JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

elnecavÉ, david
Elnathan. The fact remains, however, that Jeremiah speaks of
a prophet who fled to Egypt during Jehoiakim’s reign, while
the ostraca refer to a prophet of Zedekiah’s time. In addition,
according to the biblical text, the minister who goes to
Egypt is Elnathan b. Achbor, while in the Lachish ostraca it is
C[on]iah b. Elnathan. Therefore it seems that two similar but
not identical events took place, the first during Jehoiakim’s
and the second during Zedekiah’s reign. The “true” prophets
opposed an Egyptian orientation and preached capitulation
to Babylonia (“to weaken our hands”). During the reigns of
both kings they were persecuted and forced to flee. Political
fugitives had traditionally sought asylum in Egypt. It is almost
certain that C[on]iah mentioned in the ostraca was the son
of the Elnathan in the biblical text, and that he performed a
mission in the time of Zedekiah similar to his father’s during
Jehoiakim’s reign.
Bibliography: H. Torczyner (Tur-Sinai) et al., The Lachish
Letters (1938), 63–67; idem, Te’udot Lakhish (1940), 93–103; Yeivin, in:
Tarbiz, 12 (1940/41), 255–9; Malamat, in: BJPES, 14 (1948), 871. Add.
Bibliography: W. Holladay, Jeremiah 2 (1989), 252.
[Jacob Elbaum]
ELNECAVÉ, DAVID (1882–1963), journalist and writer. Born
in Istanbul, Turkey, he studied at the Rabbinical Seminar of
Istanbul and in 1909 founded the Sephardi Zionist daily El
Djudio. Political persecution in Turkey for his Zionist activities
motivated his immigration to Sofia, Bulgaria, where he
continued to publish El Djudio between 1925 and 1930. In 1930
he immigrated to Argentina and was the correspondent of the
JTA. In 1931 he founded the Spanish bi-weekly La Luz, which
fulfilled a central role in spreading the Zionist ideology among
the Sephardim in Argentina during the 1930s and 1940s. After
his death La Luz was directed by his son Nissim and subsequently
by his grandson David. Elnecavé was the author of a
number of books on biblical and Jewish topics, including El
buen pastor and Introducción a la Biblia.
[Efraim Zadoff (2nd ed.)]
EL NORA ALILAH (Heb. הָליִלֲ ע ארֹ ָונ
לֵ א; “God that doest
wondrously”), name of a solemn hymn for the *Ne’ilah service
of the Day of Atonement. The initial letters of the stanzas
(קזח השמ) form the name of its author, Moses b. Jacob *Ibn
Ezra of Spain. The motive of this hymn is expressed in the refrain
of each of its eight stanzas: “Pardon at Thy people’s cry,/
As the closing hour draws nigh,” referring to the last hours
of the Day of Atonement. The hymn (which is to be found in
the prayer books of Aragon, Barcelona, Algiers, Tunisia, Leghorn,
Constantine, and Tlemcen) originally formed part only
of the Sephardi and Yemenite (Tiklal) Ne’ilah liturgy, but because
of its moving text and solemn melody some Ashkenazi
congregations also included it in their liturgy (cf. High Holiday
Prayerbook, ed. M. Silverman (19542 ), 458).
[Meir Ydit]
ELOESSER, ARTHUR (Marius Daalmann; 1870–1938),
German literary historian and dramatic critic. Born and educated
in Berlin, Eloesser was denied an academic career at the
university because of his refusal to convert and thus became
a drama critic for the Vossische Zeitung and a producer at the
Lessing Theatre in Berlin. He published essays and criticism
in the Neue Rundschau and edited the works of Otto Ludwig,
Heinrich von Kleist, Shakespeare, and Frank Wedekind. In
1925 Eloesser wrote the first biography of Thomas Mann. His
main achievement was Die Deutsche Literatur vom Barock
bis zur Gegenwart (2 vols., 1930–31). Its second volume was
published in English as Modern German Literature (1933) and
contained a preface by Eloesser’s cousin, Ludwig Lewisohn.
He published monographs on French and German literary
figures and an autobiographical work, Die Strasse meiner Jugend
(1919). Eloesser was long indifferent to his Jewishness,
but he adopted a positive Jewish attitude after Hitler came to
power and was impressed by two visits to Palestine. He became
an occasional contributor to the Juedische Rundschau and in
1933 published Judentum and deutsches Geistesleben. In 1936
Eloesser published Vom Ghetto nach Europa on the role of the
Jews in 19th-century culture from material he had prepared for
Juden im deutschen Kulturbereich and whose publication was
prohibited by the Nazis. It concentrated on German-Jewish
authors such as Moses *Mendelsssohn, Berthold *Auerbach,
and Heinrich *Heine. Eloesser promoted the return to Ereẓ
Israel; however, on his return from his second journey to Palestine
he became severely ill and died in the Jewish hospital
in Berlin in 1938.
Bibliography: A. Terwey, “Arthur Eloesser: der Philologe
als Kritiker,” in: G. Bey (ed.), Berliner Universität und deutsche Literaturgeschichte
(1998), 201–14; D. Schaaf, Der Theaterkritiker Arthur
Eloesser (1962).
[Ann-Kristin Koch (2nd ed.)]
ELON, AMOS (1926– ), Israeli journalist and author. Born in
Vienna, Elon came to Israel as a young child. He began his career
as a journalist for Ba-Maḥaneh and in 1948 published his
first book, Yerushalayim Lo Naflah (“Jerusalem Did Not Fall”).
From 1954 he was associated with Ha’aretz and from 1961 was
a member of the editorial board. He served as foreign correspondent
in New York, Washington, Paris, Bonn, and Eastern
Europe. His book A Journey through a Haunted Land (1967), a
reportage on the new Germany, was highly praised. His bestselling
The Israelis: Founders and Sons (1971) was heralded by
Newsweek magazine as “the most illuminating, even-handed,
candid appraisal of the Jewish condition yet to appear,” and
his biography Herzl (1975) was also widely acclaimed. Herzl
was later made into a Broadway play by Dore *Schary in collaboration
with Elon.
His other books include Between Enemies (1974), a dialogue
with Egyptian Sana Hassan; the novel Timetable (1980);
Flight into Egypt (1981); Founder: Meyer Amschel Rothschild
and His Time (1996); and The Pity of It All: A Portrait of the
366 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6