ARN ROZMARIN

ARN ROZMARIN (October 22, 1896-August 12, 1977)

            He was born in Ostile (Ustylúh), Volhynia, descended from a Hassidic family.  He studied in religious elementary school and yeshivas.  In 1920 he emigrated to the United States and there received ordination into the rabbinate by “Rabbi Tseir” (Kh. Tshernovits).  Over the years 1927-1931, he studied at the Universities of Berlin and Würzburg and received his doctoral degree.  In 1931 he returned to the United States and in 1971 settled in Israel.  He began publishing in English-language serials historical works about the Kuzari, the Falashas, Jews in Morocco, and the like, as well as the German-Jewish press.  He contributed to: Encyclopedia of Jewish Knowledge (New York, 1934); and Encyclopaedia Judaica (Jerusalem, 1972), vols. 9 and 10.  He wrote pieces for the American and Canadian Yiddish newspapers.  In Tog-morgn-zhurnal (Day-morning journal), he ran a column concerning the Torah portion of the week, and he was a regular contributor to Der amerikaner (The American).  He was editor for three years of the weekly newspaper Der id (The Jew) in New York (from 1954).  He also wrote for Yiddish and Hebrew newspapers in Israel and in Letste nayes (Latest news) ran a column entitled “Freg un veys” (Ask and know).  In book form: An entfer (tsu der polemik arum dem idishen teologishen seminar (An answer, to the polemic surrounding the Jewish Theological Seminary) (New York, 1942/1943), 47 pp.; Di shehnkeyt fun identum (The beauty of Judaism) (New York: Om, 1947), 155 pp., in English as Golden Rules (New York: Om, 1947), 160 pp.; Lekoved shabes, gedanken af ale sedres (In honor of the Sabbath, thoughts on all the weekly Torah portions) (New York: Om, 1949), 392 pp.; Gedanken un khokhme, eygenarṭige gedanken af ale fier un fuftsig sedres, un af mankhe yom-toyvim, vos shprudlen mit toyre un khokhme fun unzere khakhomim, geoynim un gedole hatoyre z. l., un enthalṭen hunderter oyser geṿeynlakh interesanṭe epizoden fun gedole yisroel, mesholim, maymre khazal, un glat gute vertlakh (Thoughts and wisdom, innovative thoughts on all of the fifty-four weekly portions, and on some of the holidays which bubble up with Torah and wisdom of our wise men, sages, and giants of Torah, may their memory be for a blessing, and including hundreds of extraordinarily interesting episodes from the greats of Israel, fables, the writings of wise men, and extremely good sayings) (New York: Om, 1954), 388 pp.; Avrom avinus lebn un shafung, loyt talmud, medresh un zoyer (The life and works of Abraham our father, according to the Talmud, the midrash, and the Zohar) (New York: Om, 1954), 180 pp.; Arn rozmarins tanakh entsiklopedye (Arn Rozmarin’s encyclopedia of Tanakh), 2 vols. (New York: Om, 1964-1967); Moyshe rabeynus lebn un shafung (The life and works of Moses, our teacher) (New York: Om, 1965), 196 pp., which initially appeared in German as Moses im Lichte der Agoda (Moses in light of the homiletical writings) (New York: Goldblatt Publishing Co., 1932), 157 pp.; Der satmarer rebe, an opshatsung (The Satmar Rebbe, an evaluation) (New York: Om, 1967), 96 pp.; Frum identum, shteh af dayn hihner-plet shlof (Pious Jewry, remain in your dazed sleep) (New York Om, 1967), 16 pp.  He died in Ramat-Gan.

Ruvn Goldberg