789:;

°D’ELVERT, CHRISTIAN RITTER VON (!"#$–!"%&), tual picture that emerges from the Talmudic texts re1ects the Moravian historian and politician. He was mayor of Bruenn actual social or religious situation, especially as regards its as- (Brno) from !"&! to !"&$ and !"'# to !"'&, and headed the his- sumptions about the normative status of rabbinic halakhah. torical section of the Moravian society for local research. (e A rabbinic tradition ( end; Tose/a Sotah fourth volume of his Beitraege zur oesterreichischen Rechtsge- end of Ch. !$; 45 Sotah %:!! and end of 45 Ma’aser Sheni) speaks schichte entitled Zur Geschichte der Juden in Maehren und Oes- of as being in force in the time of Johanan the High terreichisch-Schlesien (“On the History of the Jews in Moravia Priest; i.e., (!$)–!#- ,.2.3.), who enforced and Austrian Silesia,” !"%)), with almost full bibliography, and separation of the required gi/s by the producers, thereby ex- his publication of the index numbers of all the documents in empting the purchasers. (e in the Babylonian Tal- the archives of the Moravian regent concerning Jews, remain mud (Sotah -"a), on the other hand, describes Johanan as the important for research on Moravian Jewry. person who 0rst instituted demai upon discovering the laxity !"#$"%&'()*+: Oesterreichisches Biographisches Lexikon of observance. $%$!–$&!', ! (!%)'), !'&–'; B. Bretholz, in: *+,, -' (!%#$), &)$–). Demai is the tractate in the Mishnah, Tose/a and Jeru- salem (but not the Babylonian) that deals with the DEMAI (Heb. ĕĕ ÿĚøďă , ĕČ ÿĚøďă ), agricultural produce about which halakhic concept of demai, doubtfully tithed produce. An there is a doubt whether it has been duly tithed; talmudic exception to the normal pattern of arranging the sequence tractate. (e precise etymology of this word has not been de- of tractates according to the numbers of their chapters, De- termined with certainty, and it appears that the of the mai (with seven chapters) appears third in the Mishnah and Talmud were already unclear about it. (e Talmud , and in most manuscripts of the Tose/a, connects it to the root dmy, in the sense of “perhaps” as in: before tractates with more chapters. (e Mishnah tractate “perhaps he prepared it, perhaps he did not prepare it” (Sot. contains disputes between the Houses of Shammai and Hil- %:!. (.-b); end of Ma’aser Sheni, as interpreted by H. Yalon, lel, sages from Yavneh, as well as much material from the gen- Pirkei Lashon, $-&), possibly as a morphological analogy to eration of . its opposite vadai, “certain.” In practice, the term designates Because demai is a rabbinic stringency that was instituted produce regarding which doubts exist as to whether all the in response to a minority of unreliable individuals, the rabbis “gi/s” for the priests, , etc. have been set aside properly, tended to interpret doubtful cases in a lenient manner. (is is because it was acquired from an am ha-areẓ (“person of the the theme of much the tractate, which deals with exemptions, land”), an individual whose trustworthiness on these matters such as for species of produce that are not normally kept as is questionable. Owing to these doubts, the ḥ aver is expected food (!:!), produce from outside the halakhic borders of to set aside the gi/s, though in a manner that minimizes the (!:$, &:!!), certain types of commercial purveyors (.:-, ):!–-, 0nancial loss. Initially, the produce was subject to for &), etc. Similarly, that were separated as demai are not the priests, 0rst tithe for the Levites (a tenth of which must be subject to all the restrictions that would apply to fully sacred given to the priest) and, depending on the year in the sabbati- produce (!:.), especially where it is used for the ful0llment of cal cycle, which can be consumed by the owner in religious precepts, such as distribution to the poor ($:!), an Jerusalem, or . Since the am ha-areẓ is relied on to ‘eruv (!:-), etc. obey the severe -based precept of terumah, and there is (e Mishnah (.:.) discusses how a person may be cer- no ritual prohibition against eating the tithes due to the Lev- ti0ed as a ne’eman (one who is deemed trustworthy with re- ites or the poor, the demai procedure involved designating the spect to tithing); or as a full-1edged ḥ aver who is trusted on 0rst tithe only so that the priestly portion could be taken from matters of purity as well (.:$). it and given to the . Because neither the Levites nor the Historians are not in agreement whether the restrictions poor could prove their respective entitlement to their tithes observed by the ḥ aver were considered obligatory or volun- (since demai is by de0nition a doubtful case), these remained tary expressions of extraordinary piety. At any rate, the trac- the property of the owner. As a result, the actual 0nancial loss tate Demai is addressed to a target audience of ḥ averim who borne by the owner by re-tithing demai was modest. are assumed to be observing the highest standards or tithing (e institution of demai seems to date back to early in and purity. Because the need for demai results from the accep- the Second Commonwealth era and evidently re1ects the fun- tance by some Jews of stricter standards than those followed damental identity of the Pharisees as individuals who distin- by others, the tractate deals extensively with the relationships guished themselves from the less rigid ritual standards of the and interactions between the ḥ aver and other segments of ammei ha-areẓ . A. Büchler argued that the Mishnah really the community who are less punctilious about those matters. re1ects the clashes between Judean and Galilean cultures in (us, it provides instruction for how to proceed when obtain- the second century 2.3. when the rabbis cited in the Mishnah ing foodstu6s from non-ḥ averim (-:!), when transferring food were active and Judean rabbis were migrating northward in to them (.:$, $:)), when eating in each other’s homes (-:., ':!), the a/ermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt; however, his view has or when operating in partnership, as sharecroppers (&:!–") or not been widely accepted. More recent scholarship has voiced with family relations ($:&). (e general tenor of the halakhah considerable skepticism about the degree to which the concep- is pragmatic, in that it focuses on solutions to speci0c techni-

ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume ! !"# ;<=>?>@A, BCJudaism (!"")) [= translation of *+ Demai]. 0rst research was devoted to responsa literature and the to- [Eliezer L. Segal (,-. ed.)] sa0sts. Dembitzer became noted for historical research and critical work in the 0eld of talmudic and rabbinic literature DEMALACH, YOEL (!",%– ), Israeli agriculturalist. De- and its leading personalities. As early as !&%! he had begun malach was born in Italy and settled in Palestine in !")". He correspondence on biographical and historical subjects with joined kibbutz Revivim where he devoted himself to Negev such well-known rabbis as Solomon *Kluger and Ẓ evi Hirsch agricultural development and invented irrigation methods for ben Meir *Chajes. A visit to Germany in !&'% brought him arid zone agriculture. In !"&$ he received the Israel Prize for in touch with such contemporary scholars as H. Graetz, Z. his investigation and teaching of arid region agriculture. Frankel, L. Zunz, and D. Kaufmann, who in4uenced him to publish his work. His works include Livyat Ḥ en (!&&,), notes DEMBER, HARRY L. (!&&,–!"%)), German physicist. Born and glosses on the work of Ravyah (R. Eliezer b. Joel ha-); in Leimbach, Dember was at the Dresden Technische Hoch- Kelilat Yo%, volume one (!&&&), a historical survey of the Lvov schule (!"#/), where he was appointed professor of physics in rabbis, and volume two (!&"), repr. !"$#), biographies of fa- !"!% and also director of the Physics Institute in !",). Driven mous rabbis from Poland-Latvia from !%") to !$",, includ- out by the Nazis, he held similar positions at the University of ing information on Polish Jewish independent government; Istanbul from !")) to !"%!. He later immigrated to the United essays on the Council of Four Lands; and Torat Ḥ en (!&"/), States and was visiting professor at Rutgers University, New halakhic responsa. Jersey, at the time of his death. His 0eld was the photoelec- !"#$"%&'()*+: Wettstein, Toledot Meharḥ an (!&")), re- tricity of crystals and one aspect of his research in this area is printed in J. Mandelbaum, Ma&e’aḥ le-Sefer Kelilat Yo% (!"$&), !!–)/; known as the “Dember E1ect.” Brann, in: 567+, )" (!&"/), !%,; B. Wachstein, Die hebraeische Pub- lizistik in Wien, ) (!")#), !!; Aḥ i’asaf, ! (!&")), ,"$ (obituary). DEMBITZ, LEWIS NAPHTALI (!&))–!"#'), U.S. lawyer [Yehoshua Horowitz / Israel Halpern] and Jewish leader. Dembitz was born in Zirke, province of Po- sen, Prussia, and went to the U.S. in !&%". He completed law DEMBLIN, BENJAMIN (pseudonym of Benjamin Teitel- studies in Cincinnati and then settled in Louisville, Kentucky, baum; !&"'–!"'$), Yiddish writer. Born in Modzicz, Poland, where he practiced law. Dembitz entered politics early and Demblin immigrated to the U.S. in !",! and began publishing was elected to several Republican Party o2ces. He was a del- in various Yiddish periodicals. (ree of his novels deal with egate to the Republican National Convention that nominated the ḥ alutzim: Tsvey un a Driter (“Two and a (ird,” !"%)), Lincoln in !&$#. In !&&& he dra3ed the 0rst Australian (secret Tsankendike Likht (“Flickering Candles,” !"/&), and Der Tate iz ballot) voting system. Dembitz wrote a number of books on Gekumen (“Father Has Come,” included in the collection Oyf American law, including Kentucky Jurisprudence (!&"#); Law Dray Kontinentn, “(ree Continents,” !"$)). His book-cycle Language for Shorthand Writers (!&",); and Land Titles in the Erev Nakht consists of 0ve parts: Erev Nakht (“Before Night,” United States (, vols., !&"/). Dembitz’s a2liation with Jewish !"/%), Oyf Eygenem Barot (“On One’s One,” !"$!), In der Velt life was at 0rst through the Reform movement, and he was a Arayn (“Into the World,” !"$/), A Fremde Velt (“A Foreign member of the commission on the plan of study for Hebrew World,” !"')), and In Nayem Land (“In a New Land,” !"')). Union College. But a3er that institution became openly Re- His other books are Afn Shvel (“On the (reshold,” !"))) and form, and especially a3er the acceptance of the *Pittsburgh Vest-Sayd (“West Side,” !")&; Heb. !"/%). Demblin was a re- Platform, he joined the Conservative movement and helped to alist who depicted in epic style the social changes in Jewish establish the Jewish (eological Seminary. Dembitz contrib- and general life. uted several articles on Talmudic jurisprudence and on liturgy !"#$"%&'()*+: B. Demblin, In der Velt Arayn (!"$/), )&)–"& to and prepared the translations of Ex- (bibliography by Y. Yeshurin); 89:8, , (!"/&), /)%–/. ,--. !"#$"- odus and Leviticus which were incorporated into the revised %&'()*+: Kagan, Leksikon (!"&$), ,#!. English of the Jewish Publication Society (!"!'). His vol- [Moshe Starkman / Tamar Lewinsky (,-. ed.)]

!"# ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume !