Some words must be said about the devel opment of literature in Yiddish, which is a German, freely mixed with Hebrew, and in eastern also with Slavic. Originally devoted merely to practical religious purposes, such as translation of prayerbooks for the edification and religious instruction of women, in the latter half of the 19th century it began to be used for higher literary purposes, in poems, novels and dramas. As a poet, Simeon Frog may be considered as the foremost repre sentative; among the novelists, S. J. Abramo witz, Solomon Rabbinowitz and J. S. Peretz, some of whose works may justly claim a place in the world's literature. Among the drama tists, Jacob Gordin is noteworthy for his bold treatment of sociological and economical ques tions, although the plots of his plays are mostly adaptations from the classics of lan guages.
In this connection a new branch of litera ture has to be mentioned, which, akin to the idyl, is peculiarly Jewish. It is the so-called Ghetto novel, cultivated first in the Ger man language by Aaron Bernstein (1812 84), in his two novels, 'Voegele der Magid,' and 'Mendi Gibbor,' presenting life in a pro visional town of Eastern Germany in the period of transition from Ghetto to modern culture. Leopold Kompert (1822-86), wrote stories from Bohemian Ghettos which are masterpieces of their kind. Life in the overcrowded Ghetto districts of eastern Galicia, with its squalor and superstition on the one hand, and its ardent desire for knowledge and its beautiful family life on the other, were masterfully presented by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch (1835-95), and Karl Emil Franzos (1848-1904). Israel Zang will, born 1864, presented the life of the Russian Jews in London. Sketches from Jewish life in Moravia were written by Martha Wolfenstein (1871-1906), in her 'Idyls of the Gass.' A development of the 19th century is Jewish periodical literature, although its beginnings reach back to 1674, when a periodical in Judeo Spanish was first published in Amsterdam. These periodicals are mostly weekly, when devoted to religious interests. The oldest of them is the Allgemeine Zeitung des' Juden thums, now of Berlin, founded in 1837 at Leip zig. It was followed by the Archives Israelites of Paris, in 1840, the Jewish Chronicle of Lon don, in 1841, the American Israelite of Cin cinnati, in 1854 and the Jewish Messenger of New York in 18,56. Such papers appear in at i
least 15 languages. Dailies in Hebrew and Yiddish are devoted to general news, but give particular attention to Jewish affairs. They ap pear in Warsaw, Wilna, Saint Petersburg and New York. The oldest is Hazefirah, founded in 1862 as a weekly, edited as a daily since 1886 and suspended by order of the govern ment in 1905. Some monthlies and quarterlies are devoted to scientific and literary purposes; the most prominent are Monatsschnft fuer Ge schichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthants (1851), Revue des Etudes Juves•(1880), and the Jewish Quarterly Review (1880). To this class belong numerous yearbooks, published in various languages, and appearing more or less regularly.
In spite of these modern tendencies, which occupied the attention of Jewish authors dur ing the 19th century, talmudic studies of the old type were not entirely neglected. They are, however, mostly confined to the east of Europe, and the Orient. The most prominent rabbinical author in the beginning of the 19th century was Moses Schreiber (Soler), rabbi of Presburg (1762-1839). In the Orient, the most prolific authors of rabbinical works of the 19th century are Havim David Hazan (1790-1876), rabbi of Jerusalem, Hayim Palagi, rabbi of Smyrna (1782-1868), and finally, ,Hayim Hezekiah Medini, of Hebron (1832 1904). Of the Jews of Europe, the most prom inent rank amongst the talmudic authors in the latter part of the 19th century, was held by Isaac Elhanan Spektor (1810-96), rabbi of Kovno.
Bibliography.—Abraham's 'Short History of Jewish Literature' (London 1906) ; Dar mesteter, Arsine, (The Talmud' (Philadelphia 1897) ; Steinschneider, Literatue (in Ersch und Gruber's Encylclo padie der Wissenschaften und Kiinste,' Section Vol. 27, Leipzig 1850) ; Karpeles. (Ge -schichte der jiidisclen Literatur) (Berlin 1886) ; id., 'Jewish Literature and Other Essays' (Philadelphia 1895) ; Winter and Wiinsche, 'Die Jfidische Literatur seit Abschluss des Kanons' (Berlin 1897) ; and 'The Jewish Encyclopaedia' (12 vols., New York 1901-06).
Gerrrawan DEUTSCH, Professor of History, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio.