Meir Kohn Bistritz (, ; 1820 – 7 September 1892) was an
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
poet and author. He lived the greater part of his life in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, where he published most of his works.
Work
The first of Bistritz's works was his notes and German translation of Mordecai ben Meir Kalman's didactic poem, ''Tavnit ha-bayit'' ('The Shape of the House', 1858). In the following year he published ''Kol rinnah'' ('The Voice of Rejoicing'), a Hebrew poem with a German translation, both composed by him on the occasion of the dedication of
the new synagogue in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. In 1863 he produced a new and improved edition of the anonymous ''
Arukh ha-kitzur'' ('Abridged Dictionary'). A year later he edited and published ''Tziyun le-zikhron olam'' ('Sign of Eternal Remembrance'), a work in honour of the seventieth birthday of
Isaac Noah Mannheimer
Isaac Noah Mannheimer (October 17, 1793, Copenhagen – March 17, 1865, Vienna) was a Jewish preacher.
Biography
The son of a ''chazzan'', he began the study of the Talmud at an early age, though not to the neglect of secular studies. On completi ...
, containing addresses, songs, and essays in Hebrew and German. He wrote other minor poems, and a humorous essay on the proverb "Wenn die Chassidim reisen, regnet es" (''Jüdisch-Deutsches oder Deutsch Jüdisches Sprichwort'', Vienna, 1880). He was also the author of a lengthy article in the Hebrew periodical ''Bet Talmud'' (iv. 140, 177, 206), to explain the difficult passages in
Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
Tanḥuma
Midrash Tanhuma ( he, מִדְרָשׁ תַּנְחוּמָא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch aggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of ...
, which were pointed out by .
Bistritz's last and largest work was the ''Bi'ur tit ha-yavan'' (The Cleaning up of the Mire; Presburg, 1888), a vindictive attack on 's radical criticism in ''
He-Ḥalutz'' in explaining the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
. The book is full of diatribes against Schorr's personality and is written in abusive and bombastic style. The work closes with sixteen epigrams aimed at another alleged follower of Schorr,
Asher Simḥah Weissmann, author of ''Kedushat ha-Tanakh''.
Publications
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bistritz, Meir Kohn
1820 births
1892 deaths
German-language poets
Hebrew-language poets
Hebrew-language writers
Jewish poets
Jews and Judaism in Vienna
People from Považská Bystrica