New-York tribune., 1902-11-15

THE SPIRIT OF THE GHETTO. Studies of the
4ansnod &HWasn With BraWngs from Life by jacob
Epstein PIP. 312. Funk & Wagnalls Company
The Russian Jew in New-York is unlike any
other Jew in existence. His environment and
antecedents are antipodal. The old orthodox
Talmudic strictness of living is brought. in the
Ghetto in the most violent collision with the
secular freedom of American ideas There re-
suits a ferment in which the hold of the old
order slackens when Il does not disappear in
the new generations. that two civilizations
live side by side Freedom of expression and
expectation of larger opportunity induce the set
tlement of such colony in the New World
Yet almost Immediately the less idealistic and
more commercial spirit of businesslike democ-
racy comes in conflict with the dreams and
standards Of an old race, intent on new intel
lectual enfranchisement, with the result that the
newcomers form a contempt for their adopted
country.
The intellectual members of the Ghetto at
least rather despise America. which they sought
as a refuge. The Yiddish colony must seek the
comparative freedom from governmental con-
troll which it finds here. and at the same time
never ceases to prefer the ideals ethical ambi-
tions and high seriousness that exists. even If
under restraint, in its home country. Certain
features of Yiddish life only recently acquired
such as the theatre, seen at their highest
development in the New-York Ghetto. On the
other hand. the stamp of economic and political
thought is losing it's marked individuality. The
Socialist movement as we'll as the religious sys-
tenn comes in contact with the more contented
and conservative ideas of the republic, and suf-
ters deterioration, becomes toned down and less
extreme Thus Yiddsh thought, in seeding
from the environment which forced it to re-
volt finds itself disappointed in it's chosen
home. denounces it and loses some strength in
the contest.
Such is the picture which Mr.. Hapgood draws
in this book He has found charm in the Wig
orous life of the Ghetto and aims to present
review of it's condition. that 1t may not be too
much overshadowed in popular judgment by the
picture of material sordidness. of sweat shop
and tenement house. The author divides the
field into eight parts. and discusses the home
life. the scholars and rabbis, the women. the
poets, the stage, the newspapers, the writers Of
sketches and novels. and the artists In each
of these divisions he describes the qualities and
characteristics of the foremost men in the
Ghetto to-day: the scholars. with their learned
Iabors at the hopeless task of restoring the old
Hebrew tongue to common use; the four poets
Zunser. Do'itZki Rosenfeld and Wald; the Yid
dish actors and playwrights. generally aiming
at an exact portrayal of truth. and face to face
with the threatened decline OF their stage by
the disappearance OF the language before Eng
lish; the qualities and history of such news
papers as the "Tageblatt," the "Arbeiterzei-
tung" 'Vorwarts" the "Abendblatt' the
"Abend Post" "The Herald" and THE Jewish
World; and a group OF writer's. all welded to
Russian methods of realism
All this makes the book an attempt to present
within comparatively short limits culture
history Of an ovSrcrowded, intensely active and
complicated community. The author has the
facts at first hand and knows the people OF
whom he writes. many OF them intimately. but
his ideas are not always too well dgested- The
presentation a whole has a confusing effect.
and is apt TO drop into repetition. fault which
more subordination OF detail would have correct
ed. The Illustrations which are from the pencil
of a Yiddish artist who draws nothing but
Ghetto types. firmly and informally done as
in a pocket sketchbook.