THE RABBI OF BACHERACH

An unfinished novel by the great German poet is here made available to English speaking readers. It is a most interesting fragment of a book in which the author evidently intended to throw into novel form the struggle between the narrow Jewish culture of the ghetto and modern European-Christian culture. Heine wrote this book out of the depth of his own soul, for, although a Jew, he was baptized as a Christian in early manhood. His environment was that of the Gentile world and it required study and research for him to acquire the knowledge of Jewish thought and customs portrayed in the three opening chapters which he completed. It is a pity that the work was never completed for Heine's mastery of language is reflected in every line, and the completed work might well have been a classic. As it is, the fragment should be of interest to those interested in the Jewish and Christian cultures and their interrelation.