Altsohul
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Alva
Learned 1 1 ]E^anok ben Hoses Altschul nuinlMT (if the .ItuUli niiiiiiuiiily nf Prajrue; Ixirii .
i
Fur tliiriy years lie served died in 1033. synagogue messenger aud cdinniunal notary of Ids native town, and was one of the signere of tlie
in 151J4;
as
nuK-li-debated will of Murdicai Meisel. On one occasion, in 10'23, Hanok narrowly e.scaped an ignonuuious death. Some tapestry had been stolen from the palace of Count Charles of Lichtenstein and the investigation ordered by the "Stadtlmupt" (citj' mayor). Albrecht von 'Waldstein. seemed to incriminate Hanok, as well as two Jews who had bought the stolen goods. The three were sent^-nced to be hanged but. fortunately, facts exonemting Hanok were discovered and he was libinitcd.
Qayyim ben Mordecai (Gumpel)
12.
schul: '2'))
to
Employed with
Alt-
his brother Hajihael (No.
as a printer, probal)lv at Amsterdam, from Ui'.tl 1733 (Stcinschncider," "Cat. Bodl." cols. 2849,
3023).
13. Isaac
ben Eleazar Perles Altschul .VulllTO. He srenis In have settled in
died in
tlior;
Amsterdam about l(i.-)(); for hepublislied in thai city the "Tikkun MozaU Shabbat" of his father, Eleazar Perles Altschul (No. H), and another Sabbath lirayerbook, that contained a Judico-German vermany of the prayers. To Isajic is also ascribed the editing of two cabalistic works: "Siah Yizhak " (The Meditation of Isjiac). a collection of praycis, and " Wayizra' Yizhak " (And Isaac .Sowed), a key to the Zohar (Steinschneider. "Cat. Bodl. " cols. 47-i, sion of
.")03.
HIT. and
in
"Serapeum."
x. 32).
ben Solomon Altschul Printer at from 1013 to WH) (Steinschneider, "Cat.
14. Israel
Praijue Bodl." cols. 377. 2!n3).
15. Jacob Altschul Son of Moses ben Abra(Elierle). No. 10: (licil in l."96. 16. Judah Aaron Moses ben Abraham
ham
Hanok Altschul
Kabbi at Kromau. Jloravia,
about the beginning of the seventeenth century. He was the author of an ethical work known by the "
Wayehal
>IosheIi " (And Moses Prayed This, however, is really the name of only the first part of the work that of the second being "Tor.it ha-Asham " (Precepts Concerning the Sin-offering). The"Ayayehal Mosheh " is a cabalistic ascetic treatise on devotion; while the " Torat ha-Asham " enumerates the various modes of jienancc for each transgression of the Jewish laws (Prague, 1613; Frankfort-on-thc-Oder, 1691; incorporated also in an edition of the daily prayer-book, printed at Amsterdam in 1881-82). Three other works notably his "Bahure Hemed " (Desirable Y'oung title
of
compare Ex. xxxii.
11).
—
Men, Ezek. xxiii. 6), a commentary on Kimhi's " Miklol," and an independent work on ritual and dogma are still unpublished (Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl."
—
cols. 331.
17.
1291
Ben.iacob.-'0?ar ha-Sefarim."
p. 148).
Moses ben Abraham (Eberle) Altschul
Prague up to l.)42. In that expelled from the town, he sought refuge in Cracow, and there became pnntas (president) of the Bohemian congregation, which had but recently been organized. Moses married a daughter of"Eliezcr Trebitsch, rabbi of Schlettstadt, Alsace; and his nephew, the young Eliezcr Trebitsch, who had followed Moses to Cracow, became rabbi of the same Bohemian community. 18. Moses Altschul: Son of Hanok (No. 11); succeeded his father in his communal functions; died in 1643. He was the author of " Zikron Bayit " (In Memory of the House), still mpublished (Kisch, in "Griltz Jubelschrift," ii. .38, and in "Monatsschrift," xxxvii. 131 et seg. compare also Moses ben IJanok Altschul, No. 19). Son of No. year,
2; lived at
when Jews were
19.
known
478
Moses ben ^anok Altschul: Commonly as Moses Q&i^oks, ami often — as early even
as 1676, on the very title-page of the Frankfort edition of his work mistjiken for an ik/i Yd-uit/itiliii/i/ii (a native of Jcrusjilem). This error is due. as stateil above, to a corruption of the initial letters of his patronymic, t;> X into t,'"8<. The dates of his birth and death are not known but as his son Hanok (No. 11) was sixty-nine years old when he died (1633), Moses must have been born about l.~)4.") or earlier. It is probable that Moses b. Hanok died shortly after the publication of his work, the " Brantspiegel " (1602). The Moses b. Hanok (No. 18) who wrote "Zikron Bavit " is the grandson of the subject of this ar-
—
ticle.
Moses b. Hanok was a considerable figure in the history of Jewish literature or, more projierly sjieaking, of Judico-Gerinan literature; for he was one of the first to use the vernacular in a polished diction, though he dealt with a subject that was not new nor peculiar to the secular life that of ethics. The "Brantspiegel" (Mirror), called in Hibrew "Sefer ha-Marih." first ])ulilished at Basel, was intended as a direct appeal to the Jews of the l)eriod to live in social and mond purity. Tlie b(«>k is divided into dmpters, the number of which varies from sixty -eight to .sc'venty-six, according to the different editions. They all indicate the many roads to morality, and the pi'uance that the Jew should undergo for deviating from these roads. The author alleges two reasons for the title of his book: (1) It was called "Spiegel" (Mirror) because the autlior wished that it should Inconstantly before the i)eople, to show them their own jiresentments. (2) "Brant" or "Brand" (Burning; that is. Magnifying) was prefixed because, as the author states, ordinary mirrors make things appear very small while this glass was inten<led to show objects (especially bad qualities) in enlarged forms, .so that i)eople would then try to remove them. The author remarks, in the preface, that his book may be read on Sabbath. The work became very pojnilar; it called f<jrth many imitations and analogous works, such as the "Sitten Spiegel," "Zier Spiegel," "Zucht Spiegel." and at a much later date the "Kleine Brantspiegel" (Small Mirror); and in the epitaph of Mo.ses Altsehul's son Ilanok the work is expres.sly mentioned (Steinschneider. "Cat.
—
Bodl." cols. 1313, 1823, 1824, and in "Serapeum," x. 325; Wolf, "Hebr. Bibl." i. No. 1.544, ii. 1272, 107, iii. 7.")0; see also, "Monatsschrift." xxxvii. 131).
20. Moses Meir ben Eleazar ^anok Altschul A highly esteinn(i nieudxT of the Jewish
community of Prague, who maintained friendlv relations with Samson Wertheimer; died in 1739. Moses was the author of several works, of which only two have lieen published; namely. (I) the "Megillat Sefer" (The Roll of the Book). a commentary on Esther, which appeared, together with Solomon Isaki's analogous work (Prague, 1709-10), and (2) his edition of the " Yashir Mosheh " (Moses Sang), of Moses Cohen of Corfu (Prague, about 1710; Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl."
col. 1846).
21. Moses (Nathaniel) ben Aaron Freund Altschul: Printerat Prague toward the end of the seventeenth century. He was in the employ of the grandsons of Moses Katz in 1694-9.5, and in that of the grandsons of Judah Bak in 1696 (Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl."
col. 2990).
Herzel ben Asher Anschel Altschul: Printer in the employ of Jacob Bok at Prague during the tirst half of the seventeenth century. His most notable production was a prayerbook for holy days in editing which he was aided by his brother Simon and the printing of "ZeBnah 22. Naphtali
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