[CHAPTER] XLII.
LITERATURE: HEBREW AND ENGLISH. PERIODICALS.
Curiosities of early American Jewish literature which belong to the domain of bibliography—Rabbinical works: Responses, commentaries and Homiletics—Hebrew works of a modern character—Ehrlich’s Mikra Ki-Peshuto and Eisenstein’s Ozar Israel—Neo-Hebrew Poets and literati—Jewish writers in the vernacular—“Ghetto Stories”—Writers on non-Jewish subjects—Scientific works—Writers on Jewish subjects and contributors to the “Jewish Encyclopedia”—A. S. Freidus—Non-Jewish writers about Jews—Daly—Frederic, Davitt and Hapgood—Journalists, editors and publishers—The Ochs brothers; the Rosewaters—Pulitzer and de Young of Jewish descent—The Jewish denominational press in English—The “Sanatorium.”
[CHAPTER] XLIII.
YIDDISH LITERATURE, DRAMA AND THE PRESS.
Yiddish poets of the United States equal, if they do not excell, the poets of the same tongue in other countries—Morris Rosenfeld—“Yehoash” and Sharkansky—Bovshoer and other radicals—Zunser—Old fashioned novelists—The sketch writers who are under the influence of the Russian realistic writers—Abner Tannenbaum—Alexander Harkavy—“Krantz,” Hermalin, Zevin and others—Abraham Goldfaden and the playwrights who followed him—Jacob Gordin and the realists—Yiddish actors and actresses—The Yiddish Press—The high position attained by the dailies—Weekly and monthly publications.
[CHAPTER] XLIV.
PRESENT CONDITIONS. THE NUMBER AND THE DISPERSION OF JEWS IN AMERICA. CONCLUSION.
Dispersion of the Jews over the country and its colonial possessions—The number of Jews in the United States about three millions—The number of communities in various States—The number of Jews in the large cities—The number of the congregations is far in excess of the recorded figures—The process of disintegration and the counteracting forces—The building of synagogues—Charity work is not overshadowing other communal activities as in the former period, and more attention is paid to affairs of Judaism—The conciliatory spirit and the tendency to federate—Self-criticism and dissatisfaction which are an incentive to improvement—Our great opportunity here—Our hope in the higher civilization in which the injustices of the older order of things may never reappear.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.