Review - American Jewish Archives

Book Reviews 227
checked, in light of their ideological characters, be they implicit or
explicit. The worst mistake a scholar can make is to rely on these
kinds of sources, just as one would not rely solely on Judah D.
Eisenstein when telling the story of Jacob Joseph.9
A significant number of scholarly works do not appear in this book,
the absence of which accounts for several mistakes. This omission, in
complete contrast to the numerous Orthodox-oriented sources cited,
forces the reader to question the reliability of the "Wide selection of
sources" and "balanced judgment" to which the author refers in
his prefaces.'"
Unfortunately, the general and specific problems in this book ex-
tend beyond the boundaries of this review. Overall, this book is filled
with invaluable data and although it will undoubtedly spawn fur-
ther research and analysis, it is, in many respects, inaccurate and
even sloppy at times. Given the state of the field, it could be de-
fined in certain ways, in my humble opinion, as Hahmazat
Hasha'ah -a missed golden opportunity- borrowing Rabbi Yoseph
D. Soloveitchik's use of the term.
- Kimmy Caplan
Kimmy Caplan teaches American Jewish History at Bar-Ilan University and
Ben-Gurion University.
Notes
1. I wish to thank Professor Jay Harris for his helpful comments.
2. For a useful discussion of relevant methodological issues, see S. E. Berger, The
Design of Bibliographies: Obsentations, References and Examples, (London, i991), esp.
27-45.
3. See, for example: the New York Times, July 29,1902; the International Year Book,
(New York, 1902), 388; I. H. Daiches, Derashot Maharih, Leeds, 1920,545.
4. This is evident from the minutes of this congregation, located at the archives
of the Yivo Institute for Jewish Research, New York, Collection no. 365, as well as Jeffrey
S. Gurock's 'A Stage in the Emergence of the Americanized Synagogue
Among East European Jews: 1890-1910," Journal ofAmerican Ethnic Histoy vol. 9,
no. 2 (1~90)~ 16.
5. For his position in Amsterdam, see: A. A. Wieder, The Early Jewish Community
of Boston's North End, (Waltham, i962), 19-20. The references to Friederman on page
72 were all published prior to his death, except for one, which probably explains
this mistake.
6. Haiviri, January I, 1893; January 15,1893,7, and January ~2,1893~5.