The Sick-Room Helps Society was founded by Alice Model in London in 1895. This report, for 1900-1901, shows the organization that had not yet grown to its eventual size. It is scanned in full below. 813 expecting mothers were helped and there is an interesting list of donors. I have a later report which I … Continue reading Report of the “Sick-Room Helps” Society, London, 1901.
Month: July 2021
Yalkut Yosef, by Rabbi Israel Joseph Lew, London 1942.
This book, as we shall see below, is a wartime product, written for orthodox Yiddish-speaking Jews who were living through the London bombing. "Amid the thunders and lightnings of war, amid the deafening noise of high explosives and the roar of cannon the echo of the trumpet voice of Sinai must continue to resound throughout … Continue reading Yalkut Yosef, by Rabbi Israel Joseph Lew, London 1942.
A Jew Speaks! Izak Goller, Liverpool, 1926
Izak Goller had two careers - he was both a British Rabbi and a poet and artist. He was born in Plungian, Lithuania and brought up in Manchester. He gained a scholarship to the Manchester Central School and then studied in a yeshiva. His first ministerial appointment was at the Kovno synagogue in Manchester, and … Continue reading A Jew Speaks! Izak Goller, Liverpool, 1926
The Saint and the Renegade – a historical novel publshed on the 200th yahrzeit of the Baal Shem Tov, by S. Tiger, London 1960.
This book, in Yiddish also has a subtitle - The Black Bishop. The author, Joshua (known as Shaye) Tiger, was one of the foremost Yiddish journalists in Europe. He was born in 1897 in Galicia, and lived in Vienna during the First World War, when he was correspondent for the Warsaw Yiddish daily, "Moment", and … Continue reading The Saint and the Renegade – a historical novel publshed on the 200th yahrzeit of the Baal Shem Tov, by S. Tiger, London 1960.
London Lyrics by A. N. Stencl, London, 1940 (Yiddish).
Avrom Nochem Stencl came to London in 1936. He was born in Czeladz, near Sosnoviec, Poland, in 1897. His family was rabbinical, and he had lived in Germany for some years, where he was a published author. His first volume of poetry in London was published in 1937. Stencil was an amazingly prolific poet. I … Continue reading London Lyrics by A. N. Stencl, London, 1940 (Yiddish).
The Jewish Year Book, London, 1907: Educational Institutions, Schools and Classes.
This extract from the Jewish Year Book for 1907 gives some fascinating details about the history of London Jewish educational institutions and schools.By 1907 the Jewish Year Book was in its twelfth year of publication, and was packed with useful information about the Jewish community in the British Empire. The editor, Reverend Isidore Harris, was … Continue reading The Jewish Year Book, London, 1907: Educational Institutions, Schools and Classes.
What was the Sassover Rebbe reading? A signed volume containing three books bound together and an interesting Berlin subscription list.
The first Chassidic Rebbe who made his home in London between the two World Wars was Rabbi Chanoch Heinoch Dov Rubin, the Rebbe of Sassov. He came to London in 1925 with his wife and three young children and established a small beis midrash (house of study) at 14 Fordham Street in the East End. … Continue reading What was the Sassover Rebbe reading? A signed volume containing three books bound together and an interesting Berlin subscription list.
Jewish Fairy Stories, by Gerald Friedlander, Minister of the Western Synagogue,(c 1920), London.
This book gives me the opportunity to write about its author, the Reverend Gerald Friedlander, Minister of the Western Synagogue, then in St. Alban's Place, London. He is another of Britain's slightly forgotten Jewish clergy. Gerald Friedlander was born in London on December 2nd, 1871. He was a son of Myer Friedlander, who was a … Continue reading Jewish Fairy Stories, by Gerald Friedlander, Minister of the Western Synagogue,(c 1920), London.
Schwile Olam, by Abraham Menachem Mendel Mohr, Lemberg 1856.
This is a geography book with an interesting dedication to Sir David Salomons, the first Jewish Lord Mayor of London. The author, Menachem Mendel Mohr, was born in Lemberg in 1815. He came from a traditional household, but became part of the Haskalah (The Jewish "enlightenment") and began to read secular works and gain secular … Continue reading Schwile Olam, by Abraham Menachem Mendel Mohr, Lemberg 1856.
Chevelei HaNeshama uMusar Hayahadut, in Yiddish, by Rabbi Yehoshua Szpetman of London, printed in Warsaw, 1938.
This book is by Rabbi Joshua Szpetman, known by his diminutive name "Shiya". Rabbi Szpetman was a native of Lublin, who had already been a Rosh Yeshiva (Head of a Rabbinical Academy) in Poland when he emigrated to London. He was the Rabbi of the Nelson Street Sephardishe Synagogue in the East End of London … Continue reading Chevelei HaNeshama uMusar Hayahadut, in Yiddish, by Rabbi Yehoshua Szpetman of London, printed in Warsaw, 1938.
Jewish Miscellanies 