Bornstein, Famous Polish Jewish Scholar, Dies at Age of Eighty-five

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Death ended the leng and fruitful career of Chaim Yechiel Bornstein, internationalally known authority on the history of the Jewish calendar, author of many works of research on the subject, and literateur, yesterday when be passed away at the age of 85.

A native of a small town in Congress-Poland, Bornstein was one of the pioneers in the Haskalah movement in Polish Jewry, being an early participant in the emerging modern Hebrew literature in Eastern Europe. His fame as a research scholar and particularly in the field of history of the Jewish calendar soon reached beyond the boundaries of his native country.

The majority of his works on the subject were written in Hebrew and translated into many languages, finding a wide audience. Holding the position of executive secretary in Warsaw’s Great Synagogue on Tlomackie, his house was for scores of years the gathering place of Jewish men of letters from where encouragement to aspiring students emanated. In addition to research work, Bornstein was a frequent contributor to Hebrew belles lettres, having translated Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” into pure, Biblical prose. Although he lost his sight about fifteen years ago, his research work was not abandoned, as his memory of the texts was phenomenal and for occasional verification of details many of the old students whom he had befriended were at his command.