JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

imko, fishel
Mahadura Tinyana, Oḥ 18). Their protest led to a proclamation
by 100 rabbis prohibiting worship in a synagogue that does not
have the bimah in its center (see Sedei Ḥemed, Assefat Dinim,
Bet ha-Keneset no. 13). Almost all modern Reform and Conservative
synagogues combine the bimah with the ark.
Forms of the Bimah
Examples of the bimah surviving from early times are simple
in form and built close to the ground. For instance, the
bimah at the synagogue at Bet Alfa (sixth century) is one step
high. In medieval Spain the bimah was a wooden platform
raised high above the ground on columns. It was sometimes
surmounted by a canopy and reached by an attached stairway.
Until the Renaissance the bimah, which was placed in
the center of the synagogue, had a more dominant position
than the ark. In Italy from the 16th century, they were given
equal emphasis by being placed at opposite sides in the center
of the hall. The ark in the synagogue at Worms, Germany
(1175), was placed on the central axis between the two main
columns. This became the usual arrangement among Ashkenazi
Jews in Central and Eastern Europe. In this area, a new
form of bimah came into being in the late 17th century. The
four central pillars which supported the vaulted ceiling of a
synagogue were used as the framework of the bimah which
thus became a roofed structure. The bimah assumed curved,
circular, octagonal, and other forms, and was made of many
materials such as stone, wood, bronze, marble, and wrought
iron. In Eastern Europe from the 16th century it could be found
enclosed by a wrought iron cage.
Bibliography: Elbogen, Gottesdienst, 473ff.; EJ, 2 (1928),
371–84; S. Freehof, Reform Jewish Practice, 2 (1952), 16–20; ET, 3
(1951), 112–3.
BIMKO, FISHEL (1890–1965), Yiddish dramatist and novelist.
Born in Kielce, Poland, Bimko’s first realistic narrative, Di
Aveyre (“The Transgression”), was published in 1912 and his
first play, Oyfn Breg Vaysel (“On the Shores of the Vistula”),
was staged in Lodz in 1914. Thereafter his plays were produced
in the Yiddish theaters of Europe and America. Especially
popular were Ganovim (“Thieves,” 1921), a realistic play depicting
the Polish-Jewish underworld, and East Side (1938), a
naturalistic drama of Jewish life in New York, where Bimko
settled in 1921. His selected dramas were published in seven
volumes in 1936, and his selected narratives in three volumes
in 1941 and 1947.
Bibliography: Rejzen, Leksikon, 1 (1926), 270–2; LNYL, 1
(1956), 293–5; A. Beckerman, F. Bimko Dramaturg un Realist (1944);
B. Rivkin, Undzere Prozaiker (1951), 297–320. Add. Bibliography:
A. Gordin, Yiddish Lebn in Amerike (1957).
[Sol Liptzin]
BIMSTEIN, “WHITEY” (Morris; 1897–1969), U.S. boxing
trainer. One of the greatest trainers in boxing history, Bimstein
worked in the corner of approximately 25 world champions,
including Gene Tunney, Max Baer, Jimmy Braddock, Primo
Carnera, Harry Greb, Jake LaMotta, and Jewish fighters Bar-
ney *Ross, Jackie “Kid” *Berg, Benny *Leonard, Charley Phil
Rosenberg, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom, Ruby Goldstein, Abe
Goldstein, and “Kid” Kaplan. Born on the Lower East Side of
Manhattan, Bimstein dropped out of school at the age of 12
and began boxing as a 15-year-old at St. Jerome’s Church in the
Bronx under the name Johnny White, because he was afraid
his father would get angry if he read about his son in the paper.
But Bimstein’s father allowed him to fight when he found
out his son was making more money than he. Bimstein fought
as a bantamweight and featherweight until he joined the navy
in World War I. After serving in the navy, and a career of 70
professional fights, Bimstein decided to switch to corner work
and became an expert cut man. Called Whitey by everyone
but his family, Bimstein began a partnership in 1925 with the
legendary trainer Ray *Arcel, and the two worked together for
nine years, calling themselves the “Siamese Training Twins.”
After World War II, Bimstein paired with another legendary
trainer, Freddie Brown. He worked with Tunney during his
two historic fights with Jack Dempsey in 1926 and 1927, and
was the corner man for four victorious world champions –
Barney Ross, Lou Ambers, Harry Jeffra, and Fred Apostoli – in
one night at the Polo Grounds on September 23, 1937. He was
also the cut man for Rocky Marciano, closing a split on Marciano’s
nose during his fight with Ezzard Charles that helped
Marciano retain his undefeated record. Bimstein estimated
that he worked approximately 35,000 to 40,000 fights during
his career, which lasted into the 1960s.
[Elli Wohlgelernter (2nd ed.)]
BI-NATIONALISM, one of the solutions to the Jewish-Arab
national conflict in Ereẓ Israel offered by various Jewish individuals
and groups in the period before the establishment
of the State of Israel. The bi-national idea was based on the
principle that since two nations – the Jews and Arabs – laid
claim to the same land, which to one was Ereẓ Israel and to
the other Palestine, it should not be given to one of them but
should become the state of both, and that irrespective of the
numerical strength of each, the relations between them should
be based on equality. Some supported the idea because they
temporarily or permanently lost faith in the ability of the Jewish
people to establish an independent Jewish State in Ereẓ
Israel, while others supported it for moral or ideological reasons.
Some advocated a federal or confederal structure for the
bi-national state, while others sought to avoid the partition of
the country into states or cantons, and advocated bi-nationalism
that was to be based on communities.
The first body to advocate bi-nationalism was *Berit Shalom,
which existed from 1925 to 1933. *Ha-Shomer ha-Ẓa’ir
started to advocate bi-nationalism as part of its platform in
1929, and some of its members, including Mordekhai *Bentov
and Aharon Cohen, continued to support the idea until after
the establishment of the State in 1948. Following the outbreak
of the 1936 disturbances (or Arab Revolt) a new organization,
advocating a rapprochement with the Arab population, was
set up, bearing the name Kedmah Mizraḥah (“Forward to the
702 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3