The Library of Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs

The Rabbinic holdings of the Library have been expanded significantly by Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs's decision to donate his library to the Centre. This exceptionally rich working library of one of the world's most distinguished rabbinic scholars and authors- Louis Jacobs himself has written over fifty books and a great many articles - contains almost 14,000 volumes. There is probably no better way to describe these than by looking at the scope of his own publications. Titles such as Studies in Talmudic Logic and Methodology (London 1961), Structure and Form in the Babylonian Talmud (Cambridge 1991), A Tree of Life: Diversity, Flexibility and Creativity in Jewish Law (Oxford 1984), Theology in the Responsa (London 1975), Hasidic Prayer (London 1993), Symbols for the Divine in the Kabbalah (London 1984) and A Jewish Theology (New York 1974), suggest that Louis Jacobs's library is an 'Encyclopaedia of Judaism', which may be consulted on all major aspects of Jewish Studies including Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, Responsa, Liturgy, Hasidism, Mysticism, Kabbalah, Philosophy and Theology.

Many of Rabbi Jacobs's publications include extensive quotations or consist mainly of texts accompanied by short introductions and concise comments, intended to give the reader access to the wealth of source material in his library. A good example is his Jewish Mystical Testimonies (New York 1977), an anthology of mystical texts from the Bible to writings of the twentieth century. In the introduction Louis Jacobs spells out his own role as follows: 'Each text is prefaced by an introduction and is followed by a comment which seeks to elucidate the text. Wherever possible, however, the texts have been allowed to speak for themselves' (p. ix). By placing each author and work in its historical context, explaining the fundamental concepts and if necessary providing 'a skeleton outline' of the text and some concise comments, Louis Jacobs becomes a facilitator, equipping the reader with the indispensable tools for discovering a range of mystical texts, of which his library contains such an admirable collection.

Other text-based publications include Studies in Talmudic Logic and Methodology (London 1961), The Talmudic Argument: A Study in Talmudic Reasoning and Methodology (Cambridge 1984), Teyku: The Unsolved Problem in the Babylonian Talmud: A Study in the Literary Analysis and Form of the Talmudic Argument (London, New York 1981) and Structure and Form in the Babylonian Talmud (Cambridge 1991). Generations of students in Rabbinics, both Jews and Christians, have profited immensely from the literary analysis and critical examination of form and redaction of the Babylonian Talmud presented in these studies. By discussing a large number of talmudic passages Louis Jacobs has created a series of hermeneutical keys that give the reader access to the core of Rabbinic literature as contained in his own library.

A considerable number of his publications, however, aim at a readership beyond that of scholars and are meant for a wider, general public. His books on Jewish ethics and faith, such as The Moral Values of Judaism (Community publication, n.d.), Jewish Values (London 1960), The Book of Jewish Values (Chappaqua, NY 1983) and The Book of Jewish Belief (New York 1984), are meant partly to dispel fallacies and to expound the moral values of Judaism. His controversial view on the revelation from Sinai set out in We Have Reason to Believe. Some Aspects of Jewish Theology Examined in the Light of Modern Thought (London 1957; 4th rev. ed. 1995) is widely accepted among scholars in Rabbinics, but was stormily debated within the Jewish community. Though more pastoral and popular in approach, these books reflect equally their provenance: the library of Louis Jacobs. A Guide to Yom Kippur (London 1957) may serve as an example. Not intended as a scholarly exposition on Jewish liturgy, it was written for the Jewish community and, between the lines, for the non-Jew for whom he wanted to provide correct information about his Jewish faith. In the introduction Rabbi Jacobs - convinced that 'there can hardly be a Jew with a soul so dulled that this day has lost its appeal for him' - reveals himself to be a caring pastor, reaching out to all members of his community when explaining the significance of the Day of Atonement: 'The significance of the day lies in its all-embracing character. No man is so good, so pious, so worthy as to be absolved from throwing himself on God's abundant mercies. No man is so depraved as to be incapable of invoking God's mercies. No man is so unlearned that his voice cannot be heard by God even if his knowledge of Hebrew is so slender that the prayers have no meaning for him. There is a lovely Hasidic tale of a poor, untutored lad who brought with him to the Synagogue on Yom Kippur the whistle he used while watching his father's sheep. Unable to follow the prayers, the boy played his whistle in recognition of the glory of God. And all the great Rabbis present said where their prayers had failed, the simple, sincere tune of the shepherd boy had succeeded in opening the gates of Heaven' (p. 3).

After such an introduction one might expect merely a simple explanation of the services for Yom Kippur. However, the analysis of the structure of the services meant to guide the reader through the liturgy is preceded by a theological reflection on fasting and embedded in a historical setting of the festival, which includes an overview of its biblical roots, the development of the liturgy in Rabbinic literature, a sketch of Piyyutim, the Hasidic traditions and the customs and practices in Yeshivot. Here we see a scholar at work who wishes to evoke awareness of the historical development of Jewish liturgy and of the diversity of Jewish traditions. It is the hallmark of Louis Jacobs to use the library of the scholar - in this case the fine liturgy section - for the pastoral aims of the Rabbi, thus backing up his pastoral instructions by an historical approach and critical analysis of the tradition.

Rabbi Jacobs's library will enrich the holdings of the Leopold Muller Memorial Library immensely. Particularly noteworthy are the sections on Kabbalah, Mysticism and Hasidism, subjects virtually non-existent in the Centre's Library previously. The section on Halakhah, containing Responsa from early to modern times, is unique, and as such will be a welcome addition to the library resources in Oxford. Thus the Leopold Muller Memorial Library has become an exceptional resource for the study of Rabbinic Judaism (probably the only one of its kind in Europe), for which the Oxford Centre expresses its deep gratitude and appreciation to Rabbi Dr Louis Jacobs. His library is to be known as the Louis Jacobs Collection and will be moved to the Centre's premises in gradual stages, beginning in the near future. Rabbi Jacobs commented that he is 'delighted that my library will find such a suitable home at Yarnton Manor'.

For further information on Louis Jacobs, please see www.louisjacobs.org
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The Loewe Collection

This assemblage, which has been very fully catalogued by its last possessor, comprises an accumulation of scholarly (and some other) correspondence, together with a substantial number of offprints, unpublished typescripts of translations of Hebrew poetry, etc., together with some ephemeralia of Jewish interest, copies of which are unlikely to have found their way into the libraries owning significant Judaica sections. The main collection grew over the lifetimes, spanning approximately a century, of two scholars whose work, while including academic address to the Hebrew of the Bible, has been primarily focused on late-antique and medieval Judaism, Anglo-Jewish history etc: Herbert Loewe (1882-1940), Reader in Rabbinics at Cambridge, and his elder son Raphael Loewe (b. 1919), Professor of Hebrew at University College London. It includes a few items of Louis Loewe (1809-1880), Herbert Loewe's grandfather, who, because of his competence both in European and Semitic languages and also in Turkish, was picked by Sir Moses Montefiore to act as his 'oriental secretary' and close confidant. Louis Loewe became the first Principal of the Judith, Lady Montefiore College at Ramsgate.

The collection, which has been acquired through the generous support of Peter and Catherine Oppenheimer and Judith and Peter Wegner, comprises about 5000 items, kept in uniform boxes with lists of contents on the outside of each; but Professor Loewe is constantly assembling and cataloguing additional material.

The following list of its current sections gives an indication of its range. But it should be understood that some of the section-titles have, over the years, become inadequate pointers to their content: thus 'Grammar'subsumes much language or linguistic material transcending that label.

The Coppenhagen Library

Another donation which has enhanced the Library's holdings substantially is the Library of the late J. H. Coppenhagen, which the family has decided to deposit at the Centre.

The Origins of the Library
The initial steps in forming this collection where taken by Isaac H. Coppenhagen (1846-1905), a Sofer Stam (a scribe of Jewish religious texts, such as torah scrolls) and Hebrew teacher in Amsterdam. His son, Haim I. Coppenhagen (1874-1942), who qualified at the Joods Israelitisch Seminarium, the rabbinical Seminary in Amsterdam, also learned Classical Greek and Latin, French, German and English, which helped him enrich the collection inherited from his father, which he named Otsar Haim (literally 'a treasure of life' or 'a living treasure'). He listed its volumes and designed an ex-libris. Its central theme was the history of Dutch Jewry. Haim's son, Jacob H. Coppenhagen (1913-1997), was initiated into this world of books and enjoined to maintain it.

The Collection During the Holocaust
After the first month of Nazi Occupation in 1940, Jacob realized that the now sizeable library could not be preserved where it was. He started to move it from his parents' home to the premises of a Jewish school, where he was on the teaching staff. His parents' neighbours were Nazi sympathizers who would have had little hesitation in reporting the hiding of Jewish treasures to the Germans. As they occasionally visited the apartment to avail themselves of the telephone, Jacob did his best to conceal the removal of books by placing other volumes to fill the gaps on the shelves.
The books in the Jewish school would be regarded as belonging to the school. But the removal of the ex-libris was essential, so their origin could not be traced, removal of Jewish property being declared punishable. With the passage of time the Jewish school was scheduled for closure, as fewer and fewer pupils were attending, many having already been deported with their families. So the books were again at risk. Jacob started to move them to the building next door, which served as an ordinary school. The most precious items where hidden. Moving Hebrew books around during the Occupation was a dangerous activity. A partial solution was provided by Jacob's friend, Johannes Alderse- Baars, who was at the time studying to become a clergyman. If stopped by the Germans, he would maintain that these Hebrew books were needed for his studies. The moment came when Jacob had to abandon the books where they were - scattered around several places - and go into hiding himself to save his life. With the help of the Dutch resistance and righteous gentiles he was indeed saved. Most of his family perished in Auschwitz and Sobibor.

The Collection after the Holocaust
After the liberation, Jacob started to piece the library back together. Some books were returned at once. Many others were missing. Those which had remained in the Jewish school building were confiscated by the Nazis along with the school's own books. After a relatively short interval, they were returned from Germany. Those which had remained in the Coppenhagen parental home had apparently vanished. Books belonging to the collection turned up periodically, however, even many years after the War, identifiable from the contours and remnants of Haim's ex-libris. Some are rumoured still to be held in Russian archives, although there is no proof of this.

The unparalleled history of the Holocaust made J. H Coppenhagen feel compelled to add to the collection many books on this subject, to trace and illuminate the fate of European Jewry. But the field turned out to be too broad to cover. So he decided to concentrate on the Holocaust in the Low Countries (Belgium and The Netherlands), together with other material on the history of Dutch Jewry, including Surinam and the Dutch Antilles.
J. H. Coppenhagen enhanced his knowledge of librarianship by taking several courses on the subject, and eventually became a librarian by profession. In 1965-9 he was the librarian of the celebrated Ets Haim Library of the Jewish Portuguese community in Amsterdam, which owned rare Hebraica and many manuscripts. After emigrating to Israel in 1969, he served as Librarian for the Israeli Broadcasting Authority. His combined knowledge of Dutch Jewish history on the one hand and librarianship on the other had a beneficial impact on the maintenance and development of his own library. Cataloguing was improved and more topics where recognized and included in the library as individual subjects in their own right. Although a private collection, the library came to constitute a valued resource for a considerable range of researchers.

Summary of the Contents
The material comprises nearly 30,000 books relating to the history of Dutch Jewry, arranged by subject and catalogued according to authors' names. It also includes old etchings on Dutch Jewish themes, an extensive archive of newspaper articles and over 300,000 fiches recording facts and data likewise arranged by subject. An account of one particular topic - the some 208 Jewish physicians who perished in the Holocaust - was self-published by J. H. Coppenhagen as Anafiem Gedoe'iem, and re-published after his death under the joint auspices of the Ministry of Public Health and Welfare and the Association of Dutch Physicians (Rotterdam: Erasmus Publishing, 2000).

Purpose of the Collection
The initial motivation for forming the collection was simply the pleasure of collecting books, while also registering historical data on Dutch Jewry. After the Holocaust, which obliterated so much of Dutch-Jewish life, another motive was added: to record and commemorate what had been annihilated and also to describe the process of annihilation.

This purpose is captured in the statement, attributed in the Talmud (Avodah Zarah 18a) to Rabbi Hanina ben Teradya in the course of his martyrdom, in a scene described in the Yom Kippur liturgy, of how gewillin nisrafien ve'otiyot porchot, '[parchment] rolls are burned, but [their] words [literally: letters] fly [upward]'. This sentence appears in the ex-libris placed in all items of the collection from the early 1950s onwards, to indicate that the library represents the remnants of a once flourishing Jewish family and community.

1. Monographs and pamphlets (often difficult to obtain) concerning Dutch-Jewish communities. The pamphlets vary from sermons and special liturgies to eulogies for special occasions. There is a large collection concerning the loyalty of Jewish communities to the Royal family.
2. Information, some on microfiche, about Jewish life before the War, such as Jewish trade from 1932 to 1940 and the 'Weekly for the Jewish Family' from 1870 to 1940.
3. General information on the social, economical and cultural conditions in the Netherlands (mainly Amsterdam).
4. The Second World War and (Jewish) resistance.
5. The Holocaust, with a large section on Anne Frank.
6. Anti-Semitism.
7. Newspaper cuttings on a variety of topics related to Dutch Jewish subjects or persons.

The Centre is most grateful to the Coppenhagen family for this generous donation and is honoured to be the custodian of this unique collection. Complementing the Foyle-Montefiore Library, it makes the Centre's Library one of the most important resources for the history of European Jewry.

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