Moses Reicherson
Birth date5 October 1827
Birth placeVilnius, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire
Death date3 April 1903 (aged 75)
Death placeNew York, New York, United States
LanguageHebrew

Moses Reicherson (Hebrew: משה בן־דוד הכהן רייכערסאָהן, Moshe ben-David ha-Kohen Reikhersohn; 5 October 1827 – 3 April 1903) was Hebrew grammarian, translator, biblical commentator, and poet.

Selected biography

Reicherson was born in 1827 in Vilnius,[1] where he was a childhood friend of J. L. Gordon.[2]

After studying Talmud, Hebrew, and European languages, he became a Hebrew teacher and a proofreader and editor for publishing houses. In 1890 or 1892 he emigrated to New York[1] to be near his son,[3][4] where he lived in poverty.[3] He worked as a melamed at the Uptown Talmud Torah in Harlem, becoming its principal by 1901.[1][5][6][7]

Reicherson died in New York in 1903.[1]

Work

The literary activity of Reicherson was chiefly in the field of Hebrew grammar. He wrote: Ḥelkat ha-nikkud, on Hebrew punctuation (Vilna, 1864); Ḥelkat ha-pe'alim veha-milot, on Hebrew verbs and particles (Vilna, 1873); Yad la-nikkud, a compendium of the rules of Hebrew punctuation for beginners (appended to the prayer book Ḥinnuk tefillah; Vilna, 1880); Dikduk ḥaberim, on the elementary rules of Hebrew grammar (appended to the same prayer book; Vilna, 1883); Ma'arekhet ha-dikduk, a compendium of Hebrew grammar (Vilna, 1883; it was translated into Yiddish by its author and published in the same year); Ḥelkat ha-shem, on the Hebrew noun (Vilna, 1884); Tikkun meshalim, a translation of the fables of the Russian writer I. A. Krylov (Vilna, 1860); and Mishle Lessing ve-sippurav, a translation of Lessing's fables (New York, 1902).

Along with essays on linguistics in American and European Hebrew journals like Ner ma'aravi, Ha-pisgah, Ha-Ivri, and Ha-teḥiya,[2] Reicherson published poetry in Joshua Mezaḥ's literary magazine Gan peraḥim.

He also wrote He'arot we-tikkunim la-divan, notes on the diwan of Judah ha-Levi (Lyck, 1866). He left a number of works in manuscript, including: Dibre ḥakamim ve-ḥidotam, on Talmudic aggadot; commentaries on the Pentateuch, on the Books of Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve Prophets, Psalms, Job, and Proverbs; a prayer book, Tefillah le-Moshe; a work on Hebrew syntax; and fables, original as well as translations from Gellert.

Bibliography

References

  1. ^ "Moses C. Reicherson". New-York Tribune. April 6, 1903. p. 7. Retrieved October 10, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  2. ^ Slutsky, Yehuda. "Reicherson, Moses"
  3. ^ Gurock, J.S. (2019). The Jews of Harlem: The Rise, Decline, and Revival of a Jewish Community. New York: New York University Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-4798-9042-2.
  4. ^ Brewater, Herbert (November 15, 1902). "Stockton's Last Book". The Saint Paul Globe. p. 7. Retrieved October 11, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  5. ^ Hapgood, Hutchins (1902). The Spirit of the Ghetto: Studies of the Jewish Quarter in New York. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company. pp. 40–51. ISBN 9781465557261.
  6. ^ "Moses Reicherson". Argus-Leader. March 18, 1901. p. 4. Retrieved October 12, 2023. – via Newspapers.com
  7. ^ Gurock, Jeffrey S. (2009). Orthodox Jews in America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 127–128. ISBN 978-0-253-22060-8.
  • Zeitlin, William (1890). "Reicherson, Moses" (in German). Bibliotheca hebraica post-Mendelssohniana. Leipzig: K. F. Koehler's Antiquarium. pp. 299–300.
  • Brainin, Reuven (1946). "Moshe Reicherson". Fun mayn lebns-bukh (in Yiddish). New York: ICUF. pp. 203–213.