ME MORABLE DATE S J E WIS H H ISTO RY BY T H D E TSCH P H . D . GO T A R D U , , Profe sso r a t th e H e b re w U n ion Colle e g , Cin cin n a ti 0 . , N E W YO R K B L B L O CH P U ISHING CO . 1 904 M E M OR A BLE D A T E S . IN T R OD U CT ION . M O NG th e various attempts to explain the complex phe n omen on called Judaism , the historical explanation will of necessarily be the least dispute d . The definition Judaism as of a racial entity is strongly denied by a great many its followers , of as mistaking the accidental for the essential . The definition u m of wh o Judaism as a creed is derided by a great n ber men , not only allow themselves to be called Jews in spite of their in dif or ference even hostility to the religious question , but even by such for n . who zealously work its future desti y The definition , however, of a r e that the Jews the present age such by descent, that is , i through h storic forces , be those forces racial or religious, cannot n ot be denied . The worst that may be said against it is that it is complete . This assertion is strongly sup ported by the fact that the interest in Jewish history is manifeste d in ou r age as it never has been e m i befor , by publication of docu ents , of tombstone inscript ons o and mon graphs , by the founding of societies devoted to the fur th er a n ce of of Jewish history, and by the frequent celebration e or i a o c ntenaries , similar events , recall ng import nt turning p ints of ou r in the h istory past . This consideration prompte d me to c ollect memorable dates in Jewish history , arranged according to the days of the month . Such a collection will be , in the first s of c in tance , a brief list memorable persons and fa ts in the h of istory Judaism . It will suggest occasionally the celebration 2 M E M OR A B L E — O O DATES INTR DUCTI N . so of centenaries , and furnish for the home and for the school proper means for bringing home vividly the memories of the p a s t . The first one to attempt such a task was the immortal founder “ ” Zu n z 1 8 7 1 of Jewish science, Leopold , who , in , published his “ nk Die Monatstage des Ka lenderj ahre s . Ein Ande en an Hin H is a on s e geschiedene . list is b sed the traditional piety, manife t d “ was in the celebration of the Jah r ze it . He followed by Kayser “ i wh o 1 8 92 e Ge l ng, , in , published short sketches under the titl de n kb l a e tte r hervorragender j u e disch e r P e r s oen lichke ite n des 1 9ten ” to s a h r h u n de rts . a a J The index, rranged ccording the dates , serve i the purpose which I att empted with my list . S ince that t me a of I Hebrew pamphlet the same character has appeared, but have os not seen it . Rabbi Heppner, in K chmin , published a block e r y calendar, with the memorabl dates from Jewish history on eve an d k u e disch es s leaf, various papers, li e the J Volksblatt, of Bre lau , u e disch e s l l of a the J Vo ksb att, Vienn , the Generalanzeiger fuer die es a mmte n s u de n th u ms g Intere sen des J , have published weekly such . c h as es . lists My own colle tion, however, been from various sourc I and always tried , wherever it was possible , to go back to the of original source information . of 1 The difficulties such an attempt are numerous . The first ' Wh o important question is shall be included , and who shall be ' ’ Zu n z b y excluded work was severely criticized his colleague, F . ou t Lebrecht, who pointed amongst other things that Zu n z had of - Ve ite l E i omitted the name the mint master, Heine phra m , h a d e Zu n z who founded the institut in which taught . ( See All n u de n th u ms 1 2 4 8 7 . 7 7 6 8 7 . gemeine Zeitu g des J , , p and See, also, u e disch e Vol . X Geiger, J Zeitschrift, , p . From an American p o int of view it may be suffi cient to know that Zu n z omitted the m o f s o na es Isaac Lee er, Juda Touro , and M rdecai Manuel Noah . An especial diffi culty is presented in the question of including the names of people who have left Judaism . That they are not Zu n z altogether to be omitted , has proven by the fact that h e th e of included names Heinrich Heine and M . G . Saphir . Graetz . m of devoted , in the last volu e his history , a whole chapter to A L — O O 3 MEMO R B E DATES INTR DUCTI N . Heine and Ludwig Boerne, and has also devoted a lengthy chap n o wh o e n s e ter to Benedict Spinoza . And one und rsta d J wish history will blame either Zu n z or Graetz for it . Heine had to of learned to think as a Jew and feel as a Jew, and, in spite wa s . his conversion , he made to suffer as a Jew 2 if r . Another d ficulty arises from the differences in the repo ts While Ka yse r lin g states that Leopold Dukes was born January ’ 2 5 1 7 M e e r s Con ve r s a tion sl e xikon . , y has January There is no of ou t old positive way finding the truth , because the Jewish congrega tion did n ot keep exa ct records of the birth of chil o f dren born in their midst, and even an investigation the papers ’ o c of rep rting the elebration Dukes eightieth birthday, which , in u e a . my case wo ld be exceedingly difficult, would not prov nything Ka ser lin E . 2 While y g reports that Akiba ger was born Nov , 1 7 52 to h is , according the biography written by great grandson , 1 on . 8 1 7 6 . Solomon Schreiber, he was born Nov , There is only a degree of more or less p robability about one or the other F r of I of these dates . o the sake curiosity wish to add that in one a n d the s ame number of the Allgemeine Zeitung des Juden th u ms the death of David K a ufmann is re ported differe ntly on the cover and in the body of the paper . f 3 . A special dif iculty is due to the fact that date s of Jewish history in former times were given according t o the Jewish . n ot of calendar This only increases the possibility an error, but it makes it absolutely impossible to avoid a difference with on e da regard to day, the night being counted with the next V of to the month, while up midnight it belongs to the preceding f o a . a . 2 6 day the general c lendar Is ac M Wise died March , 1 900' 5 5 2 6 00. Adar , Had he died an hour later, it would have e 2 6 an d on e n ot be n Adar , any informed about the general date 2 would calculate it to have been March 7 . This is a small mat n ter, although a difference in a ledger of o e cent remains just as ‘ grievou s a s if it were a matter of Another difiicu ltv ' is the frequency of error in changing the date from the Jewish to d h . an of t e th e the general calendar Finally, error, slip pen of — 4 MEMORA BLE DATES INTRODUCTION . Zu n z h a s author, add very much to the difficulty . , who been of celebrated for his accuracy in details , has any number false statements , arising from such small matters, so he gives the of i death Dav d Halevi, the author of Ture Zahab , as having a 3 1 1 6 6 7 of 2 0 taken place Janu ry , , instead January , as Buber , in his Anshe Shem , has it, where the tombstone inscription is to published . He has made mistakes which are due careless of E ness , just as he reports the death leazar Loew, talmudic 2 1 83 7 author, correctly, as having taken place February , , but s o f o f . r e he give the name Loewi, instead Loew He further of ports the death of the geographer Palestine, Israel Schwarz , 1 as 4 8 6 5 . having taken place in Jerusalem , February , Accord ing to the tombstone inscription , published with the second edi ’ ’ of S a a th e 9th of S h b a t tion chwarz work , the de th took pl ce on , z February 5 .