1 Abstract When an American Jew Produced: Judah David Eisenstein and the First Hebrew Encyclopedia Between 1907 and 1913, Judah David Eisenstein (1854–1956), an amateur scholar and entrepreneurial immigrant to New York City, produced the first modern Hebrew encyclopedia, Ozar Yisrael. The Ozar was in part a traditionalist response to Otsar Hayahdut: Hoveret l’dugma, a sample volume of an encyclopedia created by Asher Ginzberg (Ahad Ha’am)’s circle of cultural nationalists. However, Eisenstein was keen for his encyclopedia to have a veneer of objective and academic respectability. To achieve this, he assembled a global cohort of contributors who transcended religious and ideological boundaries, even as he retained firm editorial control. Through the story of the Ozar Yisrael, this dissertation highlights the role of America as an exporter of Jewish culture, raises questions about the borders between Haskalah and cultural nationalism, and reveals variety among Orthodox thinkers active in Jewish culture in America at the turn of the twentieth century. When an American Jew Produced: Judah David Eisenstein and the First Hebrew Encyclopedia by Asher C. Oser Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Jewish History Bernard Revel Graduate School Yeshiva University August 2020 ii Copyright © 2020 by Asher C. Oser iii The Committee for this doctoral dissertation consists of Prof. Jeffrey S. Gurock, PhD, Chairperson, Yeshiva University Prof. Joshua Karlip, PhD, Yeshiva University Prof. David Berger, PhD, Yeshiva University iv Acknowledgments This is a ledger marking debts owed and not a place to discharge them. Some debts are impossible to repay, and most are the result of earlier debts, making it difficult to know where to begin. My first exposure to academic Jewish studies was in the loving and cultured home of my parents. An Encyclopedia Judaica sat on the shelves and offered gleanings of a world that seemed very distant from the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. As an undergraduate at the Department of Semitic Studies at the University of Sydney, these gleanings began to grow. Always unfailingly kind, Professor Rifaat Ebeid, Dr. Ian Young, and Dr. Noel Weeks showed me that there was a different way to study my heritage. A semester abroad at McGill University brought me under the tutelage of Professor B. Barry Levy. A master pedagogue who cared deeply about all of his students, Professor Levy was the reason I returned to McGill to pursue an MA in Jewish Studies, and his year-long course on Jewish Bible interpretation led me to write a dissertation for him. His teaching and example remain with me to this day. One of my teachers at McGill, Professor Lawrence Kaplan, honed my ability to read critically. A polymath who is comfortable in the entire spectrum of Jewish studies, he has through the years become a friend, a treasured resource of intellectual discernment and arbiter of abstract thinking. v Professor Levy taught me that a graduate student must choose his advisor wisely, and Professor Jeffrey S. Gurock is the reason why I settled on American Jewish history. An accomplished academic who is a well-rounded individual with interests beyond academia and an historian whose celebrated works appear at a prodigious rate, Professor Gurock has been the most fantastic advisor. It has been a marathon, and in the almost two decades that I have been working toward my PhD, never have I regretted this decision. Through countless drafts and endless delays, even when I was across the sea and far from research libraries, Professor Gurock never failed to help me. Without his careful guidance, I would not have finished. As this PhD was never the mainstay of my life, the delays were endless, and progress was slow. Begun when I was a rabbinical student, my doctoral work followed me into three congregations: Brothers of Joseph in Norwich, Connecticut; Beth Sholom in Providence, Rhode Island; and Ohel Leah Synagogue in Hong Kong S.A.R.—three very different congregations that I’ve been privileged to serve and that allowed me to develop in different ways. It was only after arriving in Hong Kong that I settled on the topic of Judah David Eisenstein’s Ozar Yisrael. A decade earlier, when I was living in Montreal, I enjoyed many a beautiful Shabbat meal at the home of Reb Yankel and Frieda Abramczyk. It was from Reb Yankel, himself steeped in a world now lost, that I first learned about the Ozar Yisrael. As I searched for a dissertation topic, I recalled those heavenly Shabbat meals, and then Professor Steven Fine wisely urged me to consider Eisenstein. When Professor Gurock enthusiastically agreed with this suggestion, I settled on it. vi Living in Hong Kong and at a distance from great Jewish libraries, I imagined that this topic would be easy to complete in relative isolation. My plan was to evaluate various entries in the Ozar Yisrael, and this naïve plan seduced me. Soon I learned that a huge amount of archival material relating to Eisenstein is scattered in various libraries. Not to draw on these archives would have been irresponsible, and so I began the arduous process of collating and deciphering archival material. In Israel, the Gnazim archive, M. J. Berdyczewski archive, and various collections of the National Library of Israel all held material that was helpful to me. Professor Avner Holtzman of Tel Aviv University and the M. J. Berdyczewski archive spent a significant amount of time teaching me to decipher Berdyczewski’s script and reviewing his letters. In the United States, collections at the libraries of Yeshiva University, the Jewish Theological Seminary, and the American Jewish Archives were drawn upon. All the librarians and archivists in these institutions were incredibly kind and helpful to me. A Bernard and Audrey Rapoport Fellowship at The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives supported my time there in 2013– 2014. Rabbi Dr. Gary P. Zola, the center’s tireless executive director, has a deep understanding of the overlooked place of Hebraism in American Jewish History and he took a personal interest in my work. Dr. Dana Herman, an old friend from McGill University and director of research and collections at the center, was supremely helpful to me. Dr. Herman and her partner, Professor Jason Kalman, ensured that my stay in Cincinnati was enjoyable, and they extended every hospitality to me. At the Bernard Revel Graduate School, Dean David Berger helped me at all stages of this journey. An endless source of good cheer and edifying advice, Dean Berger’s judicious vii comments, especially in the area of Biblical criticism, improved this dissertation. At a crucial point, Professor Joshua M. Karlip became an advisor and offered historical insight. He has improved my understanding of Eisenstein and enhanced this dissertation; I am deeply grateful to him. Ms. Washington, the academic administrator at Revel, has been a friendly constant on my journey, helping me stay current with enrolment and registration. Professors Mordechai Z. Cohen, Shalom Holtz, and Jess Olson have always been available to answer my questions. Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter of Yeshiva University has encouraged me along this path and taken an interest in all aspects of my work. His mentoring is precious to me. Professor Marc Shapiro made available to me his storehouse of knowledge. Professor Lawrence Kaplan carefully read the entire manuscript. Listening to his keen insight at my defense, led me to make some adjustments. An email from Menachem Butler in June 2011 proved once again that the legendary grasp of his bibliographic knowledge is matched only by his selfless sharing. Dr. Eve Levavi Feinstein, a talented and patient editor, has fastidiously reviewed this dissertation and helped me with formatting and footnotes. Without her help, it would have taken me much longer. For her skill, devotion, and professionalism I am thankful. This dissertation represents countless hours taken away from family life. My everything, dearest Rachel, who started her PhD after I began mine and finished long before, has not complained about the time this work has inevitably snatched from us. A great joy of completing it is that now I will have more time for what is truly important: her and the four beautiful children, Mordechai, Aryeh, Mira, and Ezra, that God has shared with us. viii It is through tears that I write that my mother did not live to see this work to completion. On March 26, 2020, at the onset of the month of Nissan 5780, I completed the conclusion. My plan was to write the acknowledgment over the next few days, but that did not happen. On Friday, March 27, 2020, my world darkened when I woke to news that my beloved mother had been taken from us. Instead of writing the acknowledgments and thanking her and my dear father for all they have done for me, I was plunged into mourning and shiva, sad with the knowledge that my mother would not live to see this work and devastated that she would not see so much more with earthly eyes. This dissertation is dedicated to her memory. אָ מַ ר רַ בִּ י אַ סֵּ י מִּ פְּ ֵנּ י מָ ה מַ תְּ ִ ּחי לִּ י ן לַתִּ ינוֹקוֹת בְּ ת וֹ רַ ת כֹּ הֲ נִּ י ם וְּ אֵּ י ן מַ תְּ ִ ּחי לִּ י ן בִּ בְּ רֵּ א שִּ י ת, אֶ לָ א שֶ הַ תִּ ינוֹקוֹת טְּ הוֹרִּין . ְ וּ ַ ה קָ רְּ ָ ב נ וֹ ת טְּ הוֹרִּ ין יָבוֹאוּ טְּ ה וֹ רִּ י ן וְּ יִּ תְּ ﬠַ סְּ קוּ בִּטְּ הוֹרִּים ix x At moments when such thoughts came to him, Shloyme became unnaturally animated, walked up to his son, wanted to talk to him with passion and at great length, to give him advice on a couple of things, but ..