' The Canadian Jewish"News, Friday, June 2], 1974-Page 7
Organizations and People
Abe Silver, a retired Toronto pharmacist, ^ans his 3,000volume library of Judaica in his Bathurst Street apartment. "Through my studies I have acWeved peace of mind," says Silver, who if not for his donation of books to the Institute for Judaic Studies, would need a ''home twice the size." (Photo by Gadi Hoz)
Library reflects labor of love which gave Abe Silver peace
By RUTH KAHANE CJN Staff Reporter
TORONTO-
. You may not be able to read a man Iikeabook, but If you look at his books you may learn a lot about him. This is at least true in the case of Abe Silver whose3,000 . volumes about Judaica lining the walls of his Bathurst St. apartment, demonstrate his. great passion in life. .
Amassed during the 12 years of devoted study since his retirement from pharmacy, this private library IS the- laboratory where Silver explores all> aspects of Jewish life. It contains many books about the Second Jewish Commonwealth, (the entire period of the second Temple until the collapse of the Jewish state); Hebrew philology (the study. of the origin of language), and prophetic literature. These were Silver's main areas of study during his years as a 'matur^e' student at the Hebrew Un- : iversity's Institute for Judaic Studies. .
He does not- compare it with other libraries of Judaica (and he has seen too many in North America, Israel, and Europe), because he says "it serves my purpose . it's simply a lab. If 1 increase it, its always
extra to what I need to continue . . . it's a tool."
The unique thing about Silver's library is that he not only has most of the books in their original language (he is fluent in Hebrew, German, Rust sian, Polish aiidEnglish),, but many of the volumes are autographed by their authors. Silver has studied under . some of thie great Judaica scholars and thinkers of our time, and has developed a personal acquaintance with several. .
Visiting Martin Buber in his home in Jerusalem and having a discussion with him about Chassid-ism for 15 minutes, is one meeting which Silver recounts with great feeling. After reading almost everything Buber had ever wHtten. Silver chose to. take ,with him his copy of Buber's Bein Am L'-artzo (Between A People and their Land). Today It is one of the unique components of his library as Buber autographed it for. him and included a personal message.
When Silver takes a book off the shelf; it trig-gers-off a rush of memories. "I was stunned when I walked in", he recalls. "I couldn't sit down or stand up. He had such charisma. And the impact was so great;
I knew that I was standing m front of a great man."
It never takes Silver more than two or three minutes to locate a book he wants to show you." He knows theapproximate location of 80% of his books by rrieniory. Andhe is anxious to shoy those written by his' teachers, "gi-eat men" in his eyes. Books about the Dead Sea Scrolls by Yigal Yadin, concerning Kabbalah by Gershon iSholom, Chaim Rabin's books on philology , and Zvi . Ankori's books on Karaism.
Silver actually started his library "way back when I came over from Europe with my father." Now, he ^ays if he had all 'Of those books, "I'd* have to have a home twice the size;" After studying at the.Institute for Judaic Studies, Silver decided to add;many of those.books., to their library. He sent a lot of out-of-print volumes, hundreds of books
in total.
As well, he hasdonated many books to the University of Toronto's Department of Judaic Studies. He notes that the cost of books has risen so greatly. For example, some of the volumes he aSded to their collection that were $2.50 when he bought them; now cost $12.50. .'
Silver has .always aimfed to get books in their original language. He explains .his reason for avoiding translationsj-with a quote froni Chaim : Nachman Biaiik:"It'slike kissing a girl through a hanky."
And to this man, studying IS really a labor of love. "I wanted to learn ■ so mu^tilL^Th^' saidf, ."and time oin^be sa>lm^~ tant .r. .Through m)r studies I've achieved peace of mind: it's a stage of happiness I'm still es-periencing. But one can never fully realize the dreams. The striving is what is important.
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