Moe Weinschel, President Mel Wacks, Vice President Edward Janis, Vice President Emeritus Julius Turoff, Secretary Florence Schuman, Treasurer/Membership THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Edward Janis, J.J. Van Grover, William Rosenblum, Florence Schuman Mel Wacks, Donna Sims, Julius Turoff, Moe Weinschel, Harry Pollackov MEMBERSHIP COORDINATOR David Gursky YOUNG NUMISMATIST COORDINATOR Lawrence Gentile Sr. The American Israel Numismatic Association is a cultural and educational organization dedicated to the study and collection of Israel's coinage, past and present, and all aspects of Judaic numismatics. It is a democratically organized, membership oriented group, chartered as a non-profit association under the laws of The State of New York. The primary purpose is the development of programs, publications, meetings and other activities which will bring news, history, social and related background to the study and colledion of Judaic numismatics, and the advancement of the h0bby. The Association sponsors rnc.ior cultural/social/numismatic events such as national and regional conventions, study tours to lsr ael, publication of books, and other activities which will be of benefit to the members. Local chapters exist in many areas. Write for further information. The Association publishes the SHEKEL six times a year. It is a journal and news magazine prepared for the enlightenment and education of the membership and neither solicits nor accepts advertising. All articles published are the views and opinions of the authors and may or may not reflect the views and opinions of A.l.N.A. Annual Membership fees: U.S., Canada and Mexico $18. - Foreign $25.-Life $300. Send all remittances, change ofaddress and correspondence to AINA% Florence Schuman 12555 Biscayne Blvd #733 North Miami, FL 33181 Email: [email protected] Web: http:\\amerisrael.com Volume XXXIV No. 5 (cons. #183) September-October 2001 Edward Schuman, Editor TABLE OF CONTENTS President's Message ............................................................2 About Rosh Hashanah .......................................................3 Mayer Amschel Rothschild Ghetto Coin Dealer by Marvin Tameank.0 ....................................................6 The Wild Goat & The Shitta Tree Coin ............................. 12 The Metal Tokens ofKibbutz Einat by Ady Bar-Tov .........................................................14 The Pomegranate ..............................................................16 An Ebay Auction Item by Edward Schuman. ...................................................18 The Dome ofthe Rock by Dr. Howard M Berlin. ..........................................20 Region Povencale ............................................................ .30 Baku's Jewish History ......................................................34 Jewish History in Plzen ..................................................... 36 Shaarey Zedak Congregation Token................................ .38 Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.. ....................................... .40 David Ben Gurion............................................................42 Club Bulletin .................................................................... 45 Membership Application .................................................. 4 7 ARTICLES PUBLISHED WITH AUTHOR'S NAMES ARE ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPTS. STORIES WITHOUT AN AUTHOR'S CREDIT HAVE BEEN RESEARCHED BY THE EDITOR USING JUDAlCA DICTIONARIES, ENCYCLOPEDIAS, NEWSPAPERS OR MAGAZINES. c 200 I AMER1CAN ISRAEL NUM!SMAT !ON ASSOCIATION ISSN 0087-3486 T• A•dltMM'd ~ "1 Moe WMMclMI Dear Members, We just attended the ANA "Worlds Fair of Money" held in Atlanta, Aug. 8-12, 2001. We can say that it was a "Good Show." There was plenty of publicity and the attendance was good in spite of the lack of public transportation. The popular ANA Passport program sold out Saturday afternoon. AINA had a combined meeting with the IGCMC subscribers. We met with Mr. Eli Shahar, the Managing Director and Mr. Yo ssef Attali, Deputy Managing Director. They brought us up to date on current, new and proposed issues. There was a remarkable 12 medal prototype display of the Chagall windows in a tower format that was lit up internally showing the transparent medals as in the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. - Watch for this new and exciting item! We had much activity on the "Aina-Mule" error. There are not too many left, so you must make a decision soon if you want one of these medals. Our board meeting had good reports about retaining and getting new members and a financial report, showing conservative management, which protects our assets. However, the drastic reductions in interest rates combined with the rising costs of postage for the Shekel mailings and other outside services has forced us to make a change in the dues as follows: Regular US - Canada and Mexico membership is now CHAI - $18.00. All other Foreign is $25.00 and Life membership will now be $300.00. As you know, we are a 50lc Nonprofit, tax-exempt organization and we need your help. Please keep AINA in mind when you are making donations or adjusting your will. Our goal is to continue to make an AINA membership and Shekel subscription the "Best bargain in Numismatics" Reminder: The AINA membership medal design contest is ON and we hope to receive your ideas and/or designs ASAP. (//. /" De-­ Shalom, ' 2 ABOUTROSHHASHANAH SOUND THE GREAT SHOFAR OF OUR LIBERATION The holiday falls on the beginning of the month of Tishrei which is the seventh month ofthe Hebrew year (Nissan being ''the first month"). Its sign is Libra (scales, balance) as the world is judged in Tishrei and the scales are symbolic ofweighing the merits and faults ofthose being judged. In the Bible Rosh Hashanah is called Yorn Teruah (the day of sounding the shofar) and represents two main ideas: the day on which a new year begins and the day ofjudgment and soul-searching. As the new year begins we take stock of the year that has ended and chart our course for the year to come. The source for Rosh Hashanah in the Torah is in Numbers 29, 1: "In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a holy gathering, you shall not do any work. It is for you a day of sounding (the shofar)'', and also in Leviticus 28,24: In the seventh month, on the first of the month, you shall have a Sabbath in commemoration ofthe sounding (of the shofar)". An allusion to Rosh Hashanah as a day ofjudgment is found in Psalms 81,4: "Blow the shofar at the time of new month, on the day the moon is yet unseen, on our holiday, for this is a statute for Israel, an ordinance ofthe G-d ofJacob". The name Rosh Hashanah first appears in the Mishnah of Tractate Rosh Hashanah, chapter 1: "On Rosh Hashanah all the creatures of this world pass before Him (G-d) like a regiment of soldiers (before their commander who inspects them all). This is the day which determines the fate ofmankind at the end ofone year and the start ofthe next. All the laws, prayers and customs express the meaning ofthe holiday. The central feature of the Rosh Hashanah prayers is the three-part mussaf (additional) service called "Malchuyot, Zichronot and Shofarot". 3 1. Malchuyot - verses expressing the kingship ofG-d (melech-king). Rosh Hashanah is the day of G-d's coronation as king of the universe as we say in the Malchuyot prayer: "Reign over the entire universe in Your Glory. 2. Zichronot - Rosh Hashanah is the day ofjudgment for the whole world. In the Zichronot (Memories) prayer we recite: "When You call forth the measure of memory, to recall every living tmng". We request that G-d "Remember us well before you and in a recollection of salvation and mercy." 3. Shofarot opens with the scene of Israel receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai. When Israel accepted the obligation to observe the Torah and its commandments the sound ofthe shofar was heard: "And it occurred on the third day in the morning there were thunder and lightning and a thick cloud upon the mountain and the very loud sounding of the shofar" (Exodus, 19, 16). The "Shofarot" prayer describes the greatness of G-d, continuing on to describe the ingathering of the exiles at the end of time: "On that day a great shofar will be sounded and those who were lost in Land of Assyria and those exiled in the Land ofEgypt will come and bow down to the Lord at the holy mountain in Jerusalem" (Isaiah 27,13). On Rosh Hashanah our prayers are not private, only on our own behalf. They appeal to G-d on behalf of all mankind: "Therefore, o Lord our G-d, instill fear of You in all those You created .. and all Your creations will fear You and bow before You". The sounding of the shofar is the special commandment of Rosh Hashanah. Rav Sa'adiah Gaon lists ten reasons for it, among them: 1. This is our symbolic coronation of G-d as our King and so it is done before kings that trumpets and horns are sounded before them to proclaim the beginning of their reign. King David said: "With trumpets and the sound of the shofar make a great noise before the Lord our King" (Psalms 98,6) 2. The sounding of the shofar, is reminiscent of the time when Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sina~ that momentous occasion accompanied by "an extremely loud sounding of the shofar" where Israel unanimously proclaimed ''we will do and we will listen". 3. The sounding of the shofar recalls the ingathering of the exiles oflsrael which is promised to us in the future. 4. The shofar is made from a rams horn to remind us of the binding of Isaac. After Abraham had been tested by G-d and showed himself willing to sacrifice his son Abraham saw "a ram caught in the thicket by his horns and sacrificed it on the altar instead of his son Isaac - the shofar therefore recalls the merit of our ancestors. Altogether one hundred notes are 4 sounded. When Rosh Hashanah occurs on Shabbat the shofar is not sounded because ofa rabbinical decree. Preparations for Rosh Hashanah begin a month ahead at the beginning of Elul. From then on it is customary to sound the shofar every morning after prayers in the Synagogue in order to call the people to repentance before the day ofjudgment. The Oriental and Sephardic Jews begin in Elul to recite "Selichot" (Forgiveness) prayed in the early morning hours. The Ashkenazi communities begin Selichot from the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. Tashlich is a prayer recited on the first day of Rosh Hashanah near a riverbank or seashore or some- other body of water (such as a well in Jerusalem, for example). This is a prayer for forgiveness for our sins and a request from G-d to carry out the words ofthe prophet "and throw into the depths of the sea all their sins" (Michah 7,19). In the Tashlich prayer we ask for a year of life, blessing, peace and the worthy fulfillment of all our wishes. We shake the edges of our clothing symbolically casting off the sins which have stuck to us" during the past year. At the start ofthe holiday it is customary to greet one another with the blessing "May you be immediately inscribed and sealed for a good life". The Rosh Hashanah medal is the third in the Jewish Holidays series issued by the Israel Government Coins & Medals Corp. The obverse depicts a learned Jew covered with a Talith (prayer shawl) blowing the Shofar. "Happy New Year" in English and Hebrew. "Day ofthe blowing of the Shofar" in Hebrew. The reverse: In the center in stylized lettering "Rosh Hashanah" which topped by a crown resembles the shape of a pomegranate. The Hebrew inscription of ''New Year Blessing." 5 MAYER AMSCHEL ROTHSCHILD 6HETfO COIN DEALER By Marvin Tameanko The author wishes to thank Mr. Herbert Simson for translating the 18'h century German text ofthe coin catalogs referred to in this article. Mayer Amschel Rothschild, 174 4-1812, fathered a financial dynasty that spanned most ofEurope and later, the whole world. He compounded a small money lending shop in Frankfurt Am Main, Germany, into a great, multi-national banking house with branches in England, under the direction of his son Mayer Nathan, another in Italy headed by his son Karl Mayer, an institution in Vienna under his son Salomon Mayer, and one in France directed by his son James Jacob. Besides being wealthy the Rothschilds were great philanthropists supporting many Jewish and Christian charities, and later contributing greatly to the development of the State of Israel. Baron Edmond de Rothschild, of the French family, founded the first Jewish settlement and the wine industry in Palestine, earning him the title of the 'Father of Modern Israel'. The Rothschild Foundation continues the work of supporting Israel today. However, the original fortune of the Rothschild patriarch, Mayer Amschel, was created from a small business in coin dealing. Jews in 18th century Frankfurt Am Main were confined to the dismal, overcrowded ghetto, called the 'Judengasse', (Jews' Street) and restricted to very limited methods of earning a living. Their freedom was so regulated that they had to wear special clothes or symbols and were locked up in the ghetto each night, on Sundays, and on Christian holidays. Jews were not even permitted to take surnames and instead used the identifying emblems on their houses as a family name. 'Rothschild', that is 'Redshield' was the sign on the original family house but the later Rothschilds actually lived in the house of the 'Greenshield'. The ghetto Jews were allowed to partake only in the rag and scrap business, the peddling of small goods and food to other Jews, and any other small venture that did not compete with or threaten the livelihoods ofChristians. Also, money lending and pawnbroking activities, forbidden to Christians by the church, were two ofthe menial businesses that were left open to the ghetto Jews. For this reason, talented Jews had to explore new, innovative niches in the commercial world, unknown to their Christian neighbors. Frankfurt was a great commercial center and many foreign coins circulated in its marketplaces. These coins, ducats, florins, carolins, Louis 6 d'Ors, thalers and gulden were struck in many different siz.es and weights, and money changers were needed to convert them into the local, standardiz.ed currency. This lowly trade became the occupation of many ghetto Jews. The only sure way that Jews could advance their commercial opportunities and raise their status was by becoming agents for the royal courts and these so-called 'Court-Jews' could sometimes prosper. In 1757, the recently orphaned boy, Mayer AmscheL was taken out of the Yeshiva (seminary) he attended in Furth, Bavaria, and apprenticed to the business firm of the Court-Jew, Wolf Jacob Oppenheim, in Hanover. Oppenheim had money changing and banking offices in several German cities and was very successful. Christians were reluctant to become royal court bankers because the rulers were above the law and often disregarded agreements or defaulted on commitments to repay loans. The Jewish bankers had no alternatives for clients and had to serve the royalty even though their patronage was often precarious and dangerous. While serving his seven-year apprenticeship in Hanover, Mayer developed an interest in coins. Perhaps at first it was a boyish distraction from the drudgery ofhard work but, as his knowledge in coins increased, he became fascinated by the subject. Hanover and Frankfurt must have been a coin collectors' paradise in those days. At the crossroads of the trade routes through Germany, coins from all over Europe and the German states circulated in these cities, and many of the coins were antiques, well over 100 years old. The Oppenheim bank in Hanover had a rare coin department, just as some large banks in Europe do today, and the young lad learned as much as he could from the experts working there. He also studied every book about coins he could lay his hands on and put his Yeshiva study techniques to work in order to memoriz.e the information. By the time he was eighteen, Mayer had acquired enough knowledge to begin working behind the counter of the Oppenheim coin department. There he met many aristocratic clients who deposited coins as security for loans or purchased rarities as investments. Some of them privately commissioned the bright young lad to acquire the rare coins they needed for their collections. These first contacts with the nobility of Hanover would prove to be very useful in his life. Later, in fact, Mayer Amschel used these connections to royalty in order to win greater freedom and more civil rights for the Jews in Frankfurt. In 1763, Mayer returned to Frankfurt and with his meager savings joined his brother Calmann in a money changing business in the ghetto, but he also added a counter in their shop for trade in rare coins, medals, small antiques and jewels. This coin business did not generate much income but was meant to bring Mayer into contact with the nohlemen who collected coins and then 7 perhaps lead to his becoming a commercial agent for the royal court. For this purpose, all of Mayer's profits from the change house were re­ invested in the nwnismatic trade. One day, one of Mayer's contact recommended him to a young aristocrat, the Crown-Prince Wilhelm of Hesse. i Hesse became a wealthy state by selling entire regiments of mercenary soldiers to the other European nations, and Hessian soldiers served King George III during the American Revolution in 1776. Wilhelm later became one of Rothschild's most important clients and, . during the turmoil of the Napoleonic wars, Mayer managed most of the prince's financial affairs. The prince, the future Landgrave of Hesse­ Kasse~ made some small coin purchases from the young Mayer and, when he found he could trust him, commissioned him to seek out the rare coins he needed. The prince was so impressed with his good service that, on a request from Mayer, he appointed him a 'Court-Factor' for obtaining coins and medals. On this appointment, a sign bearing the coat-of-arms of Hesse, as a symbol of the royal patronage, was attached to the door of the house ofRothschild.ii · As a result of his new status, Mayer Amschel was able to arrange a marriage with Guttle Schnapper, a daughter of the Court-Factor to the Prince of Saxe-Meiningen, and she brought a dowry of 2,400 gulden to enlarge the very modest Rothschild fortune. Guttle was an exceptional woman, wise, hard-working, and dedicated to her family. When she was 94 years old and ailing her doctors told her that she would live for at least another couple of years. She replied in a serious business-like voice, "why would God take me at 96 when he could have me at 94?". This witticism is certainly one ')f the many amusing but mythical anecdotes that later grew up around the Rothschild family. During her long life, Guttle gave birth to between 16 and 19 children, accounts vary, only ten of whom survived infancy to become adults. As a Court-Factor, Mayer Amschel was able to expanded his coin business by setting up a stall in the commercial fairs held in the cities all around Frankfurt. There he purchased whole collections of coins from destitute noblemen and sold coins to aristocrats who were the prime collectors of such rarities at that time. It was very fashionable for patricians to form an accumulation of coins, called a 'Cabinet', and many of these became the foundation for the great coin collections in national museums. When not attending fairs, Mayer published something similar to our modem-day, mail order catalogs and he sent them out to potential clients. The first catalog appeared in 1771 and others were issued periodically for the next 20 years. His customers eventually included many prominent noblemen such as the King of Bavaria and Duke Karl 8