The Mohel Book of R. Seligmann of Hüffenhardt
Translated from the German of Samuel Jeselsohn
This was published in the magazine, 'Der Israelit' on 26 November 1936.
A strange coincidence brought this book into my hands. I was unaware of its existence. A great-uncle of mine - himself a mohel (circumciser) - had it in his possession. He took it with him from here [Neckarbischofsheim] to Frankfurt am Main, the place in which he spent the last years of his life. He died about 60 years ago. About three years ago it came to me from the possession of an old dealer through a Frankfurt mohel, who assumed my interest and who offered to sell it to me. It was returned to the place that it had been for perhaps more than 100 years.
The book contains Milot (circumcisions) from the years 1686 to 1730, about 1,200 in number. The entries are made in the Jewish Kurrent script of the time and offer a wealth of interesting facts. The mohel, R. Seligmann, the son of the famous and learned Dayan [religious judge] of the district, R. Naftali Herz, from the Ginz family, lived in Hüffenhardt, a farming village in eastern Baden's Kraichgau region, about three hours' walk from Mosbach. From here he carried out his holy service completely leschem shomayim (for the sake of heaven without any consideration), as others in this book attest to him quietly and without fuss.
The area of his activity extended over a radius of more than 100 kilometers. Think of the discomfort of traveling in those days, the uncertainty of the roads, the difficulties of transmitting news, being away from his family on Sabbaths and holidays and you can get an idea of the Yirah - the fear of God of this man, of his greatness of soul, his willingness to sacrifice. Most of the places in which he officiated were certainly only inhabited by a few Jewish families, and he often had to perform his holy office in two widely separated places on the same day. In his younger years, he added a word from the current Sidroh (= weekly section from the Torah) to the Milah entry, so aptly chosen that one cannot help but marvel at all this knowledge and compassion. There he blesses the child whose father is no longer alive, there he weeps with another for the dead mother. I cite the following milot from the year 5479 (1719) as an example of this unspeakable willingness to make sacrifices: On the 2nd Tischri (2nd day of Rosh Hashanah = September 15, 1719) he officiates in Gundelsheim am Neckar (he must of course travel there two days before), on the 3rd Tischri in Rohrbach near Sinsheim, on Shabbos the 6th Tischri he is in Sontheim near Heilbronn (he also has to get there the day before), on the 8th Tischri he is in Berwangen, on the 18th Tischri (Chol HaMoed Sukkot = half-holiday on the Feast of Tabernacles) he is in Babstadt, on the 19th in Eichtersheim. On 22 Tishri he is in Münzesheim (this day is Shemini Atzeret, so he must arrive the day before and can only travel on the next day at the earliest when night falls). On 24 Tishri he is in Michelfeld and the next day in Stein am Kocher. It is late in the year and perhaps the weather is still unpleasant. But later, in the depths of winter, he is in Bonfeld near Heilbronn on the 8th of Kislev, in Grombach near Sinsheim on Friday the 9th, in Horkheim near Heilbronn on Friday the 12th, in Walldorf near Heidelberg on Friday the 16th and in Baiertal on Sunday the 25th. If he had not already traveled to Baiertal on Friday, it took him the whole winter night from Saturday to Sunday to get from his home to Baiertal early in the morning on Sunday.
It is easy to understand why he was called upon in many places in his large family. From the entries, the widely spread-out branches of the family are easy to recognize. He introduces sons, grandsons and great-grandsons to the holy Abrahamic covenant. I could clearly see that I am also one of his descendants. He was active in 109 different places. You can see that the beginning was not easy for him either. Only in his eighth year did he reach 11 milot a year, then his work expanded to 52 in the 33rd year of this sacred profession. Jews still live in many of the places that he worked in, but in many others they have long since disappeared. Some places are listed with Molos in the book that were not known as former Jewish residences. I mention here Biberach, Kirchhausen, both near Heilbronn, Dilsberg near Heidelberg, the famous Veste from Tilli's time, the estates Zimmerhof, Eulenhof, Ehrenberger Schloss, the little village of Helmhof, all situated on the Baden-Württemberg border.
Conclusions can also be drawn about the size of the kehillot (municipalities) from the frequency of milot held over the entire period of activity of around 40 years. There is Bischofsheim (now Neckarbischofsheim) with 68, Odenheim with 42, Neidenstein with 33, Heinsheim with 38, Ittlingen, Eichtersheim with 34 each, Flehingen, Weiler unter Steinsberg with 33 each, Stein am Kocher with 29, Mosbach with 31, Wimpfen am Neckar with 28, Rappenau and Michelfeld with 27, Hirschhorn am Neckar with 24 milot.
The findings on the names occurring and their frequency are interesting. The following were counted: Moses and its variations Masis, Mosche, Mase 133, Löb 128, Meir 125, Itzig 113, Abraham 96, Jokef, Jakob, Jeckle, Jokel 87, Wolf 72, Lippmann 71, Ahron 68, Josef 62, Herz 61, Hirsch 61, Seligmann 57, David 57, Leser 50, Juda Jehuda Judel 50, Josle 47, Mordechai 46, Schemuel 44, Gumpel Gumprich 42, Schimeon 41, Eisik 38, Chajim 37, Sanwill 36, Baruch 33, Kaufmann 31, Feibisch 24, Bendit 24, Gerschon 22, Bär 21, Zadok 18, Sender 18. Occasionally appear: Gabriel, Götz Getsch, Tebele, Anschel Anselm, Enslein, Joel, Getschlik, Jona, Avigdor, Jische, Elieser, Henle, Gottlieb, Jochanan, Feis, Falk, Aberle, Benjamin, Daniel, Eli, Susmann, Uri, Hele, Ascher, Alexander, Akiba, Tubioh, Sinai, Nachum, Giel, Jomtof, Koschmann.
Teachers can be found in many of the 109 places. One can see how nothing could prevent the often so poor and oppressed people from providing their children with the necessary knowledge. There must also have been a Talmud school in the Mohel's house itself, as can be seen from the fact that the Mohel Book contains entries of teachers who worked and lived in the Mohel's house. One of these teachers copied R. David de Lida's work on the miloh, 'Sod hashem' and 'Sharbit hashof', which had recently been published in Amsterdam, into the Mohelbuch in the characteristic script of the time. Another has entered the relevant regulations of the Shulchan Aruch. Here and there it is the child of an Oreach (guest, traveler) that he records in the book. These weary travelers come from far away in search of a permanent place. In every place there are fellow believers who take care of them. Often the mohel himself is also a godfather and likes to write this fact in his book. In this day and age, when there is a renewed interest in family research, the Mohel Book is a good tool for shedding light on obscure family connections and clarifying the family tree back to the times of the Mohel Seligmann. It has already provided this service on many occasions.
