The Jewish advance., November 15, 1878, Image 1

About The Jewish advance. (Chicago, Ill.) 1878-1881

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Execute the Judgment of Truth and Peace in your Gates,
A WEEKLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO SOCIAL INTERESTS AND PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM
CHICAGO, NOVEMBER 1 5. 18 78.
VCL. I
No. 23
.!
_ MIRAGES;
|{y Henry (Jcrsmii.
Is the title of a Novel, descrip
tive of American Jewish Life,
which will begin with the Second
Volume of the Jewish Advance,
in the issue of December i • >th, and
he continued in the succeeding
numbers. Those who are. inter
ested in the style of the author
6f “ The Kaleidoscope. ’ ’ “ The
Thoughts and Fancies." “ The
.Diary of a Superfluous Man,
etc., etc., and may desire to see the
TATA MORGANA
which the saine author has created
■ for theM, Will please send in their
Subscriptions at their earliest con
venience, as we prin t only as many
copies of the .Jewish Advance as
we need for immediate purposes,
and bach-numbers will he hard to
procure. Tiie Published.
ALL MINE.
BY A. !\ STEVENS.
“ The Present only is thine.”
The teacher cries;
The Present is all mine,
With tremulous sighs
My heart replies.
The Past may be forgot,—
The Future pale—
Nay, Time itself be not,
For,Life may fail,
And Death prevail.
Hut kisses, and love, and pain.
All sifts divine,
The Present makes my sain.
Oh! rich life’s mine
To-day is mine.
—Chic-ayn Times.
For the Jewish Advance.
ALBERT COHN.
(Cunt in aed.)
XV.
In the midst of* his manifold labors,
Albert Cohn has not neglected his
duties toward the science of Judaism
which he had espoused in his youth.
Those who came in contact with him,
could not but notice that he was a
student of Jewish theology, nourished
with the wisdom of the Bible, before
j whoso imagination swayed the images
I of tlio Orient, and whose memory was
j full with the reminiscences of the rab
| binical literature. Hut his literary pro
j duetious were not many, in the year
j 18H<5, he published an anonymous article.
I "Die Oestreichiscbe Stanton."’ in the
| Wissenschafthrlu /j< itxc7rnft. ot Dr.
Abraham Oeiger; in 1848, he published
in the Arckirrs Jsrnclite, an article on
the work of Leon Laborde. " Commen
tair (feographiquo sur 1’Exode et les
I Nombres:" and in the " Jahresbuch fur
| Israeliten (5(ilG and blilS). he published
| a beautiful fantasia on ‘'Music by the
| Hebrews.' Two other letters which
Albert Cohn had published on the ques
tion of Reform. which has been discussed
during the years 1820 to 1840. deserves
special mention, on account of the his
torical significance of the movement.
The rrf/iiih nf the il Restoration.” lias
roused grave onslaughts against tlie
clerical profession. By reasons inexpli
cable. the Jews of France were drawn
into the torrent of the sentiment of the
time, and deemed it nee'essary to raise
also their voices against rabbinism and
the rabbins. The Reform agitation
which was brewing at that time among
the German Israelites, has undoubtedly
contributed a great deal towards the
same agitation in France. At the head
of the French Jewish liberals was O.
Terquem, who was known by the nom
de-phnne of Tsarfasi. He was a remark
able mathematician, and had been for a
long time a functionary of the " Biblio
theque de l'Arsenale.” He was highly
esteemed by all who knew him. on
account of his great capacities and no
bility of character; and even Albert
Cohn, who had written so strongly
against him. said that he was an ‘‘excel
lent man." The intentions of <). Ter
quem may have been good, but when he
took his pen in his hand, he threw off all
shackles and restraint, and smote right
and left without regard of either person
or institution. Brave men were danger
| ous in those times.
Terquem lias launched into publicity
his “Letters of a French Israelite to
his Coreligionists.’’ and they had the
effect of a tire brand applied to a mine
of gunpowder. Those “Letters” were
short pamphlets, full of vivacity and of
cutting points. They attacked every
body and everything connected with
the ancient institutions which the Jews
revered. They have produced a great
effect, and called forth a multitude of
other productions, which composed quite
a literature on the questions at issue. A
host of writers were roused against the
assailant, who undisturbedly continued
his assaults single-handed at first, and
afterwards with the support of Meyer
Dalmbert.
Albert Cohn, who had arrived in
France about the time the controversy
was raised, was drawn into the whirl.
He was penetrated with religious senti
ments, and could not help but put in his
word in heluilf of orthodox Judaism.
We need not say that the article which
he had published, was perfectly moder
ate in tenor, and written with a dignity
which contrasted strangely with the
choleric outburst of Tarquem. I>ut at a
later period, he had published an article
containing more vivacity. SolomonMunk
has become involved in the struggle,
lie had endeavored to defend a rabbi of
Metz against the assaults of Terquem,
and has himself become the victim of
the sharp-edged pen of that writer.
Seeing his dear friend Solomon Munk
assailed, Albert Cohn hastened to the
rescue. He wrote a vivacious article in
the Archives Israelite *’ (1841) against
Tarquem. which caused an end to all
controversies.
The most interesting literary work of
Albeit Cohn is. his “Jewish Letters,
published in 1804, after the author had
returned from his sixth pilgrimage
(Travels in Mo£G£UpA.~ Tive^o letters.
V>e author addresses to -his son, who
desires “to know the result of his trav
els in the East.” But no sooner does he
begin to write than the memories of his
earlier life crowd upon him, and he gives
free vent to his recollection and senti
ments. Me narrates about the works,
troubles and hopes of his earlier days
until he came to Paris. From the time
he arrived in Paris, the history of mod
ern Judaism is developed before him,
and he is drawn into public life, lie
leads the reader through Austria, Italy,
Germany, Turkey, Palestine and Africa,
and makes him familiar with every per
son and circumstance of note, which lias
any influence on the development of
Jewish affairs. There is hardly any
book of travels more interesting than
the “Jewish Letters.” The style is
fluent; the narrative is confined to facts
—dotted throughout with brief but bril
liant reflections on the history and sig
nificance of Judaism. The warm senti
ments of the writer, his vivacity and
keenness of observation, the simplicity
and modest bonhomie of the narrative,
rivet the attention of the reader. And
where he expects it the least, a brilliant
play of imagination is unfolded before
him like a charming mirage in the atmo
sphere. It is a pity that these sketches
have not been continued.
Beside the few literary productions of
Albert Cohn, the author has made him
self deserving in the cause of learning,
by the active support he has given to
such institutions. For a number of
years, he had paid out of his private
funds, the rent of the seminary at Paris.
The means of that institution being
scanty, he has assumed the functions ot
a professor of Jewish history; and dur
ing a period of over sixteen years he
has given instruction on that branch of
study, with a regularity and precision si>
characteristic of him. All the rabbins
who have graduated from that institu
tion, received their instruction from
him. He had not given up his profess
orship until the spring of HTii. when he
was prostrated by the sickness which
was to take him away from us.
Through his influence with the house of
Uothschild, Albert Cohn has rendered
great service to literature by encour
aging the publication of important works
of poor authors. The catalogue of the
works which he has helped to publish,
would be too lengthy to be given here;
we will confine ourselves to the mention
of a few of the most important :
The “ Commentary of Isaiah.” by S.
!). Luzatto.
The uSepher ha-l’ikmah.” by Ibn
Hannah.
” Goldenthat s Arabian Grammar.
‘‘.Jacob Hamburger’s Talmudical En
cyclopaedia.”
The “Gal-Kd,” a collection of ancient
inscriptions on the tombstones of tlm
'ocnit e’ty ot PfaA wTiicTf Tie has pub
lished entirely at his own expense.
The “ More Nebuchim.” with Monk's
French Translation—and many other
works of importance.
We have reported in a previous chap
ter all the literarv and publication socie
ties of which in* was a member, and
whose interests lie has promoted.
The reader can obtain a clear idea of
Albert Cohn's love for Jewish scholar
ship and scholars, by perusing the beau
tiful articles he published in 18t>5, on
occasion of the demise of S. D. luizatto,
and in which he announced that he had
opened a subscription for the publica
tion of the posthumous works of that
renowned scholar.
Albert Cohn was. indeed, the Meeenas
of Jewish scholars, and it is they who
feel Iris loss most deeply.
'I'll UK CONCI.r 1>K1).
Synagogue Worship.
of To-Day.
I inlaism
We clip the following in order to show
that the same cry which is so preva
lent in America, is also forcibly uttered
in England. The spirit ot the times
works its influence all over the world
al ke
IjiVKiti’nor,. (October lull, lo<o.
To the Editor of the Jevhh World:
Slit,—Another year has passed away,
and my mind becomes more solemnly
impressed with the shortness of time
and the magnitude of duty, and 1 feel
called upon by the dictates of con
science and promptings of soul, to raise
a voice against the progress of sham and
the advance of unreality which gener
ally exists in our community. Before 1
enter upon the threshold of my argu
ment, I feel that 1 owe you a debt of
lasting gratitude for the earnest, power
ful. and scholarly New 1 ear " leader
which adorned your paper some few
days since. 1 am satisfied that in thank
in'} you. I am the exponent of the feel