Children of the Ghetto: A Study of a Peculiar People

Notes

Notes Printed sources for these notes include such standard works as the Encyclopedia Judaica (1972), the Oxford Companion to English Literature (1985), and general reference works, as well as Victorian Britain: An Encyclopedia, edited by Sally Mitchell (New York: Garland, 1988); The Jewish Book of Why, by Alfred J. Kolatch, rev. ed. (Middle Village, N.Y.: Jonathan David, 1995); The Social Politics ofAnglo-Jewry 1880-1920, by Eugene C. Black (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1988); London Jewry and London Politics 1889-1986, by Geoffrey Alderman (London: Routledge, 1989); and other studies, as indicated. Yiddish terms not found in this list are defined in context or in Zangwill's glossary, appended to the text of the novel. In transliterating Hebrew words not used by Zangwill, I use the more modern h for his ch, and the final t for his th. 1. Andrew Lang (1844-1912) was a well-known and prolific writer, reviewer, historian, anthropologist, and folklorist. Rosa Dartle, a character in Dickens's David Copperfield, was noted for her insinuating and disingenuous catchphrase, "I want to know." Zangwill's Preface also mentions that the "original sub-title" is restored in the 1893 edition. In fact, the subtitle in the typescript and the American first edition reads "Being Pictures of a Peculiar People." 2. phylacteries and praying shawls Phylacteries (tefillin) and the prayer shawl (tallit, talith, or tallis) are ritual items worn by Jews. Tefillin are small leather boxes containing verses from the Torah that are attached by leather straps to the forehead and forearm during daily morning prayers. Their use is prescribed in the Torah's commandments to place a sign on the hand and between the eyes as a reminder of the commandments and the deliverance from Egypt (Exodus 13:9, 13:16; Deuteronomy 6:8, 11:18). The term phylacteries comes from Christian scripture (Matthew 23:5) and is not in common Jewish usage today. The tallitis a shawl whose fringes fulfill the commandment to attach fringes to the corners of one's garment as a reminder of the commandments (Numbers 15:37-41). It is worn during daily morning prayers and on the Sabbath and holidays. Although today some women are beginning to use both tefillin and tallitot, they were traditionally used only by men, and certainly that would have been the case in the community 507 NOTES described in Children of the Ghetto. Use of the tallit by Jewish men in synagogues is and was nearly universal (the exception being in Reform congregations), while today use of the tefillin is limited to those observant Jews who say daily prayers. 3. Vox et prceterea nihil. (Lat.) "A voice and, beyond that, nothing." The saying comes from Plutarch, who tells the story of a man who plucks the feathers off a nightingale, only to find that it is pathetically small—"a voice, and nothing more." The phrase in common usage denotes an empty threat, though here Zangwill is simply punning upon it. I am grateful to Marian Demos for her assistance with this and other classical references. 4. Nihil alienum a se Judceus putat. (Lat.) "A Jew thinks/believes that there is nothing which is beyond his sphere," or, more colloquially, "A Jew thinks there is nothing which does not concern him." Zangwill is here playing on the famous line 11 from Terence's Latin play Heauton Timorumenos (Self-Tormentor), which refers to the Stoic tenet of human brotherhood, homo sum: humani nil a me alienum puto ("I am a human being: nothing human do I deem strange"). 5. as late as Strype's day John Strype (1643-1737) was an ecclesiastical historian who brought up to date, in 1720, the detailed Survey of London published by John Stow in 1598 and 1603. 6. "stuffed monkeys" and "bolas" The stuffed monkey is a biscuit (or cookie) stuffed with an almond and citron peel filling. According to Evelyn Rose in the Jewish Chronicle (Cooking: "What a Lot of Monkey Business," 7 Sept. 1990), its origins are probably Dutch. It was introduced to the East End by Monnickendam 's Jewish bakery, which stood on Middlesex Street until World War II. The name of the cookie thus derives from the name of the shop, not the animal. Stuffed monkeys were typically eaten with hot chocolate. A bola is a large cake made with almonds, ginger, and sugar syrup. These confections are not common in AmericanJewish cooking. See Evelyn Rose's article and Florence Greenberg's Cookery Book, published by the Jewish...