Los Angeles herald., 1905-07-23
HEBREW POET
AND HIS WORK
. RESIDING over an unpreten.
tious little dining room in

greatest living masters Of the resources
Of the Hebrew language, classical and
rabbinical He has besides shown a
marvellous ingenuity in applying his
knowledge to the purpose Of pungently
satirizine the follles and foibles Of hu-
manity in general and Of his CORE
ligionists in particular.
The fame Of Rosenzweig, the poet,
has made his little cafe the rendezvous
OF New York's most noted Hebrew
thinkers. It Is a privilege indeed to be
the guest of the poet when his days
work is done. Tables are cleared, Gig
arettes are lighted, and one by one the
master minds Of Hebrew literature,
Ghetto poets, artists, journalists, ac-
tors and lawyers drop in. and the at
mosphere becomes charged with de-
lighted bohemianism, epigrams and
cigarette smoke.
In violent contrast to the CONNER
cial Jew is the little band of Hebrew
writers, scholars-dreamers ALTO
whom an epigram or a gem from the
Talmud is as a pearl without price.
Gerson Rosenzweig is a well known
figure among the residents Of the lower
east side His many acts of unsef1sh-
ness for the good Of the poor and needy
are spoken of far and wide. There is
hardly a man. woman or child in his
district who does not know the kindly
dreamer of the Ghetto. AS one passes
through the crowded streets by the
side of the poet one marvels at the res
pect paid to the sad faced little schol-
ar who has made the world of Hebrew
literature richer by thousands Of ia
nous epigrams that are quoted where
ever the language is spoken.
Like all poetic natures he is most
modest and retiring, and 1t is very iiffi-
cult to persuade him to talk of his
achievements in the world of letters.
Referring to his translation of Amer
ica's national songs. he says: what
more appropriate than that the songs
that have thrilled American hearts
should be rendered in the tongue of the
first people who spoke the word lib
erty?' What more fitting than that the
songs of liberty should be uttered in
the language of the teacher who ex-
claimed, And we shall proclaim free
dom throughout the land unto all the
inhabitants thereof and One law shall
be to him that is home-born and unto
the stranger that sojourneth among
your
ITO no one can the Star Spangled
Banner hold out more promise than to
the Nioneers of civilization, to those
VS. have suffered for centuries be-
cause they held holy the right of free
dom of worship.
"Michtamin," his book of one thous-
and and five original epigrams, is full
of instances of this fondness for play
ing with and upon words, comparing
and contrasting them, transposing
their letters or finding their numerical
down and inside out in every conce-
vable manner-not, indeed, as a mere
idle pastime, but for the purpose Of
attaching Biblical authority and sup
port to religious injunctions and ethical
truths.
The effects of this tendency among
Hebrew poets is such that their books
are literally dotted with punning al
1usions or parodied quotations. Per-
haps no other language is so well
adapted as Hebrew for the fabrication
of the compact sentences of wit AMI
wisdom which are known as epigrams.
While however, almost all Hebrew
writers are given to spicing and pep
pering their works with sprinkling
of eplgrams, 1t is seldom that an au
thor sets himself with malice prepense
to follow the example of the Roman
martial and to write a book which
shall consist of nothing but epigrams.
This is what Gerson Rosenzweig has
done, and it must be said that the re-
suit of his labors shows that he is sin
gularly equipped for this kind Of work.
n lew VI llC OpA6t dlE uGIE
quoted with the endeavor to render
them freely:
Heaven and earth
Are millstones twain;
All that has breath
Lies 'twixt them-the grain.
Your jubilee you celebrate today?
There's ample warrant for 1t;
You've had releases seven, so they
say
In the Insolvency Court.
His wealth, by doubtful process made,
He hides, and will not let 1t see the
light;
Tis said that money speaks" and
he's afraid
If let loose it might tell how he
came by t.
Lend money to your friends If you
would test
Which of them are the worst and
which the best.
The bad will disappear from out your
Tne good will soon return-to borrow
again.
The "Tractate (Treatise) America,
from the Yankee Taimud." is a
witty parody written in Talmudic style
and describes in a clever manner the