Moses Reicherson (Hebrew: משה בן־דוד הכהן רייכערסאָהן, romanized: Moshe ben-David ha-Kohen Reikhersohn; 5 October 1827 – 3 April 1903) was Hebrew grammarian, translator, biblical commentator, and poet.
Moses Reicherson | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Reicherson by Jacob Epstein | |
| Born | 5 October 1827 Vilnius, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 3 April 1903 (aged 75) New York, New York, United States |
| Language | Hebrew |
Selected biography
editReicherson was born in 1827 in Vilnius,[1] where he was a childhood friend of J. L. Gordon.[2]
After studying Talmud, Hebrew, and European languages, he became a Hebrew teacher and a proofreader and editor for publishing houses. In 1890 or 1892 he emigrated to New York[1] to be near his son,[3][4] where he lived in poverty.[3] He worked as a melamed at the Uptown Talmud Torah in Harlem, becoming its principal by 1901.[1][5][6][7]
Reicherson died in New York in 1903.[1]
Work
editThe literary activity of Reicherson was chiefly in the field of Hebrew grammar. He wrote: Ḥelkat ha-nikkud, on Hebrew punctuation (Vilna, 1864); Ḥelkat ha-pe'alim veha-milot, on Hebrew verbs and particles (Vilna, 1873); Yad la-nikkud, a compendium of the rules of Hebrew punctuation for beginners (appended to the prayer book Ḥinnuk tefillah; Vilna, 1880); Dikduk ḥaberim, on the elementary rules of Hebrew grammar (appended to the same prayer book; Vilna, 1883); Ma'arekhet ha-dikduk, a compendium of Hebrew grammar (Vilna, 1883; it was translated into Yiddish by its author and published in the same year); Ḥelkat ha-shem, on the Hebrew noun (Vilna, 1884); Tikkun meshalim, a translation of the fables of the Russian writer I. A. Krylov (Vilna, 1860); and Mishle Lessing ve-sippurav, a translation of Lessing's fables (New York, 1902).
Along with essays on linguistics in American and European Hebrew journals like Ner ma'aravi, Ha-pisgah, Ha-Ivri, and Ha-teḥiya,[2] Reicherson published poetry in Joshua Mezaḥ's literary magazine Gan peraḥim.
He also wrote He'arot we-tikkunim la-divan, notes on the diwan of Judah ha-Levi (Lyck, 1866). He left a number of works in manuscript, including: Dibre ḥakamim ve-ḥidotam, on Talmudic aggadot; commentaries on the Pentateuch, on the Books of Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve Prophets, Psalms, Job, and Proverbs; a prayer book, Tefillah le-Moshe; a work on Hebrew syntax; and fables, original as well as translations from Gellert.
Bibliography
edit- Ḥelkat ha-nikkud. Vilna: Defus Shmuel Yosef Fin ve-Avraham Tzvi Rozenkrantz. 1864. hdl:2027/uc1.$b406542.
- Judah ha-Levi (1866). He'arot ve-Tikkunim la-Divan. Lyck: Mekitze Nirdamim.
- Ḥelkat ha-pe'alim veha-milot. Vilna: Defus H. Dvorzetz. 1873.
- Yad la-nikkud. Vilna. 1880.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Dikduk ḥaberim. Vilna. 1883.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Ma'arekhet ha-dikduk. Vilna: Defus ve-hotsa'ot ha-almanah veha-aḥim Romm. 1883. hdl:2027/hvd.hwmkly.
- Ḥelkat ha-shem; o, yad va-shem. Vilna: Defus Rozenkrantz ve-Shriftzetzer. 1884.
- Krylov, Ivan (1892) [1860]. Tikkun meshalim. Basni I.A. Krylova. Vilna: Defus Avraham Tzvi Rozenkrantz ve-Menaḥem Mendil Shriftzetzer. hdl:2027/hvd.hwn6q5.
- Lessing, Gotthold Ephraim (1902). Mishle Lessing ve-sippurav. New York.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Giller, Pinḥas, ed. (2015) [1895]. Be'ur Moshe: be'urim al ḥamishah ḥumshe Torah. New York: Fryd.
References
edit
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Rosenthal, Herman; Waldstein, A. S. (1905). "Reicherson, Moses ha-Kohen". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 365.
- ^ a b c d "Moses C. Reicherson". New-York Tribune. New York, NY. April 6, 1903. p. 7. Retrieved October 10, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Slutsky, Yehuda (2007). "Reicherson, Moses". In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
- ^ a b Gurock, J.S. (2019). The Jews of Harlem: The Rise, Decline, and Revival of a Jewish Community. New York: New York University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4798-9042-2.
- ^ Brewater, Herbert (November 15, 1902). "Stockton's Last Book". The Saint Paul Globe. Saint Paul, MN. p. 7. Retrieved October 11, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hapgood, Hutchins (1902). The Spirit of the Ghetto: Studies of the Jewish Quarter in New York. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company. pp. 40–51. ISBN 9781465557261.
- ^ "Moses Reicherson". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, SD. March 18, 1901. p. 4. Retrieved October 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gurock, Jeffrey S. (2009). Orthodox Jews in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 127–128. ISBN 978-0-253-22060-8.
External links
edit- Zeitlin, William (1890). "Reicherson, Moses". Bibliotheca hebraica post-Mendelssohniana (in German). Leipzig: K. F. Koehler's Antiquarium. pp. 299–300.
- Brainin, Reuven (1946). "Moshe Reicherson". Fun mayn lebns-bukh (in Yiddish). New York: ICUF. pp. 203–213.