Preface Vol 8

<plain_text><page sequence="1">PREFACE. It is with feelings of gratitude and satisfaction that the Society may review its work during the troubled years which have passed since the last volume of Transactions was published. The meetings have been well attended, and much interest has been expressed in the papers presented. But more than this, far reaching plans for future research have been formulated. As will be seen from the Eeports of two Sub-Committees printed below (Appendices I. and II.), the Council has provided fresh ideas and suggested means for their practical realisation. The Society has indeed been fortunate in its Presidents, to whom it owes much of its present vitality. The volume now issued includes Presidential Addresses by Mr. E. N. Adler, Dr. H. P. Stokes, and Sir Lionel Abrahams. It was at the special initiative of the last named that the new plans already referred to were considered and matured. To Dr. Stokes, also, much is due for carrying on so energetically the impulse given by Mr. Adler. And the Society owes its deep thanks to all those who served on its Sub-Committees and were responsible for the able Eeports, which mark a new epoch in the organisation of research. Besides those who appear as signatories of the Eeports themselves, mention must also be made of Mr. Lucien Wolf, who has given most valuable advice, and who has again demonstrated his love for the cause of Anglo-Jewish historical investigation. Dr. M. Epstein has continued his devoted services as Honorary Secretary, and to him once more the cordial thanks of the Society are rii</page><page sequence="2">viii PREFACE. tendered. The Society has also to express its gratitude to Dr. I. Abrahams for his editorial work. An event on which congratulations were offered by our Society was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the foundation of the American Jewish Historical Society. The letter of Sir Lionel Abrahams and the response of Mr. A. M. Friedenberg will be read with interest, as will also the communication made to Petrograd (see Appendices III. and IV.). The following meetings have been held since those recorded in Volume VII. of the Transactions:? 1915, June 28. General Meeting. The Rev. Dr. H. P. Stokes was re-elected President for the Session 1915-1916. Paper by Dr. I. Abrahams on " Isaac Abendana's Cambridge Mishnah and Oxford Calendars." Paper by Gordon P. G. Hills, Esq., entitled " Notes on Some Contemporary References to Dr. Falk, the Baal-Shem of London, in the Rainsford MSS. at the British Museum.,, ? Dec. 20. Annual General Meeting. Report and Balance Sheet adopted. Treasurer, Vice-Presidents, and Council elected. Presidential Address by Dr. Stokes on " The Relations between the Jews and the Royal Family in the Thir? teenth Century." 1916, Jan. 20. General Meeting. A vote of sympathy was passed to the family of the late Frank Haes, Esq., on their bereavement. A message of congratulation was directed to be sent to the Academia de la Historia (Madrid) on the eightieth anniversary of the birthday of Padre Fidel Fita. Under the auspices of the Society, a Public Meeting was held, under the chair? manship of Dr. A. B?chler, at which was founded the Society for Hebraic Studies.</page><page sequence="3">PREFACE. IX 1916, Feb. 22. General Meeting. Addresses in memory of Dr. Joseph Jacobs, by Dr. Stokes, by Israel Zangwill, Esq., and Lueien Wolf, Esq. ,, May 22. General Meeting. Shakespeare Tercentenary. Address on "Shylock" by Professor Israel Gollancz. ? July 3. General Meeting. Sir Lionel Abrahams, K.C.B., elected President for the Session 1916-1917. Paper by Dr. Charles Duschinsky on " The Kabbinate of the Great Synagogue from 1756 to 1842." 1917, Jan. 15. Annual General Meeting. Keport and Balance Sheet adopted. Treasurer, Vice-Presidents, and Council elected. Paper by Mrs. B. N. Salaman on " The Poems of Ephraim Luzzatto." ? April 25. General Meeting. Paper by Dr. I. Abrahams on " Hebrew Loyalty under the Georges." June 25. General Meeting. Presidential Address by Sir Lionel Abrahams on " The Economic and Financial Position of the Jews in Mediaeval England." ? July 23. General Meeting. Centenary of the birth of Professor H. Graetz. Paper by Dr. L Abrahams on " Shakespeare in Hebrew." Paper by E. N. Adler, Esq., M.A., on " Graetz's Shylock." Paper by I. Solomons, Esq., on " Shylock." Of these meetings three were of a memorial character. Concerning Dr. Joseph Jacobs it need only be said here that the brilliant address by Mr. Israel Zangwill, on February 22, 1916, supplemented by the sympathetic speeches of Dr. Stokes and Mr. Lucien Wolf, does full justice to a man of many-sided genius, who was a pioneer in Anglo-Jewish research and served the Society in the years when it stood most in need of expert guidance. These addresses are published below, and Dr. I. Abrahams has added a</page><page sequence="4">PREFACE. bibliography. The Society has dedicated the present volume to Dr. Jacobs' memory. On May 22, 1916, a meeting was held in commemoration of the Shakespeare Tercentenary, and Professor Israel Gollancz delivered an impressive address. Unhappily the international situation prevented any adequate notice of the centenary of the birth of the foremost Jewish historian of the nine? teenth century, Professor H. Graetz, who was born on October 31, 1817. Besides his general fame, Graetz earned special renown as a lover of England and as a contributor to the story of the English Jews. While, however, the anniversary has been shorn of much of the attention which it deserved, the Society did, on July 23, 1917, pay its meed of honour, and Mr. E. N. Adler and the President were the spokesman of the Society on that occasion. A memorial of another kind has been established under circumstances detailed in the Beport given below (see Appendix V.). An Arthur Davis Memorial Lecture has been founded by his colleagues in the preparation of the edition of the Festival Prayers of the Synagogue. Arthur Davis was a scholar of high attainments, and " in recognition of the eminent services which he rendered to Jewish learning," the Council has very gladly associated itself with the new foundation. The lecture will be delivered, under the auspices of the Society, in accordance with the terms of the Beport. Mr. Israel Zangwill kindly accepted the invitation to give the first lecture, his subject being " The Chosen People : the Hebraic versus the Teutonic Ideal." The Society has continued to present to various schools prize-books purchased from the income of the Asher I. Myers Memorial Fund, and has borne its due share in the direction of the Mocatta Library and Museum. The Society's six representatives on the Committee have been : the President, Sir 1. Spielmann, the Bev. S. Levy, and Messrs. Owen Mocatta, I. Solomons, and G. Tuck, Mr. Solomons has, in addition to other important</page><page sequence="5">PREFACE. xi services, particularly interested himself in the photographic reproductions of inscriptions in the Beth Holim burial-ground, and the Council made a vote towards the expenses. To the Moeatta Library some important accessions have been made by the deposit by the Society on loan of various gifts. These accessions include : A number of the negatives and lantern slides, made by the late Mr. P. Haes ; some Synagogue service books for special occasions at various dates ; the collected essays of the late Dr. A. Asher ; and a considerable mass of valuable documents and photographs (including lantern slides) relating to Menasseh ben Israel, Bou mania, Cardinal Manning, and Bussian affairs. The donor of the last-named gift is Sir I. Spielmann, and to him as well as to other benefactors the Society is deeply indebted. The success of former series of London University Extension Lectures led to the organisation of a third course, begun in the autumn of 1917. The subject was " Jewish Historians : their careers, their methods, and their results." The course was as follows:?(i) " Jewish Historiography," by Bev. S. Levy, M.A. (Nov. 13, 1917); (ii) " Jewish Historians of the Greek Period," by Dr. I. Abrahams (Nov. 20) ; (iii) " Jewish Historians of the Boman Period," by Bev. A. Cohen, M.A. (Nov. 27) ; (iv) " Jewish Historians of the Talmudic Period," by Bev. Dr. J. Abelson (Dec. 4) ; (v) 44 Jewish Historians of the Gaonic Period," by J. Mann, M.A. (Dec. 11); (vi) 44 Medieval Jewish Chroniclers and Travellers," by E. N. Adler, M.A. (Jan. 22, 1918); (vii) 44 Hebrew Poets as Historians," by Mrs, B. N. Salaman (Jan. 29); (viii) " Historians of the Jewish Eenaissance," by Bev, L. Mendelsohn, M.A. (Feb. 5); (ix) " Modern Jewish Historians," by Dr. A. Marmorstein (Feb. 12); (x) 44 The Work of the Jewish Historical Societies," by Lucien Wolf (March 5). The Society has repeated its donation to the Central Com? mittee for National Patriotic Organisations. An interesting</page><page sequence="6">xii PREFACE. event was the meeting arranged, under the auspices of the Society, on January 20, 1916. Dr. A. B?chler presided, and the Society for Hebraic Studies was founded. Under present conditions it has been felt necessary to curtail the amount of printing done for the Society, and the present volume of Transactions is not only smaller than usual, but it is not illustrated. Some facsimiles of documents alluded to by Mr. Hilary Jenkinson will, it is hoped, be given in a subsequent publication. Though, however, the actual output of publica? tion has been reduced, there has been no slackness in preparing for the future. Some important works are ready or in process of completion ; others are in an earlier stage. With regard to these matters, the Reports appended explain the situation. It may be added, however, that the revision and completion of an Anglo-Jewish Bibliography have already been begun. A circular will shortly be issued suggesting methods by which members generally may co-operate in this most necessary enterprise. Under all the circumstances, the Council feel justified in regarding their record of work as highly satisfactory, and as a reasonable claim for the continued support of the members, in readiness for more favourable conditions, when the plans already formulated may be realised, and when further schemes may be usefully undertaken for the expansion of the Society's work in the domain of scientific historical research.</page></plain_text>