The Tithe

David Schornstein

1864

[ . . . ] The sofer’s work is poorly compensated. There is an old proverb about how the soferim never grow wealthy in the land of Israel. I don’t know who gave birth to that pearl detached from the necklace of the world’s wisdom, but in the case of Reb Auscher, the proverb’s truth was amply confirmed: the sofer was not rich.

Nevertheless he was the…

Please login or register for free access to Posen Library
Register
Already have an account?
Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

David Schornstein

1826–1879

Born in an Alsatian village in 1826, the son of a cantor, David Schornstein trained for several years to be a teacher. He then moved to Paris, where he pursued a career in journalism and, at the same time, developed his literary interests as a playwright and novelist. His stories, centering on themes drawn from Jewish life, range from graphic accounts of suffering and persecution to nostalgic tales of traditional life in small towns. In the latter, the subjects are often idealized. “The Tithe” is one such story.

Related Guide

Folk Tales and Fiction, 1750–1880

The “return to history” of Jews in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and engagement between Jews and their majority cultures offered new models for imaginative writing beyond those within their ancestral traditions.

You may also like

Photograph of policeman towering over a street with horse-drawn wagon, several people, and person on donkey.
Tooltip info icon

A Jewish Policeman

The photomontages that Benor-Kalter began to make in the 1930s were a departure from his earlier straightforward style and allowed him to use photography to create visual metaphors. Here, a…
View Source

The Vigil

This is a night of vigil for me, in the shudder of my soul I shall conceal the secret of my youth. I shall stand on guard: No sleep nor slumber! And in just one moment the veil was taken away. A…
View Source