when you pay him, will never stray from his evil inclinations.” In Hebrew. Censorship: The censor’s approbation (page π[i]) is dated Kyiv, January 12, 1896.

238

f-1696

The Truth. ‫ א וועכענטליכעס פאמיליענבלאט פיר ליטעראטור און אויפקלערונג‬.‫דער אמת‬

/ The Emeth (Truth) / Die Wahrheit [The Truth. A weekly family journal devoted to literature and Enlightenment]. Boston, MA: Boston Jewish Section S.L.P., 1895–1896. 286 x 224 mm. 184 leaves, paginated [1], 2–368. Modern brown quarter-cloth with dark-brown boards. Copies: HUC; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ Volume I, nos. 1–37. Edited by M. Winchevsky (pseud. of Benzion Novakhovichi, 1856–1932). Morris Winchevsky, born in Lithuania, is called “the grandfather” of Yiddish socialist literature. In 1894 he was invited by the Yiddish-speaking Boston socialists to edit a paper for them. From 1927 to 1928 his Gezamelte verk (Collected Works), in ten volumes, was published in New York. Volume I contains three fables, all of them written by the editor in Yiddish verse. The fable “The Rag and the Paper-Shred” is on page 30. Somewhere in a backyard, a rag and a piece of paper are lying next to each other. The paper once was a leaf of a book, the rag belonged to a coat. One day, the rag says to the old leaf: “Here, look at you, how weak you are! You only need one good shower of rain, and nothing will be left of you!” The leaf answers that the rag should not forget that before he fell in the backyard, he belonged to a book and used to stir up human minds, whereas the rag had never been anything else than a bit of cloth. “That may be true,” says the rag, “but you forget that you’ve been made yourself out of rags.” Bound together with Der sheker (The Lie), probably an additional, satirical Purim-issue of The Truth. It is called in the subtitle “a weekly monthly,” and it says that it appeared in Minsk, May 37, 1985. In Yiddish. 238. f-1696

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239

f-1626

Lippe Benzion Novakhovichi (1856–

1932), .‫ אפאריזמען און פאראדיעס‬,‫פאבלען‬ ‫[ רעדאקטירט פון קלמן מרמר‬Fables, Aphorisms and Parodies. Edited by Kalman Marmor. (By) Morris Winchevsky (pseud.)]. New York: Frayhayt Publishing Association, 1927. 201 x 130 mm. 143 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–286. Original dark-red cloth with black lettering and a portrait of the author with glasses on front cover. Copies: HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First edition of this collection, constituting the sixth volume of Morris Winchevsky’s tenvolume Gezamelte verk (Collected Works, New York 1927–1928). The author, who was born near Kaunas (Lithuania) and later moved to London, was a poet, editor, and educator, who is widely known by his pseudonym. The editor, Kalman Marmor, writes in his foreword that the fable was the first genre in which Winchevsky expressed his literary ideas. Much of his work is preoccupied with the struggle of the Jewish socialist movement. Many fables in this collection refer to the rift in the 1890s between the Jewish socialist anarchists and the workers’ union in London. “The Young Fox” (pages 46–51), which was Winchevsky’s first original Yiddish fable dating from 1891, is one of them. It was published for the first time as late as 1921, because Winchevsky had considered it too sharp an attack on a certain adversary (the fox in the story). The volume contains 22 fables: greatly ed- 239. f-1626 ited translations of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s fables, expanded versions of midrashic fables, and others. While many are printed here for the first time, some of the fables in this collection had already appeared in the Yiddish daily Der forverts. In Yiddish. Provenance: City library “Shaʿar Tsiyon, Bet Ariʾelah,” Tel Aviv (deaccessioned).

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240

f-1926

Isaac Barb (1827–1903), ‫ בה[ו]צאה שניה מתוקנת ונוסף בה משלים‬.‫ספר ממשל משלים‬

‫ יאראסלויא‬,‫ מאת יצחק בארב‬.‫[ כהנה‬The Book of the Fable Teller. Second revised and enlarged edition. By Isaac Barb, Jaroslaw]. Jaroslaw (Poland): the author, 1897. 193 x 119 mm. 40 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–79, [80]. Original printed blue-gray paper wrappers, bound in modern gray half-cloth with marbled brown boards. Copies: BRos; Harv; NLI; NYPL.

¶ Second corrected and enlarged edition. This booklet contains 21 Hebrew fables, almost all of them written in verse, as well as some parables, most of them written in prose. Most have an epimythium, followed by a citation from the book of Proverbs. In “The Mouse and the Lion” (page 59), a mouse is being chased by a marten. Exhausted from the long run and almost caught, the mouse finds itself by accident in front of a lion’s shelter. He decides to take his chances and delivers himself to the lion’s mercy. The lion feels sorry for the mouse and invites him to live with him and to share his food and drink. But one day, the lion is caught in a net while hunting and cries out loud. The mouse hears the cry, runs to him, bites through the net, and sets the lion free. The moral is never to deny help to anyone; perhaps you will need his help another time. The citation says: “Rich man and poor man meet; the Lord made them both” (Prov. 22:2). In Hebrew.

240. f-1926

241

f-1722

Isaac Jehiel ben Eliezer Indicki (1866–?), ‫ ספר מקרא לילדי ישרון‬.‫ספר כרם חמד‬

‫ מחלקה ראשונה כוללת מכתבים ערוכים לרוח הילדים; לחנכם לכתוב במקרים‬.‫בשתי מחלקות‬ ‫ וגלוה בסופה תרגום‬.‫ מכתמים ופתגמים ומאמרי חז״ל‬,‫ מכתבים מתבלים במליצות יפות‬,‫שונים‬ ‫ אינדיצקי‬.‫י‬.‫ מאת י‬.‫[ המלים בשפת אשכנז ורוסית‬Book of the Beloved Vineyard. A reader for Jewish children in two parts. First part: comprises long letters in the style of children to teach them how to write letters for different occasions, letters in an elegant style, epigrams, proverbs and sayings of our sages. Including a vocabulary in German and Russian. By I. J. Indicki]. Warsaw (Poland): Halter and Eisenstadt, 1897.

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185 x 130 mm. 78 leaves, various paginations in roman and Arabic numerals. Modern black leather with gilt lettering on blue spine, original wrappers partly preserved. Copies: NLI.

¶ First edition. This Hebrew reader consists of two parts, each with its own title page, with a glossary in Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian following the second part. The first part is made up of examples of various kinds of letters written by children to their relatives. The second part, which also contains three fables, is a collection of “pleasant stories, written in an easy and pure style,” which the author has taken from the Talmud and Midrash. He also notes in his introduction that, in order to teach Jewish children the Hebrew language, it is preferable to look for reading material in the traditional Jewish sources, rather than to translate works from Western literature into Hebrew, as was the custom among earlier pedagogical reformers. All the fables have well-known morals, like the one on page 272, “The Lioness and the Stork.” In this fable a lioness has a bone stuck in her throat. In her despair she promises a great reward to the one who can rescue her. This is an easy task for the stork with her long and pointed beak. Once the bone is removed, and the stork asks for her reward, the lioness sneers ironically that the fact that the stork is still alive after poking around between the jaws of the lioness, is the biggest reward she could hope for. “And thus it is for us as well,” adds Rabbi Yehoshua, “it is enough that we are allowed to live, why ask for something better?” In Hebrew. Provenance: Bookplate of R. Dr. Pap Lajos on title page.

242

241. f-1722

f-1604

Judah Steinberg

(1863–1908), ‫משלים (פאבעלן) מקוריים לקטנים‬-‫ ספורי‬.‫בעיר וביער‬ ‫ יצרם יהודה שטיינבערג‬.‫[ ולגדולים‬In the City and the Forest. A book of original fables for young and old. Composed by Judah Steinberg]. Warsaw (Poland): Tushiyah, 1897. 175 x 113 mm. 2 volumes in 1: 1st part: 36 leaves, paginated [1–5], 6–72; 2nd part: 36 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–72. Contemporary green cloth. Rowland Smith 897. Copies: BRos; BL; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI.

¶ Second, revised edition of the first part and first edition of the second part, containing 180

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fables in total. On page 45 of the first part the fable “Sufficient Answer” appears. In it, the lion, king of animals, enters into an agreement with the herds: if the herds provide him with sufficient food, he will make sure no one will bother them. He appoints the wolf to supervise the agreement. The herds keep their part of the promise and deliver a tenth part of their newborn lambs to the wolf. But when the wolf walks up with the lambs he sees a beautiful fat sheep and says to her: “Your good neck and your fat tail indicate that you are not one of this stock by birth.” The sheep answers vehemently: “Why is it that when I give the first fruits of my womb to the High Table, no one asks whether or not I was born in this herd? Then I was good enough to belong to this flock!” The wolf does not answer but rather pulls back his lips and shows his teeth. Judah Steinberg, born into a Hasidic family in Lipcani (Moldova), later became part of the Haskalah movement, and was active as an author and educator. He wrote many stories for children and adults, as well as several textbooks. In Hebrew.

243

242. f-1604

f-1632

Judah Steinberg (1863–1908), ‫ מאת יהודה‬.‫ קובץ שיחות מקוריות לילדים‬.‫שיחות ילדים‬

‫[ שטינברג‬Children’s Conversations. Anthology of original children’s tales. By Judah Steinberg]. Petrokov (Poland): Tushiyah, 1899. 128 x 185 mm. Vol. I: 61 leaves, paginated: part 1: [1–5], 6–24; part 2: [1–3], 4–24; part 3: [1–3], 4–30; part 4: [1–3], 4–22; part 5: [1–3], 4–21, [22]. Vol. II: 62 leaves, paginated: part 6: [1–3], 4–23, [24]; part 7: [1–3], 4–22; part 8: [1–3], 4–23, [24]; part 9: [1–3], 4–30; part 10: [1–3], 4–24. Printed stone-red cloth. Copies: BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ First edition, consisting two volumes, parts one to ten; the first volume contains five fables, the second volume two. “The Swallow” (vol. 1, page 16) tells about a swallow who lived in the land of Israel in the days when King Solomon was building the temple. Young children loved the swallow, often bringing him seeds, and the swallow sang for them. During construction of the temple,

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the swallow decided to help as much as he could: he built his own nest in the temple court. When the other birds laughed, the swallow said: “It is better to do something small well, than to do nothing at all.” When the building of the temple was finished, the Angels praised the well-built house of the swallow, and for generations to come the swallow family was allowed to live quietly in the temple court. The children loved the swallows and brought their own offerings to them, and the swallows sang their own temple service for the children. But finally, on the ninth day of the month Av, the temple was set on fire by Nebuchadnezzar. The swallows did what they could to extinguish the fire and brought mouthfuls of water. Again the other birds laughed and said: “What can you do against a decree from Heaven?,” but the swallows answered: “It is better to do something small well, than to do nothing at all.” Their effort was not lost: because of the little drops of water from the swallows, part of the temple was saved from the fire—the present Western Wall. In Hebrew. Provenance: Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana, Amsterdam (deaccessioned).

243. f-1632

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244

f-1682

Judah Steinberg (1863–1908), ‫ מהדורה שניה‬.‫משלים‬-‫ ספורי‬.‫[ בעיר וביער‬In the City and the Forest. Fable stories. Second edition]. Jerusalem (Israel)/Berlin (Germany): Moriah/Dvir, 1923. 225 x 165 mm. 52 leaves, paginated [i–iv], [1–4], 5–100. Original beige boards, green lettering. Copies: HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Second enlarged edition, containing 215 fables in Hebrew. See f-1604 of this collection, no. 242 in this catalogue. In the fable of the Cat and the Bird (pages 79–80), the cat tries to frighten a bird out of a tree by warning her about the horrible eagle. “Come down to me and I will hide you in my shadow,” the cat says, “or don’t you know the terror of the double-headed creature [referring to the Russian empire’s coat of arms]?” “I do know,” answers the bird, “my parents told me all about it, and I remember their good advice: ‘Watch out, girls, for one heart with two heads, but more so, beware of one head with two hearts.’” In Hebrew.

245

f-1630

244. f-1682

Solomon Zevi Goldmann (1862–1933), ‫ מאת‬.‫ משלים מקוריים בחרוזים‬.‫משלי ילדים‬ ‫[ שלמון‬Fables for Children. Original fables in verse. By Shalmon]. J. Z. Lewin (1852–1934), ‫ לוין‬.‫צ‬.‫ מאת י‬.‫ ספור אגדה לילדים‬.‫[ מעשה בנבוכדנצר שנהפך לדוב‬A Story about Nebuchadnezzar, Who Was Turned into a Bear. A traditional tale for children. By J. Z. Lewin]. Petrokov (Poland): Tushiyah, 1898. 128 x 185 mm. 59 leaves, paginated: Fables for Children I: [1–3], 4–19, [20]; Fables for Children II: [1–3], 4–19, [20]; Fables for Children III: [1–3], 4–17, [18]; A Story about Nebuchadnezzar: [1–3], 4–60. Printed stone-brown cloth. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; NLI.

¶ First edition. Born near Vilnius, Lithuania, Solomon Goldmann (pseudonym Shalmon) worked as a writer and journalist, publishing articles and books on Judaica and also children’s literature. He immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1925.

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The first two parts of this collection for children have 12 fables each, the third part ten, in rhymed Hebrew verse. On page [3] of the third part the fable “Jonah’s Tree” appears. This tree was standing proudly in the middle of his fellow trees and boasting: “Here I am standing, look at me, a beautiful and young tree. I will grow even bigger and generations will look at me and say: ‘Look, there is the famous tree, even a prophet sat beneath it.’ I shall be the most exalted tree under the sky.” That same moment, a worm quietly slid upon his back, and started to gnaw. It pierced a small whole in the tree, and soon the beautiful tree was dry as clay. In Hebrew. Provenance: Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana (deaccessioned).

245. f-1630

246

246. f-1495

f-1495

Solomon Zevi Goldmann (1862–1933), ‫ שני חלקים‬.‫הנעורים‬-‫[ משלים לבני‬Fables for the Young. In two parts]. Berlin (Germany): Shaharut, 1923.

230 x 150 mm. 64 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–126, [127–128]. 5 line-illustrations. Publisher’s gray paper boards lettered in green and red. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; NLI; NYPL; +.

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¶ First edition. The author’s pseudonym “Shalmon” appears on the title page in parentheses after his name. This collection comprises 93 fables and two parables, arranged in two books. One of the fables is called “The Oil and the Water” (page 10). A stream of water entered a jug of fine oil, causing the oil to be pushed to the side. “Why is it,” wailed the oil, “that I have been forcefully pushed aside, while the water proudly stands in the middle of the jug?” “Because,” answered his friend the jug, “this is the way it is with all things in life. The strong push aside the weak and sensitive. Still, oil is still oil, even on the sides of a jug, while water, though it stands in the middle, remains mere water.” In Hebrew.

247

f-1676

Luqman, the sage. Fabulas de Loqmán. Vertidas em Portuguez e paraphraseadas em versos

hebraicos por José Benoliel S.S.G.L. e revistas pelo Grão-Rabbino L[azaro] Wogue [Fables of Luqman. Translated into Portuguese and paraphrased in Hebrew verse by José Benoliel S.S.G.L. and revised by the Chief-Rabbi L[azare] Wogue]. Lisbon (Portugal): Imprensa nacional, 1898. 235 x 148 mm. 86 leaves, paginated [i–vii], viii–xi, [xii–xiv], 1–156, [157–158]. Contemporary blue quarter-leather, marbled blue boards. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition of this paraphrase of the famous Luqman fables. Little is known about Luqman. He is said to be the son or grandson of the sister of Job and to be an Ethiopian. Occasionally, he is held to be identical with Aesop, who is believed by some to be an Ethiopian as well. José Benoliel (1888–1937, Portuguese scholar and bibliophile) has tried to paraphrase these fables in biblical Hebrew, often using complete sentences from the Bible, but he also used the classical Western rules of versification. He even made a Hebrew sonnet out of fable no. 35, “Two Roosters.” In this fable, two roosters start fighting and one beats the other. The one who has lost, hides in a cave and does not make a sound, whereas the victor walks up a hill, shaking his wings, and crows loudly about his victory. Instantly, a raptor sees him, picks him up, and takes him away. The moral of the story is never to boast about one’s victories. In Portuguese and Hebrew. 247. f-1676

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248. f-1385

248

f-1385

Menahem Mendel Dolitzky

(1856–1931), ‫ משלים‬,‫ הגיונות וחזיונות‬.‫שירי מנחם‬ ‫ מאת מנחם מענדל דאליצקי‬.‫ ישנים וגם חדשים‬,‫[ ומכתמים‬Poems of Menahem. Thoughts and visions, fables and epigrams, old and new. By Menahem Mendel Dolitzky]. New York: A. H. Rosenberg for Sigmund Bakherakh Sonneborn, 1899. 230 x 148 mm. 95 leaves, paginated [i–iv], [1–3], 4–183, [184–186]. 1 portrait of the author. Publisher’s blue quarter-leather, black boards. Rowland Smith 216. Copies: BL; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition, including three fables in elegant Hebrew verse. One of these, “The Lark and the Rooster” (page 60), also appears in Menahem Dolitzky’s Neginot sefat Tsiyon (Melodies in Zion’s Tongue) of 1904 (f-1389 of this collection, no. 249 in this catalogue). In “The Wolf and the Fox” (page 97), a wolf seeks advice from his friend the fox after a pack of wolves has aroused the anger of the lion by slaughtering most of the sheep in the kingdom, thus endangering his high position at the lion’s court. The fox explains to the wolf that the lion did not get angry with the wolves for killing the sheep, but for making him look like a bad king in the eyes of his neighbors, the eagles. What the wolf should do, is to spread the word that the race of sheep is cruel and violent, and that they drink the blood of wolves and foxes. The deed of the wolves will then seem good and beneficial and the wolves will be saved from further misery. And thus it happened. In Hebrew. Dedication: ,‫יומו מכרם החיים‬-‫מצבת זכרון לדור אחרון יהיה ספרי זה לפרח נעים אשר נקטף בלא‬

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28 ‫ מת‬,1896 ‫ דעצעמבער‬14 ‫ נולד‬.‫ תנצב״ה‬.‫הוא הילד הנחמד דזשאהן גאלדשמיד סאננעבארן‬ ‫] המחבר‬. . .[ .1897 ‫[ פעברואר‬May my book be a memorial stone until the end of days to the delicate flower which was cut before its time from the garden of life, the sweet child John Goldshmid Sonnenborn, may his soul rest in peace. Born December 14, 1896, died February 28, 1897. [. . .] the author.] Inscription: Signed by the author “Very truly yours, M. M. Dolitzky, Nov. 2, ’99, Phil. Penn” on the title page.

249

f-1389

Menahem Mendel Dolitzky (1856–1931), ‫ מאת‬.‫ ישנות וחדשות‬.‫נגינות שפת ציון‬

‫ דאליצקי‬.‫מ‬.‫[ מ‬Melodies in Zion’s Tongue. Old and new. By M. M. Dolitzky]. New York: A. H. Rosenberg, 1904. 220 x 145 mm. 32 leaves, paginated [1–5] 6–64. Modern dark-red quarter-cloth, brown boards. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of this selection of Menahem Dolitzky’s poems, most of which also appear in his Shire Menahem (Poems of Menahem) of 1899 (f-1385 of this collection, no. 248 in this catalogue). The only fable here is “The Lark and the Rooster” (page 63). The lark was singing beautifully in his cage before he stopped partway through his song and sighed. The rooster asked him what happened. The lark then said he remembered that it was in this very cage that he first lost his freedom. “And,” continued the bird, “from afar my true love pines for me as surely as I pine here for her. So how could I possibly sing?” The rooster retorted: “Your problem, dear lark, is that the Lord has bestowed upon you a beautiful voice and a strong desire to let others hear your singing. But what good are sweet melodies: will they fill your stomach when it is hungry? Or will they hand out food or clothes to those starving and in need of clothing? See, my life is in my hands, I am free. I was never a good singer, but listen to my advice: just say Cucarikoo like I do and you will be set free at once!” “Ah,” said the lark, “your advice is good for one who merely sings, but a lark never changes his nature. Even were all his days to pass, he will always remain imprisoned in his situation.” The message apparently concerns the author’s strong longings for the Holy Land. While the others in his country wish he would assimilate to the surrounding culture and in that sense be free, Dolitzky maintains that a Jew can never change his feathers, and because of his economic condition will be (for the time being at least) imprisoned in America. In Hebrew. 249. f-1389

Provenance: Library of Kfar Gilʿadi.

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250

250. f-1606

f-1606

ʿOlam katan. ‫ יוצא מדי שבוע בשבוע‬.‫ עתון מציר לבני הנעורים‬.‫[ עולם קטן‬A Small World. Illustrated magazine for children. Published every week]. Warsaw (Poland): Tushiyah, 1901–1905. 233 x 174 mm. 320 leaves, with various paginations and column numberings. Illustrations on almost every page, original work and reproductions from a variety of sources. Modern red cloth. Copies: BRos; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First volume of this famous Hebrew magazine for children. It was the first of its kind and became an example for many other youth magazines in Europe. Great store was set on an attractive layout for the children, especially by including illustrations on every page. The editors, Abraham Leib Shalkovich (1866–1921) and Samuel Leib Gordon (1865–1933), had lofty goals when it came to raising children and giving them high aesthetic values, and they saw this magazine as an important means to accomplish these ideals. This first volume contains eight fables in Hebrew, including two translations of fables by Jean de La Fontaine (see his portrait above), a short biography of whom appears on page 825. On page 463 is the well-known story about a ladder whose rungs are arguing: The higher rungs want to be honored and treated with respect by the lower ones. Of course the lower rungs do not agree and repeatedly call to the owner to express their complaints. Then, one day, the owner suddenly turns the ladder upside down. Now the lower rungs have been placed high and vice versa. The promythium reads: “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He casts down, He also lifts high” (1 Sam. 2:7). In Hebrew.

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251

f-0879

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

(1729–1781), ‫ספר‬ ‫ אשר העתקתים‬,‫ החרוזיים והפרזיים‬,‫משלי לעססינג וספוריו‬ ‫[ מלשון אשכנז לשפת עבר אני משה הכהן רייכערסאהן‬Lessing’s Fables and His Stories, in Verse and Prose, which I, Moses ha-Cohen Reicherson, have translated from the German into Hebrew]. New York: Abraham Ferneburg, 1902.

225 x 150 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [i–vi], [1], 2–90. Publisher’s quarter-linen, printed pink boards. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition in Hebrew of these versified stories, among which are 78 fables. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, a most influential poet, philosopher, and critic, was a representative of the German Enlightenment. The translator, Moses Reicherson (1827–1903), who also translated Ivan Krylov’s fables, states in his foreword that he wants to enrich the small but sophisticated field of Hebrew literature with his translation of Lessing’s fables and versified stories in Hebrew verse. A 251. f-0879 good example of the kind of fables included is “The Warrior Wolf” (page 39). A wolf boasted to a fox: “My father, of blessed memory, was a real warrior. None of his enemies dared to stand up against him, and in due time he killed 200 of them. Is it strange then, that he died one day in the killing-fields?” “Sure,” said the fox, “but the true historian will perhaps add the fact that the 200 enemies were only sheep and donkeys, while he was killed by the first bull he ever met.” In Hebrew.

252

f-2582

Book of Ahiqar. ‫ מתורגם עברית מאת‬.‫ ספור קדמון המיוחס ליהודים‬.‫דברי אחיקר החכם‬

‫[ יוסף מזל‬The Words of Ahiqar the Wise. An ancient book ascribed to the Jews. Translated into Hebrew by Joseph Mazal]. New York: A. H. Rosenberg, 1904. 152 x 116. 44 pages, paginated [1], 3–43, [44–45]. Portrait of Meir Ish Shalom opposite title page. Quarter-leather, cloth boards with spine heavily damaged. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ Second edition of Joseph Mazal’s translation, and first edition with introduction and notes by Meir Ish Shalom, pen name of Meir Friedmann (1831–1908), a famous biblical scholar. This was the first volume in the Kiryat Sefer series, which provided readers with an inexpensive way to build a Hebrew library. Joseph Mazal (1850–1912), printer, poet, and translator, was born near Vilnius and immigrat-

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ed to Manchester, England, in 1881. He believed that the Book of Ahiqar was originally written in Hebrew, and thus “retranslated” it into its “original” language (pages 5 and 11). Ahiqar, mentioned in Tobit as one of the exiles of the Ten Tribes, was a scribe and counselor at the Assyrian court of Sennacherib and Esarhaddon. His book of wisdom presents parallels with biblical texts like Job and Proverbs. The text is 252. f-2582 known to us in several versions, in different languages, including an Aramaic papyrus from the 5th century bce from the Jewish military colony at Elephantine (southern Egypt), found at the beginning of the 20th century55 (of which Mazal could have no knowledge, his translation being from 1899). Chapter 5 (pages 35ff) contains only fables. One example is the fable of the Date Tree. A date tree stood by a river. Its fruit kept on falling off into the river. One day the tree’s owner came to cut it down. “Wait,” protested the date tree, “if you don’t cut me down I will grow beans for you next year.” The owner replied, “You can’t do what you are supposed to do, how will you do what is not in your nature?” (page 39). In Hebrew.

253

f-2590

Book of Ahiqar.

‫ מתורגם עברית‬.‫ספר אחיקר החכם‬ .‫ הערות ובאורים‬,‫על פי המקור הסורי וכתבי יב ועליו מבוא‬ ‫[ מעשה ידי אבינעם ילין‬The Book of Ahiqar the Wise. Translated from the Syrian source and Elephantine Papyri with introduction, notes, and commentaries by Avinoam Yellin]. Berlin (Germany)/Jerusalem (Israel): Moriah/Dvir, 1923. 166 x 115 mm. 68 pages, paginated [i–v], vi, 1–20, [21–22], 23–61, [62]. Original black linen. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

253. f-2590

55. Robert B. Y. Scott / Murray Lichtenstein, “Proverbs, Book of,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 16:643.

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¶ First edition of this translation by Avinoam Yellin (1900–1937), an Orientalist and school inspector in Mandatory Palestine. On Ahiqar, see f-2582 of this collection, no. 252 in this catalogue. A fable on page 43 tells of a bird that spots a trap, set over a dirt heap, and asks what it is doing there. “I’m praying to God,” the trap answers. “And what is that in your mouth?” the bird continues. “Food for passersby,” it assures her. When the bird tries to take a morsel, the trap grabs her by the neck. “If that is your bread for the guest,” the bird responds, “then God better beware of your prayer!” In Hebrew. Provenance: Herzliah Library, a gift from Israel Metz(?).

254

f-2514

Sigmund Mannheimer

(1835–1909), ‫מפלס‬ ‫ נתיב‬/ Hebrew Reader and Grammar with Exercises for Translation, by S. Mannheimer, professor at the Hebrew Union College. Cincinnati, OH: Bloch Publishing Company, [1904]. 220 x 146 mm. 131 leaves, paginated [i–iv], v–vii, [viii], 1–254. Contemporary black cloth. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Revised edition. The “exercises” include 11 fables in Hebrew prose. In “Selfish Advice” (page 69), a fox gets caught in a trap, but escapes by biting off his long tail. Back with the other foxes, he is ashamed of not having a tail anymore, so he says to them: “Brothers, our long tails are a burden and a disgrace: many of us have been caught already by them and have been killed. Therefore, let us get rid of them. And look, I have already cut off mine as an example!” But an old fox says: “If you had not been caught by your tail, you wouldn’t have bitten it off, so do not give us advice like that now.” In English.

254. f-2514

255

Provenance: Eugene Mannheimer. f-2583

Jean de La Fontaine (1621–1695), ‫ משלים נבחרים מאת ז׳ן די לפונטין‬:‫משלי לפונטין‬

[Fables by La Fontaine. Selected fables by Jean de La Fontaine]. Krakow (Poland): Tushiyah, 1906. 246 x 175 mm. 38 pages, paginated [1–7], 8–38. With a portrait of the author on page [3]. Various black-and-white illustrations, some signed by Pannemaker-Doms Sc, G. Doré, Fournier, H.

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Pisan, S. Ettlinger(?) and 1 unreadable autograph. Original paper wrappers preserved. Copies: LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First edition, consisting of 28 fables by Jean de La Fontaine, edited and translated into Hebrew verse by Samuel Leib Gordon (1865–1933), a writer and a Bible scholar. A short biography of La Fontaine appears on page [5]. The fable “The Two Bulls and the Frog” (page 32) tells about two frogs in a swamp watching two bulls fight. “What is the matter with you?” one frog asks her friend when hearing her sigh. “Don’t you see?” answers the first, and she pictures how these two bulls won’t stop fighting till one has driven away the other from the fields, thereby stampeding the swamp and its inhabitants. She foretells days of lament and sorrow for their people in which the swamp will be filled with blood instead of water. Since a war of the mighty brings misery on the tiny, reads the epimythium. In Hebrew. 255. f-2583

256

f-2567

Jean de La Fontaine

(1621–1695), ‫ בלווית ציורי‬,‫ גרדון‬.‫ל‬.‫ תרגם ש‬.‫משלים נבחרים‬ ‫[ אביגדור אריכא‬Selected Fables. Translated by S. L. Gordon, accompanied by Avigdor Aricha’s drawings]. Tel Aviv (Israel): S. L. Gordon Publishing House, 1957. 295 x 30 mm. 40 leaves, paginated [1–10], 11–79, [80]. 2nd title page in French. 9 reproductions of drawings by Avigdor Aricha. Paper boards with gilt oval design on front cover. Copies: BodL; Harv; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Second edition, consisting of 25 fables by Jean de La Fontaine, edited and translated from the French in Hebrew rhymed verse by Samuel Leib Gordon (1865–1933), a writer and a Bible scholar. Pages 77–79 contain an introduction by Jacob Fichman, starting with the beginnings of Jewish fable literature. The fable of the Jealous Frog (page 11) tells of a frog living at the shores of a river. When she

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256. f-2567

sees a tall, strong-looking bull she gets terribly jealous of his looks and powers. “Why can’t I be more like him?” she asks, then starts blowing herself up and stretching herself out and asking her sisters if she has grown bigger already. They see no difference. She keeps trying (“But now, look at me!” “Not an inch.”) until she bursts and dies. In Hebrew.

257

f-3115

Nitsanim. ‫[ נצנים‬Blossoms]. Warsaw (Poland)/Krakow (Poland): Tushiyah, 1907. 143 x 112 mm. 318 leaves, various paginations, including 36 title pages. Original blind-stamped cloth. Copies: Harv; +.

¶ First edition. Thirty-six issues in one volume comprising 100 stories, poems, and fables for children written by different authors. This volume includes five fables by Hans Christian Andersen (nos. 4–5), H. Loewe (no. 6, part 2), Max Nordau (nos. 7–8, translated by S. L. Gordon), Judah Zevi Levin (nos. 38–40), and Johann Wilhelm Hey (nos. 61–70, translated by S. L. Gordon). In the fable by Levin, “The Dog, the Cat, and the Mouse,” a flattering cat and an angry dog try to catch a stealing mouse for their

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master. After several unsuccessful chases, in which the cat and the dog are more busy quarreling with one another, the cat catches the mouse, only to fool his master. As the cat is a thief himself, his real intention is to work together with the mouse in stealing from his master. In Hebrew. Provenance: N. Fogla.

258

f-1602

Simhah Alter Gutmann

(1870–1932), -‫הספר ובבית‬-‫ מקרא לתלמידים בבית‬.‫עמי‬-‫בן‬ .)‫ציון‬-‫ בן‬.‫ גוטמן (ש‬.‫ חבר ע״י א‬.‫ ספר ראשון‬.‫האב‬ ‫ עם מלואים‬,‫ מעובדת ומתוקנת‬.‫מהדורה שביעית‬ ‫[ והוספות‬Ben-ʿami. A reader for students in school and at home. Part 1. Compiled by A. Gutmann (S. Ben-Zion). Seventh edition, revised and enlarged]. Odessa (Ukraine): Moriah, 1908.

257. f-3115

201 x 132 mm. 56 leaves, paginated [1–2], [i], ii–vi, 2[1–2], 3–102, [103–104]. Numerous black-and-white illustrations. Red quartercloth, printed red boards. Copies: LoC; NLI; +.

¶ Seventh edition, revised and enlarged. The Hebrew and Yiddish author S. A. Gutman, who founded the Moriah Publishing House together with H. N. Bialik and Y. H. Rawnitzki, was also a frequent contributor to its juvenile section. His collected works (Kol kitve S. Ben-Tsion) were published in Tel Aviv in 1949. His Ben-ʿami (One of My People) reader was widely used. The book contains 35 fables, most of which appear in the second part of the book, titled “Baʿale hayim” (Animals). The book is meant to help students learn how to read Hebrew. Sometimes, a short moral appears under the fable in smaller type. This is the case in the fable “Two Dogs” (page 43), where a wolf at258. f-1602

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tacks one dog and his fellow-dog wonders whether or not to help his comrade. In the end he decides to help his friend, because if he doesn’t, he might be next; unfortunately, both die. The text under the fable says: “Two can do more than one,” which is not entirely free of irony, as the two dogs succeed mostly in filling the wolf ’s stomach. In Hebrew. Provenance: Bezalel, Jerusalem; City Library, Jerusalem.

259

f-1609

Simhah Alter Gutmann (1870–1932), .‫ גטמן (ש‬.‫ מאת א‬.‫עמי המחדשות‬-‫מקראות בן‬

‫ מהדורה שלישית עם מלואים‬.‫ מקרוב ומסביב‬.‫בית‬-‫ ספר ראשון לאחר אלף‬.)‫ציון‬-‫[ בן‬The Renewed Texts from Ben-ʿami. By A. Gutmann (S. Ben-Zion). First book in alphabetical order. From near and around. Third enlarged edition]. Jerusalem (Israel): the author, 1913.

259. f-1609

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218 x 135 mm. 40 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi–viii, [1], 2–72. With 20 small black-and-white illustrations, some of which seem to be reproductions from other sources. The illustration printed on the front cover is signed “Betsalel Y. ‫( שטרק‬Strack, Starck?), Jerusalem.” Printed green quarterboard covers with green cloth spine. Copies: Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI.

¶ Third enlarged edition. The title of the book has been taken from the first part of Ben-ʿami: Miqraʾ la-talmidim (One of My People. A reader for students, see f-1602 of this collection, no. 258 in this catalogue), and much of its content has been taken from that book. But many additions and omissions have been made, and therefore we can speak of a new series of editions. The most obvious additions are the excerpts of the Bible, included at the end of the book and the many short rhymes. The book contains nine fables, all of which also occur in Ben-ʿami: Miqraʾ la-talmidim part 1. The short fable “The Donkey Who Sought His Ears” (page 17) is a typical example. Said the dog to the donkey: “You have long ears.” The donkey wondered aloud and said: “I have ears? I don’t even know where?” Laughing the dog said: “But they are like horns on your head!” The donkey lifted his eyes upward but could not find his ears. “Stupid!” cried the dog. “Don’t look upward, look down into the river and there you will see your ears.” The donkey looked, saw his reflection in the water, and said: “You are a liar, you dog. There is another kind of donkey there in the water: a donkey whose feet are upward and whose back is downward. But where, pray tell, are my ears?” In Hebrew.

259. f-1609

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260

f-1751

Simhah Alter Gutmann (1870–1932), .‫הספר העברי‬-‫ ששה סדרי מקרא לבית‬.‫עמי‬-‫בן‬

‫ מחזור ראשון‬.‫ בדרך עולם א‬.‫ ספר רביעי‬.‫ציון‬-‫ בן‬.‫[ מאת ש‬Ben-ʿami. Six series of textbooks for the Hebrew school. By S. Ben-Zion. Fourth book. The way of the world, vol. 1:1]. Jaffo (Israel): A. Eitan and S. Shoshani, 1920. 222 x 143 mm. 102 leaves, paginated [i–iv], [1], 2–134, 2[1], 2–64, [65–66]. 9 small black-andwhite illustrations, some are clearly reproductions from other sources. Original printed off-white quarter-board covers with blue cloth spine. Copies: NLI.

¶ First edition. The book is part of the Ben-ʿami series (see f-1602 and f-1609 of this collection, nos. 258 and 259 in this catalogue), but this part is meant for more advanced students. The Hebrew is far from easy, and the author addresses the pupils directly in a moralizing manner. In his introduction Gutmann states that in order to make the often difficult language of the Midrash more accessible to youth, he modernized the language, changed a few lines, and added verses where the original had left out some. The book contains two fables. One is the famous fairytale by H. C. Andersen of the ugly duckling who turns out to be a beautiful swan (page 19). The other fable, “The Fox and the Wolf” (page 48), is a compilation of at least two other well-known fables in which a fox outwits a wolf. The most famous is the story in which the fox wants to get rid of the wolf and jumps into a bucket hanging in a well. When he goes down, the second bucket at the other end of the rope 260. f-1751 goes up. The fox invites the wolf to jump into the second bucket and to join his delicious meal down there. The wolf listens and goes down, while of course the fox goes up again and walks away. In Hebrew. Provenance: Anglo-Jewish Associatison Evelina de Rothschild School for Girls Jerusalem.

261

f-2492

Gertrude Landa-Gordon (1881–1941), Jewish Fairy Tales and Fables. By Aunt Naomi

[pseud.]; Illustrated by E. Strellett and J. Marks. London (United Kingdom): Robert Scott, [1908]. 190 x 135 mm. 85 leaves, paginated [1–8], 9–169, [170]. Monochrome frontispiece and 9 text il-

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lustrations. Publisher’s full butterscotch-brown cloth, color plate, a colored version of the illustration on page 45, mounted on the cover as issued. Copies: BL; BodL; +.

¶ First edition, first impression. Includes five fables, mostly based on the Talmud and the Midrash, and nine fairy tales, all “re-written in a manner best suited for children” (page 9). Landa also published Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends (New York, 1919). This edition is undated; its date is recorded in the ninth impression (1926, f-1629 of this collection, not included in this catalogue). In English.

262

f-1752

Moses Teitsh (1882–1935) and M. Birnbaum (fl.

1909), ‫ א לעהרבוך פאר אנפאנגער צו לעזען‬.‫שוהל‬-‫פאלקס‬ ‫ טייטש‬.‫לעהרע‬-‫ פאר שוהל און הויז‬.‫און שרייבען יודיש‬ ‫ בירנביום‬.‫[ [און] מ‬Elementary School. A textbook for beginners to learn to read and write Yiddish. For school and home teaching. (By) Teitsh (and) M. Birnbaum]. Warsaw (Poland): n.p., 1909.

261. f-2492

240 x 160 mm. 32 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–64. 30 small black-and-white steel-engraved vignettes appear next to the letters of the alphabet. Modern marbled red paper wrappers. Copies: LoC; NYPL.

¶ First edition. Moses Teitsh, born near Vilnius, was an author and a journalist in Warsaw and became the Moscow correspondent for the New York Yiddish daily Frayhait after the Bolshevik revolution.56 This textbook teaches the Hebrew alphabet and contains reading and writing exercises in Yiddish appropriate for young children, along with stories by famous Yiddish writers, such as Sholem Asch. Among the reading material are also fables by Ivan Krylov in a translation by Meir Wolf Singer. One of the fables, entitled “The Hare and the Birds” (page 28), is re-

262. f-1752

56. Sol Liptzin / Gennady Estraikh, “Teitsh, Moyshe,” in Encyclopædia Judaica (2nd ed., Jerusalem, 2007), 19:584.

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markably gloomy considering its intended audience. It tells about a hare who meets a troop of migrant birds. When he asks them where they are heading, they describe to him the golden land of their destination. The hare, who is constantly on the run from the evil people who are after his skin, begs them to take him with them. The birds have to disappoint him. They say that no matter where he flees to, there will always be evil people who want to harm him. Running away is not the solution. In Yiddish.

263

f-1561

Menasseh Satihon

(d. 1876), ‫ מוסר בדברי שיר ומליצה לעורר‬.‫מחברת פרחי שושנים‬ ‫ מנשה סתיהון‬. . . ‫ מעשי ידי האדם הגדול‬.‫ ללמוד ולעשות את המדות החמודות הטובות‬,‫הלבבות‬ [Bundle of Roses. Ethical rules, put into verse and prose to stir the hearts and to teach good and pleasant behavior. By the great man (. . .) Menasseh Satihon]. Aleppo (Syria): Ha-Shalem, by Ezra Hayyim of Damascus, for the author’s grandson, David Satihon, 1910. 225 x 154 mm. 51 leaves, foliated [i–ii], [1], 2–41, [1], 2–7, [8]. Contemporary black quarter-cloth with marbled brown boards. Bound together with Sefer Darkah shel Torah (The Way of Torah), n.p., n.d. Copies: Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition of this ethical reader. The book comprises four fables written in Hebrew prose. The second of these tells about an ass who finds the hide of a lion. The ass thinks the hide good protection for the weather, so he puts it on and is very pleased with himself. Then, one day, he walks through a street where an Arabian princess is staying in a hotel. The whole crowd of servants and dignitaries panics from the sight of this “lion” and fears for their lives. The ass sees the anxiety he creates and is even more pleased with himself. “Now, if I’d roar like a lion, they will fear me even more!” and the ass raises his voice with all its power—and of course he brays like asses do. The crowd bursts out in laughter from relief. The last sentence says: That is why the fabulists say: “Even a fool, if he keeps silent, is deemed wise” (Prov. 17:28), “in the eyes of his teacher” (add. Satihon), and “foolish utterance comes with much speech” (Eccles. 5:2). In Hebrew. 263. f-1561

Provenance: Haviv Alon, Jerusalem.

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264

f-1281

Joseph Chotzner

(1844–1914), Hebrew Satire. By J. Chotzner. London (United Kingdom): Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1911. 187 x 125 mm. 95 leaves, paginated [i–vi], vii–viii, [1], 2–181, [182]. Publisher’s dark-blue cloth. Copies: BL; BRos; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition. Joseph Chotzner, born in Krakow (then Austria, now Poland) was the first rabbi of Belfast, Ireland, and published on Jewish humor and satire. This book includes a separate section of nine fables in prose (pages 172– 181), which constitute a “branch of Hebrew literature in which light satire is manifested more or less conspicuously.” The section is preceded by a short introduction (page 171), entitled “Fables.” Interestingly, some of the fables are followed by a separate, explicit epimythium, as in the rab264. f-1281 binical fable “The Spider and the Bee” (page 172): “A spider and a bee were once discussing which of the two produced more useful things. ‘You,’ said the spider, ‘certainly produce honey, but you get it only from outside by culling it from various flowers in the fields and gardens. But the threads which I produce, I spin from my own body, and thus the sources which I use are within me.’ ‘True,’ said the bee, ‘but your threads are not only useless, but also so disagreeable that they are often destroyed. The sweet stuff, however, which I supply is greatly appreciated, and I am, in consequence, frequently praised in verse and prose.’ Moral: Introduce to thy neighbors only that which is pleasant and useful, though it may not be of thy own creation.” In English. Provenance: Joseph M. Gleason; Library of the San Francisco College for Women.

265

f-1526

Ha-Devorah. ‫ לבקרת ולמלין דבדיחותא‬,‫ ירחון עברי מקדש לספרות היפה‬.‫ הדבורה‬/ Ha-

deborah (The Bee) [The Bee. A Hebrew monthly dedicated to belles lettres, criticism and witticism]. New York: Gerson Rosenzweig, 1911. 286 x 218 mm. 10 issues of 8 leaves, all paginated [1], 2, [3], 4–16. Brown quarter-leatherette, dark-red cloth boards. Copies: Harv; HUC; NYPL; +.

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¶ First and only volume. Gerson Rosenzweig (1861– 1914) was a Hebrew writer and published a number of short-lived journals including Ha-ʿIvri (The Hebrew), Ha-Kadimah (The Forward), and HaDevorah. Of the last, only the ten issues (November 1911–August 1912) described here were published. As a writer he was known for his biting satire and parody. Originally he was from Lithuania, but he moved to New York in 1888, being among the first Hebrew poets in America. In the sixth issue there is a fable of Jean de La Fontaine, translated by Abraham Tannenbaum (1858–1921), entitled “The Bee and the Spider” (page 12). The spider asks the bee what he is doing. “I make honey and wax for the benefit and honor of God and mankind.” The spider laughs at this: “You pride yourself in falsehood. You make neither honey nor wax, you fly from flower to flower and steal from them the overflowing honey, and then 265. f-1526 you say: ‘I made this.’ Not me, I sit at home and spin and I produce from my own belly.” “So you say, but I produce honey and you make spiders’ webs,” answered the bee. In Hebrew.

266

f-1607

Jacob Fichman

(1881–1958), -‫ חריסטומטיה לשנות הלמוד השניה‬.‫פרקים ראשונים‬ ‫ התמונות נעשו‬.‫ ספר ראשון‬.‫בכתב‬-‫ עם תמונות לשיחות ומחלקה מיוחדה לעבודות‬.‫השלישית‬ ‫הירש גליקמן‬-‫[ מחדש ע״י הציר צבי‬First Chapters. A chrestomathy for the second and third grades. With pictures for speech exercises and a separate section with writing exercises. Part one. The pictures have been made anew by Zevi-Hirsh Glickman]. Berlin (Germany): Jüdischer Verlag, 1911. 215 x 153 mm. 81 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–162, probably lacking pages 163–164. 24 steel engravings, in black. Modern green cloth. Copies: JTS; NLI; +.

¶ First edition. Jacob Fichman was a pupil of H. N. Bialik and lived a very active literary life, moving from place to place while earning his livelihood by teaching, editing, and writing. His poems for children first appeared in ʿOlam katan (Small World), and he also wrote for Literarishe bleter (Literary Pages) (see f-1606 and f-1731 of this collection, nos. 250 and 294 in this catalogue). He spent the second half of his life in Palestine/Israel.

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Fichman thought that the best way to educate children was to excite their feelings by means of literary texts. Grammar and vocabulary would follow as a matter of course, if the texts themselves made a great enough impression on the children’s hearts. This volume contains 28 fables, many of them are well known, including the Eastern European variant of “The Wolf and the Seven Goats” by Grimm, “A Story about an Old Woman and a Bear,” and “The Fox and the Wolf.” This last tells of the wolf, having come upon the fox, saying that he will eat him as he is hungry. Replies the fox: “Silly one! If you want to eat, come and I will prepare for you a feast fit for a king. For today is Friday and all the Jews are preparing for the Sabbath, which is unique to them among all the nations of the world. Come and we will partake with them of the meal, and they will give us fish, meat, and other delicacies which you have never had before.” The fox tells the wolf to go to the market and carry the food 266. f-1607 into the house while he will cut wood for the fire. But as soon as the Jews see the wolf they hit him so hard he barely escapes with his life. Meanwhile, the fox has gone into the coop and taken for himself a fat duck. Satisfied with his meal he burps, and says: “The Jews have no doubt already salted the skin of my friend, peace be unto him. I hope he will make a good coat for someone.” When the wolf returns, tired, hungry, and dirty from his ordeal, he screams: “You let me get beaten up while you ate yourself silly!” The fox tells him that the Jews did not mean to hurt him, only to teach him how to do “proper repentance.” After all, the Day of Atonement is approaching. The fox then leads the hungry wolf to a well and shows him in the water the reflection of the moon which looks like a cheese, and says: “Here is the meal I promised you.” The suspicious wolf makes the fox go down the well first. When he goes down in one side of the pulley, the second empty side comes up. “See, I have let you come down too; the cheese here is delicious,” the fox reassures him. So the wolf sits on the other side of the pulley, and then goes down while the fox’s side comes up, whereupon the fox quickly runs away. In Hebrew.

267

f-1692

Jacob Fichman (1881–1958), ‫[ מענית א‬Response One]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Yizreʾel, n.d. ¶ First edition of this collection. It contains two small text books, teaching young readers the Hebrew alphabet by means of simple and easy-to-read stories and poems. The two parts had both been published previously, but were brought together here by Jacob Fichman to form the first of

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267. f-1692

five parts of the Maʿanit (Response) series. Fichman, himself a prolific writer, Hebrew poet, and literary critic, was considered a leading educator. His collected works (Kitve Yaʿakov Fikhman) were published in Tel Aviv in 1959. Two short fables can be found in the second part of this collection: “The Wise Bird” (page 13) and “The Hen and Her Friends” (page 24): “A cow, a donkey, a goose, and a hen lived together in a yard. The hen found some barley seeds and said: ‘Who will plant the seeds?’ ‘Not I,’ said the donkey. ‘Not I,’ said the cow. ‘Not I,’ said the goose. Said the hen: ‘I will plant!’ So the hen planted the seeds. Rain fell and sheaves of barley grew. ‘Who will harvest?’ asked the hen. ‘Not I,’ said the donkey. ‘Not I,’ said the cow. ‘Not I,’ said the goose. Said the hen: ‘I will harvest!’ So the hen harvested the sheaves. ‘Who will pound the grain?’ asked the hen. ‘Not I,’ said the donkey. ‘Not I,’ said the cow. ‘Not I,’ said the goose. So the hen pounded and gathered many seeds. ‘Who will eat?’ asked the hen. ‘I will eat,’ said the donkey. ‘I will eat,’ said the cow. ‘I will eat,’ said the goose. Said the hen: ‘He who did not sow, or reap, or pound will not eat either!’” In Hebrew.

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Part I. ‫ מהדורה חמישית‬.‫ יעקב פיכמן‬.‫בית‬-‫[ אלף‬Alphabet. Jacob Fichman. Fifth edition]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Moledet, n.d.

186 x 135 mm. 24 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–46. 31 half-page illustrations in black, red, white, gray, and pink by Nahum Gutman and many small drawings. Copies: HUC; JTS; +.

Part II. ‫ מהדורה שניה‬.‫ יעקב פיכמן‬.‫ מקראה‬:‫בית‬-‫[ אלף‬Alphabet: A Reader. Jacob Fichman.

Second edition]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Moledet, 1931.

186 x 135 mm. 28 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–47, [48]. 41 half-page illustrations in red, by Genyah Berger. Contemporary printed off-white paper wrappers with a gray cloth spine. Copies: HUC; +. Provenance: Board of Jewish Education, Philadelphia.

268

f-1267

Israel Abrahams (1858–1925), The Book of Delight and Other Papers. By Israel Abrahams. Philadelphia, PA: Lord Baltimore Press, Baltimore, for the Jewish Publication Society of America, 1912. 204 x 129 mm. 162 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–323, [324]. Publisher’s green cloth. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition, based on lectures by the author, an English scholar in rabbinic and talmudic literature at Cambridge University. The book opens with a piece on the “Book of Delight” (pages 9–27), followed by selections from the “Book of Delight,” two of which are fables. There are three more fables in the other essays. “The Fox and the Lion” is presented on page 30: The lion loved the fox, but the fox had no faith in him, and plotted his death. One day the fox went to the lion whining that a pain had seized him in the head. “I have heard,” said the fox, “that physicians prescribe for a headache, that the patient shall be tied up hand and foot.” The lion assented, and bound up the fox with a cord. “Ah,” blithely said the fox, “my pain is gone.” Then the lion loosed him. Time passed, and the lion’s turn came to suffer in his head. In sore distress he went to the fox, fast as a bird to the snare, and exclaimed, “Bind me up, brother, that I, too, may be healed, as happened with thee.” The fox took fresh withes, and bound the lion up. Then he went to fetch great stones, which he cast on the lion’s head, and thus crushed him. In English.

268. f-1267

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269

f-0878

Solomon Bloomgarden (1872–1927), ‫ פון יהואש‬.‫[ פאבלען‬Fables. By Yehoash (pseud.)]. New York: Yehoash Publication Society, 1912.

195 x 135 mm. 112 leaves, paginated [π1–π2], i–iv, [1–2], 3–215, [216–218]. Contemporary brown leather. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. This collection by the famous Yiddish poet and translator Yehoash contains 97 fables written in a rhymed, poetic style. Original creations by the author appear alongside classic fables from various sources, e.g., Talmud, Midrash, Aesop, Jean de La Fontaine, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, and Jacob Kranz. They are preceded by a short rhymed prologue on page 3 and by “A Fable about Fables” on page 5. In the latter Yehoash tells how the famous fable master, Jacob Kranz, also known as the La Fontaine of Dubno, or the Dubno Maggid (preacher of Dubno), once explained his talent by means of a story about two Polish noblemen who engaged in a shooting contest. The first one took a long time before he finally aimed at the circle he had drawn for himself, and missed. The second one fired immediately in a random direction, and then drew a circle precisely around the spot he had hit. La Fontaine wants us 269. f-0878 to understand that rather than trying to find a fable that illustrates a certain point, the real master starts with a story and only then determines the moral. “So you see,” adds Yehoash, “how easy it is to produce fables.” In Yiddish. Provenance: Dr. George J. Gordon.

270

f-1925

Menahem Mendel Braunstein (1858–1944), ‫ להורות את ילדי בני ישראל‬.‫ספר המורה‬

‫ חלק ראשון‬.)‫ ברוינשטן (מבש׳ן‬.‫ מאת מ‬.‫ דבר וכתב וקרא עברית על פי השטה הטבעית‬/ Hamore. Compus dupa metoda intuitiva de M. Braunstein, pentru scoalele israelite. Partea i. (Abecedar). Editia iii. Editura autorului [The Teacher. Teaching Jewish children to speak, write and read Hebrew naturally. By M. Braunstein. Part one]. Piatra-Neamt (Romania): D. Samsony, for the author, 1912. 198 x 126 mm. 72 leaves, paginated [1–6], 7–144. Numerous illustrations. Modern marbled quarter-boards with gray cloth spine. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI.

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270. f-1925

¶ Third edition of this rare Hebrew primer, and the second and last Hebrew book printed in Piatra (the first being the first edition in 1910). The book aims at teaching children in “a natural way,” which means with lots of pictures and without translations into Romanian, except for a single note and a vocabulary at the end of the book. There are four fables, including the famous story about the Fox and the Wolf in the well (page 102). On page 99 the fable of the Wolf and the Stork appears: A wolf devours a sheep, but a part of her bone gets stuck in his throat. So he asks a stork to remove it for him with her long beak, promising to reward her greatly. After helping him, the stork says to the wolf: “All right, wolf, where is my reward?” The wolf answers: “Is it not enough that you get out of the mouth of a wolf unharmed?” In Hebrew. Provenance: unreadable inscription across title page dated October 27, 1913.

271

f-1605

Magnus Jacob Krinsky (1863–1916), ‫ קורס גבה ללמוד השפה העברית‬.‫הסגנון העברי‬

‫ בו‬.‫ הוא חלק השירי‬.‫ חלק ראשון‬.‫ ליזרוביץ‬.‫א‬.‫ בהשתתפות י‬.‫ קרינסקי‬.‫ ערוך ע״י מ‬.‫וספרותה‬ ,‫ מאגדות העם ומשיריו‬,‫יבואו כל מבחרי היצירות הפיוטיות מן התנ״ך והתלמוד והמדרשים‬ ‫ כל אלה מסודרים עפ״י סדר‬.‫ וגם ממבחרי הספרות האירופיאות‬,‫עד אחרון שבסופרים העברים‬ ‫ וכללי תורת הספרות נכללים בו לפני כל פרק ופרק‬,‫תורת הספרות‬. [The Hebrew Style. Advanced

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271. f-1605

course to teach the Hebrew language and its literature. Edited by M. Krinsky. With the cooperation of I. E. Leizerowitz. Part one. This part contains poetry. Including all the selections of poetic creations from the Hebrew Bible, Talmud and Midrashim, from the folk-tales and its poetry, to the last of the Hebrew writers, and also from anthologies of European literature. All these are ordered according to the rules of literary science, and the principles of literary science are included before each chapter]. Warsaw (Poland): Ha-Or, 1912. 253 x 200 mm. 226 leaves, numbered per column [1–7], 8–904. Original printed red and black board covers. Copies: BRos; Harv; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ Second revised edition. The first edition appeared in 1909. This educational book is divided into sections according to literary classifications. One section is on “Conversations of Animals and Birds” (pages 149–180), which includes seven fables. Another is called “The Fable and the Allegory” (pages 181–204) and includes 25 mostly shorter fables. Both sections have a short introduction to their subject. A writer and publisher, in 1906 Magnus Krinsky founded Ha-Or publishing house and printed many educational books. Isaac Eliezer Leizerowitz (1883–1927) was a writer and journalist who published in various journals and newspapers. It is said that most of Krinsky’s books are actually the work of Leizerowitz. The originally Aesopic fable “The City Mouse and the Country Mouse” (page 201) tells of a well-off city mouse who invited his poor brother from the countryside to share a sumptuous meal with him in the delightful surroundings of a nobleman’s house. Just as they sat down to enjoy their meal, they were disturbed by the approaching footsteps

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of a man. Quickly they jumped up and ran away. When the city mouse asked his brother to return with him, the brother politely declined the offer, and suggested that next time they should dine together in his humble but peaceful dwelling. “Of what use to me is a luxurious meal eaten in fear and trembling?” In Hebrew. Provenance: Asher ben Yitshak Hananel.

272

f-1603

Abraham Solomon Gold (fl. 1890–1914), ‫ ערוך‬.‫ ספר למוד ומקרא לילדי ישרון‬.‫הזורע‬

‫ תוצאה ראשונה עם שבע מאות תמונות‬.‫פי השטה עברית בעברית מאת אברהם שלמה גלד‬-‫על‬ ‫ וציורים‬/ Hazoreia. Carte de citire ebraica. Pentru uzul scoalelor israelite din tara intocmita conform cerintelor pedagogice, dupa metoda Ivrith b’Ivrith de A. S. Gold [Ha-Zoreʿa (The Sower): A primer and textbook for the children of Yeshurun. Arranged according to the principle of learning Hebrew in the Hebrew language. By Abraham Solomon Gold. First harvest with seven hundred pictures and drawings]. Craiova (Romania): Samitca, 1913.

272. f-1603

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200 x 132 mm. 88 leaves, paginated [i–ii], 1–172, [173–174] (with irregularities). 700 monochrome steel-engraved vignettes. On the front cover a large picture of a teacher in a field sowing grain (ha-zoreʿa), signed Grabovsky & Co. Publisher’s black quarter-cloth, pictorial wrappers. Copies: no copies located.

¶ First edition. A rare primer, containing 12 fables in Hebrew prose, including ”The Frog and the Ox” (page 151; see also f-1324 of this collection, no. 149 in this catalogue) and “Who’ll Hang the Bell?” (see f-1611 of this collection, no. 315 in this catalogue). “The Raven and the Nightingale” (page 114) are arguing about whose voice is sweeter. They agree to submit the matter to the next animal they meet; as a penalty, the loser will forfeit an eye. As it happens they encounter a pig, who chooses the raven’s voice on the basis of loudness alone. The raven picks out the nightingale’s eye, and the latter sits down and cries. The raven asks him: “Why are you crying? Didn’t we both agree on the picking out of an eye?” “It’s not my eye I am crying about,” says the nightingale, “it’s having had a pig for a judge.” In Hebrew.

273

f-1608

Hayyim Pinhas Bregman

(1860–1943) and Samuel Hayyim Berkuz (1879– 1955), ‫ ספר ראשון (הוא החלק השלישי לספר ”שפת‬.‫ עם ציורים‬.‫ ספר למוד ומקרא‬.‫מעולמנו‬ (“‫[ ילדם‬From Our World. Teaching and reading book. With illustrations. First book (this is the third part of the book The Language of Children)]. Odessa (Ukraine): Moriah, 1914. 216 x 149 mm. 88 leaves, foliated [1–7], 8–176. 2nd title page in Russian. Steel-engraved illustrations and reproductions from different sources. Original printed pink quarter-boards, with modern red cloth spine. Copies: NLI; +.

¶ Sixth edition. The Moriah publishing house, founded in 1902 by Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Yehoshua Hana Rawnitzki, and other associates, published several high-standard children’s books. All the educational books were checked by Bialik and Rawnitzki themselves. This book is part of a series entitled The Language of Children, a series in which Bialik published some of his first poems. There appear 13 fables, most of them found in the section “From Nature.” In the fable of the Flower and the Sheaf (page 54), the flower says proudly to the sheaf: “Who is equal to me? Everyone watches me and smells my pleasant aromas and delights in my beauty. I am pleasing to mankind. And you, sheaf, no one pays attention to you, you please nobody, you do not have a nice aroma nor beauty; you only make people work hard.” The sheaf answers: “Do not cast me aside, flower, because I am better than you. You might look and smell nice but what is your benefit? I am very useful, I give bread to beast and human being and straw to lie down upon.” The moral of this short story is: “Do not look at the canister, but at what it contains.” This is a quotation from the Sayings of the Fathers, 4:20. In Hebrew.

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274. f-1251

274

f-1251

Charles Sauber (1867–1936), ‫ אריגינאל און בעארבייטעט‬.‫געזאמעלטע פאבלען און פאעמען‬

‫[ נאך קרילאוו און אנדערע‬Collected Fables and Poems. Original and adapted from Krylov and others]. Allentown, PA: the author, 1915. 213 x 146 mm. 112 leaves, paginated π[1–2], [i–ii], iii–xii, [xiii–xiv], 1–207 [208]. A photograph of the author on page π[2]. Contemporary dark-blue cloth. Copies: BodL; Harv; HUC; LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ First and only edition. Charles (Ezekiel) Sauber was the son of a rabbi in Lithuania and studied in the famous talmudic academies of Valozhyn, Mir, and Slabodka. In 1885 he moved to America, where he worked as a peddler and a traveling salesman. In the foreword he writes that he is a common man whose place in the synagogue is at the door, not up front. “I am, as my wife says,

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‘nit tsu Got un nit tsu layt’ [not for God and not for people, i.e., useless]. So you may ask, How do I come to write fables? The answer is with another fable. Someone had two roosters: one rooster sang very nicely and had much talent. Finally he decided he is going to charge money for it. So he trained the rooster to sing whenever someone wanted to hear him. But now the rooster did not wake him any more at daybreak. He had no set time. But the other rooster, who did not know how to sing so nicely, would wake him on time and let everyone know when day and night was. So, I am like the rooster, who never picked up any special talent, but at least I let the people know the difference between day and night.” The book itself contains 38 fables, all of them written in Yiddish verse. About half of them have an epimythium, also in verse. “The Woodman and the Bear” (page 42) tells of a man who lives in the woods, far away from mankind. He has a dislike for men, because of their tricks and lies and shrewdness, and prefers to be with the animals, who lack these vices. He becomes close friends with a bear and together they share livelihood. One day they take a long walk together and the man tires, so he lies down to sleep a little, the bear having promised to watch over him. But the moment the man falls asleep, a fly alights on his nose. The bear chases the fly away, but the fly keeps coming back. Finally the bear loses his temper, and hits the fly as hard as he can. The fly is dead indeed, but so is the bear’s friend, his brains being shattered by the same blow. “Our hero is dead, the moral too late; but the story speaks for itself: love and friendship without thoughtfulness are more dangerous than an enemy’s hand.” In Yiddish. Provenance: Presentation copy, signed note by author.

275

f-1265

H. Hirsh (1880–1931), ‫ הירש‬.‫ פון ה‬.‫[ פאבלען‬Fables. By H. Hirsh]. Montreal (Canada):

“Keneder Odler” Publishing Company, 1918.

239 x 158 mm. 97 leaves, paginated [1–9], 10–191, [192–194], including the errata-leaf (pp. [193–194]). 1 half-page illustration (fox and grapes, unsigned) on title page. Dark-green publisher’s cloth. Copies: BRos; Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. This work comprises 163 fables in Yiddish verse, presented by the author in his foreword as the second enlarged edition, and elsewhere in the foreword as the second part of his work Hundert tropn tint (One Hundred Drops of Ink), which had appeared three years earlier. Many of Hirsh’s fables include epimythia. The author was born in Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine) and immigrated to Canada in 1913. He moved to New York in 1923, and there he committed suicide in 1931, possibly because of his literary failures. In the fable of the Herring and the Onion (page 47), a herring and an onion were cut on a plate. The herring laughed at the onion and told him: “You sour thing! I have no idea what fool would eat you willingly. You make everybody cry.” The onion answered: “You corpse! You call yourself food? Are you such a big bargain? You’re a Litvak [a Lithuanian Jew] with a little milk

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and salt in the stomach [this is how Jews of Lithuania ate their herring]. You have the nerve to laugh at me? I am bitter, but I can live my life like this. You, if they didn’t put any salt on you, you would rot!” Moral: Some people laugh at others even though they themselves only exist with the help of a little foreign salt. The foreword (pages [5]–[9]) mentions that there were complaints about this fable: it was not aesthetic to introduce herrings and onions, and the story had no literary quality. Hirsh argued that since the great fabulists felt confident enough to introduce animals like mice and bugs, he saw no harm in introducing herrings. Furthermore, critics argued, fables always appear when a nation is at an intellectual low point. Hirsh disagreed and pointed out that Aesop’s fables were created when Greek culture was at its height, that Jean de La Fontaine published his fables at the time of the great French classics, and that Ivan Krylov published his fables in the days when great Russian literature was born. In the fable of the Pen and the Book (page 33), a pen boasts: “Without me, the artist could never have written his work: it is due to my diligent labour that such a work can exist. What can an artist do without a pen?” The book answers: “Of course you are right, but a pen can be bought everywhere for a few cents, while an artist you can find in a town only once in a hundred years.” 275. f-1265

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The moral says: “You can be busy and working without necessarily being important.” In Yiddish.

276

f-2602

Morris Kleif

(fl. 1889–1921), ‫משלים (נאך‬ )‫[ קרילאוו‬Fables (after Krylov)]. Charkiv (Ukraine): Farlag Idish, 1918. 175 x 126 mm. 30 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–26, [27–30]. With a publisher’s mark designed by El Lissitzky. Idish bookstore advertisement on page [30]. Printed paper wrappers. Copies: NLI.

¶ Second edition of Morris Kleif ’s adaptation of 14 fables by Ivan Krylov. This edition differs significantly from the first, which was published in Aleksandriya (Ukraine) in Yiddish but in a Russian transliteration. On page 3 of the present edition the reader finds two small reproductions of pages from the earlier 1902 edition. “A Frog and a Cow” (page 20), is an example of this small collection of short, rhymed fables. The tiny frog becomes jealous when one day he discovers that there is an impressive cow next to him in the field. The frog cannot bear the comparison and becomes angry. He inflates himself, pinches himself, and dances around in the grass, until he becomes so excited that he simply explodes. It is never wise for a beggar to compare himself to a rich man, reads the epimythium. In Yiddish.

276. f-2602

Provenance: A. [. . .]kowitz.

277

f-2601

M. Rivesman

(1868–1924). ‫דער ”זיידע“ די‬ ‫) באארבעט‬. . .( )‫ קרילאווס מסאלים‬20( ‫אייניקלאך‬ ‫ יאר‬7-12 ‫[ פאר אידישע קינדער פון‬The Grandfather, the Grandchildren (20 of Krylov’s fables (. . .) revised

277. f-2601

[ 399

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 399

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for Jewish children in the age between 7 and 12]. St. Petersburg (Russia): Commissariat for Jewish Affairs St. Petersburg, 1919. 201 x 135 mm. 40 pages, pages 1–16 and 25–40 all folded together along the top edge; pages 17– 24 inserted into the opening of page 16 and 25, also folded along the top edge with the opening at pages 20–21. The book is held together with one large staple on the opening of pages 20–21. Title partly in Russian (Basni Krylova). Small ornamental and bird illustrations at the end of a fable. Printed paper wrappers. Copies: Harv; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ First and only edition. Mortkhe Rivesman was a teacher, a translator, and a writer of playwrights and stories in Russian and Yiddish, depicting the life of the Jewish poor.57 This volume contains 20 fables by Krylov, translated in Yiddish by Rivesman. The fable of the Cuckoo and the Rooster appears on page 17, in which the birds praise each other’s beautiful voice for no other reason than obtaining compliments for their own. In Yiddish with Russian titles.

278

f-2494

278. f-2494

57. The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Yiddish_Literature/Yiddish_ Literature_after_1800#id0nms, accessed May 21, 2021.

400 ]

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Morris Kleif (fl. 1889–1921), )‫[ משלים (נאך קרילאוו‬Fables (after Krylov)]. Kaunas (Lithu-

ania)/Berlin (Germany): Farlag Idish, 1921.

169 x 154 mm. 15 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–26, [27–30]. Original printed brownish paper wrappers, decorated by Bentsion Tsukerman with a publisher’s mark designed by El Lissitzky. Copies: Harv; NLI; +.

¶ Third edition of Morris Kleif ’s adaptation of 14 fables by Ivan Krylov. In Yiddish. Provenance: Emes publishing-house (Moscow); Sovetish heymland (periodical, Moscow).

279

f-1619

Nahum Yerusalemchik (1888–1966), ‫ געצייכענט‬.)‫ (נחום ירוסאלימטשיק‬.‫ נחום י‬.‫פאבלען‬

)‫ (פאר אייך און איירע קינדער ר‬.‫ אבראמאוויטש און לאלא‬.‫[ פון א‬Fables. (By) Nahum Y. (Nahum Yerusalemchik). Illustrated by A. Abramowich and Lola (pseud.). (For you and your children)]. New York: Jewish Book Agency, 1918. 199 x 155 mm. 16 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3–32. Illustrated front-cover in black and red depicting the fable of the Goose and the Hare (p. 13). 4 full-page and 7 smaller monochrome illustrations by Abramowich and Lola. Color pictorial off-white wrappers. Copies: Harv; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition, comprising 11 fables in Yiddish verse. Born in Russia, Yerusalemchik came to the United States in 1916 and became a prolific author of narrative literature. Some of the fables have a moral note at the end. The series title (For you and your children) explains why some fables seem rather mature, for example, “The Beetle and the Butterfly” (page 19), in which a beetle criticizes the lighthearted behavior of a butterfly. The but279. f-1619 terfly only answers: “Would you have looked with more empathy, you would have understood that I cannot live where it is dark and cold.” In Yiddish.

280

f-1624

Nahum Yerusalemchik (1888–1966), ‫ ספעציעלע אויסגאבע פאר‬.‫ פון נחום י‬.‫פאבלען‬ [ 401

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‫[ דעם ארבייטער רינג‬Fables. By Nahum Y. Special edition for the Workmen’s Circle]. New York: Workmen’s Circle, 1924. 183 x 120 mm. 111 leaves, paginated [i–x], xi–xlvii, [xlviii], [1–2], 3–173, [174]. 18 full-page illustrations preceding the fables and appearing on the versos of pages xi–xlvii; all black-and-white by A. Abramowitz, Z. Maud, Y. Cutler and M. Soyer. Original brown-red linen. Copies: Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

280. f-1624

¶ First and only edition in which the 11 fables of the New York 1918 edition (f-1619 of this collection, no. 279 in this catalogue) are included among others, though sometimes in revised form. The book contains one chapter of 64 fables written by the author himself, and another chapter of 31 translations and adaptations of fables written by Ivan Krylov. All fables have been put to verse and are in Yiddish. One of Yerusalemchik’s adaptations, for example, is of Krylov’s “Spotted Sheep” (page 125). When the king of the animals, the lion, cannot bear the sight of spotted sheep any longer, he seeks advice from the bear and the fox. The bear says: “Oh king, don’t worry, just give me the order and I shall kill them all for you.” But the king is not pleased by the idea of being seen as unjust, so the fox offers another suggestion: “Let the sheep go to a special place far enough from here, where there is enough to eat and drink for them and also room enough to walk around. But it’s hard these days to find good shepherds, so why don’t you appoint the wolves as shepherds for them?” The king thought it an excellent idea: soon not only the spotted sheep but all the sheep had gone there and all the neighboring countries thought him a very generous king, only the wolves got a bad reputation. In Yiddish.

281 281. f-1546

f-1546

Max Weinberg (1845–1925?), Aus dem Spruchborn

der Weisen. Spruchpoesie des Talmud und der rabbinischen Literatur nebst Fabeln, Parabeln und Sagen (N[eue] F[olge] der “Ewigen Weisheit”). Poetisch übertragen von Max Weinberg [From the Well of Sayings of the Sages. Sayings in verse from the

402 ]

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Talmud and rabbinic literature, with fables, parables and legends (new series of “Eternal truth”). Transposed into verse by Max Weinberg]. Berlin (Germany): Philo-Verlag, 1920. 187 x 122 mm. 106 leaves, paginated [1–10], 11–12, [13–14], χ[i–ii], 15–174, 2χ[i–ii], 175–207, [208]. Publisher’s blue quarter-cloth, dark-blue boards. Copies: Harv; HUC; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition of this compilation. The poetic German of these rewritten rabbinical sayings is remarkably clear. Of the four fables contained in the work the best known is “Bestrafter Hochmut” (Punished Haughtiness) on page 185, a variant of the fable of the Sun and the Moon. When God made the heavens and the earth, he made the sun and the moon of equal size and importance. The moon complained to God: “Why did you make us equal? Two equals are bound to start arguing and fighting.” So God made the moon much smaller, but added the stars to its realm. Less known is “Für die Katze” (For the Cat, page 188), in which the lion invites all animals for a banquet and promises that every animal shall have its favorite food. The cat could not wait to see, and went into the kitchen on the day before the banquet. When it did not see any food that it liked, it complained to the lion, which answered: “Do not worry, you will not lack anything; I invited mice as well.” In German. Provenance: Marijtje Roos; Wub Gerdes van Santen, after 1945.

282

f-1490

Ephraim Auerbach (1892–1973), ‫ ביבלישע ערציילונגען מיט בילדער‬:1 .‫פאר גרויס און קליין‬

‫ אפרים אויערבאך‬.‫ מאוד‬.‫ אילוסטרירט פון ז‬,‫ מעשה׳לאך‬:2 .‫[ פון פראפעסאר דארע‬For Big and 282. f-1490

[ 403

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Small. 1: Biblical stories with illustrations by professor Doré. 2: Stories, illustrated by Z. Maud. Ephraim Auerbach]. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1921. 202 x 135 mm. 128 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–256. 8 full-page illustrations by Gustav Doré, pendrawings in black-and-white by Zuny Maud on almost every page. Publisher’s green quarterlinen, pictorial light-green boards. Copies: BodL; Harv; LoC; +.

¶ Only edition, including two fables, both about cats. In “Pussycat’s First Expedition into the World” (page 158), a young tomcat leaves his parents, wanting to catch his own mice and be selfsupporting. But when the second mouse that he meets proves to be bigger than himself, he runs back home. The second, “The Black Cat” (page 163), is about a black cat who gets stuck on a piece of ice floating down a river. After three days a farmer saves her and brings her to his house to catch mice. But when instead she eats the fish meant for dinner, the farmer sends her away again. In Yiddish. Provenance: Unidentified owner; L. M.

283

f-1610

Abraham Solodar (1890–1936), (‫ ט״ז (תרפ״ב‬,‫י״ד‬-‫ א׳‬,‫הנעורים‬-‫ עתון לבני‬.‫[ אלמות‬Sheaves

of Corn. Newspaper for children, nos. 1–14, 16 (1922)]. Jerusalem (Israel): Levi for A. Solodar, 1922. Separate issues: 225 x 148 mm. 8 leaves, paginated 1–16. First issue: 9 leaves, paginated [i–ii], [1], 2–16. The 3rd and the 12th issues occur twice, the 2nd copy of no. 12 after no. 14. No. 15 is missing. Reproductions of photographs in every issue. All 16 issues retain their original printed paper wrappers, in pink, light-green, or yellow. Bound together in modern dark-red cloth. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL: +.

¶ First (and only?) volume of this bimonthly for children. It contains articles about Israel, stories, one serialized story that continues through almost all the issues about J. Peterson’s journey through Africa, and three fables. On page 5 of the first issue “A Story about a Cabbage and Violets” appears, written by Yishai Adler, where a cabbage happens to grow between the violets, since nobody looks after the garden. But when the cabbage grows much faster than the violets, he starts boasting to them: “Why don’t you grow, what is the use of you, you only grow leaves, you cannot even be eaten, you have no purpose.” The violets are afraid of the cabbage and keep their voices down. Then, one day, one of the violets blooms and starts spreading a wonderful fragrance. That very same day, the owners of the garden return and a young girl cuts some flowers for her mother, who is sick, and the house is filled with the aroma of the violets. The cabbage is fed to the goat. In Hebrew.

404 ]

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283. f-1610

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 405

[ 405

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406 ] 284. f-3108

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 406

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284

f-3108

Joseph Tunkel (1881–1949), ‫ פעריידישט פון טונקעלען‬.‫[ דאס פערד און די מאלפעס‬The

Horse and the Monkeys. Yiddishized by Tunkelen]. Warsaw (Poland): Lewin-Epstein, 1923.

190 x 130 mm. 14 pages, paginated [1–2], 3–14. 12 black-and-white illustrations. Original green paper wrappers with printed title ticket. Copies: Harv; NLI.

¶ First and only edition. Joseph Tunkel, or “Der Tunkeler” as he called himself, was a prolific writer and widely read satirist and humorist. He was the editor of several satirical weeklies in New York and Warsaw and is also known for his Yiddishized translations of the works of the German satirist Wilhelm Busch (author of Max und Moritz). This little fable booklet tells the story of a horse that is harassed by a bunch of apes who will not get off his back. In the end the horse gets rid of them by jumping in the canal. On the last page the horse is quietly grazing in the field again while the apes are drying off. In Yiddish.

285

f-2621

Moses Gaster (1856–1939), The Exempla of the Rabbis: being a collection of exempla, apo-

logues and tales culled from Hebrew manuscripts and rare Hebrew books. London (United Kingdom)/Leipzig (Germany): Asia Publishing Company, 1924. 224 x 140 mm. 576 pages, paginated [i–ix], x–xxxvi, [xxxvii], xxxviii–xlv, [xlvi–xlviii], [1], 2–314, [315–316]; [i–iv], [1], 2–208. 2nd title page in Hebrew. Reddish-brown linen. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; +.

¶ First edition. Moses Gaster was a Romanian-born British scholar at Oxford and a rabbi of the Sephardic community in London. In addition to his research in Slavonic literature, Gaster published widely on Jewish folklore, rabbinics, liturgy, AngloJewish history, the Bible, and Samaritan literature and history. This collection comprises some “450 exempla, apologues and tales covering a period of about 1500 years” (page [ix]), from numerous unpublished Hebrew, Aramaic, and Ladino manuscripts chiefly in Gaster’s own collection. The exemplum of the fable of the Ass Who Was Appointed Toll-Gatherer (page 105) reads: “A lion and fox passed by and the lion killed the ass for asking him to pay a toll. The fox ate the heart of the ass. The lion asked for it but the fox replied that the ass could not have had any as he was such a fool as to ask toll of a lion.” In English and Hebrew. Provenance: Mendoza.

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 407

285. f-2621

[ 407

9/4/23 4:16 PM

286

f-2703

Nachman Wiener

(1875–?), ‫ לידער און‬.‫שטראלן‬ ‫[ פאבעלן‬Beams. Songs and fables]. Paterson, NJ: Independent “Arbeiter Ring” Branches, 1924.

48 leaves, paginated [1–6], 7–96 (numbers are spelled out). Original crimson linen. Copies: HUC; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition. This book of poetry contains 13 rhymed fables on pages 71–96. The fable of the Pig and the Goat (page 96) tells of a pig who notices a goat, dirty from rain and mud. He cries victory, as it is clear that he is not the only one that is unclean. If a goat, who walks carefully, avoids the gutter and does not eat filth is dirty, then all animals are swines like him. The goat answers the pig that he should not jump to conclusions based on her misfortune: “You do not want to be clean, you eat from carcasses; filth is your splendor, in the gutter you find happiness.” In Yiddish. 286. f-2703

287

f-2713, f-3113

Jacob ben Wolf Kranz (c. 1740–1804), ‫ געזאמלעט און‬.‫אלע משלים פון דובנער מגיד‬

‫ פון‬.“‫ ”אמת ליעקב“ און ”ספר המדות‬,“‫ ”כוכב מיעקב‬,“‫איבערזעצט פון זיינע ווערק ”אהל יעקב‬ ‫ אין צוויי טייל‬.‫[ תשר״ק‬The Parables of the Preacher of Dubno. Collected and translated from his works Ohel Yaʿakov, Kol Yaʿakov, Kokhav mi-Yaʿakov, Emet le-Yaʿakov and Sefer ha-Midot. By Tashrak. In two volumes]. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1925. 230 x 151 mm. 2 volumes; vol. 1: 318 pages, paginated [1–10], 11–22, [23–25], 26, [27], 28–48], [49–51], 52–317, [318]; vol. 2: 320 pages, paginated [1–13], 14–318, [319–320]. Printed brown linen. Copies: BL; BodL; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; +.

¶ First edition of this collection and translation. Jacob ben Wolf Kranz was a preacher and exegete. He was born in Dzyatlava (Belarus), but is known to a wider audience as the Maggid (“preacher”) of Dubno (Ukraine), where he lived for 18 years. After Kranz had failed in business, he decided to take up professional preaching. He was well known for his parables and fables, in which he often treated differences between the rich and the poor. He served as preacher in a number of other important Jewish centers as well, notably in Zamosc (Poland), where he would live the last 15 years of his life. He supplemented his meager income with itinerant preaching throughout the region and gradually attained celebrity status. Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) called him “the Jewish Aesop.”

408 ]

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The editor and translator of this edition is Israel Joseph Zevin (1872–1926), who reveals his name in the copyright statement on the reverse of the title page. On the title page his pseudonym Tashrak (the last four letters of the Hebrew alphabet read backwards) appears. Zevin was a wellknown humorist and an important figure in the early American Yiddish press. He was born in Horki, Belarus, but immigrated to the United States in the late 1880s. Although he was a widely published journalist, his best-known works are his own humorous short stories on the lives of Jewish immigrants in the United States and his numerous anthologies. The first section of the present work contains stories and anecdotes from Kranz’s life (“mayselekh un anekdoten fun Dubner Maggids leben”). Its first sample is “A Fable on a Fable” (Hebr.: mashal, here perhaps to be translated as “parable”), on pages [25]–26. “The Dubno Maggid was once asked: ‘Why is a fable so powerful, that it has such a strong influence on a human being?’ He answered: ‘I will explain that to you with a fable.’ And this is the fable that he told: Truth was once walking around in an alley entirely naked, as his mother had given birth to him, and not a soul wanted to let him into their house. Anyone who met him, ran away from him in terror. . . While Truth was wandering around in great distress, he met with Fable. And Fable was dressed up in nice clothes with beautiful colors. Fable inquired: ‘Tell me, . . . why do you roam the alleys so devastated?’ Truth answered: ‘Things are bad, brother, I am already old, very old, and no one wants to know me.’ Fable said: ‘It is not because you are old that people don’t like you, since I am very old as well, and people like me even better the older I get. But let me confide to you a secret about men. They like it when everything is well dressed and slightly distorted. I will lend you such clothes as mine and you will see that people will also like you. Truth followed Fable’s advice and dressed up in Fable’s clothes. Ever since, Truth and Fable go hand in hand and men like them both.”

287. f-2713

[ 409

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 409

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This fable plays on the well-known triad verum, bonum, pulchrum (truth, good, beauty), which has its basis in Thomasian transcendental doctrine. In the post-medieval period, and especially in the age of Romanticism, not only truth and good or good and beauty could be connected, but also truth and beauty, as in the present fable. In Yiddish.

288

f-1299

Moses Wallich (d. 1739), [Sefer Meschalim genannt das Kuhbuch, das ist eine Sammlung

von Fabeln und Parabeln aus den Büchern Maschal-ha-Kadmoni und Mischle Schualim, ausgewählt und in jüdisch-deutsche Reime gebracht von Moses Wallich aus Worms, mit Holzschnitten versehen und gedruckt in Frankfurt a.M. bei Johannes Wust im Jahre 1687 [Seyfer Mesholim, or the Book of Cows, being a collection of fables and parables from the books Meshal ha-kadmoni and Mishle shuʿalim, chosen and translated into Jewish-German rhyme by Moses Wallich of Worms, adorned with woodcuts and printed in Frankfurt a.M. by Johannes Wust in the year 1687]. Berlin (Germany): Soncino Gesellschaft, 1925. 255 x 200 mm. 58 unnumbered facsimile leaves, the original foliated 1–58 in Hebrew script + 1 separate leaf. 81 woodcut illustrations. Publisher’s blue half-linen. Copies: BodL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

410 ]

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 410

288. f-1299

9/4/23 4:16 PM

¶ Facsimile edition of Moses Wallich’s Yiddish Seyfer Mesholim of 1697 (on title page erroneously given as 1687, but foreword and colophon give 1697). For an English translation of this popular work, see f-2390 of this collection, no. 289 in this catalogue. The German title was taken from a separate leaf kept in the copy. In Yiddish.

289

f-2390

Moses Wallich (d. 1739), Book of Fables. The Yiddish fable collection of Reb Moshe Wal-

lich, Frankfurt am Main, 1697. Translated and edited by Eli Katz. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1994. 252 x 175 mm. 154 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–305, [306–308]. 81 monochrome illustrations. Publisher’s blue cloth, dust jacket. Copies: BL; BodL; BRos; Harv; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition in English (1994), second printing. This edition includes a reduced facsimile of the first, Yiddish edition of 1697 (Vinograd Frankfurt am Main 139), largely based on the copy in the Bodleian Library; the second known copy is held in the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana in Amsterdam (Roest 845). A facsimile edition of the Yiddish text had already appeared in 1925 (f-1299 of this collection, no. 288 in this catalogue). In his introduction Katz lists the 34 fables that the work comprises and discusses their origin and subject matter. Although the 1697 title page claims that Wallich had gathered these fables from Isaac ben Solomon ibn Sahula’s Meshal ha-kadmoni (The Fable of the Ancient), they are in fact, as Wallich says in his own text, drawn from the so-called Kü289. f-2390 bukh (Book of Cows), first published in Verona in 1595 (Vinograd Verona 9; see f-2537 of this collection, no. 337 in this catalogue). The English translation and the Yiddish original are printed on facing pages, in the English order, all illustrations appearing in the Yiddish original are reproduced in smaller size in the English text. In Yiddish and English.

[ 411

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290. f-1623

290

f-1623

Simon Hevesi (1868–1943), ‫ קבץ מאמרים בחכמת ישראל אשר חברו אוהבים‬:‫וזאת ליהודה‬

‫ורעים ידידים ותלמידים לכבוד החכם יהודה אריה בלוי מורה ומנהל בבית המדרש לרבנים‬ ‫ נאספו‬.‫בבודאפעשט ביום מלאת לו ששים וחמש שנה לימי חייו וארבעים שנה לעבודתו בספרות‬ ‫ מרדכי קליין בשנת התרפ״ו‬.‫ דר‬,‫ דוב העללער‬.‫ דר‬,‫ צדוק העוועשי‬.‫[ ויצאו לאור על ידי דר‬And This for Judah: A collection of articles on Jewish studies by friends and students, in honor of Judah Aryeh (Lajos) Blau, teacher and director of the Rabbinical Seminary in Budapest, on the occasion of his sixty-fifth birthday and his completion of forty years of literary work. Collected and edited by Dr. Tsadok Hevesi, Dr. Dov Heller and Dr. Mordecai Klein, in the year 1926]. Vienna (Austria): Union, 1926. 232 x 163 mm. 173 leaves, paginated [i–vi], [1], 2–336, [337–340]. 1 plate (portrait of J. Blau) tipped in on page [3]. Modern brown leatherette, preserving original printed green wrappers. Rowland Smith 143. Copies: BL; BRos; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition. On pages 250–281 D. Ts. Friedman and D. S. Loewinger publish a manuscript of The Alphabet of Ben Sira, which was copied in the margins of another manuscript in the library of the Rabbinical Seminary in Budapest. The text of this manuscript differs significantly from Moritz Steinschneider’s critical edition (Berlin, 1858; f-1275 of this collection, no. 118 in this catalogue), and seems to represent a unique text. In contrast to most rabbinic sources, where the fables are told in a few sentences, here the 12 fables are spun out at full length. A good example is “Why Do Cats and Dogs Hate Each Other?” (page 262). In earlier days, the cat and the dog were friends, but they made a division of territories, in order to make sure they could find enough to

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eat. The cat would live in the house of man and the dog would try to find its food with the other animals. Wherever the dog went, however, sooner or later it was chased. At last, it came to the house of man and earned a place in the household by waking the man whenever wild animals came to the house at night. Together the man and the dog chased them, and the dog was allowed to stay as man’s friend. The cat became very angry and has chased the dog ever since for breaking its word. In Hebrew.

291

f-3114

M. Tkatch (1894–1967), ‫ לידער און פאבלען‬:‫[ אויף גאט׳ס באראט‬In God’s Mercy. Poems and fables]. New York: the author, 1927.

205 x 135 mm. 80 leaves, paginated [1–7], 8–34, [35], 36–52, [53], 54–90, [91], 92–104, [105], 106–120, [121], 122–140, [141], 142–159, [160]. Original printed cloth board. Copies: Harv; JTS; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition. Meir Ziml Tkatch was a Yiddish poet, born in Ukraine, who immigrated to New York in 1913. He published poems and fables in dozens of Yiddish periodicals and in several volumes, of which In God’s Mercy is his first. It contains 18 rhymed fables (pages 142ff). In “The Cuckoo” (page 153), a cuckoo is brought to justice before the eagle. In his defense he states that it is true that, as a child, he robbed his stepbrothers of their food and pushed them out of the nest. But he cannot find much wrong with this mischievous behavior. It merely shows he was born strong-headed. The fact that he abandons his children to be brought up by others makes him free from slave-labor. “An impressive speech,” says the eagle, “but it will not help you.” His verdict: “You are a parasite!” In Yiddish.

292

291. f-3114

f-2706

M. Tkatch (1894–1967), ‫ לידער און פאבלען פאר‬.‫דאס טייכל קאטשעט זיך אויפ׳ן בייכל‬

‫ טקאטש‬.‫[ קליין און גרויס פון מ‬The Brook Wallows on Its Belly. Songs and fables for young and old. By M. Tkatch]. Chicago, IL: M. Ceshinsky, 1933. 230 x 150 mm. 32 leaves, paginated [1–3], 4–12, [13], 14–24, [25], 26–42, [43], 44–48, [49], 50–62, [63–64]. Original green linen. Copies: BL; Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

[ 413

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¶ Only edition, with 13 rhymed fables by M. Tkatch on pages 50–62. The fable of the Hissing Snake reads: A vile and hissing snake asks a doctor to check his throat because he has a hoarse voice and is only able to hiss. The doctor tells him that the hissing sound is his natural voice. “Did you want to sing like a nightingale with your venom and gall? Like one’s heart, so is one’s voice.” In Yiddish.

293 M. Tkatch

f-2707

(1894–1967), ‫ משלים און‬.‫נח׳ס קאסטן‬ ‫[ מעשה׳לעך‬Noah’s Ark. Fables and stories]. Chicago, IL: M. Ceshinsky, 1942. 201 x 136 mm. 56 leaves, paginated [1–2], 3, [4], 5–98, [99–101], 102–110, [111– 292. f-2706 112]. Original blue linen. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ Only edition, containing 101 fables. In his foreword, the poem “Noah’s Ark” on page 3, the author utters his wish to be a second Noah, collecting fables to protect them from a new flood. A poem on page 98 defends the poet’s choice for fables and for “changing their nature” in his work. In Yiddish.

293. f-2707

294

f-1731

Boris Kletzkin

(1875–1937) and Nahman Mayzel (1887–1966), ‫ליטערארישע‬ ‫ טעאטער און קונסט‬,‫ אילוסטרירטע וואכנשריפט פאר ליטעראטור‬.‫[ בלעטער‬Literary Pages. Illustrated weekly for literature, theater and art]. Warsaw (Poland)/Vilnius (Lithuania): Boris Kletzkin, 1929. 312 x 235 mm. 517 leaves, paginated π[i–iv], [1], 2–1029, [1030]. Dark-red cloth. Copies: Harv; HUC; LoC; +.

¶ Volume 5 (1929) only, nos. 1–52 complete. This weekly, commonly known as Literarishe bleter, significantly influenced Yiddish literature in Poland between the two world wars. It includes the

414 ]

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 414

9/4/23 4:16 PM

fable of the Sun and the Moon, rendered in verse by Eliezer Steinbarg (page 623), as well as an article on Yiddish fables in general (pages 576–578) and one on Yiddish fables in Romania more in particular (pages 936–937). In Yiddish. Provenance: Ben Zion Harriton, New York.

294. f-1731

295

295. f-2527

f-2527

Leib Olitzky (1894–1975), ‫ אליצקי‬.‫ ל‬.‫[ משלים פאר קינדער און גרויסע‬Fables for Children

and Grown-ups. L. Olitzky]. Warsaw (Poland): Kultur-lige, 1929.

193 x 146 mm. 47 leaves, paginated [1–6], 7–93, [94]. Publisher’s green quarter-cloth, off-white lithographed boards. Copies: Harv; JTS; +.

¶ Only edition, one of 1,000 copies, comprising 41 fables in Yiddish verse. Leib Olitzky was born in Trisk, Poland, and worked as a teacher in Warsaw until 1939. From 1942 to 1945 he worked in the military hospital in Ofah, moving to Moscow later in 1945. In 1946 he returned to Poland and settled in Lodz, but in 1949 moved back to Warsaw again. In 1959 he settled in Israel. This collection of fables is arranged in four groups: Child and school, Home and outside, Animals, and

[ 415

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9/4/23 4:16 PM

Dumb things. His choice of less traditional scenes was an attempt to incorporate political and social messages of love for labor and justice into the fables. It is not clear how many of the fables were written by Olitzky himself, since they usually are not signed (with the sole exception of the fable on pages 66–67, which bears the name of Ivan Krylov; see also f-1675 of this collection, no. 199 in this catalogue). In “The Pig” (page 60), a pig was sitting happily in a large pool of stinking mud, up to his throat. The pig sniffed around, closed its eyes and dreamt, half aloud: “What a hero am I! Not a single creature dares to come near me, all animals are afraid of my strength and my ferocious teeth.” “Ahem,” said the crow, who used to eat the leftovers of the pig, “I am not entirely sure, of course, but I did hear the other animals saying that they are not so much staying away from you because of your bravery and power, but rather because they cannot stand the terrible smell in this place.” In Yiddish.

296

f-2310

Leib Olitzky (1894–1975), ‫ משלים‬.‫[ דער מענטש וועט גוט זיין‬Man Will Be Good. Fables]. Lodz (Poland): Dos naye lebn, 1947.

187 x 129 mm. 48 leaves, paginated [1–4], 5–95, [96]. 4 vignettes and upper wrapper illustrated by H. Hechtkopf. Off-white wrappers. Copies: Harv; HUC; LoC; NYPL; +.

296. f-2310

¶ First edition of these 70 fables in Yiddish verse, 19 of which are adaptations of Ivan Krylov’s fables. On page [3] is a dedication to his late students of the Yidish-Veltlikhe Shule, who died in World War II. In “The Nightingale and the Fox” (page 40), a nightingale catches a cold, which lends a sad sound to her voice, but she keeps on singing. Soon, however, the animals of the forest become indifferent to her voice: who wants to listen to lamentations all day? The nightingale is hurt and decides to ask the fox for an objective opinion. The fox begins to praise the nightingale enormously and honey drips from his lips, but: “Yes, you do sing beautifully, fantastically, only, there is a tiny little note in your voice, which makes it a little . . . unharmonic, a bit . . . lachrymose.” The nightingale turns away in anger, hides herself in the trees, and closes her beak with a golden key of silence. All poets should do this, says the epimythium, when people give them praise with one hand, but uncover their flaws with the other. In Yiddish.

416 ]

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297. f-2526

297

f-2526

Leib Olitzky (1894–1975), ‫בוך‬-‫[ משלים‬Book of Fables]. Lodz (Poland): Farlag Yidish Bukh, 1949.

205 x 150 mm. 133 leaves, paginated [1–6], 7–262, [263–266]. Errata slip mounted on page 258. 19 illustrations by Alexander Bogen. Printed brownish paper wrappers, signed “Alexander Bogen.” Copies: BodL; Harv; HUC; JTS; NLI; +.

¶ First revised edition of the collected fables, numbering 136 in Yiddish verse. These are populated mostly by inanimate objects, as in “The Sewing Machine and the Little Needle” (page 16), and “The Hat and the Shoes” (page 33). Sometimes animals appear as well, for instance, in “The Rooster on the Road” (page 40). “The Sewing Machine and the Little Needle” recounts how an arrogant sewing machine tries to chase away the needle in the tailor’s hand, whom he considers an unworthy competitor. He works up such a rage that he accidentally breaks his own needle, without which he cannot function. Thus he learns that for all his might and power, he is in fact dependent on a small needle. In Yiddish.

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298

f-2704

Leib Olitzky (1894–1975), ‫ משולים און לידער‬.‫[ מיטן פנים צו דער זון‬Facing the Sun. Fables

and poems]. Warsaw (Poland): Farlag Yidish Bukh, 1952.

210 x 150 mm. 96 leaves, paginated [1–8], 9–185, [186–192]. Title and imprint also in Polish (page [4]). Original quarter-linen, cardboard cover. Copies: BL; BodL; Harv; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition, containing 40 of Olitzky’s own fables, 21 fables translated by him from such Polish authors as Ignacy Krasicki (1735–1801) and Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855), 26 from Russian and Soviet authors like Sergei Mikhalkov (1913–2009) and Demyan Bedny (1883–1945), as well as one fable inspired by Ivan Krylov (“The Mistress and the Maid”). The fable by Olitzky on page 14 is called “Parasites”: A bedbug, digesting one of her victims, sees a flea dancing happily. The bedbug asks why she is dancing, as she hears no orchestra playing. The flea answers that it is in her blood and that she takes pleasure in the fact that her desire causes sorrow for others. The bedbug is sorry that dancing is not customary with bedbugs and, humming piously, raises her bloody eyes to God. The epimythium reads: You know what bedbugs are like: devout neo-Fascists with a poisonous [Christian] Bible. In Yiddish.

298. f-2704

299

f-1730

Abraham Reznik

(1867–c. 1940), .‫הנותן אמרי שפר‬ ‫ הנודע‬. . . .‫ אברהם ב״ר מאיר שאול ז״ל רעזניק‬. . . ‫מאת‬ ‫הערכה על‬-‫ עם מאמר‬.‫הספרותי בשם רבי עזריקם ספרא‬-‫בעולם‬ ‫אישיותו ועבודתו הספרותית מאת הרב חיים יהודה עהרענרייך‬ [He Who Gives Nice Sayings. By Abraham Reznik, son of R. Meir Saul of blessed memory, (. . .), known in the literary world as Rabbi Azaryakum Safra. With an editor’s introduction on the man and his literary work by Rabbi Hayyim Judah Ehrenreich]. Deva (Romania): Otsar ha-Hayim, 1929. 224 x 150 mm. 102 leaves, paginated [i–v], vi–viii, 1–194, [195–196]. Modern black cloth. Rowland Smith 786. Copies: BL; Harv; NLI; NYPL; +.

299. f-1730

418 ]

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 418

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¶ First edition and one of the first books printed in Deva. Abraham Reznik (his strange nickname is an anagram of the letters of his name), was born in Romania and came to the United States as an adult. He lived his life in poverty. On pages 174–183 are four fables incorporating many talmudic expressions. The second fable describes a big dog, called Lamas, that lost most of its tail, broke a paw, and had other disabilities. Discussing its problems with a child, which took pride in explaining the importance of an intact tail, the dog finally decides to run away. In his introduction Ehrenreich, who was the editor of the monthly Otsar ha-hayim (Treasure of Life), published at Deva in 1924–1938, praises the fables for their high moral standards and regrets that Reznik could not write more. In Hebrew.

300

f-1683

Solomon Zalman Ariel (1895–1970), .‫ מעבד על ידי ז‬.‫מי שטרח בערב שבת יאכל בשבת‬

‫ תרצ״א‬,‫ישראל‬-‫ יצא על פי הצעת מחלקת החנוך של ההנהלה הציונית לארץ‬.‫[ אריאל‬He Who Toils on Friday Night, Shall Eat on Shabbat. Adapted by Z. Ariel. This edition was advised upon by the educational department of the Zionist Administration in the land of Israel, 5691]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Omanut, 1931. 167 x 117 mm. 12 pages, paginated: [1–2], 3–11, [12]. 5 small black-and-white pen-drawings. Original printed greenish paper wrappers. Copies: NLI (has ‫ספר‬-‫ מגילות לבתי‬as a series).

300. f-1683

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¶ First edition in Hebrew of the well-known fable about a chicken who is sowing and mowing and grinding and baking, and every time she asks “Who’s going to help me?,” all the animals refuse. When her bread is finally ready, all the animals want to eat from it, but the chicken will not let them. As the famous rabbinical proverb says: He who toils on Friday night, shall eat on Shabbat. In Hebrew. Provenance: Kevutsat “ha-bonim” (The builders group).

301

f-1697 and f-2572

Solomon Bastomski

(1891–1941), ‫וועכנטלעכער אילוסטרירטער‬-2 .‫גרינינקע ביימעלעך‬ ‫ באסטאמסקי‬.‫זשורנאל אונטער דער רעדאקציע פון ש‬-‫[ קינדער‬Little Green Trees. Biweekly illustrated children’s magazine, edited by S. Bastomski]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Naye Yidishe Folksshul, [1914], 1932, and 1936.

301a

f-1697

I:

‫זשורנאל אונטער דער רעדאקציע‬-‫וועכנטלעכער אילוסטרירטער קינדער‬-2 .‫גרינינקע ביימעלעך‬ 1932 ‫ נאוועמבער‬,15-14 ‫ נום׳‬.‫ באסטאמסקי‬.‫[ פון ש‬Little Green Trees. Biweekly illustrated children’s magazine, edited by S. Bastomski. Nos. 14–15, November 1932]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Naye Yidishe Folksshul, 1932. 235 x 163 mm. Columns 353–382. With 4 illustrations and 3 photographs. Original green paperback. Copies: LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ This issue contains one fable: “Farvos kreyt der hon?” (Why Does the Rooster Crow?; column 355–356), by Eliezer Steinbarg, which explains the crowing of the rooster through the story of Cain and Abel. Abel’s blood fell on the rooster’s head, thereby burning him. As a reminder the rooster wears a red crown, and cries out in pain every morning, calling for revenge of Cain’s sin. In Yiddish.

II: ‫זשורנאל אונטער דער רעדאקציע‬-‫וועכנטלעכער אילוסטרירטער קינדער‬-2 .‫גרינינקע ביימעלעך‬

1936 ‫ דעצעמבער‬,20 ‫ נום׳‬.‫ באסטאמסקי‬.‫[ פון ש‬Little Green Trees. Bi-weekly illustrated children’s magazine, edited by S. Bastomski. Nos. 14–15, December 1936]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Naye Yidishe Folksshul, 1936. 235 x 163 mm. Columns 545–576. With 2 illustrations and 1 photograph. Original green paperback. Copies: LoC; NYPL; +.

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Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 420

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¶ This issue (no. 20) contains two fables: one on columns 553–556, translated from the English, called “Der fuks un di shepsn” (The Fox and the Sheep), and one on column 567–568, by E. Lessing, entitled “Der volf un der pastekh” (The Wolf and the Shepherd). In Yiddish.

III: ‫[ גרינינקע בוימעלאך‬Little Green Trees]. [Vilnius (Lithuania): Vilner Farlag, 1914]. 220 x 188 mm. Columns 65–256. Original blue linen. Copies: LoC; NYPL; +.

¶ This part (of issue no. 5, April 1914, published in Vilnius by Vilner Farlag of B. A. Kletzkin) may have been edited by Falk Heilperin (1876–1945). It contains one fable on column 156–157, by S. Golden, called “Di inden in di zemdlakh” (The Waves and the Grains of Sand). In Yiddish. Provenance: Stamp on fly-leaf: “Myer I. Berman, M.D., 1071 Blue Hill Ave., Dorchester, Mass.”

301a. f-1697

301b

301b. f-2572

f-2572

‫זשורנאל אונטער דער רעדאקציע‬-‫וועכנטלעכער אילוסטרירטער קינדער‬-2.‫גרינינקע ביימעלעך‬ 1936 ‫ דעצעמבער‬,19-18 ‫ נום׳‬.‫ באסטאמסקי‬.‫[ פון ש‬Little Green Trees. Biweekly illustrated children’s magazine, edited by S. Bastomski. Nos. 18–19, December 1936]. Vilnius (Lithuania): Naye Yidishe Folksshul, 1936.

[ 421

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240 x 170 mm. Columns 511–548. 3 illustrations. Paper wrappers. Copies: LoC; NYPL; +.

This issue contains one fable by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing translated by Eliezer Schindler, called “The Donkey and the Wolf” (columns 533/534). A donkey stumbles upon a hungry wolf and asks for mercy, for he is wounded and ill because of a thorn in his foot. That is most unfortunate indeed, the wolf answers, but his conscience tells him to take away the donkey’s suffering. The next moment the donkey is devoured. In Yiddish.

302

f-1493

Eliezer Steinbarg (1880–1932), ‫ האלצשניטן פון ארטור קאלניק און א‬14 ‫ מיט‬.1 ‫מעשאלים‬

‫[ צייכענונג פון געארג לעווענדאל‬Fables I. With 14 woodcuts by Arthur Kolnik and a drawing by Georg Löwendal]. Chernivtsi (Ukraine): Committee for Publishing Eliezer Steinbarg’s Writings, 1932. 201 x 144 mm. 161 leaves, paginated [1–8], 9–320, [321–322]. 1 plate (deathbed portrait) by Löwendal, 12 plates (portrait, fable illustrations) and 2 text illustrations by Kolnik. Publisher’s black cloth. Copies: Harv; HUC; NLI; +.

¶ First collected edition, being the first volume of a projected edition of Steinbarg’s works in ten volumes, of which only the first two volumes were published: the present, which was in press at the time of Steinbarg’s death, and the second, Fables II, in 1956 (f-1620 of this collection, no. 303 in this catalogue).58 This first volume is printed in accordance with the Soviet regulation regarding the spelling of Yiddish, the most striking feature being the phonetic spelling of the Hebrew words. Generally considered the greatest Yiddish fabulist of the 20th century, Steinbarg was born in northern Bessarabia and educated by a kabbalist. He worked first as a teacher and headed a school. In 1919 he was invited to Chernivtsi to serve as head of the Jewish Cultural Reform. When his fables were first collected and published in the present volume, the book soon became a bestseller. This collection was translated into many Western languages and into Hebrew. Steinbarg’s fables reflect a pure Yiddish sense of humor, without resort to biblical or rabbinic references or current political satire. In this sense, 302. f-1493 Steinbarg’s style was unique. 58. Y. Joseph Cohen, “Hebrew printing in Chernovtsy,” Areshet 3 (1961): 357, no. 283. See also: Moshe Lemster, Evreiskii basnopisets i mudrets Eliezer Shteinbarg (Chișinău: Izdatel'stvo Ruxanda, 1999).

422 ]

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The 150 rhymed fables in this collection are written in a striking literary Yiddish that abounds in Hebrew words. There is even a glossary in which the author translates into Hebrew his newly coined Yiddish terms. “The Lion and the Little Mouse” (page 260) is a fine example of Steinbarg’s art. In this fable the mighty lion has been caught in an iron net. A mouse, witnessing the lion’s distress, cannot believe his eyes. He even calls for the cat, who has just devoured some of the mouse’s family members, to come and watch the spectacle as a kind of humbling example. Even the most powerful of all animals can be trapped like a little mouse. The mouse genuinely feels sorry for the lion and wishes to help him, but all he has to offer is compassion. The lion is still capable of a wild roar, though, which sends the mouse flying back to her little hole where she needs a week to recover from her bruises. A mouse should know better than to feel pity for a lion. In Yiddish. Provenance: M. Morgenstern.

303

f-1620

Eliezer Steinbarg (1880–1932), ‫ מיט דריי בילדער און מיט א פאקסימילע פונעם‬.2 ‫משולים‬

‫ אליעזר שטיינבארג‬.‫[ מחבר‬Fables II. With three illustrations and a portrait of the author. (By) Eliezer Steinbarg]. Tel Aviv (Israel): Organization for the Immigrants from Lipcani (Moldova) in Israel, 1956. 213 x 137 mm. 108 leaves, paginated [1–2], χ[i–ii], [3–4], 5–100, χ[iii–iv], 101–210, [211–212]. [Unlike the information on the title page] 2 halftone plates (portraits) after photographs; 1 woodcut portrait on page [1], by Arthur Kolnik. This copy also contains an anonymous handwritten personal and poetic text on the author in Yiddish. Publisher’s lightblue cloth. Copies: Harv; HUC; JTS; LoC; +.

¶ First edition, comprising 98 fables. This is the second and last volume of the complete works of Eliezer Steinbarg, originally planned as a ten-volume series. The present edition contains a foreword and afterword by Daniel Liebel, in which he discusses

303. f-1620

[ 423

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9/4/23 4:16 PM

the author as a fable writer. Shlomo Bikel’s more general introduction deals with Steinbarg’s pedagogic and literary career. He writes on page 15: “Steinbarg’s fables were said to be the spiritual property of Romanian Jewry. People in cities and shtetls knew them by heart, and after 1920 not a single Yiddish evening was organized in Romania that did not have Steinbarg’s fables on the program.” “The Crow and the Canary” (page 87), is but one fine example. The crow is jealous of the beautiful sounds produced by the canary. Rather than trying in vain to imitate the canary, he convinces the poor bird of the ugliness and uselessness of his singing. The canary, who has a deep respect for the wisdom and prophetic qualities of the crow, takes his advice and tries to croak. The other birds make fun of him, but the crow maliciously defends the canary. The more the canary unwittingly humiliates himself, the more praise is heaped on him by the crow. In Yiddish.

304

f-1618

Eliezer Steinbarg (1880–1932), :‫ עברית‬.‫ אליעזר שטיינבארג‬.‫ עשרה משלים‬.‫צען משלים‬

‫ נחום גוטמן‬:‫ צייכענונגען‬.‫[ חנניה ריכמן‬Ten Fables. (By) Eliezer Steinbarg. Hebrew (by) Hanania Reichman. Illustrations (by) Nahum Gutman]. Montevideo (Uruguay): Zeriʿah Farlag, 1970. 242 x 170 mm. 24 leaves, paginated [1–8], 9–48. Title and imprint also in Spanish (page [4]). Portrait, 3 illustrations. Printed offwhite wrappers. Copies: Harv; LoC; NLI; NYPL; +.

¶ First edition, comprising ten fables in Yiddish and Hebrew verse. The second fable, entitled “Two Birds,” describes two fundamentally different ways of dealing with the hardships of a life behind bars. One bird accepts his condition stoically, while the other flies around the cage in a desperate attempt to escape. Liberation comes unexpectedly in the form of a kind lady. Seeing the agony of the second bird, she opens the cage for both of them. If redemption is to be, the fable seems to say, it will come regardless of one’s passivity or rebellion. In Yiddish and Hebrew. 304. f-1618

305

f-1681

Judah Leo Landau

(1866–1942), ‫ הוצאה חדשה‬.‫[ נגינות ופואמות‬Melodies and Poems. New edition]. Warsaw (Poland)/Tel Aviv (Israel)/New York: Tsentral, 1933. 235 x 167 mm. 112 leaves, paginated [1–10], 11–224. Publisher’s blue cloth. Copies: Harv; JTS; NLI; NYPL; +.

424 ]

Jewish_Fables_v26_POD_3.indd 424

9/4/23 4:16 PM

¶ Second edition, enlarged. The first edition appeared in Krakow in 1895. There are four fables on pages 157–167. One of these, “The Stone and the Star” (page 159), records the conversation between a stone and a star who compare each other’s fate in life. The stone proudly claims to be beloved and respected by men, instead of lonely up in the skies. The star disagrees, saying that the glory of the stone is based on materialism and therefore transient, while the star is loved for its own sake and its light will shine forever. In Hebrew. Provenance: Unidentified owner, inscribed to him by the author, Tevet 5693 [December 1932/January 1933]).

306

f-1528

Saul Barkali

(1900–1970), editor, -‫ פרקי‬.‫מקראות‬ >‫ לקט מתוך