The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-01
STRANGE HEBREW SCHOLARS.
pNcEAsTNG STUDY OF THE TAI
MUD THAT GOES on HERE.


Aet.,uments-ne Rabbi's Dtsceurcs
visiting the lower East Side
D pretty certain 10 observe one or another
Of the signs In Hebrew letters, sometimes
with E-glish characters a. well.
ing that a Beth Hamedrash II within the
building fhis means that the place IL
not only a house Of worship, but q house
Of learning also. There are at least twenty
81 these institutions scattered through
he downtown quarter. Some Of them.
hks those on Norfolk. Allen. Henry and
forvyth stre.ts. are in ~synagokues. the
lower part Of which il devoted to the pur-
poses Of study throughout the week, while
tbs main part Is utilized on the sAboath
and on holiday. for worship by the con-
Greeation. Others again are housed on
single noors Of old buildings.
A visit 10 these places OF Earning soon
shows that they are an important feature
Of the higher life Of the East Side. that
they constitute a phase Of Jewish life which
must bs considered in any attempt to study
the character Of the people. Here Is seen
I'm living visor that which has been dis
tinctively Jewish for hundreds upon humid
reds OF years in every land where Jews
have found a domicile.
HI IE"NU
liRious school for children nor a seminary
for the training OF rabbis. Il Ia essen-
italy idealis,ic, devoted to learning for
Earnings sake alone. The students are
mostly men advanced In years. whose
modest needs are provided for In various
ways. They may either be supported
by their children or relatives. or be en-
dowed with sufficient means TO be able
70 disregard the cares OF earnins a livcli-
hood Here they live their real lives.
immersed in the immeasurable sea Of the
Talmud. Some can he found from early
morning until late at night all the wear
round, with but brief cessation Of labor
for food and sleep, and zone for amuse-
ment. bordering the tones that contain
for them all that the world has To yield Of
delight and aspirations.
Beside the regular frequenters therr are
the ,ransisnts. some Of whom come at any
convenient time In the dsy, perhaps an
hour In the morning or preferably In the
evening. 10 study a -Blatt Gemora, a page
Of Talmud- an hour snatched from the day
Of arduous toll or anxious business care
Others. again. spend the whole evening after
supper, unit. late at night, struggling happily
with he intellectual intriCaCies Of the rabbin-
ical literature. II will lie hard indeed TO
discern In them 10y trace OF the fatigue
and cares Of the day All that Lies behind
them. They are rs far removed from tho
hustle and hurry and noise Of the New York
~thorCughfares as II they were In the will
dcrne~s.
What thew study IL IN. Talmud that
monumental work In twelve great r"ho
volumes, with lie commentar ies and super
commentari es. II W n veritable encyclo-
psedia. although IL has not the systematic
arrangement Of material that modern
methods require. Since Emanuel Deutsch
w-ote his essay on The Talmud.' pub
l-hed In the Quarterly Rerisr In 1851. which
first gave the Gentle world OF modern
time a fairly adequate conception OF this
storehouse Of Hebrew learning, there have
been many compilations OF extracts from
r.; TRANSACTIONS Of extensive sections OF u,
and ~treatises on specific branches. And
vet with all these aids IL In difficult for one
who cannot read IL In the original Hebrew
TO gain n comprehensive understanding
Of the breadth 81 its scops q the profundity
of its method or of the potency ~ possrsses
Of satisfying the intellectual craving Of
men gifted with great mental power and
with breadth Of culture.
The uninitiated onlooker who chances TO
enter one Of the rather mcagrely furnlshed
rooms In which these students alt viii at
first Re struck by the peculiar motions
which they 20 through as a constant ac-
Commandment Ia their reading. All sway
their bodies. backward OF forward. or with
a motion sideways. Some incline only
their heads. but most OF them sway the
whole OF the upper part OF their bodies.
Then there In a continual u~e OF the hands
or fingers In gesture or kesticulation that IL
distinctively Jewish. and i significant In
connection with the tone OF the voice. After
Icing In the room a little while the latter
iecomes the most notable feature OF the
scene for the stranger.
The chant that accompanies the study /.
indeed wagnerian In its expressive interpre-
tation of the various phases OF the dis
cls-ion on the text With that and the finger
play a. guides, one who knows no Hebrew
=, O.. listin gattah Nhap n Hintgttlt
pas1ag e has been reached; when one sage
has apparently solved the problem. only to
have his solution proved to lie INEFFECTIVE
Wv another authority. and when finally all
the snarls are d~isentanglsd by the ingenuity
20 still another rabbi.
Sometimes a group will he sitting around a
hong table all studying the same text under
tile guidance Of a rabbi. But. most often
each h at work for himself. or perhap. two
or three will join In the same study. Now.
81 81 these, or nearly all will be pursuing
ach his individual course, INDUCING in
the recitAtive that has bsnn described.
Zach unmindful % the effect OF his voice
On his c-ompanion-, and unhet-diul OF the
tones OF the Others.
Nor Is IL alone the voices Of the scholars
themselves that they must endure. II they
we're capable OF feeling annoyance AT such
ti-tractfons. The room In which they cit
j. used on week days a. a place 81 worship.
ard there are not only the regular morning.
afternoon and evening SET vice. each day.
t,ut each Of these services u repeated some
timc~ AZ many NJ six or eight times. by re-
curing groups Of worshippcrs.
Tie tyT-~ TO hs met with are most varied.
Most In evidence are the venerable sages
with snow white bcards. HeadS that
would inspire the brush 81 a Rembrandt are
nny The scholars diminish In age from
,he elders whose hair Ia sprinkhd with
touches Of gray, the middle-aged. the
,ouns man down 10 the youth Ia one
vlaoe Their. is a hoy Of IL whose Attachments
re remarkable The sublety with which
he follows the involved information Of
the rsbbinical schoolmen would Ia mar
.ellous In a man. lie studies under the guild
spc- Of a portly. large-bsardod scholar who
finds no need 10 spur on hiE brilliant pupil
N the Edridg, street Beth Hamedrash
Two loy~ WIN arc probably IN and - take
their placSs at one 20 the tables and
With folio- befonc them pursue their studies
Niihout any teacher or guide. Then. TOO,
t,,efe arr young and middlc-aycd men
enough 90 Indicate that N. Nth Ham~-
Trash v not 4 d-cadcn Institution enllsting
unly the activity Of the sF-d
Notable tinie- in the Roth Hamedrash
re thu@e when the rahhi % the congrrga-
hon. n thpy arr ~f1rfunRie enough ~ have
No. OF -one visiting ubIi, delivers a
,iu-ruur~ Then, ~. news having spr~ad.
ne plsre - packcd. rcgardlc-- - the
weather.. SoDctimss an admiiiance leo h
charged and on ofhsf ~ocHasinn- = cnlls-rtion