Isaac Erter (, ; 1792 – April 1851) was a Polish-Jewish

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Under Contemporary, 1930-196 ...

and poet of the Galician

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...

. His

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 ...

prose has been compared to that of writers Heinrich Heine and

Ludwig Börne Karl Ludwig Börne (born "Loeb Baruch"; 6 May 1786 – 12 February 1837) was a German-Jewish political writer and satirist, who is considered part of the Young Germany movement. Early life Karl Ludwig Börne was born Loeb Baruch on 6 May 178 ...

Biography

Isaac Erter was born into the family of a poor

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

innkeeper in the Galician town of Koniuszek, near Przemyśl. At the age of 13, his father arranged for him to marry a rabbi's daughter, who, however, died within the first year after her marriage. A second marriage followed soon after, and Erter went to live with his father-in-law in

Wielkie Oczy Wielkie Oczy is a village (town until 1935) in Lubaczów County, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, in south-eastern Poland, close to the border with Ukraine. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Wielkie Oczy. It lies appro ...

. There he was introduced to Jewish philosophy and Hebrew literature by ''

maskil The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Eur ...

'' Yosef Tarler. Erter began associating with the Ḥasidic movement, but after a time abandoned it and settled in Lemberg in 1813. In that city he joined the ''maskilic'' circles of Solomon Löb Rapoport,

Nachman Krochmal Nachman HaKohen Krochmal ( he, נחמן קְרוֹכְמַל; born in Brody, Galicia, on 17 February 1785; died at Ternopil on 31 July 1840) was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian. Biography He began the study of the Talmud ...

, Judah Löb Mieses, and others. Through the efforts of some of his friends, he obtained pupils whom he instructed in

Hebrew language 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 ...

and other subjects. This comparatively happy state ended after three years, when, on 10 May 1816, Chief Rabbi

excommunicated Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...

the city's most prominent ''maskilim''. Deprived thus of his pupils, the only means of his subsistence, he settled in the neighbouring town of

Brody Brody ( uk, Броди; russian: Броды, Brodï; pl, Brody; german: Brody; yi, בראָד, Brod) is a city in Zolochiv Raion of Lviv Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately ...

, where he encountered , Jacob Bick, and Isaac Baer Levinsohn. When in 1823 a new Jewish school was inaugurated there, he was entrusted with its management. After a short time, he resigned his position, and made up his mind to prepare himself for a career in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

. Erter studied at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

from 1825 to 1829, and passed all the prescribed examinations. He afterwards practised his new profession in various Galician towns amid the cholera pandemic, eventually returning to Brody, where he made himself especially popular among the poor and needy. In public affairs, Erter founded the ''Galizisch-jüdischer Akerbauverein'', which advocated for the establishment in Galicia of agricultural colonies for the employment and benefit of young Jews. The last years of his life were again visited by various hard trials, chiefly caused by the untimely death of his two married daughters. He did not survive them long, and died during the

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

of 1851.

Work

Erter devoted his leisure time to the composition of essays and

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

s on Jewish subjects, which were published from 1823 until his death. These he usually sent to his literary friends, to be read and criticised, before allowing them to be printed in the Hebrew periodicals. His collected works were published posthumously under the title ''Ha-tzofeh le-veit Yisrael'' ('A Watchman unto the House of Israel'; Vienna, 1858), with a biography of the author and introduction by

Max Letteris Meïr Halevi (Max) Letteris (; 13 September 1800 – 19 May 1871) was an Austrian poet, editor, and translator of the Galician Haskala. He translated into Hebrew works by Virgil, Lucian, Jean Racine, Lord Byron, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Fri ...

. The book includes the stories ''Mozne mishkal'' ('Weighing Scale', 1823), ''Ha-tzofeh be-shubo mi-Karlsbad'' ('The Watchman on His Return from Carlsbad'), ''Gilgul ha-nefesh'' ('Transmigration of the Soul, 1845), ''

Tashlikh ''Tashlikh'' ( he, "cast off") is a customary Jewish atonement ritual performed during the High Holy Days (Rosh Hashannah). Practice The ritual is performed at a large, natural body of flowing water (e.g., river, lake, sea, or ocean) on the ...

'' (1840), ''Telunat Sani ve-Sansani ve-Samangaluf'' ('The Complaints of Sani and Sansani and Samangaluf', 1837), and ''Ḥasidut ve-ḥokmah'' ('Piety and Wisdom', 1834). His most popular satire is ''Gilgul ha-nefesh'', the humorous story of the many adventures of a

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

during a long earthly career; how it frequently passed from one body into another, and how it had once left the body of an ass for that of a physician. The soul gives the author the following six rules, by observing which he might succeed in his profession: The story was later translated into

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

by Isaac Mayer Dick. Erter was involved in the founding of the Hebrew periodical '' He-Ḥalutz'', which was intended chiefly to develop the Hebrew language, and to promote culture and enlightenment among the

Galician Jews Galician Jews or Galitzianers () are members of the subgroup of Ashkenazim, Ashkenazi Jews originating in the levant having developed in the diaspora of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, from contemporary western Ukraine (Lvivska, Lviv, Ivan ...

. He died one year before the first volume appeared. He also wrote some Hebrew verse; but this won little acclaim compared to his prose.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Erter, Isaac 1792 births 1851 deaths 19th-century Austrian Jews 19th-century Austrian physicians 19th-century Polish Jews 19th-century Polish physicians Austrian Empire Jews Austrian satirists Hebrew-language poets Hebrew-language writers Jewish physicians Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) People from Brody People from Przemyśl County People of the Haskalah Polish satirists Polish male writers Ukrainian Jews Budapest University alumni