STOP
Early Journal Content on JSTOR, Free to Anyone in the World
This article is one of nearly 500,000 scholarly works digitized and made freely available to everyone in
the world byJSTOR.
Known as the Early Journal Content, this set of works include research articles, news, letters, and other
writings published in more than 200 of the oldest leading academic journals. The works date from the
mid-seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries.
We encourage people to read and share the Early Journal Content openly and to tell others that this
resource exists. People may post this content online or redistribute in any way for non-commercial
purposes.
Read more about Early Journal Content at http://about.istor.org/participate-istor/individuals/early-
journal-content .
JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary source objects. JSTOR helps people
discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content through a powerful research and teaching
platform, and preserves this content for future generations. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit
organization that also includes Ithaka S+R and Portico. For more information about JSTOR, please
contact support@jstor.org.
178 THE JEWISH QUAETEKLY REVIEW
to treat in detail on another occasion. That our author wrote poetry
we know from Moses ben Ezra and Judah Harizi, who both speak of
his excellent poetry, but neither hia Arabic nor Hebrew poems have
survived, except a couple of lines preserved by the former. This is
the subject of the first part of Dr. Poznanski's monograph. The
second part treats of Ibn Jiqatilla as exegete. Next comes a chapter
in which Moses is appreciated as translator of Hayuj. This is
followed by a chapter which contains fragments of our author, viz.
from his commentaries of the Bible, of his translation of Hayuj's
book of Punctuation, and finally the four poetical lines are repeated
for completeness sake. Copious notes to these parts follow, con-
cluding with additions and corrections. They show how well read
Dr. Poznanski is in spite of his youth. The introduction gives a
summary of the grammatical and exegetieal literature before Moses
Jiqatilla, which is brief but exhaustive. We congratulate the young
author upon his deep learning, and we hope to meet him soon again
in the same field.
A.N.
Dt5> ''t^>3^5. By Salomon Bubek. (Krakau, 1895.)
This monograph of 250 pages in Hebrew contains biographies and
epitaphs of rabbis, chiefs of schools, sub-rabbis, and of the chiefs of the
Jewish community, who acted or taught during an epoch of 400 years
(1500 to 1890) at Lemberg (Galicia), arranged alphabetically, with
additions concerning the history of Lemberg, by the well-known
editor of many Midrashim, Herr Salomon Buber. He being con-
nected with the administration of the Jewish community of Lemberg
naturally has access to its archives : with the help of these he has
been able to master the tedious task. Histories of towns, congrega-
tions, and localities are interesting to a limited public, but always to
those who are natives of or somehow connected with them. Thus
Herr Buber's monograph will have interest for those who live in
Lemberg, and perhaps for all Jews in Galicia. The enumeration of
the works composed by many of the rabbis and laymen in Lemberg
may prove a welcome addition to Hebrew bibliography, if not to
Hebrew literature in general. The books composed by the rabbis at so
late a period are merely casuistic. Herr Buber is desirous that the
tomb-inscriptions extant, or to be found after searching, should be
published, and the proceeds of the present book will be devoted to
this purpose. Herr Buber is indefatigable ; he has just edited a
CKITrCAL NOTICES I79
collection of Mldrashim on the five scrolls with his usual excellent
method and notes. May he completely recover his health, which
is sometimes failing, and thus be enabled to continue editing
Midrashim.
A.N.
Midrash Suta. Hagadische Ahhandlungen iiher Schir ha-Schirim,
Ruth, Echah und Koheleth, nebst Jalkut zum Buche Echah. Von
Salomon Bubeb. (Berlin, 1894. pp. 172, 8vo.)
The Committee of the Mekize Nirdamim must have been in great
straits for matter to edit when it agreed to include among the publi-
cations for this year the Midrash Suta, by Herr Buber. The readers
of this Review are probably acquainted with Herr Buber's redaction
of various Midrashic pieces, and they feel themselves under great
obligation to him, especially for his edition of the Pesikta d'R. Eahana.
Herr Buber's work, however, has shown signs of an evident haste,
the effects of which students could not fail to observe. Those who read,
for instance, the reviews, by specialists, of Herr Buber's editions of
the Midrash Tanchuma, the Midrash Mayan Ganim, and the Midrash
Agadoth, need no further details. But the most marked effects of
this haste are seen in this Midrash Suta, which has just now appeared
under the auspices of the Mekize Nirdamim. As the Midrash Suta
includes also the D'T'ti'n TK' mJN, the text of which, with a part of
the notes, appeared in Volumes VI and VII of the Jewish Quaeteely
Review, it need scarcely be said that there is something of a priority
controversy between Herr Buber and the writer of these lines.
However, priority questions are tedious, and might perhaps lead to
pei-sonalities in which the writer does not care to indulge. SuflBce
it to say that Herr Buber, in his haste, did his work in a careless way,
every page of his edition betraying the superficial method with
which he approached his work.
First, as to his introduction. Students who are acquainted with
Herr Buber's introductions, know what delight he takes in carrying
them to almost unconscionable and unbearable length. Now if
there ever was a work at whose editing the enumeration of the
authorities who knew or made use of it was imperative, it was
this Midrashim Collection, especially the Agadath Shir Ha-Shirim ;
for, not only was the world quite ignorant of its existence for
centuries, but the only complete copy in which the text has come
down to us, is in a most corrupt state. Every quotation made
from it by the earlier authorities is therefore not onlj' important
N 3
