(HOMILETICS).

Joseph Kohen-Tzedek (1827-1903), rabbinical scholar and preacher, a native of Lemberg, was able to trace his lineage back to R. Moses Isserles of Cracow (to whom this work is dedicated). Kohen-Tzedek was a fluent peacher, occupying positions in Cracow, Altona, as well as Frankfurt a/Main. In 1875, Kohen-Tzedek emigrated to London. He was a talented journalist and editor, poet, and publisher of medieval works, including Joseph Cohen’s Divrei ha-Yamim and Kalonymos’ Even Bochan. See EJ, Vol. XII, p.649 It seems that in addition to his other talents, Kohen-Tzedek was also a master of parody. He makes sport of the deliberations of the Reform movement: “The conference at Braunschweig is greater than the gathering of Pumbeditha! The gathering at Augsburg, greater than Neharde’a” (see p.27). “There is no longer any Messiah for Israel, for they have already partaken of him in the year 1848.” (The reference is to the Revolution of 1848; the parody is based on the words of R. Hillel in TB Sanhedrin 99a, “There is no longer any Messiah for Israel, for they have already partaken of him in the days of Hezekiah”)