Elcan Durlacher (; 1817 – 21 December 1889) was a German

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

and publisher, best known for his translations of

Jewish liturgy Jewish prayer (, ; plural ; , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the '' ...

into French. Durlacher was born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, Baden in 1817. He went to Paris in 1845 as a teacher of languages, and founded a Hebrew publishing-house, which was continued, after his death, by his son. He compiled a Hebrew reader and an almanac, and wrote a small book entitled ''Joseph and His Brothers''. His two most notable works are a French translation of the German ''

maḥzor The ''machzor'' (, plural ''machzorim'', and , respectively) is the prayer book which is used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized ''machzorim'' on the three pilgrimage festivals ...

'', and another of the ''

siddur A siddur ( ''sīddūr'', ; plural siddurim ) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are ''tefillot'' () among Sephardi Jews, ''tef ...

'', which he made with the assistance of L. Wogue, whose edition of the

Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...

he published.

Publications

* * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durlacher, Elcan 1817 births 1889 deaths 19th-century French Jews 19th-century French translators French Hebraists French people of German-Jewish descent 19th-century French publishers (people) German emigrants to France Jewish translators Translators from Hebrew Translators to French Writers from Karlsruhe