KB EBB HB fctack STACK AIj 500 2083 ^m r ^f.-^-^^f^^ m California 'gional |3ility I HH The Library University of California, Los Angeles The gift of Mrs. Cummings, 1963 REPRINTED FROM THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW NEW SERIES VOLUME VIII, NUMBER 3 A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY BY ALEXANDER MARX PHILADELPHIA THE DROPSIE COLLEGE FOR HEBREW AND COGNATE LEARNING 1918 A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY A PICTURE OF JEWISH LIFE IN BOHEMIA AND MORAVIA. FROM A MANUSCRIPT IN THE JEWISH THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. By ALEXANDER MARX, Jewish Theological Seminary of America. CONSIDERING the scarcity of autobiographical writings in Jewish literature, the publication of the short text here offered to the reader does not require an apology. The author, who was born in 1668, was a plain man, gifted neither with great scholarship his style being in many parts very poor nor with particular brilliancy. His story, which extends over the first seventeen years of his life (1668-85) on ly> but was written many years later, is on the whole commonplace, but in spite of this it will be found to be of considerable interest as a human document. Our author was undoubtedly a Schlumiehl. This character- istic is probably responsible for the curious fact that while the names of his parents and grandparents, brothers, aunts, and other members of his family are mentioned, 1 his own name appears nowhere in his little note-book. He was, however, a fairly good observer, and the value of this short autobiography lies in the typical description of everyday life of the Jewish inhabitants of a Bohemian village, such as we seldom meet in our historical sources because it was considered too trivial. Of particular interest are the facts 1 See the Family Tree of the writer. VOL. VIII. 269 T 500208,'! 270 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW we gather about the relations of the Jews to their gentile neighbours, and more especially to the nobility of the villages, about the jealousy existing among themselves as well as about the state of Jewish teachers and Jewish education in general. The author's observations are not limited to the small villages in this respect ; he had occasion to gather information in regard to larger Jewish communities like Meseritsch and even Prague, and there, we must say, conditions were decidedly better. His own father had in the course of his eventful life acted for a fe\v years as elementary teacher in the community of Lichtenstadt before he became in turn a distiller, a pedlar in jewellery, an arrendar and 'Hofjude' of a small Count, &c. His experiment in teaching his two sons at the same time, irrespective of the difference in their ages and their know- ledge, selecting the treatise of Sotah by which to introduce his younger son into the intricacies of the Talmud, does not give us a very high opinion of his accomplishments as a pedagogue. The author speaks of only one of his teachers with love, and to him and his wife he indites a touching memorial with the statement that, while he taught the boys Talmud, she inculcated the fear of God and the beauty of a virtuous life. The description of the ravages of the awful plague which in 1681 devastated Bohemia and in Prague alone had over eighty- three thousand victims, 2 is really remarkable with its gruesome details. 2 See Haeser, Lehibitch dcr Geschiclite der Medicin tmd der epidemischen Krankheiten, vol. Ill, p. 415 (Jena, 1882), and P. R. Redlich, Historia peslis annis 1680 ei 1681 Prague grassatae (Prague, 1682), quoted by Haeser, which is inaccessible to me. I owe this reference o Dr. Harry Friedenwald. A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 271 The great historical events of the time likewise did not pass without leaving their impress upon the life of the little Bohemian villager. The outbreak of the Turkish war, heralded by a comet, 3 drove him home from Meseritsch, just as the Chmielnicki persecutions drove his grandmother from Poland a generation before. Most of the persons who played a part in the life of our author are entirely unknown, but by a happy coinci- dence some of the most prominent Rabbis of his country arc mentioned in his biography. His grandmother was the sister of the famous Moravian ' Landesrabbiner ' R. Menahem Mendel Krochmal. 4 In the house of this Rabbi the mother of our author received her education, and his son, R. Judah Loeb, 5 who in later years filled his father's place, proved in turn a godsend in the life of the father of our author, inasmuch as he generously lent him jewellery and other merchandise, thus enabling him to earn a proper living. His grandmother on his father's side was a grand- daughter of the renowned cabbalistic author, R. Eleazar Perels. 6 R. Jacob Backofen, more commonly called 3 The various opinions expressed as to this comet caused Pierre Bayle to publish a famous little book which, in the English translation before me, bears the title : Miscellaneous reflections occasion' d by the comet which appeared in December 1680. Chiefly tending to explode popular superstitions. Written to a Doctor of the Sorbonne by Mr. Bayle. Translated from the French. In two volumes. London, 1708. 4 See Horodetzki, Hagoren, II, 32-7 ; D. Kauffmann, ibid., 38 seq. 5 See Kauffmann, ibid., 40-41. 6 See Kauffmann's note in Hock, Die Familien Prags, Pressburg, 1892, p. 282, and the literatu'e quoted there ; also A. Berliner, Abhandhmg uber den Siddur dcs Schablai ha-Sofer ans Przcmy'sl, Frankfurt a. M.,i9O9, p. vii. It is not quite clear what our author means by his statement, ' his son was Moses Kuskes '. Kuskes was the family name of R. Eleazar Perels' father-in-law, but hardly of his own son. T 2 272 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW Reischer, 7 who died as Rabbi of Metz in 1733, was a very well-known talmudic writer. His Minhat Jakob, which our author mentions, appeared in 1689. Our writer thank- fully records the readiness of that great scholar to instruct him in his boyhood, but he adds that his masterful wife, the proud daughter of the Bohemian Landesrabbiner R. (Benjamin) Wolf Spira, 8 did not permit it. 9 As to Meir, the Shohet of the community of Vienna, the father of our writer's step-mother, some information is to be found in the genealogical letter of his son Moses, published by L. Lazarus. 10 We learn that he was a nephew of the rich Koppel Fraenkel, that after the expulsion from Vienna in 1670 he settled in Meseritsch, where he died, and that he had three more sons in addition to the two mentioned in our account. Several of the family names we come across are known to us, through Hock's valuable work on the Prague families, to have been current there, e. g. Fleckeles, Wagenmacher, and Giinzburg. The member of the latter family, who employed our author as a tutor for his sons for a short time, Moses G., might be identical with the R. Mosche Kintzburg who, according to the curious account of the pageant arranged in Prague on May 18, 1716, in honour of the birth of Prince Leopold of Austria, published by Schudt, 11 acted as leader of the 7 See Steinschneider, Cat. Bod!., 1248-50, Fuenn, PK"^ DD33, 575-6, Rj., VIII, 271-3. 8 See Hock in K. Lieben, Gal-Ed, Prag, 1856, p. 39, no. 65. 9 The same lady, after her husband's death in 1733, prevented by her energetic protest the election of R. Jonathan Eibeschutz as his successor in the Metz Rabbinate. See the letter of her grandson Nehemiah Reischer in Emden's J1CN DD'J', Lemberg, 1877, f- u b, cp. JRj., VIII, 273. 10 MGirj. 56, 1912. pp. 352-3. 11 Judische Merkuilrdigkeiten, vol. IV, continuation III, p. 153. A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 273 scribes. Probably he is the Moses ben Loeb Kinzburg who died September 12 of the same year. 12 The difference in the spelling of the name may be due to a slip of memory of the writer who uses the more common spelling. Some of the identifications of geographical names 13 in the text are due to my revered teacher, Professor Berliner, who many years ago had borrowed my copy of the manuscript and wrote the transliterations of these names on the margin. Polna for ptaa was suggested by Professor Deutsch, who also considers it possible that sjNDNl, spDKl is the village of Wostrow. The manuscript from which the following text is taken forms part of a collection presented to the Jewish Theo- logical Seminary by Messrs. Moses and Marks Ottinger. It is briefly described in Catalogue XI of Messrs. Schwager & Fracnkel, Husiatyn, under no. no. It is an autograph written in a cursive German hand; it measures 13-7 X 9-5 cm. It begins with the title nii1~i3Tn 13D, followed by three blank leaves. The autobiography fills fols. i-n a ; between fols. 10 and n the author evidently tore out a leaf. The next page has a short note on his travels, which forms a kind of continuation of the text, and is printed here as such, together with a set of good resolutions drawn up at various times, which contain some further biographical material and are characteristic of the writer, but do not seem to require translation. They are found on fol. 34 of the manuscript. Fols. 12-25 contain ethical and philo- sophical reflections in fifteen paragraphs, interrupted by cabbalistic combinations (15 a) and blank pages (i5b-i7a). 12 Hock, he. tit., 66; note 2, rTyn is a misprint for 1"yn. 13 They mostly do not occur in M. Griimvald's article in his Das Jiidische Centralblatt, VIII, pp. 37-42. 274 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW An account of troubles the writer had in Zante some Friday begins fol. 34 b, but breaks off in the middle. On fol. 42 we find some dietetic rules to strengthen the memory, including the advice to eat only once a day at noon ; on fol. 453 a letter of recommendation of the central academy of Venice (nNTyi na nc'N JV^n n:rcn) for a poor man who had been deprived of his all by robbers during his travels ; neither the name of the poor man (our writer?) nor the signatures are reproduced, and the date is incom- plete ('3iN n:n n:t?, perhaps rbv [see Exod. 33. 20] is to be added, making 5479-1719). On fol. 46 a, he copies an amulet obtained from the pupils of R. Moses Sacuto ; the end of the booklet (52 b~53) contains business entries about parchments purchased for and loans received from various persons. The names occurring here are : R. Benjamin Cohen of Reggio (N;np pan p'J3 n'nnio wno), Castel Bolognese, Abraham and Samuel Corinaldi, Esra Cantan, Hananel, Michael Malach, Isaac Rabbino, Eliezer ibn Roi, &c. The rest of the volume is mostly blank. Although the text offers no difficulties, 14 the following translation was not thought to be superfluous owing to the general interest of the autobiography. Naturally it does not aim at literalness while trying to give a fair reproduc- tion of the writer's account. For the convenience of the reader, the writer's statements about his family are summarized in the following family- tree : 14 As we deal with an autograph, the text is reproduced as it is in the manuscript without any corrections. I have not considered it necessary to draw attention to the numerous inaccuracies of the writer, his serious grammatical mistakes, and so on. They are characteristic of the man, just as the fact that he hardly ever makes a period, and only once a new paragraph in the whole account. A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 275 I'l* J3g ""c3 2 <" rt _. S*a ll *=< H-^1-1 w H K w w g u M'o i D-c m r cj'S'S N J3 S S? a ? I 276 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW rmran nnn 'no N>N wr x *v own -no mira loita -lira mm N^ISO N3 mn IUNP ^"r 3py Ynro vpi ^"r ^n omaK Ynro ict?i nma nanoa p^yp p'pa new nph mm b'an apT a INCOI noi ^"r apy "i"nna y>pr aK nx n^im as /nnetw *oi va rrn &WBD n^np mKo yi^ N^ nxr ^a pp jnn n'n pyrao p/p -i"iniM nn ^"r rf?yb nno ntrs^ npi? i?"r wpr nso ^y unnai iry^ pt^on nao nB>yc> e^nye niy^N Y'-inio ^ vn D^a !?"T Dipoip ntw "i w nmo3 IB> n>n 133 onao IN^I njpn 3N DK 3 1^ nn N^ inl Q*T3T D"33 TO3 T'h.TI 3K1B p"p m n":&"i npm ncty nnx nwa ^n^ ^s* ^n omaN n"iniDD IOB'I 'm mm IEN^ vaK^ nm p mm vniyn mm TD^ ^m 3Ni ^oya mo o^na nn rnw^ i^ unai n^a-ii n^na aya ;n KSCI ^a^ia pha nianoo obyn P"PO i?"r ^sprn 11 n'nna nn bnayaa HID mip Na^B3 nn b*an b"r ^xpim n'nna ^pr "aw fop *atjn onar 0*03 nefop D^in^n ny nae^s nnu nx nnm nnp-'a D^ya 31 ^n nc-x njvn ^nty ^ nain DE>B in-i3 p^ia nwno ^3 ^ n^na naanen iN3B> ny bv ^"01 3i n'-n i!w '-ns r.N NSDI nia^p-a p"p^ pyo Hayo nrao Yimo ^nan 3nn HNT IOSPI nancn ^3 3-11 ri^n p"p ninana m3ai pnsr n^ IBD ^ n"i^ nano ^ya ^" f3 n"am i> w an 3in nci n"y i?n:y:: nnio N^n Nim b'sr 3^ NTin 11 n'nmo i>nan 3nn IOB> mm nwana oy no^aam ina nrpn ib3 i>na pa nb fnai ''m ai rnio 'CN n ^m *asi a"Bt^p*a p"pa hna nnsa naini? 'nD3 e-'onryo p"p3 m nnn int^N nn"n^ nav? *ONI mn^vn3 niyi n^y mn ^"r 'i^n nmn pi rTaa n3nyjsi noae'Di TND ny anon ni^oa niyai UNI naunai no3n3 ry "inui nNc> ina n"y ^i:y:a nn iN3 pNic'jn IHN o^a^ ny3i IN n^cy s)iin3i mm3 poiy mn ^n 11 r6naa Dn-nac in-ni n3 s nnn^ pnyo ni:^^ Dmpm trhoflCBW A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 2/7 N^I VD33?3 73 wyn ^ya .THE? uyoai crva ni3nb myii oy ^"r ^n apy Ynna ^'pr UN nrni nmoaao oyo mu nn-'a nian3 nNt?a a"ai n"y 'ON ay ^n 11 UNI int^Ni vniaa UN nx p"pn natri DNID^ |Ua^ p"p^ iyam Dn^a nia^itt nvp iy Dpn inu Nvm irn a"nNi D'W nr^N nt? nyi nipia^n itbxb 'TV mniynr roNni n^anio nya mam n"y 'nnio ^N noannn nan ^3D Nm pa^o ni^y ix nwn3 aimn n^in: TI^I mina poyi nc' 1 ' 'n 1 ' ^NI nnM[n]ni nitkw mu ni?y pi maa Tnty i*ST a^ n"iniD i>nan mn Nin ij-'by nniy t^iip BK nam nvn n ni^npn ^y none iniwoi B'oa^nta p*pa n"2N TK UN nun jDaxnj-i '*m UN bu> inu xin QB> n^x ^onrxno P"P "v] DN non nc>yi mn p nTi ntrxD n^y nnni ^"r ^mi " niva nNn ^nyao 103 ann ^03 ^ nnino nrx nu jroi ''n 1 ' UN [oy pi mianai nmnai niiDNa nn^i nN^ icvy ^n^ na n^nona riNrn n^yn nc'n ^N aipna '"y^ ^ar ''"y ni3T j^a^asi mini naiotj' oy na DTO .TH^ nn pm nainn nu inji v^ya jn nioo mc'y^ jn nxuni naw^cn nupj6 D^nntrD ib jnai n^na WD'tb n s n D^IDD IDI ppn nat^n pjioa ii> yna n^n usi m^in THIC ""CNI r6nah n^ycl? n^y I^NI jaoi D{^ ainaa nuan n"n ^HN pt^x-in rvth& onar Q'aa 15 [nnoi n^nno 'vi ' nn] ib ni np inc^ iTn 'am nraai hm ^yn s aN 'am jiobp n*nna onnon iNa nnya^D ^"r ^N ntspt^i nna u M 11 ! .na^n Tin ION nn^o nnoi ^"i^ ]"n ^ i^ n 'i ^ xn ^ DHNHI nin^cn n-'n N^ u la'nnx ba iab nicy nniar Q^atJ' '11 n^^ na DIU nnoi DUIO D^ymi nsnui ncana ni> nm "i"yn baa n p IN wn '3i a"bnn nacj' n^N ^in^ ''D' 1 n"a -npina 'a na^n nhna n^ ( N '"n H UN np^ na^n imai D>at^ 'r p ^nan 'HNI D^a^ 'n jna TNI sa'ii P"P Nnon nrn^ n-xo n^inioa na /i( nn h^na nn p\nij ntw5> s nn ^oya nno ininN nN s m UN oyo m^ nn\n '^ I:UN nc'Ni s ai^n i^yi 'n HDH 'hh ia^n D"Dya nrai o^aup n^aa!? TIIVH ^3 nvpaa ianiN 15 Added bclvvccn tlic lines. 278 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW nnxa aha rbv niaan aai l /i 'b^> r,i^ i;nx ax 'na>pr 'D nom nioa nay p ixya n ypai? ^nnn 'rv <:x n:x rn*o -inx NTT irncx fTp vax aai 16 [nab axa n s rvaii nmx nyaio nrvn ^"r OK rus>] '^n* w3 nc^ nsp MCCI nnn^ 5>yai nap VD b nn i^ n!~D^ osn 'ipim mm6 n^wa ^n l>i in:y:a pny s ne> ab niaa n^nca mano Tne' lace Dyn njray nyai nnni iro n po NVCI -:ICD l^cai -pyn ne'n nan n^ v5>an ms3 nnn i^aai D^B> noa oncy *a mnxb '^aism na: nn^ ncnfei? ^m inirnj ns ism nan na^ 'a ny paa iai? nn N^ 'an nrni naipn 'an n^n n>a ax n aryi 'ipim DnW6 psn nap ^y n?ooi ^ana atrn f w N"NI pt^nn cDcria -ax *a nynn avin nupy ny-n onsny "inn n-an vn am omn^n VSMK naa ^2 rpoy cnapib nvyi wry ^aa vno t^x rs nn o'n 'rv -ans* --ax lannai Ha 11 niaai win nmnb 7 ^na n^poy niwfo ac'ni naiam nsy nib^y ii? KSO i^m v^y wt^m icvi ^asa inn rx iw rt xan va'ix -a D'^nn 'a ia 'nioxn n^aa itrarn D-poy nx^ai Tin p^i naian poya ;n^ 'w ^ax nnnas' ny '^pmob *n 'xn i^n ^a ^vo HID pxi nn xiin ^aa 17 nsxi nncpa rxa^ ixi nyan TXI nuiai lain -vn i^? b*i apy^ n'tna jpin vax ny x*x nx yna^ nno it?p3i xrao ru:n trjna n'n nr 'x ^ax nx tn-ai nry pi ini?na am ^>ya n^ny "a!? Tiia'pr ny xanna ma b"r apr 'w 'x aw D^a^ '? p WM cyan ixi o^ vra nn x^i '"la jnai xB'ai nov ^naa *anix Dipo j^iasin noan 'x i*ya nytr ^ mn nrci D3iQ rr^yoi mine niaai ^oiao nn ":xi 'x nay nncy naan n:pi non^on *aniyn nyn irn-j "a^ 5110x1 iotn 'x naa^ yoa noo mv *nn 'ax bax m^naa sjamonb x*x irn rxi m^n:i> r^n P*P^ "nix x^ani? x'x "niynn a'nx inioai jnx -pnai mina HDD nn i?*an hnan ^nx rx p aa nM aen av n^no nioo n'ni? axna x"x "a ncixo w^y xi> BB> aai a'-ac' nya>n p -n^n rxi nnina n\n T3w'm 131CD ^y on nvn^ ac*n ax^ Tivirsa a^a^ayn -noi> yT 1 xi> o"n ^ > -lV iTn noxai "^y n-a^n ayo K&om oino nar-a ncic^ -nix 16 Added between the lines. 17 a"^> nay. A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 279 'trp IN Tvn 'ax ^ IN ryin^ ^ niobf> nvn n-n CN nbna nrno rvn vhstw n^axm pnE> N^O TvnB' D^n ma^oo ,nan man cy firm nvaop vro onnsa *?avh axnsa nam PE> rniyab E'N3 onx DV.? ^y rvr^D n\n &6i hna p^a ^ nna nn nNon DJ?D nar ona nr ^y Damn N^ JNID!? D^yD nca N"N 103 ^K <3X \T\W DyiD 13^3 D'BHn D":^ 'n IN ii> ,Tnr '^n^ pyoc' ICB' nn wab xnm^ nvnb ia nc'ian n^ ^y icy Tmnh u-i^? w^inb yvob i^ no ^3 D^a^ 5 y^'13 nay oysn TN ' ) n' i noi? I-JBID n3Do N~ir:a oy nio^ ^nnn i3N nnvo no^o ^ n.nx n\n N3ii > naiLD mi^a va^ya rrn Tin-o ^?y TN i^ "i^ao n^nc' 'o niaa IN n-n i?nan TIN ^3N "na ypv ny nan mub mt^ wri N/I nia n'^nn D'at? TIE' 103 nr n\m a i^'io n^3 n^a s aa ^>ao naiyoi naino Na TNI iNns p"p3 Dna3i on^a nianoa nan Na c"nn nat^ai D'^nm mo intys cy 3py nnao nano p"iN pa apy n"nmo ann ;NnDi? pin n"nmo pwn p n^'i n"nmo ann niaa i?n^na nno nninxi bw i>"an ann ^ ini:niay ncai iJTi^a na33 uoy inoyi Nn-s ntaio m^'N ^3N mpiaTi no^oa "3n ain p-aini rva ya NoyiTyi? npy ipm weipo^ a^ao lain rrn Dyan TNI puiN p"p^> ica ixacno pirn bna lya py p:a ^P omn MP pp n^a u*m Dn s 2o en-is wna onaano 'N^ ^n nr xa DNI 'N* .ID-IS a^ao B'IJD nyy ntwii rbn iy^ DIP-MI on^ao Dtnan b nvacn 3ao u wnp ms DIP aiprr ^a^ nio noa pirn ioa ins ir bai NX^ N^I losy n -UD Kim ifp 1x303 byai Dcan amK PIMP ''n* ^KO pn maa^ DIN DIP npy Kin cap '"KM HK inrn pi DIM an toy noyi vaab N' ir DIN DIP DUD!? in^ K^I INX* N^P ma s aa ^a nN inrni ja K^I vAy N^P in 11 ! *aao 'N n^m Tn DK3 mix inrm D *33 b oy 1^1 i^a b IPX b npi in^a HN iiaoi icxyo ^ ^K un6 wai imn HN '"KK D^y o^yn DK3 \oy n:nni oy n^an ima ianiK qi-w^i n*an nx n^'n^ oian nsaoi lain NSP -ax nisnai *Dnx DIP c^ bi wb IPK ny ny^ 1^1 ipn n3- DV DN mpyi> nn yn> s^i ^ yin ^"33 onaan aai> lain ymm- a nS-n naao^ icxy nx Daa in^a -an my DHin Jinh D*^ IPN D^nxiii Du:a ^y^a n apy i"nn vax ^a DIPD ^N Kiai nan ^30 onx DIP DIBS* N^P na ^a^ POP icxya oy ncy pi onnwa nsaon PKH p^T N^P ^yv *biK DP /'ID^ ""o 1 pp loa mo ^r y*pr *3NP INI H^N warn ipn ^N o^pi>o isa DIM \TI P IDP IIMI inpK cy n-aa iar:y ncyp nnN mn 11 oy ^n naaon PN lyiap Dipo D^IHN onaai> in 1 - labnp ^"i P^NS p DN21 ihaao on^p HN pu$> ipn iia TDI nn?oy ;nh anyb ^'r ^a'pr T3N main TNI 'DPK13 or:n ihaaa my nm omnn ba D^ppao VHP inoni? naao nM a MI oiy ^y nn .TJP inia",n a"y TUN INT K!>P nha ^an ^y naao |\s a KII uaya 'n ntn TK ' 1^330 onaba ipn A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 281 o nTi xta nyian nnnaa xta invn aiom n^ nxian ^ r6sn a-in rp^xn nx joints 'n nona ova DV HO noyom K^N poyrw ]yf? np^ 'TV "axi? mini 3B> "['"N nx n^x nx] paopo 3*00 nya pi^n oa'i naxa nw pi^x oyo npi mop mypa new n^an ^np^ iy nirnni nn^noa T^n pi^n oy nnypa pny <> n^n^ *ay PJ JNI ^ ita^ini nt^y pi naon hy n^rb ITDI i>aa pi 'osy ns niN3"ib oannn!> 'nniain *hni o^ty a" 1 p nns^ IIOD mix iDBn D^D TIT 'b D^N^ao vn npt^om yaoa px^ nwwii nuvrn WNI Dysn inixai r pa nva pa na ^ jn^i vom jyob 'n n^y pi D nn nyian Dipo n nnyian nmpn HDP^ nnji nva av no di>n \TI 'nsi^m *bw o^an ^ oyna mxo nm t^xa nyia no nxn nr bx nr now ynona wnnt? D^au>n n-un pa mn hp nann n^non oni naaoa ^niia ono 'N nya not? onv^n i{ry i^x DmnTio irnopa np":i i^ na3i Nia3 *wrb D^JDNJ nnay jnxi 'oxy nx BO^W w n^i oannn S *NN n^a aa -OT^ isa jaisa 18 [^na yawi] ^aa nsi^ a^ao i 3 N^ BN .TH posi prn T*^h ni DSI nvaon ija^ 021 D^ian ^w o^nan !?a 'aai? inan im pao iQ33 noi'D IJXN ""n^n^ naon n^aro >^ nios Nian nr PND fnun inai s n"^y pi ''n^a^ 'nansj pjioaa nnyi nixona *n^ niayi naiy 'aval ^sa pi a^n 'n^n '121 D^IK psh na noa n~i2^j cnvyi no-^aa ns^ai Q^iano nann ^JTIN r i^a Na m:n^ 'asb nra^ isa rvrw no ib mn x^ Dycai D^y^ D^n UNI DW DON cn^ D^ID T'oya' i"^" 1 i?nan TIN^ nix "NN oannn nnri noia Nin^ i^xn ^y n^yx^ nn*an mvi xna ^x^ D^a^i onaiyn TUN IXTK> na naan ^ nna Dn^y pnrxc> onyani naan ^a ^ DH^n^ binMi pint^ "^n -ah Tipna' ii n' i ^y pi mosri pin^ hpa xnph piy^i nn^aa iin^ n^oya noa "n^y pi pann opa'aa' Dipn X\T 'n nvy n\n nr no run 18 Added between the lines. 282 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW ":m rvn xhv *}xr ixn:r ^ mnn on^ab nixnnb mh 'anno mx'-a nnx n^ noa nnaai nsiv by Tana cna^ V3ai trr^n 3xac vnb by w ^sh naiy 'x u 'rvxn nrix Dyau* ny m-s'y na33 rvbnt? MX cwn *jb nx birrni pin vi?y we>y D"nyr3 ^n nns ^ an^n wm a nivoa xnai pn'.j? *ovy nx ms-in^ nr TnNcwi mnan "nnyn n^nnni inxwo -pain n^on ns;r:n vim ni^aai DM;nb nnaen jniy jnj VJ^ma 'ni "nino^ nn^ nnm baix onpca 'ni^nNi nn oy ^na^ni <*KS n^a^ nbnna K'cnn n^c^a \TI naic'Nnao inv oh snai pen 'rv:ryj ^si ab ny na:nn an^a m:nca ^ax asna Tya nion no ID n^n cnnn n o '-ax nann mci i^n w^ na^ai nro nr marta xh na:o b^ nyia nb HM n^s' n^s^ na nnM ^nn nxb 'ninx oai V3ab xa x^ 1 '"xx D:I nxb TJ-'n a rhino rprvy PJX n^ao na ba n-n nbns na'jo HM pcn e'lna bax nsuon nopt? iboa x nx^j xh 'narn ba ino cnaa noaai 'nin^ n?aa onix niapb iyT xh o^ncn oy poyn* D so3 nn xh n-j'x nrx i nixnx nmxa hi3 ahrm B*B> *33xa n^p nnn ] nxn^ ?iiin3 n^n D"ab ixa n^yai o-ncn ibaxi o^axr ixai a^tra x^x onix ina nicco oy D^nn nnva vm onoc's by Dm" 'n abe>n JD nmx nxra no b"r bix^ n^a nr xbx 7 x DW b"n HD xb i^naa bax 'pnsn n\n IT oai b"ja nt^n 1^13^ nnx o^jnn ^^ ica nxi3 vbo^a enna x"nn b^ spiral ubt ^yau nan xin^ ncx ^ D^O^ enn ny nojn nx ny maa nnra nva nann bax nxra npn einin3 D'-oyab nxn:^ pyt:^ uycip nr^nbo n^nnn3 mj^n nnp n\n pi c^-jy nannb mix inns c nann nnnn '"xx fininn nrai n^nn ny nop^ xh nhya n mncxi ""csyo *nnniyn3 jxi n3nn nmno nu'y i-rry ba3 n "abi Ti3*> 3Ni p*B l $B>n >"x& ns? at?ro trvnni nvn -nxn TXH xbi i^in nvi pny |**D s* H> iN y o^ia imsn nnv nwpb 1x2^ nnmo f?n3 mx S .T \s-ni2 a icy *3a/ini> ^"N H 2N 3si i^m jt:i? nny ^N^ ""ab ^a^ini? n^ax 'x nosi ''as 2^n TN ba ''Dvyo ^ Turin noa "ncsn t^ nmn TN nso ny ^n: oyan rs* naa a"2 nipn HM a'ayx my sa*hm nxinn TN nra nnm 5?a3 a^n o iipa nn n^n N^ nyroa typ pnv m"py^ BT non nann n\ni ne> 19> ^-n?:n HM n^N no^on n^aa ^n^ni pyatnwrb ny ^yam pprj px nxn yna cy mi ^nnm y;!D apy* n"nn ict^ xnpj n t| ni nnpb p^y Tiyn 11 K^ ^nm max ant3i M^ DIN iTn N^I pap nn ^":n nc^cn^ *ab nxo ny hna P"i ^ncb N^I niiycn fpnb yn 11 s^ ^as "wa uyva wan nyn mas* s pnai m3n oyni anacn *?w nmnan no^a m3n nana npim n^po cyan noan "snia n\n nn 'nmn^ ny pint? nana -^y :yb n^oya ^ in^aa TS* *naw won *sn ny N"c ^ pT niaai naa mn hnun naio nona ^ jn: D3i PJID^I 'iy iTn sin ^a ntao HDD m-n none nna^ n iaia ^ onj^ nnaa ^ DJ orb i^asn bi covy^ D"aiD onan DNI niN li'Ntj'i 'ax nima wain n^npn ^a ^ai ^xiai anp n vjy TS* wm IND ''nnna "]X n^yin irx v ^> nM T^ax T'ao ""n^ nncx DX py n^n^ *narm 'n nai by nini NTI nxs ny nn a"a N 284 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW cyan TNI rvaa rx mn d? notani non wa ""KXO nay ny ii> mm p^ocnxna for irs* noyi ^"? prop Vnn '"XK ^ ID*: j?w :iyo yri "man Dy Tobn mn sin DJ i*jr Tuyo "Toa IOP 'x p Yoa nx '"'NX foxn a"ayx mix trmo Trn 'Jxi *3b bn na'Di Den mn^io pK Btanryo P"P^ yN3ni p^cB'ixno ^nph i"^ mayo ^oya nno mn n'33 ^n^si nisvj: yi DB> 3n3on HM "]3 mano H33 DM^ai nynp cnnjai nn 3 ro ^nvp DyDDtr ny o^annai D^vaa iso ny Dr6 n3p ona nn one niaa TIT nnv am3i vay INT.? 'ai* *m ina^* u> n^n 'N ^yba *33 nn^o vn nosai s asai ^a wp Drrmax ]si yno nvhi? yn Nin pny -"NTiia P^NS ^nya p pns* i"^ s nn ~ia jca^b p jn^in* icen hn3 y:iiro X N rrn 0:1 ia n-13 ''nx ma myth sin D3i mm ^ya nny nvn^ nar 'N nann niy:o ^ vn ^as D^aiD D'tryoi niina pioy^ csy nam trxn *3K3i npnp ny bn fiao --a ma pne' ioa 't6in *b bba vysy ya^ ni'n xh 13^ ej^no n\n anm }'nx inn ^ M3an B^I jni: n^n nb Kim wan t^n npx TN inv n\n 'h n-ni Npipo nr^ 'n nsn icen X N n^on na^rD^ mp^ n^npni nabn i3mx no^ sini nncn ^aa rv^no nj^ai nyn n^aewi nn^on levy ya 1 - Kim 1010 ^anni 'n nsn 11 i^ nnob K^ni nisoin t^n-a n:i nnaon nip^ym ip^n n^si ib n^K inia J>ONO ba ^ nio^ nann "nno^ no n^T ns^ni rso "^ vn^ tno^on bo ^ Kin n\n pc\xnn t?n Dy nio^ 3nj N^ K'.n DJ "a nio^ra nann rrn K^ pny IK ^osyo axaa ^in nn S 2K1 hnj pap mm ^in n^oys:^ mn Kin DJI wan in % j-K ny p^'Kin no^on nrn ao"nn r\w ppa a'nKi ejninn b &'x-in uyoi Dnni3l6l D s n"o^ni' D^aano vm D-aa ^aitt'n i\ni ^o^a n a"ayK niaoin ^a nyio TTDO D'JDP HDDOI p^in naooa A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 285 iD^ PB*nJik p-nyo ni^npo onim nann ixa cyan "mm nyan inixai wn n^y nx ma^ '^QKNPn xa&? n&r&&n na^ naipsnao nnv i>ru nyxa spinn b DB> ny Daa yni pny ^iro nm ^nan 'nx '*B niano ^ nunan "nyn^ N^I D*aB> V'D J3 TN *nm oan3 noanan nKo 3"DyN mhna vn i>3K D^JDP Ii nx3'' t6i D^iyo nr "n^oa b aw ny Torn spin DDH yab ninn mpo 'n mpn a"nx rayo pr oa^na a"a *oy no^ 3*WB^p3O pn pia 'n fnn 3TiD pasn '"y^ i*nna J3 ao nyan DB> rpm 'N n^y ta p noi>n i^ rrrn np nvn aoo nnv p"ix im 3*03 yn 11 D^B> mtw p nyam I^ND 'n nry HM nhyn 56an IDN^ V3b TPP p paiam inni non ^JK IDKI vnxi ni^ iy nirn^ pn ^ 7ns n\n N^I oyoa m^33 nioyi nhx Nn3 pn ba n^ann N^ U'3B>wa nyna trat? 'a jnix a*y3 non nm D3B> *n^ rrm ^y n^asyo DW n^n N^ 'niaiys i?3N n^a^ '3 jmxa awyn 'o' 1 'D 11 ptrn T3*T Ten ^ Dnaoo vns? o^yi onnn b DH^ nnin3 noa nn 11 nyn my m~n o.Tama no hv DH3T I u i iaj3 i a3 o^yinyn ^yoi [53.13 JDT N^ 3 DIN ta n^an nrt? n3Brw ny 10^ ^oa nr ciama ovn an DIN ^ lab mn nn ejiTi^ pn *hh\ ov jorn nr ^ nvpi ^D^nin^ nja ^aii? oniya ^y ^iy oninan n^an oy WM nnv pns imi ha^at jry on!? HM oai w& a'ao nnv on^ vn one ni>BN3 niya Vtt^n n.T'amai n\n n^aKe> rvaa na noxai *vnwa3 WOTK nn^xn nn a*3Di nni? $>& niaanoi nwnpn [5^ naN^n piy nnya nyn mi pn^i oyai oa onnax IOB' n*n orrby wn o>6n tyni nyai 'arx npn onD J*DK>I nrni nro ma pnoi nua >^ nxna n- ^N ^ n^x nan nyi rx n^iyo "inv M .N"y r" 11 }Dp nyin 'y 20 VOL. VIII. U 286 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW nny nyai my: nya nain oya T^D mi iiab bav nn mn ohjjn wy i>a eniab pvii ns> INBJ xh o^a ^awm nyni D'pnx w "6ix D'ja nbinh n-j'x np"b aio nnv ^w ja JHN b ^ax nr ^y myo nav 'noi nryb ^ rrnn^ b*n ntw nnn n^xm D^an ppxt^a {vona xn^ piosa ix Di!?na ix JD'-D nrx "y yjnre' pioa pi3^n x^x ix pi B^ND (?)D II OT oax /1| n < ' ^ax ny*TD x^tr x . . D , bab 'na^n a"nx Den 'iainr HT-X jnj xnx-isa rx n^n "r apy Ynn *ypr "ax nbnnn nen xpxnp p'pa nm ho^ai nian nnsa nma naao ^ hn nnx niyaa 'x onxo nnv j* p wnBa 'a i>a TD nuynn!> um ^ ^a nairn hn nvn^ ^nma 'i p a"nx 5a niajmni" nnioc' f .iixon mwo nao paa niyni? nn::eB > no vrxi xh nvn JD i?uai> N^B nma TOB* x"i nrx ix D^nnix nua DIB a"xx nax^oa ix na^na ix xi>x nr.vn (sic!} '\ my 'T xa nx^JMi^ ^nx^a mip iaiip mv o^a ^niayt'a iiy 'n n^ap n"jn n:e> p'D r"a n^bn mip p'try m ffm unix inn ^vui n"aoin poxn^ ^"r woan nan ^a n^^ ai?a . D^B* a^a DBn nx mayh pan 'Jipn baa nivt:a pnpno nvnbi DX nB'x np^ nain xTnBnb 'nnj xr^a p"pa ''hn ^n^na'a 'u nain ^nin^x bax Ti^y jai raB*n NSHB* A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 287 TRANSLATION. I can trace my family tree for only four generations. I learned from my grandfather Jacob that his father Abraham ha-Levi had come to Bohemia from Poland as a young man possessed of considerable scholarly attainments. He married in Kolin, Bohemia, and died soon after the birth of his son Jacob, my grandfather. As the latter was left an orphan in childhood, he did not know from which city his father had come and to what family he belonged. My grandfather married Lieble, the daughter of Kalman of Bisenz, who was the son-in-law of R. Eliezer Perels, the author of the book Damesek Eliezer, a commentary on the Sefer ha-Kanah, as well as other works. His son was Moses Kuskes. This whole family lived in Prague. My grandfather had many sons, but they all died early, and only my father, Abraham ha-Levi, and two daughters, Rebekkah and Pessel, were spared. My father devoted himself to the study of the Torah in his youth, being an only son, and he showed acumen and skill in talmudic debates which brought him recognition from prominent men and scholars. They married him to a girl of a very prominent family, Gnendel, the daughter of R. Jehezkel of Chelm, in Little Poland. The latter, my grandfather, died in Poland before the times of the terrible persecutions under Chmielnicki, and my grandmother, Nuhah, remained a widow with three sons and two little daughters. I was told that she was a good, energetic, and clever woman, and supported her family comfortably up to the time of the great uprising throughout Poland, when she fled with them to Nikolsburg, Moravia, to her brother, the famous R. Menahem Mendel Krochmal. the author of the U 2 288 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW responsa 'Semah Saddik', who was then Rabbi of that community and of the whole of Moravia. In his house my mother was brought up. When he died his son, R. Judah Loeb, succeeded him, and he married my mother to my father, and gave her a large dowry as if she had been his own daughter. He arranged the wedding splendidly, and my father then brought her to his house. At the time he lived in Meseritsch, Moravia. My grandfather, Jacob ha-Levi, was then rich and prosperous. My grandmother, his wife, was very pious and charitable, and went every morning and evening to the synagogue ; and so was my mother Gnendel even in a higher degree ; she was, more- over, a very intelligent woman. My father continued to study the Torah. Three or four years after the wedding, in the winter, the Mohammedans and Tartars swept over Moravia to destroy it, and all fled in confusion and terror to Bohemia. My grandfather, who was a rich man, lost nearly all his property, so that but very little of their fortune remained in their hands. My grandfather, his wife, two daughters, and my father and mother with the rest of the family remained in Bohemia. They finally came to Lichtenstadt, where my father secured a post as an elementary Hebrew teacher. He remained there for a few years, then he returned and found his house entirely empty. My mother then showed her ability in supporting the family by her own efforts, and started to manufacture brandy out of oats in a copper alembic, as was the custom in those parts. This was hard labour, but she succeeded. In the meantime my father pursued his studies. One day a holy man, R. Loeb, the Rabbi of Trebitsch, whose authority extended over Meseritsch, where my father lived, came to our town and stayed in our house. A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 289 When he saw the troubles of my mother, his cousin, he had pity on her, nnd gave my father some gold and silver merchandise, such as rings, to get him used to trade in an honest and intelligent way. My father was successful and did a good business. Incidentally this brought him the acquaintance of the Count who owned the city. The latter liked him, and turned over to him the ' Branntwein- haus' (distillery) in which they were working with seven great kettles, and he gave him servants to do the work and grain to prepare brandy. For this my father paid him at the end of the year a specified amount, in addition to paying a certain percentage of the income in taxes, as was customary. From that time he became prominent. My mother bore him first a daughter who died, then three sons, my rich and prominent brother Kalman, my poor self, and a son Moses, who died during the year after his mother's death. When my mother was at last able to rest from her hard work, she fell sick in consequence of the heat and the fumes of the brandy, and she died at the age of thirty-four years. There was no one in our town or outside of it who was like her in wisdom, piety, and charity. She died on a Sabbath, the 34th of lyar 5432 (May 21, 1672). I was then four years old, and my older brother seven. In the course of the next year my father married again a great lady, Freidel, the daughter of R. Meir, the Shohet from Vienna. At the same time he gave his sister Pessel to his brother-in-law Samuel for a wife, so that they made an exchange. The wife of my father was herself still a young child who did not know how to bring us up in cleanliness as is necessary with little boys, nor could she properly care for us when we were sick. We have to thank God 2QO THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW and the help of our grandmother Lieble, and her good daughters, that we grew up at all. Even so little Moses, who was only one year old, died. After my mother's death my father began to strive for prominence and power, for as long as my mother lived she kept him back and reproved him as a mother does with her son. His father also, may God forgive him, was all his life hot-tempered and quarrelsome, and from him my father, if I may be forgiven for saying so, had partly in- herited the same temperament, for he was still young and had not gone as an exile to foreign countries as I did. But he found his match, who paid him back in his own coin. For there arose against him wicked men with whom my father had quarreled for years, and who had fallen under his power through his influence with the Count. Now the Count sold his property after three years and went to war against the enemies in foreign lands. He left my father in the hands of another Count who had bought the town ; but the latter was not as favourable to my father as the former. My father thought it was the other way, and he relied on a broken reed to combat his enemies. These, however, were numerous and more cunning and deliberate, for my father at that time was hasty in all his actions, and sometimes transacted his business without taking proper counsel and consideration, and he planned great under- takings to increase his wealth and honour, but it turned out the other way. His enemies ruined his reputation with the Count. The latter made charges against him in connexion with the ' Branntvveinhaus' and other business matters, and put him into prison for two months. Since the first Count was far away, nothing could be done to save my father, and he had to give up half his wealth in A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 291 order to be released. On this occasion his enemies wreaked their revenge on him, saying, ' when the ox has fallen, sharpen the knife' (Shabbat 32); and they urged the Count to expel my father, together with his old father Jacob, from his property. The Count did so. He expelled my father in Tammuz 5435 (1675), while my grandfather fled in secret, for he owed money to many gentiles and could not pay them. I was at that time seven years old. My father found a temporary shelter in the town of Humpoletz, a town of wool-weavers, and he traded there for a year, while I was cut off from study and good deeds and left to myself. He then went to a village, Wostrow(P), for the Count had in the meantime returned from the military expedition and bought this village, and my father followed him there. As for myself, I was constantly going back in my studies as well as in manners and conduct. After a while my father decided to send me to Prague, which was a day's journey. My older brother was also there ; it was winter then, and I was nine years old. There, too, I did nothing, for my father did not know how to arrange matters properly, and in his endeavour to save money he placed me for a small sum in charge of a teacher, who took little care of me, while I needed great attention if I were to be taught with any success. At that time my power of comprehension and my memory were weak as a result of illness. I was full of ulcers, and the meals I ate were very unwholesome for me, for it is the custom in Prague to eat at the midday meal peas and millet with a little butter, which proved very injurious to me. But nobody looked out for me to give me medical treatment. Although my father came several times to Prague he did not notice this. I gratefully remember R. Loeb Fleckeles, who gave 2Q2 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW me meals in his house and kept me for about six months for a small sum, my father paying him about six gulden a month. He wished me to be a companion for his son Simon who was then five years old, and I helped him by taking him to school and going over his lessons with him. At that time I was very humble and ready to be a slave to everybody, and to do anything I was ordered. If my father only had left me in this house, I would have become used to good manners and learned a little more than in the village of Wostrow among the country people. My father, however, wished to save money and took me home ; my older brother was there at the time also. He thought that he himself would teach us, and my brother, who was thirteen or fourteen years old, actually learned from him haggadic literature, such as Rashi and Midrashim, as well as the laws of Shehitah ; but I needed a special teacher. My father started to teach me Gemara Sotah once or twice, though I had never before studied Talmud or even Mishnah. Thus a long time passed by without my learning anything, until I became a thorn in my own eyes and even more so in the eyes of my father, because I was a boor brought up in dirt without any cleanliness, for the lack of a mother ; and I remember that at the age of eleven I ran around barefooted and without trousers, and no one cared. My father then had many little children, for his wife bore him almost every year a son or a daughter. I am sure that if anybody had announced my death to him at that time he would have thought this good news, for he considered me ignorant and good for nothing, so that my existence was a burden to him. My brother was a strong boy who did hard work in the slaughter-house and made himself otherwise useful, while I was oppressed by all the members A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 293 of the house ; everybody ordered me around ; this con- tinued for two years, 5438-9 (1678-9). In 5440 (1680) a plague broke out in Bohemia, and especially in Prague. From that city the Rabbi, R. Jacob Backofen (Reischer), the author of Minhat Jakob, came with his wife Jettel and her sister Freidel, the daughters of the Rabbi, R. Wolf ben Rabbi Simon Spira ; and they stayed with us in our house in the village. I still remember the great modesty of that scholar who was willing to take the trouble to teach me like a school teacher. But his wife, who domineered over him, did not permit him to carry out his good intention. In the course of Tammuz I fell sick, and the symptoms of the plague became apparent. For three days and nights I had high fever, and was near death. Then a swelling broke out behind my ear on the neck which burned like fire, and all the members of the family became frightened. The Rabbi and his wife noticed it, and fled from our house to the house of his uncle in Wotitz. The plague was then raging all around our village, and the Count established a ' lazaretto ', i.e. a small wooden house of two rooms in the midst of a big forest about a mile away from his castle. If some one fell sick in one of the villages he was driven out of his house with all his belongings, and had to go into that forest. The Count had set aside an open space some yards wide all around his castle, which only those living in the castle were permitted to approach. He only kept very few people in his castle, and enclosed himself in there, and never left it with his people. He admitted no outsider except my father, who was clever, and with whom he liked to talk, and he wanted him to appear before him and stay with him most of the day. He had ordered my father to act in the same way, and to forbid his family to leave 294 TH E JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW the house or to admit strangers. He also told him that if, God forbid, a member of his own family should fall sick, he should not conceal it, but of his own accord should leave the house and go with everything into the forest. He warned my father that if he were to find out that my father had concealed such a thing he would permit the gentiles to burn the house down with all the inmates in it. When my father now realized that he had the plague in his house he was very much upset, and did not know what to do. To carry out the order of the Count and to go with his family into the forest would involve grave danger, for the fact would become known to the inhabitants of the villages, who are mostly wicked men, thieves, and murderers, lying in wait for the blood and the property of Jews. Even in the cities they love to oppress and rob them in their houses, how much greater then was the danger of their coming to murder us in the forest. He, therefore, decided to hide me in the garret, asking his father Jacob ha-Levi to take care of me, which he did, although he was an old man himself. He tended me so carefully that no other member of the household needed to come to the room in which I stayed, hoping that this perhaps might prevent the plague from attacking others. In this way he stayed with me about six days. But one day slanderers came to the Count and reported they had seen my grandfather with another Jew, a certain Saul Pollack, who lived in our house with his wife, go together to other villages in which the plague was raging to trade there. At once the Count decreed the expulsion of both from his territory at the risk of jeopardizing their lives if they should be seen there again. Then my grandfather was compelled to leave me alone on my sick-bed, for it was dangerous to hide, as they would A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 295 have searched for him in all the rooms, and if I had been discovered it would have involved danger for all. Therefore both had to leave the territory under the eyes of the Count. But God took pity on my suffering, seeing that there was no one to attend to me, and sent me full recovery, and what was particularly fortunate, the abscess did not open again when there was no one to take care of me, but it went down daily by the grace of God. For there happened to come to us the brother of my father's wife, R. Samson of Kamnitz, who told my father how to prepare a plaster from the white of an egg with a little alum, about the size of a nut. Both of these had to be stirred quickly and carefully in a little kettle until it turned solid. He followed this advice. The plaster was handed to me from a distance and I put it on, although I was only a boy of twelve and sick, for I had been compelled to devise ways of how to take proper care of myself. Similarly they brought my meals to the top of the staircase, and put them down near the door of the staircase, which they closed at once. I had to get up from my bed to take them. I lay there alone day and night, and at that time I saw apparitions and dreamed dreams. That I remained alive was against the laws of nature. God in his mercy gave me strength so that I improved from day to day, the fever left me, and only the place of the swelling was burning like fire, and my whole face was red. One day, however, our gentile neighbours, who noticed my absence, began to say to one another : ' See what these Jews did ; one of their children evidently died of the plague, and they have concealed it.' As trusty servants of the Count we ought to go and tell him, and take our revenge on the Jews. When this rumour reached the ears of our family, 296 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW my father cleverly ordered me to dress, to fold a linen cloth around my neck, and put it on in such a way that the redness could not be seen. He urged me to be courageous, and asked me to go through the garden, over the fields, and to return along the river, passing the houses of the gentiles and the castle. If somebody were to ask me whence I came I should answer that I was coming from school, that I had stayed with a teacher in the village of Menain (?) two miles away, and had felt the desire to come home. I did so and, thank God, I ran and jumped like a young deer, passed the castle and the village, and was seen by many Christians, who were thus put to shame, and their scheme failed. Many of our neighbours came to the store to tell my father : ' Your son whom we thought dead has returned.' He answered them, 'You are dead, but we live for ever'; they almost revealed to him what had been in their minds. My father further showed his cleverness by telling my older brother to put a ladder to our fruit-tree in the garden and ordering me to ascend the tree nearest the street of the village so that all passers-by should see that I was well. He also ordered me to be playful with the village-children, to throw fruits into their faces, and to call at them and jest with them. I obeyed and laughed while my heart felt bitter. Thus it was through God's counsel that the rumours stopped. I repeated this several times, but I could not appear before them often, lest they should notice the change in my appearance, for I never used to go with a neckcloth before, and now it was already some days since I had returned from my journey. Once I saw a gentile going before me with his hand on his cheeks, for he suffered from toothache, and his face looked drawn ; I jestingly remarked, ' \Yoe A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 297 unto you, I am afraid you suffer from the plague. 5 I said this to show how healthy and merry I was, following my father's order. But he answered back, 'You have the plague yourself; remove that cloth from your neck, and the swelling will be seen underneath.' I was frightened and hid myself, but God made the gentiles blind and forgetful. After a month I came down to the house and mingled with my brothers and sisters as before, participating in the common meals, and no one paid attention to it. I grew stouter and stronger after this. In the year 5441 (1680) in the beginning of the month of Tishri, the plague stopped in Prague, but in the rest of Bohemia it spread to such an extent that people became tired of keeping away from one another. In our village many even among the people of the castle fell sick and died. My sister Leah, who was then six years old, got the swelling characteristic of the plague, but it was not so dangerous, even though it became public, since the Count had become weary of taking pre- cautions, and my father did not come to him. At the end of Kislew the plague stopped, but in Heshvan the plague had raged around our neighbourhood, and many Jews died from it. In some villages all the male population died out, and only a few women were left. No one was there to take charge of the dead, who could not be buried, for it was winter and the earth was as hard as marble, and there was a heavy snowfall in those parts ; so they only covered them with snow, and often wolves came and ate the corpses, and sometimes dogs scratched the snow off the bodies. May God have pity on their souls, and may they be bound up in the bundle of life with the other righteous. In our house, thank God, no one died. Only the afore- mentioned Saul died from the plague two months after 298 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW the Count had expelled him, so that even this turned out to our good, for in this way he did not die in our house. In the winter of 5441 (1680-1), in the month of Kislew, a great column was seen in the sky towards east, which was very high, and remained for a month. Some claimed that it was a natural phenomenon called ' comet ', which sometimes appears in a very cold winter, but the astronomers explained it in various ways, and so it happened that in this year a new great world war (the Turkish war) started, which did not end till 5458 (1698). In this winter my father made great profits, and was successful in all his transactions with various kinds of merchandise. From my own impulse I made up my mind to go to some Jewish community to study Torah. For I was ignorant, and God had shown his great mercy to us. My father promised, but did not keep his word ; I often saw guests come (with whom my father went away) and he had promised to take me with him to Moravia, but he changed his mind. This happened several times, and the obstacle was that the necessary clothing for me was not ready, as no one looked upon me with kindness. My father's wife had her hands full with her own little ones. One night before my father was to leave I was awake the whole night sewing for myself sheepskins which are called Pels, and I made a kind of a long gown for underwear, and something for my feet. I took secretly some shirts so that my father should not notice anything, and before daybreak I went to the place where the sleigh was pre- pared for my father, and stayed there. When he came it was still dark before daylight, and when he noticed me he thought the house-dog was there, and he wanted to kick him away. I then said, ' Father, this is thy son who A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 299 is ready to serve thee on the way which I take in order to study.' There were many strangers present, business men, who had come to buy wool. They saw my good resolve, though I was very young, and urged my father to take me along ; they were sure I would become a great scholar and a good man. My father then answered that it was impossible to take me along, for I had no proper clothing and it was very cold. I then showed my clever- ness, how I had prepared for myself everything necessary for the journey. He finally agreed and took me along ; but the cold was so severe that several times I thought I was going to die ; the snow was falling and the wind blew it into our faces, and it caused my father great pain ; it was literally like the sacrifice of Isaac when they (he and Abraham) were on the way, and as the Midrash (Tanhuma, Vayyera, 23, Yalkut) tells us Satan brought them into the water up to their throat, &c. But those who are travelling for the fulfilment of a Miswah suffer no harm (Pesahim 8 b), and we reached Herschmanik. I was left there in the house of a teacher, R. Jacob from Gaja, and he started to study with me Rashi, Midrash, other haggadic texts, and the Sayings of the Fathers. He noticed that I could not read properly through the fault of my first teacher, who had not instructed me well. The little I had known I had forgotten, and I was in great trouble, for the new teacher was of an irritable temper, and had neither composure nor common sense. He hit me and put me to shame, but did not make good my deficiency, and only taught me the melodies for the readings from the Torah and the Haftarahs and a little Haggada and the Sayings of the Fathers. I asked questions and searched in the haggadic passages, but as he often laughed at me I stopped. This 300 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW was surely a grave mistake, but the teachers are foolish, and do not realize the harm they do. I remained with him from Adar i, 5441 (1681) till the middle of Tammuz, boarding in his house. During the first two months, when he had to slaughter calves, he gave me good meals, the spleen and part of the liver, but when the time of slaughtering calves had passed, my meals became worse and worse, for poor though he was, he was rather fastidious, and he and his wife ate the good things themselves and gave me coarse village bread, which caused me severe headaches and stomach trouble. I was there all alone with no relative near ; all the townspeople noticed my appearance and questioned me ; if I had told them it might have helped 'a little, but I was very modest and humble and God-fearing, and I thought it would be a sin to rebel against my teacher. In the middle of Tammuz, while the teacher was away from home, my father came in company with his brother-in-law, Samson, and stayed for some time in the town. His brother-in-law had a son Sender, who studied together with me and knew all my troubles. He told my father everything, and although I contradicted him, my father believed Sender and took me away from Herschmanik and brought me to Meseritsch, my birth- place, where all my family on my father's side lived ; here my two aunts were married, and I had my meals in the house of my aunt Pessel and her husband Samuel, the brother of my stepmother. There was also there a good and intelligent teacher, Mordecai from Brod. I went to minyan (became Bar-Miswah) on Sabbath Nahamu ; they furnished me with new clothes, and boys of the same age who knew more than I did were jealous of me. They could follow the teacher in the study of Talmud with Tosafot which A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 301 I did not know before, and only began for the first time to study here. They were younger and went in torn clothes and rags, as it was usual in those parts. Therefore they annoyed me and tried to disgrace and insult me, so that I became almost weary of my life. The women of the community all praised me because I was modest and treated them with respect ; that was another cause of jealousy. Their parents also were jealous of my father and myself; some of them were really bad, one Aaron, the son of Berl Pollack, I am sure is still hated by the people for his wicked deeds, which I had occasion to observe ; the other, Jonathan ben Lipman ben David, a big lunatic, is now, I believe, a scholarly man. Sometimes he would be friendly with me. My intentions were to devote myself exclusively to study and good deeds, but there were many obstacles ; I suffered from sickness, I had boils on my whole body and headaches, my schoolmates were wild and ill-mannered, and our teacher flattered us and never wanted to exert himself; what I needed was a regular tutor, but he never employed assistants, nor did he take pains himself. He taught me a little part of Kiddushin. At the end of the summer he left the place, and the community engaged in his place the pious R. Lazar of Cracow, who was married to a pious, sensible, intelligent woman, and gifted with all good qualities. He taught us' Talmud and Tosafot, she taught us the fear of God and a virtuous life. He took great pains to teach me. May he be praised and rewarded for it. He of all my teachers was the one who gave me the key and taught me more than all those I had before or after, except what I studied for myself. Still the whole situation was far from satisfactory, for he too failed to employ an assistant, and sometimes he fell sick ; he was also very irascible, while I suffered from headaches VOL. VIII. X 302 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW during the whole winter. In the summer 5442 (1682) the old teacher returned with his wife Blumele; they had no children, and flattered the pupils and their parents. We learned with him a little of Hullin and small treatises of Moed without Tosafot ; moreover, I already began to study a little Talmud for myself. Altogether I stayed in Meseritsch two years and two months. Then many Jews from Moravia came to Meseritsch, Trebitsch, and Polna on account of the war, for the Turks came to besiege Vienna. I then returned to our house at Wostrow, and stayed there the whole winter in greater discomfort than ever. Everybody, including my older brother, ill- treated me ; I was still sick and looked bad till the winter had passed. Then, at the age of fifteen, I went to Prague, with no knowledge of the life in a large community. In spite of this I found maintenance in the house of a rich man, Moses Ginzburg, who had two little boys. They really needed a tutor better fitted than I was to guide them in study and understanding. I had never tried this before, and could only stay with them a short time. Then God sent me a happy chance, for the scholarly, acute, and pious R. Mordecai, the son-in-law of the Dayyan R. Perez of Nikolsburg, who taught me without pay, had another pupil, Sinai ben Isaiah Wagenmacher, a boy ten years of age, who knew better how to behave than I did, the only son of rich parents, fondled and spoiled. By the help of God he did not rebel against me. I had only to go over his studies with him. His parents were charitable people ; their house was outside of the street (ghetto), on a large pleasant place ; there I gained strength and health. I lived with them about two years ; I felt as if I dwelt amid roses, and never in my life did I feel as happy as in those two years. But unfortunately no one looked out for me, and A SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY AUTOBIOGRAPHY MARX 303 I fell in bad company. They talked to me constantly about women, and led me in their ways. We were a bad set of young men, of different ages, wasting our time with useless things and fooling with girls, as was their habit. I finally came to think that this is the whole aim of life, since during the entire time we never spoke of anything but of following the inclinations of the heart. The greater part of my days I spent with my young friends who lived an immoral life. Among them were some who were over twenty-three years old, and had more Talmudic knowledge and better manners than I. Therefore, with the consent of my father. I joined them and followed in their footsteps, like the blind in the dark, thinking in my simplicity that the purpose of good manners was to find favour in the eyes of the girls, and that this is human happiness in one's youth. Even in the house where I lived the young working men who were employed in building carriages for the noblemen were a bad sort ; their ringleader was a certain Abraham Bass, who was boisterous and wild, so that I was under evil influences from all sides. I was more passionate at that time than ever again in my life. How happy should I be now if my father had then given me a wife. I would have raised a large family, no doubt, in my early life, and would now have been in a position to retire from all worldly affairs. Now, unfortunately, I am devoid of wisdom and intelli- gence, without sons and spouse. I wish to retire from the affairs of this world, but I do not know whether, after all, it would not be better for me to marry ; possibly I might have pious children and a capable wife who would be a help to me. I wait for an answer from God, that he notify me by a sign or a dream or a verse, of which I might think when I wake up, or which a child might X 2 304 THE JEWISH QUARTERLY REVIEW answer when I ask for its lesson. May I be successful according to the wish of God. Amen. Our author's account stops here, but we gain a few facts of his later life through some of the entries in his little note-book. At the age of seventeen he went, without his father's knowledge, to a city the name of which is not legible. The expense he defrayed with a small sum of money provided by his grandfather. He was in great distress ; when twenty he went to Cracow, where he began to repent his mode of life and to study more seriously. But, as he intimates in the autobiography, he went around much farther in the course of his life. From a list of resolutions he had made at various times, beginning with his recovery from the plague, we see that in 1695 he left Corfu for Venice ; later he stayed at Pisa, where he vowed to get married in the course of the year if possible ; this, he adds, he did after some delay. Again we find him in Zante selling Tefillin and Mezuzot, correcting the Sefer Torah ; and delivering a Derashah in the synagogue, but he was the object of raillery on the part of the innkeeper with whom he stayed, until a certain Judah Modona took him into his house. Even then the innkeeper persecuted him and brought him into trouble because he had slaughtered fowl, but at this point the account breaks off. Evidently he had become a Sofer, and therefore also we find the records of the purchase of parchments at the end of the volume. We do not hear any more about our hero, but his further fate is of no material importance to us. Of course, it would have been interesting to read his impressions of the various communities he visited, but this would hardly equal the quaint account of his younger years. . JBRARY FACILITY A 000 071 565 6