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JEWISH BOOK ANNUAL
30
by American Hebrew authors were published in Palestine rather
than in this country. While this interchange is to be welcomed,
it is also an indication tha t the authors feel tha t the reading public
for these works in this country is not as large as they would like
it to be. This is a factor tha t poses a serious problem for the
future of Hebrew letters here. Although these books were pub-
lished in Palestine, we have seen fit to include them in the follow-
ing section dealing with Hebrew literature in America.
I
The fiftieth anniversary of the literary activity of Prof. Chaim
Tchernowitz, which was celebrated this year, led to the establish-
ment of a Jubilee Committee to issue his collected works in the
fields of Jewish scholarship and Hebrew letters. The Committee
made a fine beginning with the publication of Prof. Tchernowitz’s
Maseket Zikronot
(Book of Memoirs), containing the author’s valu-
able and charming recollections of the “Sages of Odessa” and
other leading personalities and authors. The volume reveals still
another side of the author’s rich personality: a talent for presenting
memoirs with literary ease and for evaluating the characters and
contributions of men. Prof. Tchernowitz has a fascinating tale to
unfold about the story of the varied cultural life and ideologies
tha t held sway in the city of Odessa. In the course of his activity
there, he came into contact with such literary giants as Mendele
Mocher Sefarim, Lilienblum, Ahad H a ’am, Dubnow and Bialik.
We get keen insights into their characters and a good deal of per-
sonal information. Other essays treat such men as Sokolow,
Berdichewsky and Horodetzky. There are also sketches of the
American figures Kaufman-Kohler, Einstein and Stephen S. Wise.
Most of the pieces were first published in the
Bitzaron
, the Hebrew
monthly which the author has been editing for the past seven
years.
PROF. GINZBERG HONORED
A remarkable tribute to Professor Louis Ginzberg, on the occa-
sion of his seventieth birthday was made by the American Acad-
emy of Jewish Research through the publication of the
Sefer
Hayovel
(Louis Ginzberg Jubilee Volume). In addition to a volume
of English papers, the Academy has presented Prof. Ginzberg
with a parallel volume of Hebrew contributions from our leading
scholars in this country and abroad. The varied scientific writings
deal mainly with the field of
halaka
, in which Prof. Ginzberg is