The cultural life of Transylvanian Jews

The development of their own values

Regarding the first direction, the development of their own values, between the two World Wars, certain learned chief-rabbis continued their work, such as: Eisler Matityahu-Mátyás (1865-1930) of Cluj, regarded as the founder of the research of the history of Transylvanian Jews, and especially renowned for his work The history of Transylvanian Jews during the time of the Principality, or “Studies on the registry of the community of Alba-Iulia”; Singer Jakab (1867-1939), chief-rabbi of Timișoara, who researched the history of the Jews of Banat and published several works in Hungarian and German between 1905-1939 on the subject; Kecskeméti Lipót of Oradea (1865-1936), whose work focused on Biblical studies, Jewish philosophy and poetry; Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger (1908–2010), Neolog chief-rabbi of Cluj between September 1935 and May 1944, who placed particular emphasis on Jewish education and organised courses on Judaism and Hebrew.

Yekutiel Yehuda Greenwald (1889–1955) is another remarkable figure, recognised for his works in Hebrew and Yiddish on the history of the Jews of Hungary and Transylvania. Ernő Marton (1896–1960) is yet another representative figure, as co-founder of the Új Kelet newspaper (1918), and later (1920) its editor, a position which he held until the Second Vienna Award of 30 August 1940, when the Hungarian authorities banned its publication.

An important cultural direction for the Jews of Transylvania was the Yiddish literature and press. Hirsch Leib Gottlieb (1844-1931) of Sighet became one of the precursors of Yiddish Theatre through the Purim plays he wrote and staged. He also published a weekly newspaper in Hebrew, the first of its kind in Hungarian history, in Sighet, between 1878-1879. The newspaper was titled HaShemesh (“The Sun”). Regarding the Yiddish press of Sighet, Gottlieb published the Yidishe Folksblat (“The Jewish people's newspaper”) periodical in 1881, and then the Jüdische Volkszeitung (“The Jewish People's Journal”) between 1893-1897, and 1910-1914, respectively. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Gottlieb also published Zionist periodicals in Yiddish, such as Zion (1902-1906) and Ahavath Zion (“The Love of Zion”) in 1908.

After 1920, an extensive literary group was founded in Sighet, which included the following authors: Eliyahu Blank (1887-1955), Zionist activist and editor of several local Jewish magazines; Joseph Holder (1893-1940), the most famous poet of Sighet, whose writings were published in many Jewish literary magazines; Shlomo Schwartz (1883-1944); Yehezkel Ring (1913-2005); the prose writer and essayist Volf Tambur (1916-1995); the poet Berl Schnabel (1909-1972), as well as other authors. The formation of this important literary centre in Sighet was also reflected in the publication of the Oyfgang literary magazine, published between 1933-1938 under the editorship of Israel David Izrael.

The Jewish press of Transylvania diversified to a significant degree during the interwar period, and although it only enjoyed local circulation, it helped broaden the spectrum of cultural activities among Transylvanian Jews. Numerous periodicals were published on topics from various fields (literary, religious, youth-oriented, scientific) in Hebrew, Yiddish, Hungarian, German. In this respect, Cluj is represented by more than twenty periodical Jewish publications during the interwar period. Among the periodicals of Cluj, Új Kelet is particularly worth mentioning. Between 1918 and 1940 (after the Union of Transylvania with Romania, and until the publication ban by the Hungarian authorities after the Second Vienna Award), under the direction of Ernő Marton, it became the main advocate of Zionist ideology in Transylvania. Új Kelet was published in Hungarian and was the central weekly publication of the National Union of Jews from Transylvania for the first two years following the 1918 Union. After 1920, it became a daily newspaper. It included news about current events in Palestine, but was particularly concerned with the economic, cultural and social status of the Jews in Transylvania, advocating for their rights. Új Kelet resumed publication in Israel in 1948.

The religious communities of Transylvania played an important role in interwar Jewish journalism. The Orthodox community published a number of weekly newspapers: Népünk/Unser Folk in Oradea from 1929-1940, Transilvanier Yudishe Tsaytung in Satu Mare/Şomcuta Mare, which reported events from the life of Orthodox communities both inside and outside Transylvania. The Neolog community produced many quality publications in its own right: two collections of works centred on various matters of Jewish Studies were printed between 1934-1939, as well as the annual Calendarul Evreesc/Zsidó naptár/Jüdischer Kalender ("The Jewish Calendar"), which was published in Cluj between 1939-1944 in Romanian, Hungarian and German. Between 1934-1940 Moshe Carmilly-Weinberger published a Jewish bulletin for the Neolog community in Cluj titled Monitorul Comunităţii Israelite – Hitközségi Értesítő ("The Jewish Community's Bulletin").

Overall, 488 Jewish books were printed during the interwar period, such as prayer books, publications on religious practice, ethical commentaries, biographies, history and geography books, almanacs, calendars, and Zionist literature.

The Jewish contribution to the culture of other ethnicities in interwar Transylvania Concerning the second direction of the cultural activities of Transylvanian Jews during the interwar period, the involvement of Transylvanian Jewish writers is worth mentioning. They contributed to the development of the Hungarian language and culture in Transylvania through their remarkable literary works. Poets and writers such as Kaczér Illés, Schön Dezső, or Giszkalay János, were particularly active in the Zionist movement, publishing original works, translations and articles on Zionism. Giszkalay János's poems reflected Zionist ideals, while Schön Dezső's writings described the beginnings of the Hasidic movement. Karácsony Benő, Indig Ottő, Ligeti Ernő (who participated in almost all Hungarian literary events in Transylvania and was a founding member of the Transylvanian Arts Guild and of the “Helikon” Transylvanian Literary Society), Bárd Oskar, Salamon Ernő, Salamon Ladislau and many others captured in their works aspects of Transylvanian Jewish life, as well as aspects of life and culture from other parts of the Jewish diaspora.

The Transylvanian Jews were actively involved in the art scene through numerous artists who contributed to the affirmation and prestige of the School of Baia Mare, as well as through composers such as Alexander Boskovits or Max Eisikovits. A special place in Transylvanian cultural life, and especially in that of Cluj, is owed to the Goldmark Orchestra. It was founded in Cluj in 1934 as part of the cultural branch of the Neolog community. The orchestra’s symphonic concerts promoted universal musical culture, as well as Jewish music, and its success was evident in the fact that each performance was sold out. The orchestra also managed to attain the recognition of specialists in the field through the skill and professionalism of its members. This granted the orchestra entry into the international music scene, as well.