Association of Jewish Libraries Publishing

Caruso, Naomi

ARCHIVES
A Shtetl Feminist: Sources in the Archives of the 
Jewish Public Library in Montreal
The Archives
The founding fathers of the Jewish Public 
Library (est. 1914) realized right from the 
start the importance of keeping records. 
They preserved not only the library’s own 
records, but collected for posterity other 
types of records as well.
Today the Archives of the JPL consist of over 
35 collections which fall into the following 
categories: archives of institutions, of which 
the Library’s is the largest; archives of indi­
viduals, and a photograph archives. Here 
we shall be dealing with one of the in­
dividual collections: the Reuven Brainin 
Collection.
The Brainin Collection
Reuven Brainin (1862-1939), a Hebrew and 
Yiddish writer, was one of the more fascinat­
ing intellectuals of his day. His career 
spanned sixty years, with his fame reach­
ing its pinnacle at the beginning of the 1900s 
and declining in the 1920s into such disre­
pute that today, this great man is all but for­
gotten. Although the leading Hebraist of his 
time, he has not yet been accorded his right­
ful place in the history of Hebrew literature. 
Brainin’s career fell into three distinct 
periods: (a) The European Period, from 
1881-1910, when through his extensive 
travels, lectures and writings, he introduced 
a whole generation of young shtetl dwellers 
to Western civilization; (b) The Plateau Years, 
which began in 1912 when he settled in 
Montreal, and ended around 1922 in New 
York, during which time he was a highly 
respected Jewish community leader, in­
volved in every facet of Jewish life; and (c) 
The Decline, from the mid-1920s to his death 
in 1939, when his life was surrounded by 
controversy due to his involvement with the 
Jewish colonization movement in the Soviet 
Union.
But the subject of this paper is not Brainin 
the man, but Brainin the collector, the 
archives-maker.
Brainin lived in Montreal from 1912 to 1916. 
During those years, in addition to being the 
editor of the Yiddish daily, Der Kanader
Naomi Caruso
Jewish Public Library 
Montreal, Quebec
Adler, he was also intensely involved in the 
literary and communal life of the local Jew­
ish population. A lasting achievement was 
his founding of the Jewish Public Library 
in 1914.
In 1916, when Brainin moved with his wife 
and son Joseph to New York, three of his 
children remained in Montreal. Thanks to 
them, Brainin maintained close ties with the 
city, ties that continued beyond his death 
in 1939. Complying with his wishes, his sons 
Joseph and Moses gave his papers to the 
Jewish Public Library in 1940. Today the 
Brainin Collection is the jewel of the 
Library’s Archives. It contains 6.7 meters of 
linear material divided into five main groups:
1. Literary and editorial activities.
2. Biography and criticism.
3. Correspondence.
4. Special collections.
5. Papers of the Reuven Brainin Commit­
tee on Archives at the JPL.
Chava Shapiro
It was while compiling an index to the He­
brew and Yiddish correspondence of the 
Brainin Collection1 that I came across a 
batch of 180 handwritten letters in Hebrew 
by a woman named Chava Shapiro. Other 
sources on the life of this fairly well-known 
writer are few. Genazim, the Bio-Biblio­
graphical Institute in Tel Aviv, has her diary 
in Hebrew, begun in Warsaw 1900 and ended 
ca. 1941, probably shortly before her de­
portation to Terezin, where she died in 
1943. There are also published accounts of 
Shapiro’s life in Kovetz Genazim #2 and in 
Hadoar #3 (17 Marcheshvan, 1952).
Chava Shapiro was born in December, 1878 
in Slawuta, the Ukraine, and died in Febru­
ary, 1943 in the Czechoslovakian concen­
tration camp of Terezin. It is also known that 
she published a book of sketches in 1908, 
under the pseudonym Em Koichai (The 
Mother of All Things Alive), and that she 
wrote numerous articles over a period of 35 
years for Hebrew journa ls such as 
Hashiloach, Hatoren and Haolam.
In many respects, Chava Shapiro was un­
usual for her time. Although born to Ortho­
dox parents in a Ukrainian shtetl, she was 
acknowledged as brilliant from an early age 
and allowed to study foreign languages as 
well as read secular works of literature. 
Once married off and moved to Warsaw, she 
became a member of I.L. Peretz’s literary 
salon, and David Frischman published her 
first literary efforts in his weekly Hador. She 
left her husband and abandoned her only 
child because she wanted to further her 
education.
From an early age, Chava Shapiro showed 
an unquenchable thirst for the world beyond 
the Russian Pale. She found the constraints 
of her social and religious life stifling, and 
she eventually broke every rule in the book 
in order to live her life according to her own 
rules.
From 1904 to 1910, Chava attended univer­
sity, obtaining her doctorate in philosophy 
in 1910, at the age of 32. For the next four 
years, as a woman of independent means, 
she traveled extensively, touring the Holy 
Land, for example, in 1911 with David 
Frischman and her parents. She wrote 
many articles on such topics as “Russian 
Literature After the Revolution,” “Hasidism 
and Martin Buber,” and “Aphorisms,” always 
signing herself Dr. Chava Shapiro.
She spent the war years, 1914-1919, travel­
ing between Slawuta and Kiev, living 
through war, revolution and pogroms. In 
1919, a wealthy forester who had been a 
friend of her father's came to her rescue and 
helped her and her son escape to Czecho­
Slovakia.
The Shapiro-Brainin Letters
The letters in the Archives of the Jewish 
Public Library were written to Reuven Brai­
nin, Chava’s lover, over a period of 29 years, 
from 1899-1928. The first group of letters, 
dated 1899-1914, tell of her childhood in 
Slawuta, her marriage and subsequent di­
vorce, and the years she spent studying. 
They reveal a vibrant world filled with lux­
ury and the good life. Chava was the only
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987 31
Reuven Brainin Chav a Shapiro
surviving daughter of a well-to-do paper 
manufacturer. Once a year, she and her 
mother traveled abroad, visiting resorts and 
meeting friends and relations. On one of 
these trips, Chava met Brainin. She mar­
ried and later divorced a banker’s son by the 
name of Rosenboim in Warsaw.
The general tone of the letters is upbeat and 
happy. Even though Chava suffered deeply 
over the separation from her son, the di­
vorce itself was a relief. She felt liberated 
and elated at the prospect of not being con­
trolled any longer by either parents or hus­
band. Her joy in her studies and her new 
way of life compensated for the heartache 
and the upheaval she had gone through.
The second group of letters, dated 
1914-1920, is quite different, both in tone 
and in content. As can be expected, the war 
and the Russian Revolution caused Chava 
and her family many hardships and suffer­
ings. But they were not solely responsible 
for Chava’s mounting depression. She 
gradually came to realize that a doctorate 
was no guarantee for personal fulfillment. 
Her rootless existence was beginning to 
wear her down.
Chava’s great passion for Brainin is the 
theme dominating both groups of letters. 
From the moment she first met Brainin at 
the age of 21 (he was 16 years older), she 
fell under his spell. For 15 years Brainin was 
her lover, soul-mate, father, teacher, and 
mentor. This love was never one-sided. Brai­
nin, in spite of his wife, children, and very 
complicated life, found time to answer her 
letters and to meet her once in a while. Ac­
cording to Chava’s calculations, they spent 
a total of two months together in the 15 years 
before Brainin left for America in 1912. Ev­
ery time the bond between them weakened 
and threatened to break, it was Brainin who 
could not bear to let her go.
After 1915, Brainin stopped writing to Chava, 
and yet he kept on receiving her letters. He 
never destroyed any of them, in spite of her 
constant reminders to do so. Chava con­
tinued to write to Brainin till 1920. When she 
could not elicit a reply, she wrote to Hato- 
ren, of which Brainin was the editor. The last 
letter to Hatoren is dated Prague, Decern- 
ber 1928.
Conclusions
The letters provide a wealth of information 
on many subjects for prospective research­
ers: the condition of women in 19th-century 
Poland; the mores of Jewish intellectual cir­
cles in Vienna, Berlin and Warsaw at the 
turn of the century; or family relationships 
among the first generation of emancipated 
Jews. But in particular, the letters throw light 
on Brainin’s private life and provide an es­
sential source for any future biography of 
the man.
Note
1The index to Reuven Brainin’s Yiddish and He­
brew correspondence is available for purchase 
from the Jewish Public Library, 5151 Cote Ste. 
Catherine Rd., Montreal, Quebec H3W 1M6, 
Canada.
Naomi Caruso is the Director of Library Services 
at the Jewish Public Library and the compiler of 
an index to Reuven Brainin’s Yiddish and Hebrew 
correspondence.
32 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987


English

A Shtetl Feminist: Sources in the Archives of the Jewish Public Library in Montreal

Association of Jewish Libraries

Vol. 3:1–2 Table of Contents

Posner, Marcia W.

IN THE BEGINNING . . . CMoa-rEcdia it oWr. Posner 
For years, at AJL Conventions I've heard that Arlen would be meeting, but she never met me, and I supposed 
that she only associated with R&S (the Research and Special Libraries Division of AJL). Now, at last, I know that 
Arlen is no lady. In this issue of Judaica Librarianship, the mysterious Arlen is unveiled as RLIN when Joan Aliprand 
describes the arduous process whereby the Research Libraries Group (RLG) adds non-Roman scripts such as Chi­
nese, Cyrillic, and Hebrew to its automated bibliographic system—the Research Libraries Information Network (RLIN), 
a process in which co-editor Bella Weinberg played an important part.
Not only have I learned that RLIN is a what, not a who, but I have also learned that our R&S colleagues—who I 
had assumed were hatched knowing how to design, input, and access bibliographic alphabet soupworks such 
as OCLC, PALINET, UTLAS, Etc., in any language—must struggle to master the technology and bend it to their will. 
Aaron Wolfe Kuperman's description of his mighty struggle with the bi-directional angel of Hebrew word-processing 
is only slightly less awesome than Aliprand and Friends’ heroic efforts to introduce a Hebrew-Yiddish capability 
into fickle RLIN. Which brings me to the point of this ramble—now that it has been disclosed on these pages how 
much time and effort our R&S colleagues expend in upgrading Judaica libraries and in making library cataloging 
and service more accurate and efficient, isn’t it time for SSC (Synagogue, School, and Center) libraries to join them? 
Not only to draw from, but to contribute to their efforts?
At least some of us. SSC libraries are as uneven as an unpaved Maine road after a spring thaw. We run the gamut 
from rudimentary-rocky to sophisticated-smooth. A synagogue library, yet in the closet, and open a few hours 
a week, doesn't have to automate, but there are many substantial SSC libraries with rich collections and impressive 
circulation statistics. According to a survey taken recently by the Jewish Book Council (see my article in this issue), 
only two SSC libraries (I now know of three more) have automated in-house library procedures: circulation, overdue 
notices, and catalog card and label production. One is even linked up to the Cleveland Public Library database, 
but I don’t believe many of us have standardized our cataloging records so as to be able to link up with a biblio­
graphic network such as RLIN. Rita Frischer's central cataloging project for synagogue libraries in Southern California 
(which will be described in our forthcoming issue) is a step in that direction, but even this cataloging may not 
conform to the specifications of a national network, for which catalog records must conform to MARC standards 
and be modified further to meet the requirements of a particular system. If we are going to persuade our Boards 
to fund the expense of hardware and retrospective conversion (inputting all the records in our card catalogs into 
the computer), we must first ask some hard questions—not about automating in-house—that’s a given; but about 
joining a network.
SSC libraries are ineligible to join the Research Libraries Group; they can, however, use the services of RLIN through 
a broker known as CLASS or acquire a "search only”  account on RLIN. Thus an SSC library of modest means will 
be able to access cataloging records in English, Yiddish and Hebrew, and numerous other languages, enabling 
the library to use the information to catalog its own books, or to determine where a particular book that it doesn't 
own can be found. Does this mean that members of an SSC library can interloan the book? Only if an agreement 
is reached. Do RLIN cataloging records give Weine, or Elazar numbers? No, although the standard Dewey numbers 
and LC subject headings that can be found on many records will be welcome. Will SSC library patrons need to 
search a large database for research projects? We don't know. When the capability of online searching is made 
known to library patrons, we may be surprised at the number who may avail themselves of the facility.
By becoming less isolated, and more a part of the larger library world, the SSC library may raise its institutional 
status. And if SSC libraries find that it doesn't pay for them to belong to RLIN, we can start our own network: 
"SMILIN'' (Smaller Library Information Network)!
My co-editor enjoins me to remind you that just as computerization always takes longer than anticipated because 
of the attention that must be paid to detail, so too, do the editors devote a great deal of time to reviewing every 
aspect of JL, which explains delays in publication. We have added 1987 to the date of this double issue to reflect 
the currency of the information contained in it. We hope that future issues of Judaica Librarianship will appear 
twice a year with the cover date matching the calendar date.
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987 3


In the Beginning

Heskes, Irene

Acceptance Speech by the Recipient 
of the Judaica Reference Book Award
Irene Heskes
Forest Hills, N.Y.
Thank you all for this wonderful endorse­
ment of my lifelong dedication to the sub­
ject of Jewish music. It is a particular satis­
faction to be honored by the Jewish 
librarians who labor in behalf of the crea­
tion, preservation and dissemination of the 
printed word in Jewish life. Beyond this 
honor to me and to my book, I believe that 
the award also pays a tribute to Jewish mu­
sic itself, as a topic that is important to Ju­
daic literature and learning. Not only the do­
main of the cantor and folksinger, Jewish 
music may rightfully take its place within the 
purview of Jewish education and scholar­
ship, of research and history, of tradition and 
culture. We Jews are a specially musical 
people and throughout our history, melody 
along with text/words have had a creative 
partnership in ensuring our survival. Indeed 
for the Jewish people, the concept of mu­
sic is central to the human spirit—for mu­
sic, as we recognize it, is both the most 
universal and yet most personal of all God’s 
gifts to mankind. For us, over the millennia, 
it has served to express spiritual matters 
and chronicle the calendar of the year and 
the cycle of life, and to bind us in historical 
continuity from past into present and for­
ward to the timeless future ahead. But most 
of all, Jewish music is the essence of our 
Jewish selves. The Yiddish writer Isaac 
Loeb Peretz has left us with his description 
of such a personalized music: “For each
man is a musical instrument and the life of 
man is a song, whether a joyous or a sad 
song. When a man completes his song, it 
leaves his body and this song—this life­
soul—joins a great chorus before Almighty 
God. But if a man live without a song, with­
out a melody of his soul, his life has been 
a mere screech, a sigh, a cry-out; it has 
been no life at all. Without his special song, 
he has not lived truly a life.”*
Thank you again for this honor to me and 
my book, and best of all, to the field of Jew­
ish music.
*Peretz, I.L. “Mishnas Khsidim.” In his: Ale Verk, 
vol. IV: Khsidish. New York: CYCO, 1947, p. 180.
ק רעוו עלא :ןייז ןיא ."םידיסח תנשמ" "ל.י ,ץר9
.1947 ,אקיצ :קראי וינ .שידיסח :4 .דב
An active lecturer, Irene Heskes’ two currentlyre- 
quested topics are: “The Evidence Lives On: Hol­
ocaust Songs as Historical Documents” (with mu­
sic illustrations) and “Yiddish Popular Songs on 
the Bowery at the Turn of the Century: The Great 
‘Eili Eili’ Controversy” (based upon current work 
in progress for a book to be published by the U- 
brary of Congress).
Schmelzer (Continued from p. 104)
3A clue to ascertaining whether or not a 
book is rare is to check Ch. B. Friedberg’s 
Bet Eked Sepharim, 2nd ed., Tel Aviv, 1951. 
If Friedberg does not indicate pagination, 
it usually means that he did not see a copy 
of the book, and it is probably rare.
4The year 1600 has often been used as a 
cut-off date for rarity based on age alone. 
When it moved into its new quarters, the 
Jewish Theological Seminary Library set 
the date 1750 for inclusion of materials in 
its rare collections, allowing for such excep­
tions as Americana, where later dates are 
used as criteria.
5Hayim Liberman in his OhelRahel(Brook- 
lyn, N.Y. 1980) deals with the obscure East­
ern European presses of the late eighteenth 
and early nineteenth centuries.
6For a discussion of the effects of controver­
sies on Hebrew books, see Moshe Carmilly- 
Weinberger’s Sefer Va-Sayif (Book and 
Sword, New York 1966).
7Physical characteristics such as colored 
paper, vellum leaves, fine bindings, and 
marginal notes contribute to rarity. Rarities 
may also be hidden—binding boards 
should be inspected, especially in the case 
of oriental prints, as they sometimes con­
tain leaves of rare books or manuscripts.
Yael Penkower is a Librarian at YIVO Insti­
tute for Jewish Research in New York City.
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987 107


Acceptance Speech by the Recipient of the Judaica Reference Book Award

Baker, Zachary M.

Yiddish Studies Pathfinder

Aliprand, Joan M.

Hebrew on RLIN

Adler, Elhanan

The Library Automation Scene in Israel—1986
Elhanan Adler
University of Haifa
Kuperman (Continued)
Wordmill, Bigger Byte, Inc., 1 S. Central Ave., 
Valley Stream, NY 11580. This is an Israeli 
word processing program based on a He­
brew “chip.”
Font programs that include Hebrew
These programs work with dot matrix or la­
ser printers to produce a greater range of 
fonts and/or higher quality fonts than would 
otherwise be available. They supplement 
but do not replace a word processing pro­
gram. The programs listed below include 
Hebrew fonts.
Fancy Font, Soft Craft, Inc., 16 N. Carroll 
Street, Suite 500, Madison, Wl 53703.
Fontrix, Data Transforms, 616 Washington 
Street, Denver, CO 80203.
Lettrix, Hammerlab, 5700 Arlington Ave., 
Riverdale, NY 10471.
User groups
User groups often provide honest and in­
dependent information about using com­
puters. The two listed below specialize in 
Hebrew and Judaica applications of per­
sonal computers, and both publish news­
letters containing valuable and current in­
formation.
Hebrew Users Group, Berkeley Hillel Foun­
dation, 2736 Bancroft Way, Berkeley, CA 
94704.
Computer Hebrew Users Group of New 
York, c/0 Michael Rand, 21 Bennett Ave., 
New York, NY 10033.
Aaron Wolfe Kuperman is a Librarian work­
ing for the Brooklyn Public Library in Brook­
lyn, New York. The paper is based on a pre­
sentation at a workshop on Hebrew 
computing held at the Jewish Theological 
Seminary on Jan. 19, 1987 under the span- 
sorship of the New York Metropolitan Area 
chapter of the Association of Jewish 
Libraries.
Introduction
The major development in the Israeli library 
automation scene during 1986 was the large 
number of libraries initiating automated ser­
vices. In virtually all cases, the libraries 
chose one of two commercially marketed 
Israeli library systems: ALEPH or Sifriah-83.
ALEPH —Libraries
In 1985, I reported on the selection of 
ALEPH by the University Grants Commit­
tee as the basis for the university-wide net­
work and on the changes in the network 
concept towards a highly decentralized sys- 
tern (Adler, 1985). During 1986, the decen­
tralized VAX computer version of ALEPH 
was installed in several Israeli universities.
The initial intent was to run-in the ALEPH 
VAX version at the Technion-lsrael Institute 
of Technology while maintaining the Hebrew 
University’s older CDC version until the 
ALEPH VAX version was completed and 
fully tested. This plan was unfortunately not 
followed, as the Hebrew University found 
it necessary (primarily for financial rea­
sons) to drop its leased CDC sooner than 
planned. Testing at the Technion went on 
simultaneously with conversion of the vari­
ous Jerusalem-based libraries (each with 
its own particular problems which had to be 
solved in the process) and, as a result, the 
run-in procedure did not progress as 
smoothly as it might have.
The Hebrew University itself is now running 
ALEPH on several VAX computers at its var­
ious campuses. The catalogs of the Library 
of Social Sciences and Humanities at the 
Mount Scopus campus and the Library of 
Sciences at the Giv’at-Ram campus have 
been completely converted, and these 
libraries function totally online, without a 
card catalog. Other University libraries (Law, 
Education, Archaeology, and Agriculture) 
are in the process of catalog conversion; 
however, public access terminals are not yet 
in use. The Jewish National and University 
Library (JNUL) closed its card catalog in
1985, and all materials cataloged since then 
are accessible via computer only. There are 
no plans for mass conversion of the old 
JNUL card catalog in the foreseeable future. 
Each Hebrew University library catalog is 
a separate, independent database with its 
own authority files—making a campus-wide 
search rather difficult.
The Technion was the first major library sys- 
tern outside the Hebrew University to use 
ALEPH VAX, and it has served as the test 
site for various ALEPH modules. Despite 
the fact that the Technion has a highly de­
centralized system of 24 libraries, it is main­
taining a centralized automated system with 
a single database of all its libraries’ hold­
ings. As of April 1987, the central library and 
five departmental libraries are online, in­
eluding circulation. Other libraries await 
conversion and a .larger computer; mean­
while, they are using a campus-wide COM 
microfiche catalog, in addition to main­
taining their card catalogs. All Technion cat­
aloging since 1981—covering a very high 
percentage of “ live” material in tech- 
nology—is in the database.
The Ben Gurion University of the Negev and 
Tel-Aviv University libraries have also moved 
their files from Jerusalem to local VAX com­
puters. Ben Gurion plans to have public ac­
cess terminals available in Fall 1987; mean­
while, current cataloging and retrospective 
conversion are proceeding. Circulation via 
ALEPH is limited to those items already in 
the database; a parallel manual system is 
still in use for unconverted materials. Tel- 
Aviv University activity consists also primar­
ily of current cataloging and conversion at 
this stage. Tel-Aviv will have a multiple data­
base system, reflecting its system of sev­
eral large, highly autonomous libraries.
The Weizmann Institute of Science Library 
is committed to ALEPH also, even though 
its central library is currently using the 
microcomputer-based “Sifriah-83” system 
(see below).
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987 21
The University of Haifa Library is currently 
testing ALEPH alongside its own VAX-based 
library systems. Haifa has a unique prob­
lem in that it already has many highly de­
veloped systems, including functions not yet 
found or even planned in ALEPH. Haifa is 
considering using ALEPH primarily for 
cataloging and serials check-in, while re­
taining its own systems for circulation, ac­
quisitions, invoice processing, and other 
functions.
Bar-Han University has given serious con­
sideration to IBM’s DOBIS system, despite 
the fact that interfacing DOBIS into the 
ALEPH network would likely be quite diffi­
cult. Bar-Han plans to do an on-site test of 
ALEPH as well, and should reach a deci­
sion by Summer 1987.
Outside the university network, three 
libraries are now using ALEPH: the Tel-Aviv 
Central Public Library (which has been 
using ALEPH for several years via a direct 
line to Jerusalem) and two new libraries: the 
Netanya Public Library and the library of the 
Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Re­
search Institute (ha-Makhon le-hekeryamim 
va-agamim) in Haifa. The latter two have re­
cently signed up for ALEPH-T, a cut-down 
version of ALEPH being marketed by Ex- 
Libris, Ltd. Ex-Libris is a new company set 
up to market ALEPH outside the Israeli 
University network, replacing Aurec, which 
had unsuccessfully attempted to market 
ALEPH earlier. The price of ALEPH-T is 
linked to the number of terminals in use, 
starting quite low and increasing as termi­
nals are added. In addition, the fact that the 
price of VAX and particularly Micro-VAX 
computers has gone down significantly over 
the last two years makes ALEPH financially 
more attractive in the public and special li­
brary sector.
ALEPH-Ownership and Governance
ALEPH itself is a software package owned 
by the Hebrew University via a subsidiary 
company called ALEPH-YISSUM. As part 
of its recognition of ALEPH as the basis for 
the inter-university network, the University 
Grants Committee (the funding body for 
higher education in Israel) set up the 
ALEPH Steering Committee to oversee the 
development of ALEPH and to recommend 
special development and maintenance 
grants. The Committee is composed of sev­
eral library directors and heads of univer­
sity computer centers, with representatives 
of other libraries attending as observers. De­
spite its hold on the purse-strings, the Com­
mittee has not taken as active a role in the 
management of ALEPH as it might, and has 
often found itself in the position of approv­
ing matters after the fact.
Detailed requests related to specific ALEPH 
modules are routed through a Software 
Subcommittee of the Standing Committee 
of the National and University Libraries 
(SCONUL). Questions relating to the cata­
loging or serials modules are usually dis­
cussed first in the SCONUL Cataloging or 
Serials Subcommittees.
ALEPH —Network Aspects
One of the most attractive elements of the 
ALEPH system has been the networking 
capability in which a catalog user at one li­
brary can, with one command, shift to an­
other library’s catalog and continue search­
ing with virtually the same commands, data 
format, etc.—even while the other catalog 
is physically found on a distant computer. 
Similarly, a cataloger would be able to Io­
cate an item in another collection and then 
copy it to his own catalog, editing it as 
needed. This capability does indeed exist 
and functions, although not between all 
libraries as yet and not as smoothly as might 
be desired.
A network is only as good as the physical 
link between its units and, unfortunately, the 
Israeli telecommunications infrastructure is 
still woefully inadequate. Attempts to base 
network communications on ISRANET (Is­
rael’s version of TELENET) have been un­
satisfactory so far, and therefore communi­
cations have been done via dedicated 
point-to-point lines. While these lines insure 
high quality data transfer, they are very ex­
pensive. The libraries have generally used 
existing dedicated lines already in use be­
tween their institution’s computer center and 
the Hebrew University’s, paying for their 
share of the use. Since these lines are al­
ready carrying a great deal of non-library 
“traffic,” response time is often very slow. 
Furthermore, the use of dedicated lines 
mandates a “star” architecture in which all 
lines lead to Jerusalem. Indeed, one of the 
Jerusalem VAX computers also functions 
as the network “switchboard,” routing calls 
from one library to another.
Other factors affecting network response in­
elude the general communications over­
head and the work load on the computers 
involved. Even within the libraries of the He­
brew University itself, there is a noticeable 
difference when searching on another com­
puter— even if it is on the same campus and 
the communication line is dedicated to li­
brary use.
Aside from technical aspects, there are sev­
eral professional and management prob­
lems affecting network plans: ALEPH is a 
highly flexible system, allowing libraries the
freedom to determine their own data fields, 
how to tag them, display them, etc. This 
freedom could easily lead to anarchy, how­
ever, and many inter-university meetings 
have been devoted to trying to reach some 
agreement on standard fields, tags, etc. to 
make one library’s cataloging usable in an­
other. Significant progress has been made; 
however, much of it is based on good will 
only, and it is yet to be seen how it will stand 
the test of time.
The problem of multiple catalogs at some 
universities has already been mentioned. 
Despite a clear-cut decision of the ALEPH 
Steering Committee, the Hebrew University 
(and to a lesser degree Tel-Aviv University) 
are maintaining separate catalogs for all or 
some of their libraries. As a result, while it 
is possible to make a single search to see 
if a title is available at the Technion, search­
ing for it at the Hebrew University requires 
shifting in and out of several catalogs (pre­
sumably in most cases, a search strategy 
would begin with the libraries most likely to 
house a specific title).
A partial solution to this problem would be 
a national union catalog of monographs, 
similar to the existing union list of serials 
(itself an independent ALEPH library). The 
idea being discussed currently is to take all 
ALEPH catalogs and merge them into one 
catalog accessible by main entry and title 
only. The resulting unrevised file would be 
made available on a central computer to all 
network users. Instead of updating this file, 
it might be totally recreated from time to 
time.
A further network problem yet to be solved 
is who will be given access to the network 
and under what conditions. While the net­
work is primarily that of the university 
libraries, the Tel-Aviv Public Library already 
has access to it (since its files reside on one 
of the Hebrew University’s computers). The 
use of ALEPH by additional non-university 
libraries will raise questions as to access, 
fees, etc. Similarly, one of the companies 
offering videotext-type data services in Is­
rael has shown interest in adding access 
to the university network as one of its 
services.
ALEPH — Development
In mid-1986, a meeting was held between 
representatives of the ALEPH Steering 
Committee and the Hebrew University ad­
ministration regarding the continued devel­
opment of ALEPH. The decision reached 
was that the first official version of ALEPH 
was to be “closed” at the end of 1986, and 
that thereafter, any further development
22 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987
work would be budgeted separately. The 
1986 deadline was to include completion of 
the acquisitions and serials check-in mod­
ules (still not completed in April 1987). An­
nual maintenance fees (some $12,500 per 
library) and special development grants 
would be applied to an agreed-upon devel­
opment plan. While priorities have not yet 
been firmly set, major items planned for de­
velopment include: Arabic script (up to now 
Arabic has been “Hebraized”), creation of 
a national union monograph catalog (see 
above), adding LC MARC (or at least part 
of it) as an independent “library” within the 
network, and development of an interlibrary 
loan module, as well as improvements to ex­
isting modules.
Other badly needed items include a com­
plete rewrite of the ALEPH documentation 
(much documentation is still missing, and 
that which exists is often woefully inade­
quate) and an invoice-processing system. 
The ALEPH development team is particu­
larly loath to develop an invoice-processing 
module, since each university’s procedures 
are determined by its finance department 
and tend to be unique.
University of Haifa Systems
As mentioned above, the University of Haifa 
is considering adopting ALEPH as its 
cataloging system, both because it will en­
able Haifa to be an active part of the net­
work and because the ALEPH cataloging 
module includes authority control and
detailed inventory control—areas in which 
Haifa’s cataloging system is weak. Similarly, 
Haifa would like to make use of the ALEPH 
serials check-in module which is still under 
development. Haifa intends to retain its own 
absence-system circulation module, at least 
until total conversion of the collection has 
been completed. Similarly, the Haifa acqui­
sitions and invoice processing systems will 
be retained for some time to come (Tel-Aviv 
University is also using its own acquisitions 
system —in its case, a university-wide pro­
curement system which was expanded to 
meet library needs). Haifa is now ex­
perimenting with interfacing and transfer­
ring data between its own systems and 
ALEPH. Implementing an online public ac­
cess catalog is not envisioned before 1991.
Haifa has had its own VAX computer since 
January 1986 and has converted all its bib­
liographic and housekeeping systems to the 
new computer. Use of Haifa’s unique bib­
liographic files (Index to Hebrew Periodicals, 
Eretz Israel Data Base, and others) within 
the university network has been a subject 
of discussion. Haifa would prefer not to 
serve as a bibliographic utility (with all the 
communications, extra hardware, invoicing, 
etc. involved) and has suggested installing 
its databases and search software on the 
VAX computers of interested libraries in re­
turn for a set fee. The libraries would then 
be able to make unlimited use of the data.
Sifriah-83
Israel’s “other” commercially available li­
brary system is a microcomputer-based sys- 
tern developed by TOP Systems of Tel-Aviv. 
“Sifriah-83” (its name indicating its date of
birth) is based on IBM-PC or PC-compatible 
hardware. It is available in single and multi­
user configurations. Some 70 systems have 
been sold in Israel in virtually all sectors of 
the small-to-medium size library commu­
nity: from high-tech industry to yeshivot. The 
system includes cataloging, circulation, and 
information retrieval; serials check-in and 
acquisitions are under development.
“Sifriah-83” is marketed in Britain under the 
name CALM (Computer Aided Library 
Management) and has been reviewed un­
der that name in several library automation 
journals (see for example, The Electronic Li­
brary, vol. 3, no. 4 (October 1985), pp. 
242-251).
Summary
Israeli libraries have been following the 
general trend to purchase an available sys- 
tern rather than to reinvent the wheel. These 
systems should continue to develop both in 
breadth and width, improving existing ser­
vices and adding new modules. The two 
systems described seem to cover the span 
of libraries fairly well, and the libraries using 
them seem generally satisfied.
References
Adler, Elhanan. “The Library Automation Scene 
in Israel—1985,” Judaica Librarianship, vol. 2, 
no. 1-2 (Spring 1985), pp. 7-8.
Elhanan Adler is Assistant Director of the 
University of Haifa Library, and has been in­
volved in all its automation activities.
Jerusalem Books
Distributors of 
All Israeli 
Imprints & Periodicals
— Prompt, Efficient Service 
— Competitive Prices
Rabbi Hanan (Kenneth) Rivkin 
RO.B. 18189 
Jerusalem, 91181 Israel 
Tel. 826373
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987 23


The Library Automation Scene in Israel-1986

LEARNING, 74-78
Leff, Barbara
“Dorothy Schroeder—Judaica Library
Visionary Extraordinaire” 142
“Job Descriptions for a Library Servicing a 
Synagogue and Day School” 85-89
Leksikon fun Yidish Shraybers (Review)
28-30, 34
Lerman, Linda P.
“AJL Judaica Reference Book Award” 106
“Pathfinder Series” 125
“The Library Automation Scene in Israel — 
1986” 21-23
Library of Congress
Classification for Judaica, Tampering with, 
45-48
Local modifications, 37-44
Classification of Holocaust Denial Literature, 
50-55
“Lilith in Jewish Literature” 79-82
LITERARY THEMES, 79-85
Lubetski, Edith
“Recently Published Acquisition Tools”
71-73
MANAGEMENT—JEWISH, 85-94, 96
MEDIA JUDAICA, 95-96
Medical ethics, 120-124
Mehlman, Israel
“What Makes a Hebrew Book Rare?”
102-104, 107
Meir, Rachel
“Introducing Holocaust Literature to
Children” 65-67
Mendel Gottesman Library of Hebraica- 
Judaica, Yeshiva University, Classification
Decisions, 40-44
Mishneh Torah . . . le-Rabenu Mosheh
ben Maimon, Zvi H. Preisler, ed.
(Review) 24
“New Reference Books From Israel” 116-120
“Notes of A Jewish Women’s Studies
Publisher” 82-83
“On the Beginnings of Yiddish Children’s 
Literature” 68-70
Oppenheim, Micha F.
“Recommended Judaica Reference Works,
1985-1986” 108-115
“Pathfinder Series” 125
Penkower, Yael
“What Makes a Hebrew Book Rare?”
(Translation) 102-104, 107
PEOPLE OF THE BOOK, 98-100
Posner, Marcia W.
“Education for Synagogue Librarians at the 
Queens College School of General 
Studies: 1984-1986” 74-78
IN THE BEGINNING, 3
“The Jewish Book Council Library Citation: 
History and Report of a Follow-up Study” 
90-94, 96
“Women and Judaism: a Selected Annotated 
Bibliography” 84-85
Preisler, Zvi H., ed.
Sefer Mishneh Torah . . . le-Rabenu Mosheh 
ben Maimon (Reviewed by Avraham 
Greenbaum) 24
Queens College, Education for Synagogue 
Librarians, 74-78
RARE BOOKS, 102-104, 107
“Recently Published Acquisition Tools” 71-73
“Recommended Judaica Reference Works, 
1985-1986” 108-115
REFERENCE DEPARTMENT, 106-131
RESPONSA, 132-134
RLIN, Hebrew Capability, 5-16
Romanization of Yiddish Names, 33-36
Schroeder, Dorothy, 142
Schwartz, Lillian
AJL Manuscript Competition Award 
Presentation, 64
Sefer Mishneh Torah . . . le-Rabenu Mosheh 
ben Maimon, Zvi H. Preisler, ed.
(Review) 24
SERIALLY SPEAKING, 136-137
Shapiro, Chava, 31-32
Sholom Aleichem
Kasrilevke, Boiberik, Yehupetz, 133-134
“A Shtetl Feminist: Sources in the Archives of 
the Jewish Public Library in Montreal” 
31-32
Sigal, Goldie
Letter (Romanization of Yiddish Names) 33
Simon, Ralph R.
“Audio-visual Media in the Synagogue and
Religious School Library” 95-96
Singerman, Robert, comp.
Jewish Serials of the World: a Research
Bibliography of Secondary Sources
(Reviewed by Barry Walfish) 25-27, 33
Snyder, Carol
AJL Children’s Book Award Acceptance
Speech, 62-63
Subject Headings
Bar Ilan University Library, 73
Hebrew, 73
SYNAGOGUE LIBRARIES, 138-142
Synagogue, School, and Center Libraries
Attracting Patrons, 138-139
Audio-visual Media, 95-96
Education of Librarians, 74-78
Jewish Book Council Library Citation, 
90-94, 96
Job Descriptions, 85-89
Writing for Newsletters 139-141
Tampering with the Library of Congress 
Classification for Judaica, 45-48
Tel-Aviv University Library, 73
Tucker, Ben R.
Letters (Romanization of Yiddish Names) 
34-35, 36
Unetaneh tokef, 132, 134
Walfish, Barry
Letter (Romanization of Yiddish Names) 
35-36
Review of: Singerman, Robert, comp.
Jewish Serials of the World, 25-27, 33
Weinberg, Bella Hass
“Cutter J4: Tampering with the Library of
Congress Classification for Judaica” 45-48
Weinfeld, Morton
“The Classification of Holocaust Denial
Literature by the Library of Congress” 50-55 
“What Makes a Hebrew Book Rare?”
102-104, 107
“Women and Judaism: a Selected Annotated
Bibliography” 84-85
Word Processing, Hebrew, 17-21
“Writing for Newsletters: Positive Publicity 
for Libraries” 139-141
“Yedidei HaSefer, the Israel Bibliophiles” 
98-100
Yiddish Studies
Children’s Literature, 68-70
Leksikon fun Yidish Shraybers
(Review) 28-30, 34
Pathfinder, 125-129
Romanization of Yiddish Names, 33-36
Leah Adler is Head Librarian of the Mendel Got­
tesman Library of Hebraica-Judaica, Yeshiva 
University.
Index of Advertisers
Name Page
Adama Books.............................................................. 60
Garland Publishing.....................................................  97
Holmes & Meier Publishers, Inc...................................58
JWB Jewish Book Council........................................... 96
Jerusalem Books.... ..................................................... 23
Morrison and Kline......................................................101
Saur (K.G.) Inc........................................................... 105
Shapolsky Publishing, Inc....................     70, 72
Theatre Communications Group................................  50
Tikkun Magazine......................................................  135
144
The editors acknowledge the assistance of Rhonda Kleiman, Gradu­
ate Assistant to Dr. Weinberg in the Division of Library and Informa­
tion Science of St. John’s University.
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987


Index of Advertisers

Cahan, Mitchell A.

Jewish Medical Ethics: Issues, Sources and the Librarian's Role

Cochetti, Maria

Bibliography and Cabala: a new perspective
Maria Cochetti
Biblioteca Universitaria Alessandrina 
Rome, Italy
 
 
 
 
 
 
Professor Alfredo Serrai has published a se­
ries of lengthy essays in the Italian journal 
IIBibliotecarib' about the links between the 
development of “systematic bibliography”2 
and the birth of Christian Cabala at the 
end of the fifteenth century. The author’s 
hypothesis—which is based not only on an 
accurate and extensive examination of the 
pertinent literature, but which also takes into 
consideration the mentality and the cultural 
apparatus of the men involved, i.e., bib­
liographers, librarians and encylopaedists3— 
is that there seems to be a close connec­
tion between the gnostic attitude that is typ­
ical of the cabalistic tradition, and the in­
terest in books, lists of books, and libraries 
as repositories of knowledge and of both hu­
man and divine wisdom.
From the fifteenth to the seventeenth cen­
turies, it is striking to note how many of the 
people professionally interested in books 
were cabalists, or entangled in esoteric, 
magical, neoplatonic, or neopythagoric 
speculations. There is also a close nexus 
between cabalism and the world of Ian- 
guage, based on the power of signs as the 
medium for the expression of reality and of 
literature. The substance of sem iotics— 
divine in the Bible and in Creation, human 
in language and books—is inherent in the 
value of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet 
and in the meanings of their various com­
positions. Bibliography is therefore exalted 
and exercised as a statement of faith in Jew­
ish Cabala and, afterwards, in Christian.
The beginning of Christian Cabala—in 
which a combination of Judaic, neopytha- 
goric and neoplatonic thought was used as 
evidence for the truth of Christian 
revelation—dates back to Marsilio Ficino’s 
translation of Corpus Hermeticum  (1463), 
and to the bold philosophical synthesis of 
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, a genius 
who had an immense influence on Euro­
pean thought. For Pico, there is only one 
truth, and there cannot be any contradic­
tion among the Old Testament, rabbinical 
literature, philosophy (especially that of 
Plato), and the New Testament. Truth is con­
tained, and can be recognized, in the book 
of nature and in holy books. This attitude 
contributes to the explanation of the gene­
sis of interest in the natural world and, con-
sequently, in the formation of the intellec­
tual medium from which modern science 
eventually developed. There can be no con­
tradiction between the creation of the phys­
ical universe and the revelation of God to 
Moses, and between the written revelation 
in the Scriptures and the oral one in the 
cabalistic tradition.
After Pico, there follows a personage of rec­
ognized importance in the history of bibli­
ography: Johannes Trithemius, the “father 
of bibliography.” He was a Benedictine 
monk, abbot of Sponheim, and the author 
of the first outstanding bibliography of Chris­
tian writers (Liber de scriptoribus ec- 
clesiasticis, 1. ed. 1494), which was used 
up to the eighteenth century. Trithemius is 
considered in his cultural milieu by Serrai, 
who explains the relations Trithemius had 
with Johann Reuchlin, Johann von Dalberg, 
Johann W im pfeling, Arnold Bostius, 
Agrippa von Nettesheim, and others. Ser- 
rai also explains the dependence of the bib­
liographical work of the Benedictine abbot 
on former bio-bibliographical models, estab­
lished by St. Jerome and Gennadius and
Figure 1. Title page of De accentibus et orthographia linguae Hebraicae, 
by Johann Reuchlin, a Christian Hebraist and Cabalist.
followed by their medieval successors, and, 
just before him, by Giacomo Filippo Fore­
sti, the historian in whose chronicles there 
appeared for the first time bibliographical 
lists in tabulated form. Trithemius was an 
Hebraist and a cabalist; he was accused of 
practicing magic and, in spite of his pro­
testations, was the subject of an interna­
tional scandal.
 
 
 
 
  
After Trithemius, Serrai treats Johann Reuch- 
lin, also an Hebraist and a cabalist, whose 
life was marked by a deep respect for books 
and for Jewish culture. Reuchlin (librarian 
to the Elector palatine and, possibly, to Jo­
hann von Dalberg) was involved in the so- 
called “war of books” engaged by Johann 
Pfefferkorn—a Jew converted to Catholi­
cism and supported by antisemitic circles— 
who called for the destruction of all Hebrew 
books. Reuchlin fought strongly and sue- 
cessfully against such a demand, but this 
did not prevent the papal condemnation of 
his own works. The title page of one of Re- 
uchlin’s books on the Hebrew language is 
reproduced in Figure 1.
 
 
 
130 Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987
The survey continues with Domenico 
Grimani, a great book collector, who ac­
quired the library of Giovanni Pico, and 
whose apparent sympathies for Christian 
Cabala were tested by the support he gave 
to Reuchlin in the “war of books,” and by his 
relations with the Jewish philosopher and 
physician Elia del Medigo and with the 
cabalist Abraham de Balmes.
Cardinal Gilles of Viterbo, minister general 
of the Augustinian Friars, had a more im­
portant and recognized role in the land­
scape of Christian Cabala. He was an au­
thority on Hebrew and Near Eastern 
languages, and a tenacious hunter for 
manuscripts. For him, Cabala served as the 
means of finding Christian truth in the Old 
Testament; and the Hebrew language, in 
which God spoke, is the only language fit 
to express supernatural mysteries.
Symphorien Champier, the French poly­
graph, author of the first bibliography of 
medicine (De medicine Claris scriptoribus, 
Lyon, 1506), believed that Hermetic theories 
were forerunners of Christian theology. He 
published, in Latin translation, the lasttrea­
tise of Corpus Hermeticum, which was not 
included in Ficino’s Pimander.
Much more analytical attention is devoted 
to Conrad Pellikan, a librarian and Hebraist, 
and adviser to the typographers Froben, H. 
Petri, and Amerbach. His life and work are 
minutely examined under the guidance of 
his autobiography. Pellikan, a Franciscan 
Friar, became a follower of the Reformation 
(he was editor of some writings of Luther), 
and eventually left the habit and became 
a professor of Hebrew in Zurich at the col­
lege known as Schola Tigurina (see Figure 
2). Pellikan was the librarian of the Bib­
liotheca Carolina, a library that he reor­
ganized, setting up four catalogs: alpha­
betic by author, by location, classified, and 
according to alphabetical subjects. This 
work was of primary importance in the his­
tory of cataloging, because the methods 
used were adopted by the great Conrad 
Gessner, a student of Pellikan, who in his 
Bibliotheca Universalis followed and devel­
oped the cataloging system initiated by his 
master.
Pellikan is the last author treated in the es­
says published to date. The series will con­
tinue with dozens of other personalities, 
among them Pansa, Fichard, Gaffarel, 
Neander, Chacon, Pancirolli, Doni, Du Ver­
dier, etc. Their exposition will be structured 
around another concept, that of encyclopae­
dias. There is really a vacuum in relation to 
studies on the encylopaedias of the Renais­
sance. Serrai is not only reconstructing the 
encyclopaedia’s panorama in the sixteenth 
and seventeenth centuries, but is using the 
term as it was applied then, i.e., as a unify-
Figure 2. Conrad Pellikan, Professor of Theology and of the “Holy Tongue” 
at Schola Tigurina. The portrait is reproduced from his Commentarii Bib- 
Horum, Zurich, 1532-39.
ing concept for knowledge and literature. 
Encyclopedia was, in the Renaissance, the 
equivalent of what was later to be historia 
litteraria, the discipline from which arose our 
enumerative bibliography. Within such a 
perspective, Serrai has divided the ency­
clopaedists into seven groups, namely:
1) philologists and antiquarians, concerned 
especially with classical languages and 
civilizations (about 40 authors; among 
them Celio Calcagnini, Celso Rodigino, 
Sabellico, Poliziano, and Beroaldo);
2) lexicographers (such as Balbi, Fran­
cesco Alunno, and Brack);
3) encyclopaedists stricto sensu (30 names, 
including Giorgio Valla, G. Reisch, 
Maffei, and Zwinger);
4) poet-encyclopaedists (Pontus de Tyard, 
Ronsard, Peletier, and Le Fevre de la 
Boderie);
5) encyclopaedists concerned with the def­
inition of disciplines and ratio studiorum 
(Vives, Sadoleto, R. Savonarola, and 
about 20 other names);
6) compilers of florilegia and of polygraph!- 
cal works (Ravisius Textor, Garzoni, 
Polidoro Vergilio);
7) encyclopaedist-bibliographers, who, in 
order to organize lists of books, adopted 
a systematic classification of disciplines 
(40 authors; among them Gessner, Con­
stantin, Spach, and Bolduanus).
The work of Professor Serrai will be in prog­
ress for a long time. At its conclusion, we 
shall have a new and more precise interpre­
tation of the cultural history of the first two 
centuries following the invention of printing, 
as well as an original and, in part, totally 
new history of the bibliography of printed 
books for that period.
Notes
1Serrai, Alfredo, “Bibliografia e Cabala: Contributo 
alia storia della Bibliografia,” IIBibliotecario, N.3 
(Marzo 1985) onwards.
2The definition goes back to the work of Theo­
dore Besterman, The Beginnings of Systematic 
Bibliography (1. ed. Oxford, 1935; 3. ed. Paris, 
1950), which is, until now, the only complete, al­
though sketchy, account of the origins of printed 
bibliography.
3Bibliographers, librarians and encyclopaedists 
are grouped together in a conception of bibliog­
raphy which is much more comprehensive than 
the traditional one, with the purpose of provid­
ing a framework for the organization of both books 
and knowledge. There is, moreover, an histori­
cal justification for such a unified conception: it 
would be anachronistic to separate these three 
categories with terms that have a much later 
origin.
Maria Cochetti is Director of the Biblioteca 
Universitaria Alessandrina in Rome, Italy.
Judaica Librarianship Vol. 3 No. 1-2 1986-1987 131


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