Rabbi Lewis Bernstein, who was the Rabbi of the Bethnal Green Great Synagogue from 1898 until his death in 1922, is another of the almost forgotten British Rabbis. He was born in Pren, near Grodno and was known as the Grodno Maggid and was a Talmudic scholar and teacher. His son was our author, Moses … Continue reading Otzar Pitgamim MeChochamim – Treasury of Wit, Humour, Satire and Poetry, by Moses Henry Berstein, London 1904.
Arbeiter Freynd – The Workers Friend, Anarchist newspaper in Yiddish, London 1905
I have about six months of issues of this famous and classic newspaper, printed in 1905. The paper is brown and disintegrating and we have done our best to produce some photographs - it is far too fragile to scan. The Arbeiter Freynd was started in London in 1885 by Morris Winchevsky. It would periodically … Continue reading Arbeiter Freynd – The Workers Friend, Anarchist newspaper in Yiddish, London 1905
Reshima Alef – First List – A catalogue of Hebrew books printed before 1601, London 1920, Abraham Golub, 10 Osborn Street, Whitechapel.
This is a 100-year old item for the book collectors. Abraham Golub had his bookshop at 10 Osborn Street, Whitechapel. In 1920 he issued this list of books for sale, edited by Yaakov Meir Zalkind. I have previously written about Yaakov Meir Zalkind, - click here to read about his translation of the Talmud into … Continue reading Reshima Alef – First List – A catalogue of Hebrew books printed before 1601, London 1920, Abraham Golub, 10 Osborn Street, Whitechapel.
Spanish and Portuguese Jew’s Hospital, 253 Mile End Road, E., Report 5669-70 – 1909
Many of us have walked past the old-looking building at 253 Mile End Road, often without realizing that it is old, but not as old as expected, and seen the plaque about the adjacent Velho (Old) cemetery of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews, the first Jewish cemetery in London since the expulsion. I have several … Continue reading Spanish and Portuguese Jew’s Hospital, 253 Mile End Road, E., Report 5669-70 – 1909
Selichos for the Proprietory and Penintential Days, and for the Minor Fasts, translated into English by Dr. David Asher, London 1866.
This was the first translation of the Selichos - the Penitential Prayers into English. The translator was Dr. David Asher. He was the son of the synagogue reader in Dresden, Germany, and his father died when he was five years old. He entered the Dresden Gymnasium, but his mother could not pay the fees, and … Continue reading Selichos for the Proprietory and Penintential Days, and for the Minor Fasts, translated into English by Dr. David Asher, London 1866.
School System of the Talmud, by Dayan Bernard Spiers, London 1882
I've previously written about Dayan Spier's book "The Threefold Cord", which was published in 1891. This is an earlier book which includes an essay on the organization of education in the Talmud, together with a Siyum on Masseches Bava Metzia that Dayan Spiers delivered in the Beis Hamedrash in London. From 1876 the London Beth … Continue reading School System of the Talmud, by Dayan Bernard Spiers, London 1882
Herbert Bentwich the Pilgrim Father, by Margery and Norman Bentwich, Jerusalem 1940. (Hampstead and St John’s Wood Synagogues and Chovavei Zion)
This book, printed in Jerusalem, is a biography of the British Zionist and Jewish activist, Herbert Bentwich. It has interesting vignettes of late Victorian middle-class London Jewry. Herbert Bentwich was born at 56 Church Lane, Whitechapel on May 11th 1856. His father came from Peiser in Russian Poland. His mother, Rose, came from an old … Continue reading Herbert Bentwich the Pilgrim Father, by Margery and Norman Bentwich, Jerusalem 1940. (Hampstead and St John’s Wood Synagogues and Chovavei Zion)
Folk Un Literatur (People and Literature), Leo Kenig, London, 1947.
Folk Un Literature is subtitled: Five lectures on the main tendencies and characteristics of modern Yiddish literature, and a dissertation on Jews in modern art. Leo Konig was born near Minsk and brought up in Odessa, where he attended the Yeshiva of Chaim Tchernowitz (Rav Tsair). From 1908 to 1912 he studied art at the … Continue reading Folk Un Literatur (People and Literature), Leo Kenig, London, 1947.
Lemech HaSheni by Ben-A Sochachewsky, London 1946
Ben-A Sochachewsky (1889-1958) was a journalist, poet and teller of Chassidic stories. He was born in Lodz, Poland, and arrived in London about 1913. He was on the editorial staff of Di Zeit, the London Yiddish newspaper, of which I have written about here. His actual name was Yechiel Meir or "Chil Majer" Sochachewsky, but … Continue reading Lemech HaSheni by Ben-A Sochachewsky, London 1946
Sefer Kedushas Hashem by Rabbi Joseph Shapotchnick, London 1918
Rabbi Joseph Shapotchnick was like Marmite - you either loved him or hated him. He came to London in 1913 and settled in the East End, where he soon became a well known character. He was already a published author in Europe, and when he came to London became amazingly prolific. Rabbi Harry Rabinowitz's bibliography … Continue reading Sefer Kedushas Hashem by Rabbi Joseph Shapotchnick, London 1918
Jewish Miscellanies 