Alexander Kohut
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Alexander (Chanoch Yehuda) Kohut (; April 22, 1842 – May 25, 1894) was a
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
and orientalist. He belonged to a family of rabbis, the most noted among them being Rabbi Israel Palota, his great-grandfather, Rabbi Amram (called "The Gaon," who died in
Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...
,
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
, where he had spent the last years of his life), and his great-granduncle Rabbi Chayyim Kitssee, rabbi in Erza. The last-named was the author of several rabbinic works.


Early training

Kohut's father, Israel Kohut, was a great
linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
and well versed in rabbinic literature. He was so poor that he could not afford to send his son to the village school. There being no Hebrew school (''cheder'') in his native town, Alexander reached his eighth year without having learned even the rudiments of
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
or Hungarian. His family soon relocated to
Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...
, where Kohut received his first instruction. He attended the gymnasium and at the same time studied
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
with an old scholar, Reb Gershom Lövinger. In his fifteenth year, while trying to decipher some foreign words in the Talmud with the aid of Landau's ''Dictionary'', he conceived the plan of writing a complete lexicon of the Talmud, not having found the
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
of many words in Landau. After finishing the gymnasium course in Kecskemét, he removed to
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
. Anxious to continue his rabbinical studies, he went to Breslau. In 1865, he received a call to the rabbinate of Tarnowitz,
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
. He then spent another year in Breslau, devoting his time to Oriental
philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
and Semitics. During the previous year he received his Ph.D. degree from the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
, with a dissertation called "Ueber die Jüdische Angelogie und Daemonologie in Ihrer Abhängigkeit vom Parsismus." The essay was published by the
Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft The (, ''German Oriental Society''), abbreviated DMG, is a scholarly organization dedicated to Oriental studies, that is, to the study of the languages and cultures of the Near East and the Far East, the broader Orient, Asia, Oceania, and Afric ...
in 1866, it being the first Jewish work issued under the auspices of that society. He obtained his rabbinical diploma in 1867. It was in 1864 that he began to collect materials for a critical edition of the '' 'Aruk'' of
Nathan ben Jehiel Nathan ben Jehiel of Rome (, 1035 – 1106) was a Jewish Italian lexicographer. He authored the Arukh, a dictionary for Rabbinic Judaism that was the first work to examine Jewish Babylonian Aramaic. He is therefore referred to as "the Arukh." B ...
. In 1867 he was called to the rabbinate of
Székesfehérvár Székesfehérvár (; ; ; ; Serbian language, Serbian: ''Стони Београд''; ), known colloquially as Fehérvár (), is a city in central Hungary, and the country's ninth-largest city. It is the Regions of Hungary, regional capital of C ...
, Hungary. Baron József Eötvös, the famous Hungarian poet and novelist, and afterward "Cultusminister," appointed him superintendent of all the schools in the county, this being the first time that such a position had been tendered to a Jew. The Congress of Jewish notables held in Budapest in 1868 appointed Kohut its secretary. Notable among his literary labors falling in this period is his study entitled "Etwas über die Moral und Abfassungszeit des Buches Tobias," originally published in Abraham Geiger's ''Jüdische Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Leben '' vol. x., several monographs in the ''
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft The ''Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft'' () is a peer-reviewed academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relatin ...
'' which developed his original thesis concerning Persian influence on Judaism, and his "Kritische Beleuchtung der Persischen Pentateuch-Uebersetzung des Jakob ben Joseph Tavus" (Leipzig, 1871). Among his literary remains are to be found materials for a critical edition of the Persian text of this version. In 1872 he was elected chief rabbi of
Pécs Pécs ( , ; ; Slovak language, Slovak: ''Päťkostolie''; also known by #Name, alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the fifth largest city in Hungary, on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains in the c ...
,
Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, remaining there eight years. By this time his reputation as a Hungarian orator had spread so far that many noted statesmen and church dignitaries came to hear him from distant towns.


Dictionary of the Talmud

Around 1873, Kohut began to compile his ''Dictionary of the Talmud'', entirely in German, encouraged by the promise of a
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
nobleman to bear all costs of publication. He had proceeded as far as the third letter of the alphabet when he found that the work was assuming such gigantic proportions as to preclude the possibility of its being confined within the projected limits. Arduous as the merely mechanical labor of copying the manuscript was, he rewrote what he had written, intending to publish the original text of the old '' 'Aruk,'' with a German commentary. On the advice of Leopold Zunz and Salomon Buber, however, who argued that the '' 'Aruk,'' being a national classic, ought to be compiled in Hebrew throughout, he again rewrote the work in that language, the labor of copying occupying two more years. It is this trait of untiring patience, which scorned all obstacles, that made the publication of vol. I, in 1878, possible. His
Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( 13 April 68 BC – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. ...
, in the meantime, had died, and Kohut was left to bear the burden of expense alone, save for the subvention of the Academy of Sciences in Vienna and of the Cultusministerium in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. He called his work ''Aruch Completum'' or '' 'Aruk ha-Shalem,'' and its production occupied twenty-five years of his life. The first four volumes were printed during his residence in Hungary, and the last four during his sojourn in
America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, covering a period of fourteen years (Vienna, 1878–92); the supplement appearing from a New York press; and the whole work aggregating more than 4,000 double-column pages. Seven manuscripts of the '' 'Aruk'' were used by the editor in determining the
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
of the words, and countless doubtful and corrupted passages in the Talmud were thus corrected and restored. Kohut identified in an elaborate special study (printed in the supplement) the often unacknowledged sources of Nathan ben Jehiel's information, though everywhere defending him against the charge of
plagiarism Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 ''Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close ...
. The '' 'Aruk'' has been justly characterized as one of the monuments of Hebrew literature. In 1880, Kohut was called to
Oradea Oradea (, , ; ; ) is a city in Romania, located in the Crișana region. It serves as the administrative county seat, seat of Bihor County and an economic, social, and cultural hub in northwestern Romania. The city lies between rolling hills on ...
, Hungary, where he remained until 1884. While there he published (1881) ''A Zsidók Története. A Biblia Befejezésétől a Jelenkorig'' (introduced into many schools in Hungary as a text-book), and translated the entire
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
into Hungarian. Part of the manuscript was, however, lost, and the work never appeared in print. At Oradea he became acquainted with Kálmán Tisza, prime minister of Hungary, who, hearing him speak at a national gathering of notables, was so carried away by his eloquence that he caused him to be called to the Hungarian parliament as representative of the Jews. In 1885, Kohut was invited to be the rabbi of Congregation Ahavath Chesed in New York. His arrival in the U.S. was the signal for rallying the conservative forces of American Jewry; and it was not long before he was bitterly assailed by the radical wing. A series of lectures on '' Ethics of the Fathers'', only the first part of which was printed in book form (New York, 1885), clearly set forth his
Conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...
; and so marked was this attitude and the influence it had upon the public mind that the leaders of
Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...
felt called upon to institute the memorable Pittsburg Conference, to accentuate their own advanced views and their independence of the historic traditions of the past.


New York

Kohut was associated with the Rev. Sabato Morais in founding the Jewish Theological Seminary of New York, becoming one of its advisory board, and being active as professor of Talmudic methodology up to the time of his death. In 1889, on the occasion of his finishing the ''Aruch Completum,'' he was the recipient of many honors, notably at the hands of various learned bodies in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
. It was called a "great work", "epoch making" and "foremost work in Semitic lexicography". In 1891 he was appointed examiner in rabbinics at Columbia College. In March, 1894, while delivering a stirring eulogy on
Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...
, he was stricken in his pulpit, and, after lingering a few weeks, expired on the eve of the Sabbath (25 May 1894). His widow was his second wife, Jewish women's leader Rebekah Bettelheim Kohut. A volume containing memorial addresses and tributes was published by Congregation Ahavath Chesed in 1894 in New York; and another, containing learned essays by forty-four noted scholars in Europe and America, entitled ''Semitic Studies in Memory of Rev. Dr. Alexander Kohut,'' was published in Berlin in 1897 by his son, G. A. Kohut. The latter work contains a memoir of Kohut's life written by his brother, Dr. Adolph Kohut. A complete list of Kohut's published writings has been compiled by G. A. Kohut, in the appendix to the ''Proceedings of the Fourth Biennial Convention of the Jewish Theological Seminary Association'' (New York, 1894) and in ''Tributes to the Memory of Rev. Dr. Alexander Kohut,'' pp. 49–64 (ib. 1894). His son, George Alexander Kohut, often known as "G. A. Kohut," was an American writer and bibliographer, who donated his father's important library of Judaica to
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
in 1915. This established the "Alexander Kohut Memorial Collection". The son also created the "Kohut Endowment" to maintain and improve the Yale collection.George Alexander Kohut (1874-1933)
library.yale.edu


Notes


Further reading

George Alexander Kohut, ''Semitic Studies in Memory of Dr. Rabbi Alexander Kohut'', Berlin, 1897, S Calvary and Co.


References

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External links

* * https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/112003108/alexander-kohut {{DEFAULTSORT:Kohut, Alexander 1842 births 1894 deaths People from Kiskunfélegyháza 19th-century Hungarian rabbis American Conservative rabbis American male non-fiction writers American Reform rabbis Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish Theological Seminary of America people Leipzig University alumni Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Hungarian expatriates in Germany Lexicographers 19th-century American rabbis 19th-century lexicographers