Julius Eisenstein
Encyclopedia
Julius Eisenstein (November 12, 1854–May 17, 1956) was a Polish-Jewish-American writer born in Międzyrzec Podlaski
, a city in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, Congress Poland
.
As a child in Poland, he was educated in Talmud
by his grandfather, Azriel Zelig. Eisenstein emigrated in 1872 to the United States
at the age of 17, settled in New York
, and married the following year. He became a successful businessman, but lost much of his fortune in a failed effort to establish an agricultural colony for Jewish immigrants in New Jersey
.
Eisenstein was a lover of the Hebrew language
, and established America's first society for the Hebrew language, called Shocharei Sfat Ever. He was also the first to translate into Hebrew and Yiddish the Constitution of the United States (New York, 1891). Other early writings of his are Ma'amare Bamasoret, ib. 1897, and The Classified Psalter (Pesuke de-Zimrah), Hebrew text with a new translation (1899). He also made an attempt to translate and explain a modified text of the Shulhan Arukh.
Eisenstein took a prominent part in the controversy concerning the Kolel America, a society for the collection of funds for the poor Jews of Palestine, and was one of the leaders in the movement to arrange that the money contributed in the United States should go primarily to former residents of America.
In Ha-Modia' la-Hadashim (New York) for 1901 he published, under the title Le-Dorot Gole Russiya be-America, a sketch of the history of Russo-Jewish emigration to America. His History of the First Russo-American Jewish Congregation appeared in No. 9 of the Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, 1901.
His memoirs are contained in a 1929 volume called Otzar Zikhronotai (אוצר זיכרונותי).
Others works, most of which can be downloaded at HebrewBooks.org are as follows:
For obvious reasons, he was known by many colleagues as "Ba'al ha-Otzarot" ("Master of the Anthologies"). Eisenstein was a scholar of extraordinarily broad learning. His political views were marked by hostility toward Reform
and Conservative Judaism
(Sherman, 1996).
Miedzyrzec Podlaski
Międzyrzec Podlaski is a city in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, with the population of 17,162 inhabitants as of 2006. The total area of the city is 20.03 km2...
, a city in Biała Podlaska County, Lublin Voivodeship, Congress Poland
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
.
As a child in Poland, he was educated in Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
by his grandfather, Azriel Zelig. Eisenstein emigrated in 1872 to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the age of 17, settled in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and married the following year. He became a successful businessman, but lost much of his fortune in a failed effort to establish an agricultural colony for Jewish immigrants in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
Eisenstein was a lover of the Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, and established America's first society for the Hebrew language, called Shocharei Sfat Ever. He was also the first to translate into Hebrew and Yiddish the Constitution of the United States (New York, 1891). Other early writings of his are Ma'amare Bamasoret, ib. 1897, and The Classified Psalter (Pesuke de-Zimrah), Hebrew text with a new translation (1899). He also made an attempt to translate and explain a modified text of the Shulhan Arukh.
Eisenstein took a prominent part in the controversy concerning the Kolel America, a society for the collection of funds for the poor Jews of Palestine, and was one of the leaders in the movement to arrange that the money contributed in the United States should go primarily to former residents of America.
In Ha-Modia' la-Hadashim (New York) for 1901 he published, under the title Le-Dorot Gole Russiya be-America, a sketch of the history of Russo-Jewish emigration to America. His History of the First Russo-American Jewish Congregation appeared in No. 9 of the Publications of the American Jewish Historical Society, 1901.
Primary Works
Julius Eisenstein contributed more than 150 entries to the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, from which the above biography was taken, and he authored thousands of articles in newspapers, journals, encyclopedias, and anthologies.His memoirs are contained in a 1929 volume called Otzar Zikhronotai (אוצר זיכרונותי).
Others works, most of which can be downloaded at HebrewBooks.org are as follows:
- Otzar Perushim we-Ziyurim (1920) (אוצר פירושים וציורים להגדה של פסח), an illustrated Passover haggadah
- Otzar Dinim u-Minhagim (1917) (אוצר דינים ומנהגים), a digest of Jewish laws (halachah) and customs (minhaggim)
- Otzar D'rushim Nibharim (1918) (אוצר דרושים נבחרים), an anthology of midrashic literature
- Otzar Maamare Hazal (1922) (אוצר מאמרי חז"ל), a concordanceConcordance (publishing)A concordance is an alphabetical list of the principal words used in a book or body of work, with their immediate contexts. Because of the time and difficulty and expense involved in creating a concordance in the pre-computer era, only works of special importance, such as the Vedas, Bible, Qur'an...
of rabbinical quotations, sayings, and phrases - Otzar Ma'amare Tanakh (1925) (אוצר מאמרי התנ"ך), a concordanceConcordanceConcordance can mean:* Concordance , a list of words used in a body of work, with their immediate contexts* Concordance , the presence of the same trait in both members of a pair of twins...
of words, phrases, and idioms in the TanakhTanakhThe Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence... - Otzar Masa'oth (1927) (אוצר מסעות), an anthologyAnthologyAn anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
of itineraries by Jewish travelers to PalestinePalestinePalestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and other countries - Otzar Midrashim (1915) (אוצר מדרשים), "Storehouse of Midrashim", a library of 200 minor midrashim
- Otzar Vikukhim (1922) (אוצר ויכוחים), "Treasury of Debates", a collection of polemicPolemicA polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
s and disputations
- Otzar Yisrael (principal editor, 1906–1913, 10 volumes) (אנציקלופדיה אוצר ישראל), an encyclopedia concerning all matters of JewsJewsThe Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
and JudaismJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
. It has the distinction of being the first comprehensive (not exclusively on Jewish topics) encyclopediaEncyclopediaAn encyclopedia is a type of reference work, a compendium holding a summary of information from either all branches of knowledge or a particular branch of knowledge....
in the Hebrew languageHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. According to Levy (2002) Eisenstein undertook this work in response to perceived limitations of the English-language Jewish EncyclopediaJewish EncyclopediaThe Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
.
For obvious reasons, he was known by many colleagues as "Ba'al ha-Otzarot" ("Master of the Anthologies"). Eisenstein was a scholar of extraordinarily broad learning. His political views were marked by hostility toward Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
and Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
(Sherman, 1996).