Creator Bio
Isaac Erter
1791–1851
A Haskalah figure famous for his anti-Hasidic satires, Isaac (Yitsḥak) Erter was born in the Galician village of Koniuszek. Erter settled in Lemberg (present-day Lviv) and taught secular subjects for three years, beginning in 1816. In 1819, he was excommunicated for his maskilic activities by the chief rabbi of Lemberg, and he moved to Brody. From 1825 to 1829, Erter studied medicine at the University of Budapest; afterward, he practiced medicine in Galicia. His satiric stories were anthologized under the title Ha-tsofeh le-vet Yisra’el. He also cofounded the journal He-ḥaluts.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
Ha-tsofeh le-vet Yisra’el: Tashlikh (The Observer of the House of Israel: Tashlikh)
You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea: You will show faithfulness to Jacob. . . .
—Micah 7:19–20
In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, while I was walking along the…