The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-16

there are several in the humble cor
ners of the New York Ghetto. One
peddles for a living, another has a
small printing Office in basement on
Canal street, a third occasionally tu-
tors in some one of many languages
and sells a patent medicine, and a
fourth is principal of a school in the
Harlem Ghetto, where he teaches the
children to read, write and pray In
the Hebrew language.
Moses Reicherson is the name OF
the principal. Man of Wisdom of the
purest kind, probably the finest He
brew grammarian in New York, and
one of the finest in the world, his in
come from his position at the head or
the school Is S. a week. He is 10 years
old, wears g. thick gray beard, a little
cap on his head and long, black coat
His wife is old and bent. Their only
son died a year or two ago and to cover
the funeral expenses Prof. Reicherson
tried in vain to sell his Encyclopedias
Britannica. Born in Lithuanias he
had retained the faith of his orthodox
parents, a faith, however, springing
from the pure origin of Judaism rather
than holding to the hair-splitting dis
tinctions later embodied in the Talmid
He was a teacher of Hebrew in his ma
tive town for many years, where ne
STAYED until he came to New YORK
few years ago to be near his son. His
two great intellectual interests, supor-
dnated indeed to the love OF the ola
literature and religion, have been He
brew grammar and the moral fables
of several languages. On the former
he has written an important work, and
of the latter has translated much or
I.essing's and Gellert's work into pure
Hebrew, He has also translated into
his favorite tongue the Russian Iaple
writer Krilow; has written fables or
his own, and a Hebrew commentary
on the Bible in twenty-four volumes.
He loves the fables because they teach
the people and are real criticism; they
are nrofound and combine fancy and
thought. Many of these are still in
manuscript which is characteristic or
much of the work of these scholars, for
they have no money and publishers do
not run after Hebrew books. Also I'M
published, written In loving minute
characters, he has Hebrew prayer
book in many volumes. He has written
hundreds of articles for the Hebrew
weeklies and monthlies, which can sell
dom afford to pay their contributors.
At present he writes exclusively for
a Hebrew weekly published In Chicago,
Regeneration" the object of which is
to promote 1.-The knowledge of the an
cient Hebrew language and literature
and to regenerate the spirit OF the ma
ton" For this he receives no pay, the
editor being almost as poor as himself
But he writes willingly for the love
of the cause for universal good; for
Reicherson in common with other neg
lected scholars, is deeply interested In
revivifying what is now among Ameri-
can Jews q dead language.
when the national language and
literature live" he said "the nation
lives; when dead, so is the nation.
The holy tongue, in which the Bible
was written must not'die. IL * should,
much of the truth of the Bible, many
of it's spiritual secrets, much OF its
beautiful poetry, would be lost.
have gone deep into the Bible, that
greatest book, all my life, and know
many of it's secrets" He beamed with
pride as he said these words, and his
sense of the beauty Of the Hebrew
spirit and the Hebrew literature led
Sen1itisn. . All this was sweet
Iy said. for about him there was
nothing of the attitude of complaint.
His wife, once or twice during the
interview. touched upon their person
al condition, but her husband severe
ly kept his mind on the universal
truths, and only when questioned adj
mlLIeQ tndL ne WOuiQ like a. LLlit HlOfc
money, in order TO publish his books
and to enable him to think with more
concentration about the Hebrew lam
guage and literature. There was no
bitterness in his reference to the neg
lect of Hebrew scholarship in the
Ghetto. His enterest was impersonal
and detached and his regret at the
decadence of the language seemed
noble and disinterested: and. unlfike
some OF the other scholars, the touch
of warm humanity was in everything
he said.
Contrasting sharply In many re-
spects with this beautiful old teacher
is man who peddles from tenement
house to tenement house In the down.
town Ghetto. 10 support himself and
his three young children. s. p.
Schwartzberg, unlike most of the
submerged scholars, IN still d young
man, only 81 years old. but he is al
ready discouraged. bitter and discon-
tented. He feels himself the apostle
Of a lost cause.-The regeneration IN
New York OF the old Hebrew lam
guage and literature. His great en-
terprise In life has failed. He has
now given II 40, and the natural
ViylQneEs and intensity Of hfs nature