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 \V\E -UNIVER5/ 
 
 
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 PHILOLOGICAL SOCIETY, 
 
 TALMUDICAL AND RABBINICAL LITERATURE. 
 
 MY 
 
 DR. AD. NEUBAUER,
 
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 xauuv 
 
 TALMUDICAL AND RABBINICAL LITERATURE, 
 
 " Hebrew, modified in its grammatical forma and enriched 
 by the introduction of words of other Semitic idioms, or 
 even of Greek and Latin, is commonly called Rabbinic; 
 it can scarcely be considered a dead language, for it is 
 not only employed for books on all branches of science 
 and literature, but is also spoken by a great number of Jews 
 at the present time. Not only books relating to Hebraico- 
 Rabbinical literature have been written in Rabbinic, but 
 classical works of various nations, such as the tragedies 
 of Racine, Shakspeare's Othello, Milton, 1 Lessing's Nathan 
 the Wise, and even Goethe's Faust, 2 have been translated 
 into it. The last-named work may, without doubt, be con- 
 sidered a great success; and the translator, the late Dr. 
 Letteris, has in our judgment in many respects surpassed 
 the original. The dramatis personae are taken from 
 Jewish history; for instance, the learned and dissatisfied 
 Faust is represented by the Talmudical Elishah, son of 
 Abuyah, who, searching too deeply for the solution of theo- 
 sophical problems, was finally driven to apostasy. Any 
 Hebrew scholar will read the above-mentioned translations 
 with as much pleasure as the Book of Job. A still better 
 proof can be given of the truth of the assertion that 
 Rabbinic is still a living language. Novels, both originals 
 and translations, are yearly published in this idiom. The 
 
 1 Ittai hak-Eushi (the Cushite], Othello, der Molir von Venedig, translated from 
 the English into Hebrew by J. E. Salkinson, with a critical introduction by P. 
 Smolensky. 8vo. Vienna, 1874. Milton's Paradise Lost, in Hebrew blank 
 verse, by J. E. S. (no date). 
 
 2 Ben Abuyah, Goethe's Faust, eine Tragoedie in einer hebrdischen TJmdichtung. 
 8vo. Vienna, 1865.
 
 late Mapo of Kowno (Poland) wrote, amongst several others, 
 a novel under the title The Love of Sion, 1 which is a masterly 
 production, both in style and matter. A description of Jewish 
 life in Galicia has appeared in the monthly paper called 
 hash-Shahar, which has been considered worthy of a trans- 
 lation into French for the Revue des deux mondes. 2 Sue's 
 Mysteres de Paris, 3 translated into Hebrew, has reached 
 several editions. Finally, treatises on general and special 
 historical subjects, on various branches of natural science, 
 medicine, and mathematics, are constantly published in 
 Rabbinic. These publications are read by Jews in the 
 East, Poland and Russia, Hungary and the Danubian 
 provinces, to whom the Hebrew language is much more 
 accessible than that spoken in their respective countries. 
 No less than four weekly papers are published in Hebrew, 4 
 the first columns of which are devoted to current politics, 
 and the last to literature and advertisements. Of course 
 these papers must be read by Jews who know only Rabbinic, 
 or to whom it is more familiar than any other language. 
 Let us also mention a well-known fact, viz. that many of the 
 beau sexe participate in the knowledge of this language. 
 Who would venture after this to assert that the so-called 
 Rabbinical idiom is a completely dead language ? "We have 
 still to explain our assertion that it is spoken by many 
 Jews. In Jerusalem, for instance, where the Jewish popu- 
 lation is composed of men coming from Arabic-speaking 
 countries, from Persia and Kurdistan, from Armenia and 
 Turkey, from Greece and Poland, the only means of com- 
 munication is Rabbinic, which they all speak more or less 
 fluently. The Alliance Israelite at Paris and Vienna, as 
 well as the Anglo-Jewish Association in London, com- 
 municate with the Eastern Jews in Hebrew, and all casu- 
 
 1 Ahabath Cion, amor Zionis, fabula romanensis, e tempore regis Achas. 8vo. 
 Wilna, 1864. 
 
 2 15th of September, 1875. 
 
 3 Mistere Paris. 8vo. Wilna, 1857. The Hebrew word Misters means 
 "hidden things." 
 
 4 a. The ham-Maggid, published at Lyck (Prussia) ; b. The hal-Lebanon, at 
 Mayence; e. The haz-Zefirah, at Warsaw; d. The Habazeleth, at Jerusalem. 
 The hak-Karmel, at Wilna, is now a monthly magazine, and the ham-Melitz, at 
 Odessa, has ceased with its tenth year of existence.
 
 istical correspondence between the rabbis of various countries 
 is carried on in that language. "What an active communi- 
 cation is kept up among the learned Jews of all countries 
 may be seen from the publication of several quarterlies, 1 
 as well as commentaries on the Bible and Talmud, written in 
 this idiom. Strange it is that no attempt has yet been 
 made to bring out a grammar and a lexicon of Rabbinic, 
 so as to enable any one to acquire a fair knowledge of it 
 without the assistance of a Jewish teacher. Biblical and 
 Semitic scholars can scarcely do without an acquaintance 
 with this strange idiom, since important articles on biblical 
 criticism, as well as on inscriptions of various kinds, are 
 to be found in modern Rabbinical publications. We are 
 glad to state that there is a school at Oxford and Cambridge 
 which begins to cultivate this idiom, as will be seen from 
 the various publications made by younger members of both 
 Universities. 
 
 " After this introduction on the present state of Rabbinic, 
 we shall pass on to the enumeration of the various publica- 
 tions issued in different countries during the last ten years, 
 having first accounted for the omissions which any critic 
 may easily discover in this report. Scattered as the Jewish 
 people is all over the world, so scattered are their literary 
 productions in various periodicals, as the following con- 
 siderations will show. 1. Rabbinical learning being con- 
 cerned with various branches of science and literature, the 
 specialist may expect to find his own particular subject 
 treated, not in periodicals of general Rabbinic literature, 
 but in publications devoted to his specialty. We must 
 therefore not be astonished to find Dr. Stein Schneider pub- 
 lishing papers on the history of mathematics and medicine 
 in Schlomlich's 2 and Virchow's 3 Zeitschriften ; on matters 
 
 1 The he-Haluz, published by Schorr ; the Yeshurun, by Kobak ; the Kokhbe 
 Yizhaq, by Stern and Weiss ; the hash-ShaJiar, by Smolensky ; the hak-Karmel, 
 by Finn ; the Or Thorah, by Kohen Zedeq. \ 
 
 2 Abraham Judaeus and Zum Speculum astronomicum des Albertus Magnus, 
 etc., Zeitschrift fur Mathematik und Physik, tomes xii. and xiv. 
 
 3 Constantinus Africanus ; Donolo ; die toxologischen Sehriften der Araber bis 
 Ende des xii. Jahrhunderts, Archiv fur pathologische Anatomic, etc. Tomes 
 xxxvii. xxxviii. and Hi.
 
 concerning the Romance languages in Lemcke's Jahrbuch. 1 
 This last subject is also treated by M. Darmesteter, of Paris, 
 in the Romania? and by Professor Bohmer and the writer 
 of this report in the Romanische Stttdien. 3 Historical 
 subjects on the Khazars and Sclaves are published in Russian 
 periodicals by Dr. Harkavy, 4 on Italy by Signor Lattes in 
 the Archivio Veneto? on French rabbis by M. Kenan to- 
 gether with the present writer in the Histoire litteraire de la 
 France? and by M. Adrien de Longperier in the Journal 
 des Savants. 1 Rabbinic, being a step-daughter of Hebrew, 
 has also a right to be considered a branch of an Oriental 
 language, and so we may expect to find papers on it in 
 periodicals devoted to those studies. Thus Dr. Zunz, the 
 late Dr. Geiger, as well as Dr. Steinschneider and others, 
 have contributed papers on Rabbinical philology in the 
 Deutsch-morgenlandische Zeitschrift ; M. Derenbourg and the 
 writer of this report have done the same in the Journal 
 Asiatique ; Professors F. Lasinio, De Benedetti, and Castelli, 
 as well as Abbate Perreau in the Annuario; 8 the Rev. 
 Dr. Schiller-Szinessy in the Transactions of the Biblical- 
 Archaeological Society. 9 2. The savants belonging to various 
 countries contribute to the publications of the academies 
 of their own countries. We shall have to mention by and 
 by many of these important publications. 3. Matters ex- 
 clusively concerning Rabbinical literature find their place 
 in special periodicals edited by Jewish savants in Hebrew 
 or German. We have already mentioned the former ; 
 the most important of the latter are those edited by Drs. 
 
 1 Ysopet hebrdisch, ein Beitrag zur Oesehichte der Fabeln im Mittelalter, 
 Jahrbuch fur romanische, etc., Literatur, t. xiii. p. 351. 
 
 8 Glosses et glossaires hebreux-fran$ais au moyen-dge, Romania, t. ii. p. 146 ; 
 deux Elegies du Vatican, ibid. iii. p. 443. 
 
 3 Un vocabulaire hebraico-fran^uis, Romanische Studien, t. i. p. 103 ; de 
 vocabulis franco-gallicis Judaice trahscriptis, ibid. p. 197. 
 
 4 Transactions of the Archaeological Society (in Russian), 1872 to 1874. 
 
 6 Tomes v. vi. and vii. Tome xxvii. p. 431 seqq. 
 
 7 Inscriptions de la France, du v e siicle au xviite, etc. Journal des Savants, 1874, 
 p. 647 seqq. 
 
 8 Annuario della societd italiana per gli studii orientali, Firenze, 
 1873-74. 
 
 9 Transactions of the Society for Biblical Archaeology, 1872, pp. 263-270.
 
 Geiger, 1 Steinschneider 8 and Berliner, 3 at Berlin, and by 
 Professor Graetz at Breslau. 4 Dr. N. Briill also edits an 
 annuaire, 5 and Dr. Rahmer a literary fortnightly appendix 
 to a Jewish periodical. 6 The periodical edited by Dr. 
 Philippson 7 has also from time to time small literary 
 articles. Let us in addition mention the Revue Israelite in 
 Paris, which only existed for a year, and the IsraeliUsche 
 Lettcrbode edited at Amsterdam by M. Roest. Other 
 Jewish periodicals, written in French, Italian, and English, 
 must be passed over in silence, as possessing no literary 
 importance. With this vast number of papers published in 
 various languages every year on Rabbinical subjects, it is 
 certainly impossible not to be guilty of omissions in a report 
 extending over ten years. It may be added too that many 
 of the articles are either mere notes or of too little im- 
 portance to be worthy of special notice. So much for the 
 omission of articles published in periodicals. As regards books, 
 too, we can be no more complete. Russia, Poland, Hungary, 
 various Eastern towns, and Leghorn produce every year 
 a large quantity of Rabbinical literature on various subjects : 
 Biblical and Talmudical commentaries, books of prayers and 
 casuistry, Kabbalistical and legendary works, modern poetry, 
 general history, and treatises on natural science, besides 
 new editions of old publications without any help from 
 MSS. ; most of these publications never reach our libraries, 
 and we shall not be too severe if we say that we are not any 
 the worse for it. Not to know them may be a loss biblio- 
 graphically, but not for literature. We shall therefore have 
 nothing to show from those countries if we only except the 
 works of Reifmann, Gottlober, and Gurland. 
 
 "Let us now come to the most important publications of 
 
 1 Judische Zeitschri/t fiir Wissenschaft und Leben, 1862 to 1875, ceased to 
 appear in consequence of the Editor's death. 
 
 2 Ham-Mazkir, hebriiische Bibliographic, 1858, seqq. 
 
 3 Magazin far judische Liter atur, 1874 and 1875. 
 
 * Monatsschrift fiir Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums, begun by 
 the late Dr. Frankel in 1 845. 
 
 5 Jahrbiicher fur judische Geschichte und Lileratur, 1874. 
 
 6 Beilage zur jiidischen Wochenschrift, 1870 seqq. 
 
 * Allgemcinc Zeitung des Judcnthum*, 1838 seqq.
 
 G 
 
 the last decenniura, and, in order to be as methodical as 
 possible, let us begin with a. books and monographs contain- 
 ing descriptions of libraries, both public and private, of 
 printed books and MSS. ; next will follow b. an enumeration 
 of the most important contributions to Talmudical writings ; 
 c. of commentaries on the Holy Scriptures ; d. of grammatical 
 and lexicographical works ; e. of poetry ; /. of philosophical 
 and miscellaneous texts. Karaitic and Samaritan literature 
 are subjects too closely connected with Rabbinic to be omitted 
 here ; a brief account of them will therefore follow as a kind 
 of appendix. 
 
 " CATALOGUES. The Library of the British Museum pos- 
 sesses, no doubt, after the Bodleian, the best collection of 
 printed Rabbinical books, the catalogue of which, made by the 
 late Mr. Zedner, has been published by order of the Trustees. 1 
 The late L. Rosenthal, a very learned Jew of Hanover, pos- 
 sessed one of the best collections of Rabbinical books to be 
 found ; it is now at Amsterdam, in the possession of his son 
 George ; the catalogue of it has been published on the model 
 of that of the British Museum by M. Roest, 2 the editor of the 
 Israelitische Letterbode. The much regretted Solomon Munk, 
 member of the Institut de France, and Professor of Hebrew 
 in the College de France, was, during his tenure of office 
 in the National Library of Paris, preparing the catalogue 
 of its Hebrew MSS. This is undoubtedly the best collection 
 of Rabbinical MSS. after those of the Bodleian Library and 
 the British Museum. He having lost the use of his eyes 
 in 1848, M. J. Derenbourg, now member of the Institut 
 de France, was engaged to revise his slips and to describe 
 the MSS. left uncatalogued by Munk. Through some 
 difficulties connected with the administration of the library, 
 M. Derenbourg did not publish this result of the labours 
 of Munk and himself; a second revision was then made 
 by M. Franck, member of the Institut and Professor in 
 the College de France, who, being mostly interested in 
 
 1 Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the Library of the British Museum, 1867. 
 
 2 Catalog der Hebraica nnd Judaica aus der L, Rosenthal' schen Bibliothek. 
 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1875.
 
 the history of the Kabbalah, paid full attention only to- 
 the MSS. belonging to that branch of literature. Finally, 
 M. Zotenberg, who, though a born Jew, is not a Rabbinical 
 scholar, revised the already twice revised slips, and spoiled 
 the labour of his predecessors by shortening them, and 
 by his inability to fill up the gaps left by Munk and 
 Derenbourg. We may apply here the proverb, 'too many 
 cooks spoil the broth;' but in spite of its faults, he has 
 brought out a useful catalogue, with a carefully elaborated 
 index. 1 The Royal Library of Munich, although not one 
 of the richest in Hebrew MSS., as far as quantity is con- 
 cerned (there are only 418), has a well-selected set of works, 
 and many of their MSS. have been published in this 
 century. We shall have to mention amongst Talmudical 
 publications the complete MS. of the Talmud of Babylon 
 existing in this Library. Dr. Lilienthal published in 1838 
 and 1839 a short description of this collection, but at that 
 time the knowledge of Rabbinical literature was not ad- 
 vanced enough to enable him to describe such an important 
 collection correctly, and the author was, we must say, a 
 very poor scholar even for his time. It is indeed fortunate 
 for Rabbinical literature that the well-known bibliographer 
 Dr. Steinschneider undertook to make a catalogue of this 
 collection. 2 The author is here perhaps a little too short, 
 certainly much shorter than in his catalogues of the printed 
 books in the Bodleian Library and of the MSS. in the 
 Library of Ley den. He is, we are glad to state, not so 
 aggressive against others as in his former works, and this 
 catalogue has the advantage of being written in German, 
 whilst the others are composed in a very unintelligible 
 Latin. Russia is a rival of other great states, not only 
 politically, but also in literary activity a rivalry of the 
 greatest advantage for the progress of science and literature. 
 Her academies and other societies are doing, if not more, at 
 least as much as those of Paris, Berlin, and Vienna. Its 
 
 1 Catalogues des Manuscrits hebreux et samaritains de la bibliotheque Imperiale, 
 Paris, 1866. 
 
 2 I)ie hebruischen Handschriflai der K. Hof- imd Staatsbibliothek m Munchen, 
 1875.
 
 memoirs and books on philology and archaeology were 
 formerly published in French and German; they begin 
 now to appear in Russian, which, although inconvenient 
 for most non-Russian savants, is in our opinion thoroughly 
 right. We shall have to learn Russian as we were obliged 
 to learn French and German. The St. Petersburg collec- 
 tions of MSS. of all languages had long been of equal 
 importance to those of the richest libraries of Europe ; the 
 Hebrew MSS. alone were of inferior value until 1860, 
 when the Emperor bought a collection of more than 1000 
 MSS., collected from various synagogues and private libraries 
 in the Crimea as well as in the East, by the late learned 
 Karaite Abraham Firkovitz. Through this acquisition the 
 Imperial Library of St. Petersburg is at present the richest 
 in the world in old Biblical MSS. and works in Karaitic 
 literature ; in the latter department it is absolutely unrivalled. 
 The writer of the present notice has given a short account in 
 French and German of the most important of them. 1 We 
 understand that the Russian Government is going to pur- 
 chase a still richer collection made somewhat later by the 
 same A. Firkovitz. This collection of about 1000 MSS. 
 will add much to the former in Biblical, MSS., and by the 
 possession of it the St. Petersburg Library will out-rival the 
 Bodleian Library, which up to this time has been the first 
 for Jewish-Arabic literature. It would be superfluous to 
 say what a boon to the students of Rabbinical literature 
 the publication of the catalogue of the St. Petersburg collec- 
 tion will be. A beginning has been already made; we 
 have before us the first part of this catalogue, comprising 
 the Biblical MSS., by Drs. Harkavy and Strack. 2 No 
 better choice of editors could have been made for such 
 an important collection. As to our own country, whose 
 three great libraries, viz. the British Museum, the Bodleian 
 Library at Oxford, and the University Library of Cambridge, 
 count above 4000 MSS., we are happy to state that no less 
 
 1 Jour. Asiatique, 1865, t. v. p. 539 seqq. ; am der Petersbtirger BibliotheJc. 
 Leipzig, 1866. 
 
 2 Catalog der kebraischen Bibelhandschriften dr Kaiserlichen offentlichen 
 Bibliothek in St. Petersburg, enter und ziveiter Theil, 1875.
 
 9 
 
 activity is displayed here. Dr. Schiller- Szinessy has just 
 brought out the first volume of his most minute catalogue 
 of the MSS. of the University Library of Cambridge, com- 
 prising seventy-two numbers, viz. the Biblical MSS., the 
 commentaries on the Holy Scriptures and the super-com- 
 mentaries. 1 About six years ago he assisted Mr. Aldis 
 Wright in cataloguing the small collection of Hebrew MSS. 
 belonging to Trinity College, Cambridge. The catalogue too 
 of more than 2000 numbers of the Bodleian collection is 
 already printed off, and only about 500 more remain to be 
 printed, and it is to be hoped that the work will be completed 
 by this time next year. Let us also mention the brief but 
 somewhat insufficient description of the small collection of 
 the Hebrew MSS. belonging to Christ Church, Oxford. 
 We trust that a description of the Hebrew MSS. scattered 
 throughout the various colleges of Oxford will be added as 
 an appendix to the Bodleian Catalogue. As to the British 
 Museum, which possesses, we believe, nearly 750 Hebrew 
 MSS., we understand that the Trustees will provide for their 
 being catalogued as soon as Dr. Wright's Catalogue of the 
 Ethiopic MSS. shall have left the press, which, as far as we 
 know, will be the case at the end of the present year. 
 Finally, Dr. Zuckermann has brought out the first part of 
 the Catalogue of the works belonging to the Library of 
 the Rabbinical School at Breslau, comprising the MSS. 
 and the printed Bibles. 3 Before leaving the great public 
 libraries, we have to mention minor descriptions of some 
 other libraries. The present writer was sent by the French 
 Government in 1868 to examine the Hebrew MSS. of Spain 
 and Portugal. There are not more than 100 now left 
 in those countries, the seat of Hebrew learning of all 
 branches during a period of five centuries (1040 to 1490). 
 In 1872 and 1873 he was sent to do the same in other 
 public libraries of France, and especially to search in Italian 
 and German libraries for the works of French rabbis. A 
 
 1 Catalogue of Hebrew MSS. preserved in the University Library, Cambridge. 
 vol. i. 1876. 
 
 2 Jahresberieht, 1870.
 
 10 
 
 summary account of them was given by the writer to the 
 Minister of Public Instruction in Paris. 1 In their com- 
 mentaries, both on the Holy Scriptures as well as on the 
 Talmud, these rabbis, in order to explain difficult words, 
 often give a translation of them in the vernacular, viz. 
 in French and Provengal, and this is a matter of the highest 
 importance for the history of those dialects from the twelfth 
 to the fourteenth century. The famous R. Salomon Isaaki of 
 Troyes, known better under the name of Rashi, has alone 
 in his commentaries more than 2000 words. This Rabbi 
 having written as early as the eleventh century, a period to 
 which few documents written in the dialect of Champagne 
 belong, his glosses are of the highest importance. Their 
 value is still more enhanced by their being written in 
 Hebrew characters, and very often provided with vowel- 
 points, and we are thus enabled to fix the pronunciation of 
 many old French words in the eleventh century. This branch 
 of study has been taken up by M. A. Darmesteter in Paris, 
 who was also sent out by the French Government to 
 England and to Parma for the purpose of collating those 
 glosses with other MSS. In his report to the Minister of 
 Public Instruction M. Darmesteter had necessarily to give 
 a description of the numerous MSS. he had examined. 2 
 We owe also some valuable accounts of MSS. in Italian 
 libraries to Dr. Berliner, who, assisted by the Prussian 
 Government, devoted the year 1872 to the examination 
 of Hebrew MSS. at Rome, Parma, Florence, Milan, and 
 some minor places. 3 Finally, the Abbate Perreau, Sub- 
 Librarian of the Library at Parma, has described MSS. of 
 that library, chiefly those added to the rich collection of 
 De-Rossi. 4 We have to deplore the loss of two eminent 
 Jewish scholars in Italy, viz. the well-known S. D. Luzzatto 
 and Lelio Delia Torre, both professors at the Rabbinical school 
 of Padua ; both had important libraries, that of the former 
 being especially rich in MSS. Short catalogues of these col- 
 lections, as well as of another belonging to the well-known 
 
 1 Archives des missions scientifiqws, 1868 and 1873. 2 Ibidem 1874 and 1 876. 
 3 See his Magazin, 1874 and 187-5. 4 Ham-Mazkir, 1870 scqq.
 
 11 
 
 bibliographer M. Ghirondi, have been published. Another 
 has been published of the library of the late D. Cardoso 
 of Amsterdam, which was chiefly remarkable for its 
 Hebraico-Spanish printed and MSS. works; and also of a 
 small collection of MSS. in the possession of the booksellers 
 Benzian at Berlin, and Fischl Hirsch at Halberstadt. 
 Finally, in November last the important library of the late 
 D. Carmoly was in the market, the short catalogue of which 
 is of some value. This, we think, is all of importance re- 
 lating to libraries. 
 
 "TALMUD. The vast encyclopaedical work comprising the 
 teaching of the schools of Palestine and Babylonia from 
 150 B.C. to 700 A.D. is called by the name of Talmud, 
 which means in our language ' the result of teaching.' In 
 one word, it contains the post-biblical literature of the 
 Rabbis, for nothing is extant in Hebrew between the latest 
 biblical book and the Talmud. The apocryphal writings, 
 a great number of which were composed in the post-biblical 
 Hebrew dialect, not having been admitted into the Canon 
 by the Rabbinical schools, have reached us in the shape of 
 translations only. Although the origin, development, and 
 various divisions of the Talmud have been made known to 
 the English public by the able popular article of the late 
 Mr. Deutsch, we must mention the names of the various 
 works of which it consists before we proceed to enumerate 
 the critical editions of them which have appeared in the 
 course of the last decennium. It consists of the Mishnah, 
 the Tosiftha, the Gemara of Jerusalem and of Babylon, 
 the Siphra, the Siphre, the Mekhiltha, the Pesiqtha, and 
 the various books of the Midrash. The Mishnah, which 
 is the oldest of the Talmudical books, and composed in 
 concise sentences, is written in a Hebrew which is rela- 
 tively pure, excepting certain technical expressions borrowed 
 from other Semitic dialects, or from Greek and Latin. All 
 parts of it are of a ritual character, except that called 
 Abhoth, or sayings of the fathers, which is an ethical 
 treatise. It has been translated into various languages 
 from the textm receptiis, which unfortunately offers many
 
 12 
 
 doubtful readings. Dr. Calm has begun a critical edition 
 of it, as it was read by old commentators, of whom the 
 most important is the famous Maimonides, adding to it 
 a German commentary, in which the philological element 
 is most prominent. 1 It is to be regretted that the editor 
 had no opportunity of visiting the Libraries of Oxford and 
 Cambridge, which possess a great number of old MSS. of 
 the text of Abhoth, and also commentaries in which the read- 
 ings of very old MSS. are quoted. We hope that the Rev. 
 C. Taylor, Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, who is 
 preparing an edition of this text, together with a later 
 ethical book called 'Abhoth according to R. Nathan/ will 
 supply this deficiency in Dr. Calm's edition. Two im- 
 portant works in Hebrew have appeared on the method 
 of the Mishnah, and on the history of the doctors whose 
 sayings on ethics and ritual are mentioned in it : the one 
 by the late Dr. Frankel, Director of the Rabbinical School 
 of Breslau, 2 and the other by the Rabbi J. Briill. 3 We 
 may add that the literary history of the Jews, from the 
 "time of the building of the second Temple to that of the 
 composition of the Mishnah, by J. Weiss, 4 treats of the same 
 subject, though in a somewhat different -method. The last- 
 named author has devoted a special work to the grammar 
 of the Mishnah, 5 which had been before treated by L. 
 Dukes and Dr. Greiger, and made a critical edition of the 
 Mekhiltha, 6 a midrashic commentary on Exodus xii. to 
 end, with his own commentary in Hebrew, but without the 
 help of the MSS. of this work existing in Oxford, the 
 British Museum, and the Italian Libraries. The Tosiftha, 
 or additions, i.e. the Mishnah with some additions according 
 to the redaction of R. Hiyya, has been edited within the 
 last few years after a MS. of Vienna. Another older MS. 
 of it was discovered at Erfurt, and a detailed description 
 
 1 Pirke Aboth, erster Pereq. 8vo. Berlin, 1875. 
 
 2 Hodegetica in Mishnam, etc. 8vo. Leipzig, 1867. 
 
 3 Einleitung in die Mischnah. 8vo. Frankfort-o.-M., 1876. 
 
 4 Zur Geschichte derjiidischen Tradition, 1 Theil. 8vo. Vienna, 1869. 
 
 5 Studien ilber die Sprache der Mishna. 8vo. Vienna, 1867- 
 Mechilta, etc. 8vo. Vienna, 1865.
 
 13 
 
 of it is given by Dr. Zuckermandel. 1 He promises us a 
 newly revised edition of this text. Dr. Diinner, Rabbi at 
 Amsterdam, has published a monograph on the method 
 of this Talmudical book. 2 The Gemara, a kind of com- 
 mentary on the Mishnah, was composed in both schools, that 
 of Palestine and that of Babylon. The text of the former, of 
 which we possess only four " orders," is in a very bad state, 
 and what makes the matter still worse, mediaeval Jewish 
 schools, having had more reverence for the Gemara of 
 Babylon, neglected almost entirely the study of that of 
 Jerusalem, and consequently no old commentary on it is in 
 existence. The only means therefore, in the absence of 
 old MSS., for establishing a critical text, is to compare 
 passages of this Gemara with similar ones to be found in 
 that of Babylon and in other Talmudical books. This 
 work was begun by the before-mentioned Dr. Frankel, after 
 he had published an introductory treatise on the method of 
 this Gemara, 3 a kind of continuation of his similar work 
 on the Mishnah. To a critical text this lamented writer 
 added a commentary in Hebrew, which is of the highest 
 value; 4 unhappily for this branch of literature he died 
 after having published only half of the first section of this 
 Gemara, leaving three and a half unfinished. Since his 
 death a MS. of the first part of this Gemara, with the 
 commentary of R. Israel Sirilio, has been found in Palestine, 
 and has passed into the hands of Dr. Lehmann, Rabbi at 
 Mayence. A part of it is now being published by him, 
 with the addition of a commentary of his own. 5 We are 
 sorry to say that the variations which this MS. offers are 
 not of great assistance for the establishment of a correct 
 text, and Dr. Lehmann's own production is utterly valueless. 
 This Gemara was probably concluded in the fifth century 
 A.D., consequently it is more than 200 years older than that 
 of Babylon. The learned Rabbi J. Wiesner, however, has 
 
 1 See Dr. Berliner's Magazin, 1875. 
 
 2 Die Theorien iiber Wesenund Ursprung der Tosephtha. 8vo. Amsterdam, 1874. 
 
 3 Introductio in Talmud Hierosolymitanum. 8vo. Berlin, 1870. 
 
 * Talmud Hierosol. ordo Seraim, etc. Vol. primum. 4to. Vindobonae, 1874. 
 6 Talmud Jeruschalmi, etc. Folio. Moguntiae, 1875.
 
 14 
 
 tried to prove in a monograph 1 that it was not composed 
 before 800 A.D., and consequently 1QO years later than that 
 of Babylon. If this fact could be proved, it would in- 
 troduce a great confusion into theories based upon the 
 supposed dates of both Gemaras, but the question is still 
 open to discussion, although we confess for ourselves that 
 Rabbi Wiesner has done much to shake our confidence in 
 the priority of the Jerusalem Gemara over that of Babylon. 
 The latter has been taken in hand by one of the greatest 
 living Talmudists, R. Nathan Rabbinovicz of Munich. He 
 has collated the famous MS. belonging to the Royal Library 
 in this town, and is now publishing the variae lectiones 2 
 of this MS., together with those of the parts existing in 
 MS. in all other libraries of Europe except the Vatican, as 
 well as the readings to be found in old editions and old 
 commentators. Up to the present time six parts only have 
 appeared, and we are afraid it will take more than a life- 
 time to finish it on the large scale upon which the editor 
 pursues his work. And when it is done, the same process 
 will have to be gone through with the aid of the Vatican 
 MS., which is older than that of Munich. It is therefore 
 to be feared that the present generation will not see the 
 critical text of this Gemara, for the appearance of which 
 Professor Noldeke expresses so much anxiety in the preface 
 to his grammar of the Mandaic dialect. Commentaries on 
 various parts of this Gemara by R. Hananel of Kairowan 
 (tenth century), which are now in the course of publication, 3 
 are of great value for settling the text. R. Isaak Lampronti, 
 Rabbi of Ferrara (eighteenth century), composed a kind of 
 concordance to the Talmud, a part of which was published at 
 Venice, but has become out of print. We are glad to men- 
 tion that the Society for Publication of Hebrew Texts 4 has 
 begun the reprint of this important work, as well as the 
 publication of the inedited part of it. An attempt to com- 
 pose a grammar of the Babylonian Gemara, viz. of the part 
 
 1 Gib'ath Yerushalaim. 8vo. Wien, 1872. (Extract from the hash-Shahar). 
 
 2 Variae lectiones in Mischnam et in Talmud Babylonicum. Monachii, 1867seqq. 
 
 3 On the part Pesahim. 8vo. Paris, 1868. 
 
 4 Pahad Yizhaq. Lyck, 1868 scqq.
 
 15 
 
 which is not written in pure Hebrew, nor in the Aramaic 
 dialect of Palestine, has been successfully made in Italian 
 by the late Professor Luzzatto ; 1 this grammar has now 
 been translated into German by Dr. Kriiger, 2 who has 
 added a few notes to it. Dr. Noldeke has sufficiently proved 
 that this idiom is almost identical with that of the books 
 of the Mandaites. 3 The lexicographical study of this Gemara 
 has been in the last few years much advanced by Dr. 
 Perles, 4 H. Schorr, 5 and Dr. Kohut; 6 by the two latter 
 chiefly by the examination of Persian words and ideas. 
 Buxtorf's Talmudical lexicon has been re-edited by Dr. 
 Fischer: 7 many additions were supplied by Dr. Fleischer 
 at the beginning of the work ; those of the late Dr. Fiirsfc 
 are seldom based on the solid ground of modern philological 
 research. A most valuable contribution to the lexicography 
 of the Talmud will be M. Levy's dictionary, 8 to which Dr. 
 Fleischer regularly contributes : it has now reached the 
 letter gimmel. As to the Midrash, a kind of popular in- 
 terpretation or homilies on the Holy Scriptures, we have 
 to mention the Pcsiqtha of R. Kahana, published after MSS., 
 with an able commentary in Hebrew, by M. S. Buber. 9 
 We do not, however, agree with his opinion when he takes 
 this Midrash to be the oldest Agadic book. The book Ve- 
 hazahir, a kind of Midrash on Exodus and Numbers, the first 
 part of which has been published by Dr. Freimann, 10 after 
 an unique MS. at Munich, was certainly not composed in the 
 eighth or ninth century A.D., as the editor imagines ; it is prob- 
 ably a compilation made in France in the twelfth century. 
 Let us conclude with the fifth volume of Dr. Jellinek's col- 
 
 1 Ekmenti grammaticali del Caldeo biblico e del dialetto talmudico Babilonense. 
 8vo. Padova, 1861. 
 
 2 8vo. Breslau, 1873. 
 
 3 Manddische Grammatik. 8vo. p. xxv. Halle, 1875. 
 
 4 Grdtz Monatsschrift, 1870, p. 210 seqq. 
 6 He-Haluz, vii., viii. 
 
 6 Abhandlungen der Morgenliindischen Gesellschtft, iv. 3 
 
 7 Joannis Buxtorjii P. Lexicon, etc. 4to. Leipzig, 1869 seqq. 
 
 8 Neuhebruisches und chalddisches Worierbuch iiber die Talmudim und 
 Midraschim. 4to. Leipzig, 1875. 3 fasc. 
 
 9 Pesikta, redigirt in Paldstina, von R. Kahana. 8vo. Lyck, 1868. 
 10 Wehishir opus continens Midrashim, etc. 8vo. Lipsiae, 1873.
 
 10 
 
 lection of small Midrashim 1 belonging to various epochs; 
 they fully prove how anxious the Rabbis at all times were 
 to keep up an ethical standard among the Jews by relating 
 to them anecdotes of great men in the form of parables or 
 popular tales. We have no doubt many will ask why have 
 not these books been translated in order to make them 
 accessible to the general public? The answer is that it is 
 impossible for any one man to do so, as these books require 
 a knowledge of various branches of science. And after all a 
 translation of the Gemara, in which everything is highly un- 
 methodical, 2 would be unintelligible, not to speak of discussions 
 on ritual, which cannot be reproduced in a modern language. 
 In order to prove this assertion we refer the curious reader 
 to the French translation of the two Gemaras on Bera- 
 khoth by M. Schwab, which has lately appeared. 3 This is 
 a very bad translation, full of errors and mistakes, for 
 the translator, being almost ignorant of the language 
 of the Talmud, could not even understand the persons, 
 mostly Polish Jews and not very good French scholars, 
 who assisted him ; still it will be sufficient to show how 
 irregular the composition of the Talmud is, which, in fact, 
 consists of notes taken by pupils and put together without 
 any method whatever. And this may be even seen in Bera- 
 khoth, though the clearest of all the tractates composing this 
 vast encyclopaedia. All that, in our opinion, can be done 
 for the Talmud is to treat it as an encyclopaedia, to take 
 it to pieces and analyze the statements made on various 
 subjects. This method has been followed in our present 
 time. Dr. Levysohn has given an account of the Zoology 
 of the Talmud, 4 R. J. "Wiesner is preparing a similar book on 
 the Botany, 5 Dr. Graetz 6 and M. Derenbourg 7 have done 
 
 1 Bet ha-Midrasch, 5ter Theil. 8vo. Wien, 1873 
 
 2 e.g. we may find after a question or rite an astronomical rule, followed 
 immediately by a lexicographical explanation of some dialectical expression, next 
 to which may come a legendary history, with a geographical statement after it, etc. 
 
 3 Traite des Berakhoth, etc. 8vo. Paris, 1871. 
 
 4 Die Zoologie des Talmud. 8vo. Frankfort-o.-M., 1858. 
 
 5 See Dr. Berliner's Magazin, 1875. 
 
 6 Geschichte der Juden, third and fourth volumes. 
 
 7 JZssai tur fhistoire et la geographie de la Palestine, l^re partie. 8vo. Paris, 
 1867.
 
 17 
 
 the same for historical subjects, and the present writer for 
 the geographical part. 1 We have already mentioned treatises 
 on the philology of the Talmud ; the subjects of Medicine, 2 
 Law, 3 and Ethics 4 have had their investigators more than 
 twenty years ago, but the work was not pursued with strict 
 method. A kind of general encyclopaedia of the Talmud 
 is in the course of publication ; 5 the author of it is Dr. 
 Hamburger, who is already known by his former publication 
 on Talmudical subjects entitled, ' The spirit of the Agadah.' 
 Let us conclude with Mr. Hershon's book, ' The Pentateuch 
 according to the Talmud/ 6 of which only Genesis is out. 
 The compiler having neglected the Gemara of Jerusalem 
 and the Midrash, his book is incomplete ; besides, he quotes 
 the Gemara of Babylon from uncritical editions. 
 
 "COMMENTARIES ON THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. We shall 
 not speak of those composed by Dr. Graetz, the late Pro- 
 fessor Luzzatto, and by some other Jews ; these belong to 
 the modern school; nor can we enumerate all commen- 
 taries of a Rabbinical character by modern authors in 
 Poland or the East, for we have not seen them, and, to speak 
 strictly, they are only rechauffes from old Rabbinical writers : 
 the following alone have a right to be mentioned here. 
 Dr. Berliner has published a revised edition of Rashi's 
 commentary on the Pentateuch; 7 we regret to say that the 
 editor had not the best MSS. at his disposal. Abraham 
 Ibn Ezra is one of the most acute commentators, and not 
 always easily intelligible, because his style is very concise, 
 and he likes to be enigmatical ; the more important therefore 
 is it to have a correct critical text of such an author. Dr. 
 Friedlander, who has brought out for the Hebrew Literature 
 Society in London an English translation of Ibn Ezra's 
 commentary on Isaiah, is about to publish the Hebrew 
 text of it collated with all known MSS. Ibn Ezra usually 
 
 1 La geographie du Talmud. 8vo. Paris, 1868. 
 
 2 By Wunderbar. 
 
 3 By the late Dr. Fassel. 
 
 4 By Dukes, Benamoseg, and others. 
 
 5 Realencyclopaedie fur Bibel und Talmud. 1st fasc. 8vo. Leipzig, 1869. 
 
 6 8vo. London, 1872. 
 
 1 Baschii in Pentateuchum commmtarius, etc. 8vo. Berol., 1866.
 
 18 
 
 made two redactions of his commentaries : those on Exodus 
 and Esther appeared a long time ago ; the latter has been 
 re-edited from a better MS. Mr. H. J. Mathews, * of 
 Exeter College, Oxford, has published the first redaction 
 of the commentary on Canticles, with an English translation, 
 and is preparing that of the shorter redaction on Daniel. 
 A catena of Jewish commentaries in various languages on 
 Isaiah Hi. 13 to liv. has been worked up at the request of 
 Dr. Pusey by the present writer, in two volumes ; the second 
 of these will contain an English translation. 2 In this trans- 
 lation Mr. Driver, Fellow of New College, has taken a 
 great part; to him we are indebted also for an edition of 
 the commentaries on Jeremiah and Ezekiel by R. Moses 
 ben Shesheth, 3 from an Oxford MS., with an English 
 translation. We understand that Dr. Schiller- Szinessy, 
 of Cambridge, has made great progress with preparing a 
 critical edition of R. David Kimhi's commentary on the 
 Psalms. Great attention was paid to the Book of Job 
 by the late Dr. Israel Schwarz. He added to his own 
 German translation and Hebrew commentary those of 
 R. Isaiah of Trani, Joseph and David Kimhi, and R. 
 Zerahyah of Barcelona. 4 A second part, if the author had 
 not been taken away by a premature death, would have 
 contained R. Saadyah Gaon's and Moses Jikatilia's commen- 
 taries in Arabic, with a critical introduction by the editor. 
 Mr. Nutt, Sub-librarian of the Bodleian Library, is about 
 to publish a commentary on Isaiah by R. Eliezer of 
 Beaugenci. R. Kirchheim, of Frankfort- on-the- Main, has 
 brought out a commentary on Chronicles 5 from three MSS., 
 in one of which it is attributed to Abraham Ibn Ezra; 
 the editor refers it to the school or the pupils of the 
 
 1 Commentary on Canticles after the first recension. 8vo. London, 1874. 
 
 * The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah according to Jewish Interpreters. 2 vols. 
 8vo. Oxford, 1876. 
 
 3 R. Moses ben Shesheth's Commentary, etc. 8vo. London, 1871. 
 
 1 Tikwath Enosch, etc. torn. i. 8vo. Berol., 1868. The commentary on 
 Proverbs by the same R. Zerahyah has been published by the same editor under 
 the title of Jmre Noasch. 8vo. Vienna, 1871. 
 
 5 Ein Commenlar zur Chronik aus dem X^ n Jahrhundert. 8vo. Frankfort- 
 on-the-Main, 1874.
 
 19 
 
 before- mentioned R. Saadyah Gaon. According to our own 
 opinion this commentary was composed in France in the 
 twelfth century. In any case the commentary is of great 
 value for interpretation, as well as for many various 
 readings of the biblical text. Finally, the Society of the 
 Meqize Nirdamim has published Moses Ibn Tibbon's com- 
 mentary on Canticles and the beginning of Naphthali 
 Wessely's commentary on the Pentateuch. 1 To this depart- 
 ment belongs also the anonymous commentary by a rabbi 
 of Provence (? end of thirteenth or beginning of fourteenth 
 century) on the Chaldee translation of the Pentateuch by 
 Onqelos, edited by the Chief Rabbi Dr. N. Adler from an 
 Oxford MS., collated with another at Parma. Commentaries 
 on the Targum are few, and this one is of value for various 
 readings of the text which it contains. To this Dr. Adler 
 has added his own commentary on the Targum, with an 
 elaborate introduction on Onqelos. 2 
 
 "GRAMMAR AND LEXICOGRAPHY. Before any attempt was 
 made to compose grammatical works, the various Jewish 
 schools, probably about the fifth century, fixed the text of 
 the Holy Scriptures by oral tradition or Massorah. Of course 
 the Massorah, as now found in editions of the Bible, is a 
 compilation of a later period, which embodies most former 
 treatises on the subject. A careful edition of it, collated 
 with the best MSS., is desirable. This we .are glad to say 
 will be supplied by Herr Frensdorff's Massorah in alpha- 
 betical order, the first part of which is already out, 3 and by 
 the complete edition of the Massorah, which is being pre- 
 pared by Dr. Ginsburg, to whom we are already indebted 
 for his editions of the Masoretical treatises of Jacob ben 
 Hayyim 4 and Elias Levita. 5 Norzi's introduction to his 
 Masoretical commentary on the Holy Scriptures, printed at 
 Venice in 1819, has become as rare as a MS., and scholars 
 
 1 Both 8vo. Lyck, 1875. 
 
 2 Pathshegen and Nethinah lagger, both published in the Pentateuch edition 
 of Wilna, 1874. 
 
 3 Die Grosse Massorah. 4to. Leipzig, 1876. 
 
 * Jacob ben Chajim's introduction to the Rabbinical Bible. 8vo. London, 1865. 
 8 Sepher Massoreh ham-Massoreth, with critical and explanatory notes. 8vo. 
 London, 1867.
 
 20 
 
 must be thankful to Dr. Jellinek for his edition of this in- 
 teresting introduction, revised after a MS. in an Italian 
 library. 1 The Targum of Onqelos had also its Massorah, 
 which was known by quotations in Le vita's works ; we 
 know now of an earlier authority who made use of such 
 a Massorah, viz. the anonymous commentator on Onqelos 
 mentioned above. The late Professor Luzzatto found a 
 fragment of it, which he published in a Hebrew periodi- 
 cal. Dr. Berliner discovered the complete work at Parma, 
 and the first part of it is now lying in print before us. 2 
 The first Hebrew grammarians, such as R. Saadyah Gaon 
 and the Karaitic David, ben Abraham, adopted in the 
 infancy of their grammatical knowledge uniliteral roots ; 
 more advanced grammarians, such as Menahem and Dunash, 
 rejected this notion, and kept to biliteral roots, differ- 
 ing in other respects from each other, and thus causing 
 vehement discussions amongst their pupils. Sal. Stern, 
 of Vienna, has published a collection of them from a MS. 
 at Parma. 3 It was only when R. Jehudah Hayyuj became 
 acquainted with the triliteral system of the Arabic gram- 
 marians that it was applied by him to Hebrew verbs. His 
 book on the subject was originally written in Arabic, and 
 still exists in MS. in the Bodleian Library. In order 
 to make it accessible to the Jews of all countries, it was 
 translated into Hebrew by Abraham Ibn Ezra and by 
 Moses Jikatilia. The former was brought out by L. Dukes 
 from an incomplete MS., and the latter, which has many 
 additions by the translator, by Mr. Nutt, of the Bodleian, 
 accompanied with an English translation. 4 This book was 
 commented on by the famous R. Jonah Ibn Janah of 
 Cordova ; his opuscula, except one which is lost, will appear 
 shortly in Arabic, with a French translation by MM. 
 Derenbourg, father and son. 5 Somewhat later R. Jonah 
 
 1 Norzi Jed. Sal.,Einleitung, Titelblatt und Schlusswort zu seinem massoretiscken 
 Bibelcommentar, nach einer italienischen Hschr. 8vo. "Wien, 1876. 
 
 2 Die Massorah zwn Targum Onkelos. 4to. Berlin, 1875. 
 
 3 Liber Responsionum. 8vo. Vindobonae, 1870. 
 
 4 Two Treatises on Verbs containing feeble and double letters, etc. 8vo. 
 London, 1870. 
 
 5 Oputcules et (raite's d'Abcu'l- Walid, etc. 8vo. Paris, 1876.
 
 21 
 
 composed an elaborate grammar and dictionary of the 
 Hebrew language of his own, both written in Arabic, and 
 afterwards translated into Hebrew by R. Jehudah Ibn 
 Tibbon. The grammar has been published in Hebrew and 
 the dictionary in Arabic. 1 A grammatical treatise com- 
 posed in Yemen, and more original in its style than in its 
 grammatical knowledge, has been brought out in the 
 Journal Asiatique of Paris by M. J. Derenbourg. 2 We 
 may also mention the new edition of Ben Zeeb's grammar, 
 with a commentary by A. Lebenson. 3 
 
 " POETRY. The famous poet and philosopher Salomon 
 ben Gabirol still remains the property of Senior Sachs. It 
 will not be an exaggeration to say that nobody can under- 
 stand this pious and melancholy poet like him. He has 
 lived with him and in him for the last thirty years, and 
 consequently thinks like him. How strange it is that the 
 poet was so much quicker in composing than his friend is in 
 editing and commenting on him ! Not more than twenty 
 of his poems have been published by Sachs. 4 Shall we 
 ever see more ? The late Dr. Geiger wrote an able mono- 
 graph in German on this poet. 5 Gabirol's successor, Jehudah 
 Hal-Levy, is perhaps better known to the public, having 
 been made popular through Heine. The publication of his 
 poems was undertaken by the late Professor Luzzatto, 6 but 
 to our very great regret was not continued by him. The 
 Bodleian possesses two copies of his Diwan ; would that 
 any one could be found to continue what Luzzatto so ably 
 began ! Such a publication would do credit to the Hebrew 
 Literature Society in London. Professor Benedetti, of Pisa, 7 
 has given an Italian translation of many of Jehudah Hal- 
 Levy's poems, with an able introduction on the poet. This 
 was done also in another way by Dr. Geiger some twenty 
 years ago. About a century after this poet Spain produced 
 
 1 The Book of Hebrew Soots. 4to. Oxford, 1875. 
 
 2 Manuel du lecteur, Journal Asiatique, 1870, t. xvi., p. 309 seqq. 
 
 3 Talmud lashon 'Ibrith. 8vo. Wilna, 1874. 
 
 4 Shir hash-SMrim, etc. 8vo. Paris, 1868. 
 
 5 Salomo Gabirol und seine Diehtungen. 8vo. Leipzig, 1867. 
 
 6 Diwdn, etc. 8vo. Lyck, 1864. 
 
 7 (Janzoniere sacro di Giuda Levita. 4to. Pisa, 1871.
 
 22 
 
 another famous poet, known as E. Jehudah el-Harizi. His 
 first attempt was the translation, rather a free one, of 
 Hariri's Maqamas : a part of it, as much as the MS. 
 contains, has been brought out by Professor Chenery, 1 of 
 Oxford, with prefaces of his own, both in Hebrew and in 
 English. Dr. Berliner has brought out a drama composed 
 by E. Moses Zakkuth, 2 after three MSS. This Eabbi is 
 certainly more kabbalist than poet. We pass over in silence 
 the productions of modern poets, who are rather rhymers 
 than poets. 
 
 "PHILOSOPHY. Not much has been published in this 
 branch since the appearance of Munk's edition of Maimonides' 
 'Moreh han-Nebhukhim.' * Dr. P. Frankl printed a paper in 
 the Transactions of the Academy of Vienna on the Caldm* a 
 kind of scholastic theology amongst the early Mahomedans ; 
 a method applied to biblical passages by the Karaitic philo- 
 sophers. This was intended to be a preliminary essay to 
 his edition of the philosophical books of the early Karaites. 
 We find in the same Transactions an able paper on Bahya's 
 theologico-philosophical system by Dr. Kaufmann. 5 Pro- 
 fessor Fausto Lasinio at Florence has given us the Hebrew 
 translation of Averroes' commentary on Aristotle's Poetics, 
 by Todros Todrosi, 6 and Dr. Hercz has published the 
 Hebrew translation of Averroes on the conjunction of the 
 separate intellect with man by Samuel Ibn Tibbon. 7 Dr. 
 Eosin, professor at the Eabbinical school of Breslau, who 
 brought out in 1865 a very elaborate monograph 011 a com- 
 mentary on the 613 precepts attributed to the Provencal 
 Eabbi, Aaron Hal-Levi, 8 has just published another exhaustive 
 book on the Ethics of Maimonides, with an historical sketch 
 of Jewish writings on the same subject before Maimonides. 9 
 
 1 Machbereth Ithiel. 8vo. London, 1872. 
 3 Yessod Olam. 8vo. Berlin, 1874. 
 
 3 Guide des Egares. 3 vols. 8vo. Paris, 1866. 
 
 4 Wiener Sitzungsberichte (Hist. Philos. Abth.), 1872. 
 
 5 Ibidem, 1874. 
 
 6 Transactions of the University of Pisa, 1873. 
 
 7 Die Abhandlungen iiber die Conjunction des separaten Intellects mil dem 
 Menschen, etc. 8vo. Berlin, 1869. 
 
 8 Ein Compendium derjudischen Gesetzkunde aus dem xivten Jahrhundert. 
 
 9 Die Ethik des Maimonides. 4to. Breslau, 1876.
 
 23 
 
 Hillel of Verona was one of the best known of the Italian 
 Rabbis, and the edition of his 'Recompenses of the Soul,' made 
 by S. H. Halberstam, 1 is an important contribution to Jewish 
 scholastic philosophy. Finally, a few pages of Jehudah 
 Hal-Levy's philosophico-theological book Khozri has been 
 brought out in Arabic, with an English translation, in the 
 miscellaneous volume published by the Hebrew Literature 
 Society as a specimen of a future publication of the whole. 2 
 
 " Of miscellaneous texts we shall only mention one of 
 Abraham Ibn Ezra's astronomical treatises edited by S. H. 
 Halberstam, 3 the dialoghi d'amore of Jehudah Abarbanel in 
 Hebrew, 4 the controversial treatises of R. Jehiel of Paris, 
 re-edited by Dr. Grrunbaum, 5 and of Isaak Troki by David 
 Deutsch, 6 the second volume of R. Jacob Saphir's Travels 
 in the East, 7 and Gottlober's History of the Kabbalah in 
 Hebrew ; 8 and finally, two biographical works in Hebrew, a. 
 on the Rabbis of Cracow, 9 and b. on those of Jerusalem. 10 
 Ignorance of the interpretation of the law was considered 
 amongst the Jews of early time as a sin. The study of the 
 law, say the doctors, ranks above everything. In the post- 
 Talmudical time the Jewish schools devoted their attention 
 from time to time to grammar, lexicography, philosophy, 
 and natural science, as we have seen in the course of this 
 report. Dr. Gudemann 11 has undertaken the history of the 
 way in which Jewish schools have pursued these various 
 branches in different countries ; the first part, which has just 
 appeared, treats of the Spanish- Arabic school. 
 
 " After this brief account of Rabbinical productions which 
 have appeared in the short time of ten years, was not 
 Mr. Cheyne right when he stated in his report of last 
 year, 'The industry of the Jewish scholars is beyond 
 
 1 Tagmule han-Nephesh. 8vo. Lyck, 1875. 
 
 2 We have to mention a second edition of Dr. Cassel's German translation of 
 this work after the Hebrew text. 8vo. Berlin, 1869. 
 
 3 Sepher ha-'Ibbur. 8vo. Lyck, 1874. 4 Ibidem. 8vo. 1874. 
 
 5 Wikkwch. 8vo. Thorn, 1873. 6 Hizzuk Emunah. 8vo. Berlin, 1873. 
 
 7 Eben Sappir. 8vo. Mayence, 1873. 8 8vo. "Wilna, 1869. 
 9 'Irhaz-Zedeq. 8vo. Cracow, 1869. 10 Men Sh'muel. Wilna, 1874. 
 11 Das jiidische Unterrichtswesen wdhrend der Spanisch-Arabischen Periode. 
 8vo. Wien, 1873.
 
 24 
 
 all praise ' ? We might have added, ' and has always been 
 so : ' to prove this we have only to give the following 
 account of the number of MSS. still in existence, besides 
 those which were destroyed in various countries by the 
 Crusaders and the Inquisition. Thus the Bodleian Library 
 possesses 2500 MSS. ; the British Museum about 750 ; the 
 Cambridge University Library more than 400 ; the various 
 Colleges, together with the Beth ham-Midrash in London, 
 about 200 ; the National Library in Paris 1312 ; the 
 Royal Library at Munich 413 ; the libraries of Vienna and 
 Berlin each above 100 MSS.; Parma about 1400; the 
 Vatican above 500 ; the convent libraries, together with 
 minor ones in Italy, more than 200 ; St. Petersburg about 
 1000, chiefly Karaitic MSS ; Spain and Portugal together 
 only 100. Of private libraries, the richest seems to be 
 that of the late Firkovitz, which we mentioned above ; Baron 
 Giinzburg, in Paris, possesses nearly 900 MSS. ; and S. H. 
 Halberstam at Bielitz (Austria), more than 300. There are 
 others in the possession of Drs. Zunz and Steinschneider, of 
 O. H. Schorr, of Brody, not to count those which belonged 
 to Luzzatto and Carmoly, and those still hidden in various 
 towns of the East. 
 
 "The history of Karaitic literature, derived from the 
 latest acquisitions at St. Petersburg, has been given by Dr. 
 Graetz, 1 the late Dr. Fiirst, 2 and by the present writer in 
 German; 3 by the late Prof. Pinsker 4 and B. Gottlober 5 
 in Hebrew. Magister Gurland has brought out some small 
 Karaite treatises, and especially some travels to Palestine in 
 the sixteenth century. 6 No doubt many publications are 
 issued at Eupatoria, the Leipzig of the Jewish Crimea, but 
 they do not reach our country ; perhaps we do not lose 
 much by their absence. 
 
 " In Samaritan literature Mr. Nutt gave a full account of 
 
 1 Geschichte der Juden, tomes v. and vi. 
 
 2 Geschichte des Karcierthums. 3 vols. 8vo. Leipzig, 1869. 
 
 3 See above, p. 8, note 1. 
 
 4 Liqqutt Qadmoniyyoth. 8vo. Wien, 1860. 
 
 5 Kritische Untersuchung uber die Geschichte der Kariier. 8vo. Vilaa, 1865. 
 
 6 Reisebeschreibungen, etc. 8vo. Lyck, 1866.
 
 25 
 
 it, such as it is, in 1874 ; 1 since then we have only to add 
 a complete edition of the Samaritan Targum in Hebrew 
 characters by Dr. A. Briill, with an appendix on Mr. Nutt's 
 book, and the first part of Dr. Harkavy's Catalogue of the 
 Samaritan MSS.. at St. Petersburg, written in Russian. 
 Finally, Dr. Kohn, who is well known by his articles on 
 the Samaritan Targum, has just published in the Trans- 
 actions of the German Oriental Society Contributions to the 
 Language, Literature, and the Dogma of the Samaritans? It is 
 to be regretted that the learned author was not acquainted 
 with Mr. Nutt's above-mentioned book before his own had 
 already left the press. He promises, however, to pay full 
 attention to it on a future occasion. J. Reifmann 3 com- 
 pares the translation of the Pentateuch according to the 
 Samaritans, with the Rabbanite Targums and the Midrashic 
 exposition. The part on G-enesis is out, in which the author 
 gives some remarkable indications of the extent to which the 
 former borrowed their interpretations from the latter. Had 
 the author possessed a good library, he could have done 
 much more, but he is unfortunately obliged to live in a 
 small and isolated Polish village, where he is not in a 
 position to enjoy this advantage." 
 
 1 Fragments of Samaritan Targum, with an introduction, etc. 8vo. London, 
 1874. 
 
 2 Zur Sprache, Literatur und Dogmatik der Samaritaner, 3 Abhandlung'en. 
 8vo. Leipzig, 1876. 
 
 3 Sedeh Aram. 8vo. Berlin, 1875.
 
 HERTFORD: 
 
 PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN AND SONS.
 

 
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