“But the truth is—thus the soul concludes its narrative—that he had no quarrel with Satan, nor any fight with the rest of the evil spirits. The evil spirit that caused his untimely death was of quite a different nature. It was the spirit he had drunk that had cut short his existence. For, after his heavy potations of the evening, the ‘Rebbe’ felt rather ill. He opened the window of his room, and leant out into the fresh air. No sooner had he done so than he lost his balance, and fell headlong on the stones below. No immediate help being near at hand he soon after expired.”
There are several other passages in Erter's writings which treat the same subject equally humorously, but another short extract from one of the satires, having for its title “Piety and Wisdom,” will suffice. After having pointed out in general terms the great advantages which the calling of a “Rebbe” offers, the author takes the young aspirant into his confidence, and describes its glorious prospects in the following words:—
“When,” says he, “you are a holy man, you will have a greater treasury than the king has, inasmuch as all the gold and silver belonging to your devotees, who may live in your district, will be yours. Any king or ruler of a land, who wishes to levy taxes from his loyal subjects, is obliged to appoint and employ tax-collectors for that purpose, but your adherents will place all their money and wealth at your disposal without your asking for it. Should any one of them fall ill, money will be sent to you to offer up prayers for his recovery. You keep, at any rate, those monetary presents, for if such patients die it will generally be assumed that their death was a punishment for their previous evil doings; but if they are restored again to life and health, then that fact will be attributed to the efficacy of your prayers. The same will be the case when people come to you to obtain your advice in regard to business or matrimonial matters. If they are successful, and everything turns out to be according to their heart's desire, then it is you and your great divine power that have effected all this; but, on the other hand, if your counsel and foretelling lead them astray, they will have to ascribe their failure to their own follies and misdeeds.”
Erter succeeded in infusing a new life and spirit into the Hebrew tongue, which is generally classed among the dead languages. To quote the words that he himself uses on behalf of the genius of the Hebrew language, “I am dead in the mouths of my children, but I live still in their hearts.” Erter did more than only protest against the lack of originality in later Hebrew writers; he himself supplied the deficiency. But he was no mere writer of Hebrew prose. He had the welfare of his Jewish countrymen constantly at heart, and it was with the object of improving their low mental and social position that he wrote those satires, in which their shortcomings and follies were censured and ridiculed. He spared no class; Rabbi and layman alike felt the sting of his scorn, and it was by this means that he really did some good. For some time he also edited, in co-operation with some friends, a Hebrew periodical under the name of He-Chaluz (החלוץ), which continued to appear after his death. This journal was intended to promote the enlightenment and learning of the Jews in Galicia, and gradually to win their sympathies for his favourite project, namely, the establishment of an agricultural colony in his own country, in which Jewish young men should be employed in tilling the ground, and in farming tracts of land on their own account. This healthy and useful occupation, he maintained, would help to decrease, to a great extent, the misery and poverty, which are, even now, the characteristic feature of that particular part of the Austrian empire. And strange to say the very plan, which was drawn up so many years ago by Erter without being carried into effect, has quite recently been taken up again in the capital of Austria by the most influential members of the Jewish community, at the instigation of the late Baron Hirsch.
Erter's writings form but a slender volume, but it may safely be said that they will outlive many a more pretentious work. True humour is a rare possession, and Erter's style will never cease to be a source of delight to those who have a relish for keen satire, and for an elegant and poetical employment of the language of the Bible.
Footnotes:
[129-1] Vienna, 1858; second edition, 1864.
[XIII]
[LEOPOLD ZUNZ][[140-1]]
Among the prominent Jewish scholars of the nineteenth century Zunz will always occupy a high place. Like Moses Mendelssohn in his time, Zunz, in a later generation, carried on his spiritual work among his people with unceasing energy and ability, though in a somewhat different direction. While the former rendered a lasting service to the Jews by arousing in their minds a love for secular studies, Zunz conferred a no less important benefit upon them by bringing to light a large mass of literary matter, which was the result of his lifelong critical researches into Jewish history and literature. In these two departments Zunz was, in fact, a pioneer, and the works he published in connexion with them have proved themselves to be of considerable assistance to the student. The present essay is mainly intended to give the reader some notion of the contents of Zunz's most important writings, but it will also contain a brief sketch of his life.