The Denver Jewish news., 1919-12-24
Solomon Schechter-
Master Builder
CONTINUED from Page One.l


Schechter's genius marured late (his
first literary work did not appear III
til he was forty years of age), he early
gave signs of having acquired wide
learning and of possessing remarkable
acumen and deep insight into the sub
jects he studied. Isaac Hirsh Weiss
in the same letter referred to abye ad-
mitted that young lSchechter was, "A
student who makes his teachers wise"
He had the rare gift OF being able to
penetrate into the very soul of things.
of being able to project himself into
the pasta gift which his writings
later on display, when he makes the
dead past live again, and. the ancient
heroes and heroines, saints and mar
tyrs. sages and rabbis, ordinarily mere
names on the pages of history. come
before us again, beings. of flesh and
blood, their hearts throsbing with love
for God and His Torah. He becomes
The master-builder of Jewish science.
Upon the foundation laid BY Zunz,
Krochmark, NRappaport and Stein
schneider he builds up the Jewish
scholarship which uses scientific meth
cd. the method of research. careful in
vestigation. critical analysis and sys-
tematic arrangement. the method
which has regard for forpbfas well as
for content, which understands to
.evalaate. CORRECTLY the past with its
traditions. and also takes due cOgni-
lance of the claims Of the present
with its discoveries and modern de-
velopment.
Schechter was not the dry-as-dust
scholar secluded in his chamber writ
ing for the few scientific students and
specialists. His was the remarkable
gift of making popular the dullest sub
ject, and of making intelligible even
abstract truths to the ordinary reader.
Jacobs has this to say: His spiritual
portraits of men. as varied as Krocll-
NAL, Nachmanides, Can, or the wilma
GaOn, are particularly unique. Here
Schechter's immense human sympathy
and graphic style enabled him to per-
form one of the most difficult of liter
ary tasks, the revelation of a soul
from its wrappings of leaves and let
ters."
His literary output covered almost
the whole of the vast field of Jewish
literature. His books, lectures and
addresses constitute little library. To
cite Professor Ginsberg: 1T is no ey-
aggeration to say that there is hard
ly any branch of Jewish literature. the
knowledge of which was not enriched,
any period of Jewish history, upon
which new light was not thrown by
coveries." He was equally at home in
every department of the immense store
house of our literary treasures. His
profound erudition embraced it all in
knowledge, which he acquired thru his
browsings in the fields of other ma
TONS literatures. For he was great
book-lover, n voracious and omnivorous
ers stimulated to produce important
works. They. drew their inspiration
from Schechter. OF thi., fountain of
knowledge and wisdom they drank and
many are the writer's and scholars who
have made acknowledgements of their
Indebtedness TO him and to the aid they
secured from him. The most renown-
ed universities and seats of learning
1onored themselves by honoring him.
Cambridge. London and Harvard rec
ognized his genius and scholarship and
took pride in comforting upon him the
highest degrees within their gift. His
friendship was cultivated by the fore
most scholars and men of letters in
Europe and in this country. And the
friends whom his genial personality
won for him in all circles and in all
ranks, merchants, bankers, scholars
Jewish and Gentle, We're innumerable
and they remained lifelong.
Blessed is the generation that was
the contemporary OF this great and
good man, which was privileged to
come into direct contact with that fas-
cinHting. magnetic personality. to be