Reissued S.F. Jewish history book is a time capsule

The Jewish bookseller is reissuing "Western Jewry," the rare 85-year-old volume. But unlike the Ark, opening it up certainly won't bring you to an untimely death.

"The book has over 200 photographs, but in a certain sense, the entire thing is a snapshot in time at a very critical moment," said Lehrhaus Judaica founding director Fred Rosenbaum of the 1916 Who's Who of the first 60 years of San Francisco's Jewish history. "It's a vehicle to go back in time."

The original publication year itself represents a crossroads in the San Francisco Jewish community. Most of the city's pioneer founders had died, and the leaders of the day were moving in their own direction. Many, in fact, chose to move to Southern California.

"The 1920s marked a complete break with the old San Francisco. Start with all the social changes of the '20s and the fact that, in terms of California Jewry, Los Angeles begins to eclipse San Francisco," said Hollander, who specializes in Judaica, antiquarian and scholarly books. This book marks San Francisco "at the end of a historical era."

Prior to Hollander's decision to reissue it, the tome -- a favorite of both amateur and professional historians of Bay Area Jewry -- had been out of print for what seemed like eons. What's more, most surviving copies had been bound in low-grade calf leather and were literally coming apart at the seams.

Despite being almost universally in poor condition, original copies of "Western Jewry" often sold for more than $400. Hollander's reprint goes for about one-tenth of that.

Edited by Rabbi Martin Meyer, the content of "Western Jewry" is proof of the then-Temple Emanu-El spiritual leader's "visionary" status, according to Rosenbaum.

"Meyer included Eastern European Jews among the elite, and I think that's unusual for 1916. This was a time of great conflict between the German Jewish establishment and the Eastern European immigrants," said Rosenbaum. "Meyer had a vision of inclusiveness. He was moving away from the elitist notions of the late 19th century at Emanu-El of a Bavarian community of elite, wealthy people. Meyer tried to open up the temple and the entire Jewish community."

However, what Meyer left out of the book often was far more interesting than what he included.

"It lists one individual who was a brothel owner, but you wouldn't know that by looking at the guy's biography. He comes off as a distinguished pillar of society," said Rosenbaum. "All the biographies are quite laudatory, and, in a number of cases, unduly so. There is no hint of scandal in any of the 300 biographies. But we know that all of those listed here were not paragons of virtue."

Both Rosenbaum and Hollander note that Abe Ruef -- San Francisco's notorious "Jewish Boss," who was sent to San Quentin on a plethora of corruption charges -- is mentioned in only the most peripheral manner. His father, Meyer, is simply described as being survived by three children, Abraham, Henrietta and Louise.

"That's it! That's like having a biography of William Randolph Hearst and just mentioning he had a daughter named Patty," said Rosenbaum with a laugh. "You don't see the dark side. At that time the San Francisco Jewish community had 20,000 to 25,000 people. Obviously, there were some criminals."

However, you can sometimes discern negative traits by reading what isn't in someone's biography, pointed out Jewish historian Ava Kahn.

"When you're looking at the different biographies, silences are often just as important as what's written," said Kahn, a visiting scholar at U.C. Berkeley's California Studies Center. "Sometimes it doesn't talk about religious involvement or fraternal organizations or contributions to charities. Sometimes you can learn as much by what's not said as what is said."

Hollander admits that he would have created a different book from Meyer's had he been in charge: He'd have included colorful characters like famed San Francisco eccentric Emperor Norton and more than just the four women included in "Western Jewry" (often under their husbands' names). But, he adds, that's how things were back then.

"It's a product of its times," said Hollander. "You get a real sense of what San Francisco Jewry thought of itself at that time. It's an excellent reflection."