Bulletin du CRFJ, number 2, Spring 1998, pp.

101-113

ON THE INFLUENCE OF RABBI ‘HAIM JOSEPH DAVID AZULAI

(‘HIDA)’S SHEM HA-GUEDOLIM
ON THE HEBRAIC BIO-BIBLIOGRAPHY
FROM THE END OF THE 18TH CENTURY TO THE 20TH CENTURY

Before entering into the subject of the history of this book and its offspring,
the author, the ‘Hida, must be presented briefly. Moritz Steinschneider says of
him: “’Haim Joseph David Azulai of Jerusalem (1724-1806) wrote a book
about the biographies of the sages of Israel and their works. The content of the
book was collected by him throughout his travels1.” The ‘Hida, like his father
Isaac Zera’hia before him, had been appointed as a rabbinic envoy (shalia’h) to
collect the funds necessary for the upkeep of the Hebron community.
The ‘Hida left therefore for Europe a first time from 1753 to 1758 and a
second time from 1772 to 1778. These peregrinations were recorded in his
travel diary, Maagal tov (The Good Tour) in which he relates many of his
literary findings2. While other envoys from Hebron, such as Abraham Conque
(1648-1724), had travelled across Europe before him, none had gone with the
perspective of a bio-bibliographer. Because of the decade spent on the European
roads, the ‘Hida gathered the information which formed his magnum opus, the
Shem ha-Guedolim, for which he undertook publication in Leghorn in 1774,
during his second trip3.
The study which follows aims at determining the ‘Hida’s influence in the
domain of Hebraic bibliography by listing the books which have in their titles

1
M. Steinschneider, Jewish Literature, London, 1857, reprinted in New York, 1970,
p. 252.
2
The publication of reference is by A. Freiman (Frankfurt, 1934). A French translation
just came out, Les voyageurs juifs du XVIIIe siècle (Le Hida), Aix-en-Provence, 1996
(transl. H. Harboun).
3
The ‘Hida is also the author of 126 works, of which 82 are still handwritten.

101
and subtitles the name of Shem ha-Guedolim. We get thus a curve of which the
trajectory begins in the 18th century and ends up in the late 20th century.
Nevertheless in order to truly appreciate the influence of the ‘Hida’s book in the
domain of Hebraic bibliography, the history of this literary branch from its
beginnings must be sketched briefly.

Hebraic bibliography in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

There isn’t properly speaking medieval Jewish bibliography. The lists of
books and authors were not treated at that time with a rigor proper to this
discipline. One finds generally fragmentary lists in the chronicles of which the
objectives, like those of the apologetics, exceed the bibliographical treatment
which becomes then the poor parent of historiography. Some examples will be
sufficient to shed light on our discussion: the Sefer ha-Qabala (The Book of the
Tradition, 1161) by Abraham ben David (ca. 1110-1180) is a purely
apologetical, even polemical book, which by fighting against the Karaite schism
cites authors and their books. In fact this rabbi picks up the traditional rabbinic
chronology. Reading ben David’s text, we thus can learn who the Tannaim and
Amoraïm (teachers at the time of the Mishna and Talmud) are and what the
works are that the tradition attributes to them. Ben David manages to do this
from the earliest traditions up until his time. All that we just expressed
concerning ben David is applicable to the introduction of the Code (Mishne
Tora) by Maimonides, finished in 1180.
In the preamble (peti’ha) of his treatise, Avoth, Rabbi Mena’hem
ben Salomon of Perpignan, nicknamed ha-Meiri (1249-1306), gives an updated
chronology of rabbis including some works, but as its name connotes: Seder ha-
Rabbanim (Chronology of the rabbis), we are still in the historiographical
domain4. The work by Meiri will be completed by Isaac of Lattes (14th century)
in his Shaare Tsion (The Gates of Zion), which he finished in 13725.
This procedure is carried on by rabbi Abraham Zacuto from Spain (ca. 1450-
1510) in his Sefer Yu’hassin (Book of the Generations) in which only the rabbis
of the Mishna and the Talmud are entitled to a lexicographical treatment (which
constitutes already a step toward systematization). At that time, the objective is
still to update chronologically the status of the rabbis and their works.6

4
Mena’hem ben Salomon, Beit ha-Be’hira (The House of Election), Perush Massekheth
Avoth (Commentary of the Treatise of the Fathers), New York, 1952, p. 56-62.
5
Ed. A. Berliner/D. Hoffmann, in Otsar Tov, Berlin, 1877-78, p. 75-77.
6
Ed. Filipowski, London, 1857, reprinted in Jerusalem, 1963, p. 217-227.

102
 In the Renaissance, we must mention David Gans of Prague (1541-1613)
and his chronicle, Tsema’h David (David’s Branch, 1592). Despite the fact that
it keeps a historiographical structure, we can nevertheless note at the end of the
first part a chronological chart of subjects, a specificity subsequent to the
abbreviation process, which tends to resemble sometimes a bibliographical list,
because we only retain here the name of the author and that of his book. We
find here therefore all of the fundamental elements of the bibliographical
expression7.

Hebraic bibliography in the 17th and 18th centuries

The one who has been agreed upon to be called the first Hebraic
bibliographer worthy of that name is Sabbatai Bass (1641-1718). As early as
1655 he lived in Prague and passed through Amsterdam where he learned the
printing trade. He finally settled in Dyhernfurth where he printed various books
which today have been forgotten. His Sifte yeshenim (The Lips of the Sleeping
People, published in Amsterdam in 1680) contains approximately 2,200 titles
published up to his epoch8. The bibliographical content of the book is organized
around two distinct alphabetical lists. The first list is for the books with content
and location of publication (Bass mentions also the manuscripts). The second
list, at the end of the book, contains the names of approximately 650 authors.
Bass’ collection had been noticed by the circle of erudite scholars Acta
eruditorum which recognized the value of this book later translated in German9.
But this collection was put into posterity when reprinted in the Bibliotheca
Hebraea by professor Johann Christoph Wolf (1683-1739), published in
Hamburg between 1715 and 173310.
We cannot talk about Sifte yeshenim by Bass without referring to Seder ha-
Doroth (Chronology of the Generations, published in Karlsruhe in 1769) by
Rabbi Ye’hiel Heilprin of Minsk, who passed away in the 1740s11. In this

7
Ed. M. Breuer, Jerusalem, 1983, p. 157-159.
8
Its’haq Raphael, Rishonim ve-A’haronim (The Ancients and the Moderns), Tel Aviv,
1957, p. 133.
9
Ibid., p. 189.
10
Ibid., p. 190.
11
After 1728, according to M. Steinschneider (op. cit., p. 251), ca. 1747 for J.D.
Eisenstein (Otsar Israel, New York, 1907-1913, reprinted in Jerusalem, ed. Shiloh, no
date, vol. IV, p. 135), after 1749 for N. Maskil le-Eitan (in Seder ha-Doroth ha-Shalem,
Jerusalem, 1988, vol. I, p. 25), and 1746 for S. Brisman, A History and Guide to Judaic
Bibliography, Cincinnati-New York, 1977, vol. I, p. 32. Therefore there is a majority of
opinions for the mid-18th century.

103
encyclopedic work (qualified by its voluminous content and organization)
Heilprin picks up parts of Zacuto’s Sefer Yu’hassin. It concerns firstly the
universal chronology which he increased in his own way and secondly, in the
second part, the Glossary of the Tannaim and Amoraïm, which he rewrites, and
again increases it. Finally, in the third part, Bass’ two lists can be found again,
where Heilprin’s additions are mentioned by an asterisk (Seder ha-Doroth,
vol. III, p. 3). This very popular book by Heilprin replaced Bass’ even though it
contributed relatively little (38 authors and 588 books) to Bass’ bibliographical
work. Nonetheless he familiarized the rabbinic students with the books and the
authors, and stimulated interest toward this discipline12. His work has been
reprinted several times, while Bass’ book saw only two reprints, the last one
dated of 180613. We must mention a recent reprinting of Seder ha-doroth ha-
Shalem (Complete Chronology of the Generations) done in Jerusalem in 1988,
to which 13 appendices have been added.
This summarizes what is known about the state of the field of Jewish bio-
bibliography before the arrival of the ‘Hida in this half of the 18th century.

The ‘Hida’s Shem ha-Guedolim

Before tackling the study of the books and authors who claim some
affiliation to the Shem ha-Guedolim, the original publication by the ‘Hida must
be presented so as to understand exactly what caused that which has been called
the wave of Shem ha-Guedolim.
The problem with the first edition of the Shem ha-Guedolim is that it has
been published in several parts at various dates as follows:
- Volume I, published in Leghorn in 1774, is entitled, Shem ha-Guedolim
(The Name of the Great People) and it contains approximately 400 biographical
and bibliographical entries.
- Volume II, published in Leghorn in 1786, is called by the same name, and
it contains nearly 1,200 entries plus an annexe.
- Volume III, still published in Leghorn in 1796, is called now Vaad la-
’Hakhamim (Meeting of the Sages). It contains approximately 600 entries. Here
again, at the end of the volume, an annex and an errata can be found.
- Volume IV of Shem ha-Guedolim is in fact a second edition of Volume I,
published in Leghorn in 1798. In this volume each alphabetical letter of the
Shem ha-Guedolim is followed by a new section of the Vaad la-’Hakhamim,

12
S. Brisman, op. cit., p. 16-17.
13
Ibid., p. 30 and 32.

104
which constitutes a second edition of this part and increases it by approximately
350 entries14.
Shem ha-Guedolim-Vaad la-’Hakhamim, such as the ‘Hida had published it,
was difficult of access since its vast content had been treated, in each of the four
volumes, according to alphabetical order. It wasn’t until the year 1852, in Vilna,
when the great bibliographer, Isaac Aiziq Benjacob (1801-1863), gave its
definitive form to this book, the one which is still today the model for the re-
editions. This talented bibliographer brought together in a single volume the
four volumes published by the ‘Hida. He divided it in two sections: 1)
Maarekheth ha-Guedolim (Section of the Great People, that is the authors), and
2) Maarekheth ha-Sefarim (Section of the Books). From that point forward, this
new organization allowed for the finding of biographical and bibliographical
data in a single volume15. All that which was not strictly bio-bibliographical,
was moved to the end of each letter in a document entitled, Quntrass a’haron
(Final Document). Conversely all that which was informative yet still not of
primary importance was kept in place but printed in cursive letters, called
Rashi.
This is therefore the edition which made access to the Shem ha-Guedolim
easy. This edition is greatly responsable for the bibliographical activity among
the Jews in the mid-19th century, an activity which, after its development with
the ‘Hida at the end of the 18th century, waited until that time for its full
expansion.

Books entitled Shem ha-Guedolim

It is appropriate then to present the books, following the Shem ha-Guedolim,
which pick up again the corpus name and therefore drive the evolution of the
‘Hida’s work. The first case, in 1864 in Warsaw, is the Shem ha-Guedolim ha-
’Hadash (The New Name of the Great People) by Aaron Walden (1838-1912).
Walden was a follower (‘hassid) of Kotzk, a school where intellectual discipline
was of rigor and one constantly studied the Talmud: There the writings of the
Maharal of Prague had replaced the Zohar16 and erudition was appreciated. This
valorization of study constituted a cultural revolution in the Polish Hasidic

14
Ibid., p. 77.
15
R. Kircheim’s publication (Krotoshin-Frankfurt, 1843-1847) comprised still 3
volumes.
16
V.A. Marcus (1843-1916), Ha-’Hassiduth (‘Hasidism), Bene Brak, 1954, p. 130
(transl. from the German by M. Schenfeld). The master of the rabbi of Kotzk, Rabbi
Sim’ha Bunim of Przysucha (1767-1827), had already initiated this change within
Hasidic studies.

105
environment of the time. Walden has thus published in 1889 an edition of the
Psalms accompanied by an anthological commentary where erudition played an
essential role as his literary sources summed 67817. He can therefore be
characterized as having a double will; first that of being a learned person and
then to use this erudition in a context of piety and Hasidism18.
In the flyleaf, Walden goes to the point of usurping the ‘Hida’s name (see
illustration). He then expresses very clearly that he comes to carry on the
‘Hida’s work in the Ashkenazi domain (‘hakhme ashkenaz u-Polin). A bit
further on in his introduction (haqdama, without pagination), Walden mentions
Moshe ‘Haim Luzzatto, whom the ‘Hida had omitted, because he was at the
time outlawed by the cabalists to whom the ‘Hida was subjected. In the section
of the authors, at the entry corresponding to Luzzatto (p. 53b, n° 137) , Walden
qualifies him as “a Genius (Gaon), a wise and faithful (‘hakham ve-Hassid)
person, researcher and divine cabalist (‘hoqer u-mequbal elohi).”
Regarding the form, Walden picks up that of Benjacob, which includes a
section for the authors and a section for the books. His contribution comprises
1,500 biographies and 1,450 titles19. It is true that Walden, as a bookseller,
enjoyed easy access to the sources20. Moreover, considering that the Hasidic
public represented a tremendous market, his work was destined for success. He
prevailed and in 1870 a new edition appeared in Warsaw which was followed
then by others. Among them, that of his son, Moshe Mena’hem Walden of
Kielce (Poland), contains an addition, the Ikhabed av (The Father will be
Honored, Piotrkow, 1923), where one can find a collection of letters by Rabbi
Herschel Lewin of Berlin (1721-1800). At the time this former collaborator of
Mendelssohn was also in the process of rehabilitation among the ‘hassidim. In
order to “whitewash” their pedigree the descendants of this rabbi, who himself
was related to the famous Zvi Ashkenazi (‘Hakham Zvi, 1658-1718), published

17
A. Walden, Miqdash meath (The Small Sanctuary), Warsaw, 1890-1897, reprinted in
Israel, 1974, beginning of vol. I, no pagination.
18
S. Brisman (op. cit., p. 80) observes too many Hasidic anecdotes in Walden’s but the
‘Hida also tells small stories.
19
S. Brisman, op. cit., p.79. In his Seder ha-Doroth ha-’Hadash (The New Chronology
of the Generations), Lemberg, 1865 (reprinted in Satu-Mare, 1940, and in Brooklyn,
1959), M. Budek (ca. 1825-1875) wrote a story of ‘Hasidism in the old
historiographical manner, accompanied by a brief bibliography, but this work is with all
respects inferior to Walden’s.
20
W. Zeitlin, Bibliotheca Hebraica post-Mendelssohniana, Leipzig, 1891-95, p. 403.

106
historiographical books in which his activity in the Enlightenment was
eclipsed21. In this book-annex, Walden-son adds 226 biographical entries.
The corpus that we suggest examining is the re-edition of the Shem ha-
Guedolim (Krakow-Piotrkow, 1905-1930) by Mena’hem Mendel Krengel
(1847-1930), which he entitled, Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Shalem (The Integral
Name of Great People). In his introduction (p. VI-VII), Krengel accused
Benjacob, who noticed repetitions, of expurgating too much. He argued in the
‘Hida’s defense that the repetitions in the various volumes of the first edition
from Leghorn, rather, brought to each a novelty. It is what Krengel wrote in his
footnote comment called Mena’hem Tsion (The Comforter of Zion) and it is
thus that we translated shalem by integral and not by complete, for it concerned
reconstituting the original and not improving it by adding annexes to it, as it is
the case of the Seder ha-Doroth ha-Shalem. Nevertheless, Krengel picked up
Benjacob’s internal organization, taking advantage of the opportunity for
adding an annex at the end of the section of the authors concerning forgotten
writers (pletath soferim), where he wrote in particular about those from his city,
Krakow then in the section of the books adding a list-annex of forgotten books
(pletath sefarim). In sum, he added in both sections 1,140 authors and 435
books22.
But we cannot finish with Krengel’s works without mentioning the Eshel ha-
Guedolim (The Inn of the Great People) by Elazar Lippa Gartenhaus (Brooklyn,
1958) which complements it. This contribution with already known entries was
negligible, and the only legitimate addition was that of the authors it brought.
Nevertheless in his long introduction (34 pages) where he elaborated, through
Herz Homberg, on the misdeeds “... of the Enlightenment movement of Berlin”
(p. 57-58), Gartenhaus reminded us of his ideology. He quoted indeed (p. 60)
Rabbi Elimelekh of Lyzhansk (1717-1787), who was saying that God had done
things well and that it was in order to fight against heresy in Berlin that he had
the ‘Hida established in Italy so his purificatory books could eliminate all of
their bad literature.

21
V. Tsvi Ezechiel Michelson, Tsvi le-Tsadiq (The Beauty of the Just), Piotrkow, 1903
and Arie Juda Leib Lifschütz, Avoth atara le-Banim (The Fathers, crowns of the
Children), Warsaw, “Shalsheleth ha-Ye’hussin” (Genealogies), 1927, p. 32-35.
22
Ch.B. Friedberg writes in his Bet Eked Sefarim (Bibliographical Lexicon), Tel Aviv,
1954, vol. III, p. 1013, n° 1617, that Krengel’s historical additions on The Sages of
Krakow are taken word for word from his Lu’hoth Zikaron (Biographies of the rabbis of
Krakow), Frankfurt, 1904.

107
First page of Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Hadash, part 2, Aaron Walden, Varshaw, 1854

108
 According to Gartenhaus, Krengel did not want only to correct Benjacob, he
wished in fact to go around and beyond him. Benjacob was really too
enlightened: he can be reproached not only for his bibliographical masterpiece,
Otsar ha-sefarim (Thesaurus librorum hebraicorum, Vilnius, 1880) which
inventoried also the Jewish Enlightment, but also for the publication with
Abraham Baer Lebensohn (1794-1879) of the Biour by Mendelssohn in Vilnius
in 184723.
Let us consider now the book entitled, Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Shlishi (The
Third Name of the Great People, Vilnius, 1910). This collection picked up the
binary bio-bibliographical form becoming now quasi-traditional. It provided
277 names in the first part and 524 titles in the second part. A new augmented
edition came out in Keidan (Lithuania) in 1932, with 313 names for the first
part and 630 titles for the second; all of these only supplied additions to just the
first letter of the alphabet24.
This Shem ha-Guedolim has a specific story which is worth being retold
briefly since its author, Moshe Markovich (1855-1935), who was uneducated
but not illiterate, decided to become a bibliographer after reading the ‘Hida’s
Shem ha-Guedolim25. How did he manage to write a bio-bibliographical book?
He asked his students at the local rabbinic academy in Raseiniai (Central
Lithuania) to write down what his prodigious memory had retained during his
many readings26. In Markovich’s book we can find rabbis of lost villages in
Great Russia. But he does not stop here, for his knowledge extends from
Moscow to Berlin, from Finland to Italy, and from Tetuan to Gibraltar27.
We must present a book which carried the same title but which has never
been published. This is the Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Shlishi (The Third Name of
the Great People) by Rabbi Abraham Etting28. Abraham Etting (1875-1924), the
descendant of a large rabbinic family, was a specialist of Hasidic genealogy and
anecdotics29, but he also served as the principal of a rabbinic academy in Dukla

23
V.I.A. Benjacob, Otsar ha-Sefarim, Vilnius, 1880, p. 633, n° 259.
24
S. Brisman, op. cit., p. 82.
25
A.B.Z. Shurin, Qesheth guiborim (A Rainbow of Heroes), Jerusalem, 1964, p. 180.
26
Ibid., p. 180-181.
27
Ibid., p. 182.
28
In his approval of J. J. Greenwald’s book (mentioned later), the heading reads Etting
but the signature is Ettinger. In Le-Toldoth ha-Qehiloth be-Polin (History of the
Communities of Poland, Jerusalem, 1978, p. 71), Tsvi Horowitz writes that the family
originated from Ettingen in Bavaria. We opted for Etting which is the form most used
by the author.
29
The most famous of his books in this domain is the Si’hoth ‘hulin shel talmide
‘hakhamim (Profane Conversations of the Sages), Munkacs, 1909.

109
(Lemberg District) beginning in 189230. In 1905, at the end of the introduction
of the first volume of his Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Shalem (p. VIII), Krengel
credits the young Etting for his help and grants him the title of author of the
Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Shlishi (The Third Name of the Great People).
In 1911, in his introduction to the Niflaoth ha-Rabbi (The Wonders of the
Rabbi, Monograph on the Seer of Lublin), the author Moshe Mena’hem Walden
(mentioned earlier) deeply thanked Etting for his help while confirming that his
book was almost ready, and then added this precision (p. 2b): “It contains more
than 20,000 names ...31.” Another bibliographer of that time also informed us
that Etting’s book was ready to be printed and that it focused on the period
lasting from the Middle Ages (1240) to the present32. As well, in almost all of
the flyleaves of the books published by Etting, the Shem ha-Guedolim ha-
Shlishi figured in the list of the author’s books33. Yet this book has never been
published and we don’t know what happened to it.
Nevertheless we perceive already that which seems to constitute a kind of
circle of Hasidic literate people in Poland (Walden father and son, Krengel,
Etting, and others like Greenwald who was Hungarian) who are interested in
bio-bibliography, genealogy and hagiography. What is remarkable is that, in
addition, they are in contact with one another34.
We will now treat what one would now call the “geographical” Shem ha-
Guedolim, that is, those which are not confined explicitly to either a country or
a city.
The first one is the Shem ha-Guedolim me-Erets Hagar (The Name of the
Great People of Hungary: Paks, 1913-Kisvarda, 1915) by Rabbi Pin’has Zelig
(Zsigmond) Schwartz (1877-1944?). This collection is divided according to
Benjacob’s system but two novelties can also be found: 1) the biographical
section is subdivided between the deceased and the living, and 2) some names
of towns are written in Hungarian. This Shem ha-Guedolim was augmented by
the author’s brother, Abraham Juda Schwartz, with the annex Avne Tsedeq (The

30
S.N. Gottlieb, Ohale Shem (The Tents of Shem), Pinsk, 1912, p. 396.
31
Moshe Mena’hem Walden, Niflaoth ha-Rabbi (The Wonders of the Rabbi), Warsaw,
1912, reprinted in Bene Brak, no date.
32
S.N. Gottlieb, op. cit., p. 396.
33
S.’H. Porush, Entsiqlopedia la-’Hassiduth (Encyclopedia of Hasidism), Jerusalem,
vol. I, p. 26.
34
We mentioned earlier (note 5, previous page) Etting’s approval to Greenwald’s book
but there is also an approval by Greenwald to one of Etting’s books. V.S.’H. Porush,
Ibid.

110
Stones of Justice). The biographical entries amount to more than 1700 and those
of the books for more than 70035.
In 1935, the author published in Kisvarda a complementary list of authors
under the title, Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Hadash me-Erets Hagar (The New Name
of the Great People of Hungary). Finally in 1941, and still in Kisvarda, the
author published what is now called the Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Shlishi me-Erets
Hagar (The Third Name of the Great People of Hungary). This book is an
extension of the list of some 200 names published in 1935, to which he added
approximately 430. All of these books have been reprinted in Brooklyn in a
single volume in 1959.
We have just described a specimen of national Shem ha-guedolim, we are
now going to study a local one. It concerns the Shem ha-Guedolim ha-
Yerushalmi ha-Klali (The Collective Name of the Great People of Jerusalem)
published in Jerusalem in 1935 by Rabbi Isaac Badhav (1859-1947). This rabbi
was an universalist spirit who spent his life going to great lengths collecting
books and manuscripts in study rooms (bate midrashoth) and hideouts
(guenizoth) of Jerusalem36. Thus he constituted an impressive library as much
by its size as by the rarity of some of the volumes and documents that it
contained37.
On the flyleaf of his Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Yerushalmi, Badhav informed us
that he listed only the books of his library printed in Jerusalem, and his
announcement seemed to be very promising. Nevertheless the list of books in
the unique publication of 1935 takes only three pages, in which three entries of
books and nine entries of articles were found. This small amount of material
was surprising, since in 1937 (two years later) M.D. Gaon informed us that this
book was supposed to contain the names of thousands of rabbis38. The solution
to this problem has been offered to me by Professor Benayahu who holds
Badhav’s manuscript. He confirmed to me in an oral communication that it was
limited to some tens of names. In fact, Badhav was planning to bring together a
great quantity of entries. This could perhaps also explain the 20,000 entries
(certainly hyperbolic) attributed (see above) to Etting’s handwritten work.
Nevertheless in this Shem ha-Guedolim which resembles a prospectus, one
finds, in the section of articles, the names of G. Scholem, Jacob Na’hum

35
Brisman, op. cit., p. 96.
36
I. Raphaël and G. bath Yehuda, Entsiqlopedia shel ha-Tsionuth ha-Datith
(Encyclopedia of Religious Zionism), Jerusalem, 1958, vol. I, p. 242.
37
Ibid.
38
M.D. Gaon, Yehude ha-Mizra’h be-Erets Israel (The Eastern Jews in Israel),
Jerusalem, 1937, vol. II, p. 129.

111
Epstein and Sim’ha Assaf, all academic people. One understands better then the
title, which is the collection of great people of Jerusalem, in the inclusive sense
of the term.

Books subtitled Shem ha-Guedolim

As we assumed in our method it is not only the books entitled Shem ha-
Guedolim which inform on the influence of the ‘Hida’s masterpiece but also
those which carry this name as a subtitle.
The first of these books is by Rabbi Salomon ‘Hazan (end of the 18th
Century-1856). It is entitled, Ha-Maaloth le-Shlomo (Salomon’s Degrees,
Alexandria, 1894). Its subtitle is Shem ha-Guedolim, mahadura tinyana (The
Name of the Great People, second edition). This subtitle solves also the problem
of the title of the cobbler-bibliographer’s book (The Third Name of the Great
People) which implies a second Shem ha-Guedolim. Nevertheless it is very
likely that Markovich knew this corpus and its subtitle. In his introduction (on
the right side of the first page without any pagination), the publisher who is
‘Hazan’s son criticizes Walden for his gaps regarding the Sepharadic rabbis and
their writings. ‘Hazan’s work is therefore qualified as a “second edition”
because it is aimed at completing the ‘Hida’s work and filling in these gaps39.
‘Hazan picks up Benjacob’s internal organization with nevertheless one
modification. Instead of two alphabets (one for the authors and one for the
books), each letter of the alphabet is divided into two sections. His biographical
list compises 218 names and that of the books, 872 titles.
The second of these books is the Peer ‘hakhme medinatenu (The Glory of
the Sages of our Country, Maramarossziget, 1910) by Rabbi Jekutiel Juda
(Leopold) Greenwald40 (1889-1955). It is subtitled Shem ha-Guedolim. It is
constituted of a biographical list of Hungarian rabbis, which is preceded by a
history and study of propagation of the Tora in this region and ends with a
praise to the Hasidic movement as a last chapter (p. 34-36). Greenwald’s list
comprises 971 names. This book adds to that by Schwartz (Shem ha-Guedolim
me-Erets Hagar). Schwartz’s and Greenwald’s emphasis on biography seems to

39
A.B.Z. Shurin (op. cit., p. 180) makes a mistake when he writes that Walden’s
glossary was the second (ha-Sheni) and that following him Markovich would be placed
in third position. Nevertheless Walden’s corpus was entitled the new (ha-’Hadash) and
not the second (ha-Sheni).
40
English translation of Grünwald. This rabbi, a prolific historian (V.G. Kressel,
Lexicon ha-Safruth ha-Ivrith (Lexicon of Modern Hebrew Literature), Merhavia, 1965,
vol. I, p. 511-512) emigrated to the United States in 1924 and lived in Columbus
(Ohio).

112
reflect well the situation which prevailed in Hungary at the end of last century
and the beginning of our’s when the tension between assimilated-reformed
people and the orthodox was easily discernable41.
The last collection is the Artsoth ha-’Haïm (Country of Life) by Dov Baer
Schwartz (Brooklyn, 1992) which is subtitled Shem ha-Guedolim le-Guedole
Israel be-Ameriqa (The Name of the Great People of Israel in America). The
author claims to be a follower of the ‘Hida for the division between the authors
and the books and explicitly picks up Benjacob’s internal organization (p. 2b).
This book presents itself with a rather curious aspect. Indeed, in order to be
listed the authors must be virtuous (kasher) and they must have exerted a
favorable influence (p. 2a). Therefore places are limited and the author is forced
to integrate into his list the heads of European rabbinic academies who passed
through the United States (when they went to raise funds), while at the same
time ignoring rabbinic authors who lived and published in this country (flyleaf).
In his introduction (haqdama, p. 2b) the author apologizes for omitting many
rabbis but this is, he says, one of the shortcomings of his book. In fact the
criterion of selection is placed so high that it retains in all only 170 authors,
while the list of books comprises 1,072 entries42.
D.B. Schwartz’s book belongs to the Hungarian school described earlier and
represents still today a clear indication of the attachment shown to the ‘Hida’s
Shem ha-Guedolim.
By traveling and collecting bio-bibliographical data in Western Europe the
‘Hida has generated this literary movement of which the influence has been felt
as far as Lithuania, passing through Poland, Hungary, the Mediterranean
countries and finally up to the distant America.
Our study allows us to review six books entitled Shem ha-Guedolim (aside
from the ‘Hida’s) and three others which carried this name as a subtitle.

41
On the flyleaf of his Shem ha-Guedolim ha-Shlishi, Schwartz precises that his list
encompasses the names of orthodox rabbis of the country. As for Greenwald, in Qoroth
ha-Tora ve-ha-Emuna be-Hungaria (History of the Tora and Faith in Hungary,
Budapest, 1921, p. 79, n. 1), he mentions that according to a state statistic, there were,
in Hungary before the first world war, 318 orthodox congregations, 182 reformed
congregations and 60 congregations which didn’t have any prejudice and met the Status
quo.
42
For a comparative yet older bibliography, see Ephraim Deinard, Qoheleth America
(Catalogue of Hebrew Books Printed in America from 1735-1926), St. Louis, 1926.
Already 989 books are inventoried, including those by the reformed congregations,
which assumes a number of authors certainly more important than the 170 by Schwartz.

113
 What does one say in the way of a conclusion, except that, despite the
selective view of most of the authors who wrote according to one school, the
influence of the Shem ha-Guedolim has been nonetheless beneficial, since it
allows us to know better the rabbinic authors and their writings from the 19th
century until our time?

Yohanan Lederman

114