A Hebrew Poet in Baltimore: Israel Fine (1848-1930)

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Since I last wrote about Israel Fine (click here), the Batlimore Hebrew poet, I had the opportunity to consult two additional sources that shed light on his activities: Judaica at the Smithsonian (1997) and Three Anniversaries in the Life of Israel Fine (1915).
(Please click on any image to enlarge it.)

The three anniversaries he was celebrating in 1915 consisted of: twenty-five years of his company, Israel Fine & Son; his golden wedding anniversary; and the one-hundredth anniversary of the composition of “The Star Spangled Banner” (actually commemorated a year earlier).

The biographical account in Judaica at the Smithsonian is more complete than the data that can be gleaned from Three Anniversaries, but is based on information provided by his great-grandson Dr. Earl Baker and includes numerous obvious errors; Three Anniversaries on the other hand contains less information of relevance, but is more reliable as it was published by Fine's daughter during his lifetime. What follows below is an updated sketch of Fine's life based on Three Anniversaries, followed by an appendix with additional information from Judica at the Smithsonian.

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Israel Fine was born to Judah Fine in Pakruojis, Kovno Province (Russian Lithuania), in 1848.

He married Minna Racusin in 1865 and they immigrated to America in 1890. Among their children were Louis, Morris A. (Moses Aaron) (1879-1903) Shabbetai Hayyim (d. 1891) and Mollie Baker.

The Fines settled in Baltimore, where in 1890 Fine and his son Louis established the firm of Israel Fine & Son:

At the present time [1915] they are carrying on successfully in the well-known “Fine” Building [erected in 1904], No. 411 West Baltimore St., Baltimore, Md., and in this period of time they have earned the enviable reputation of manufacturing an exceptionably fine line of high grade ready-to-wear clothing for Men and Young Men. Their snappy, up-to-the-minute garments, known throughout the country as the College Cut Clothes “Israel Fine” production of the best tailor’s art, and is right in fit, right in make, right in trimming, right in material, right in cut, right in style, and right in everything that goes to make up the finished product of the formost [sic] tailors and designers of the country—a desirable, saleable, fashionable garment for mankind. They are well and widely known for honest and just dealing . . . Nothing gives them so much pride as the appreciation by their friends and customers of the “Square Deal” they have always given, as evidenced by their kind letters reproduced in these pages.

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Even before the semi-jubilee of his business career in Balitmore, Fine had apparently already achieved a level of financial success, as evidenced by his patronage of American Hebrew poets such as Menahem Mendel Dolitzky and Isaac M. Rabinowitz (click here for the original post, which contains more information on his patronage).

Fine not only supported the literary careers of his fellow new immigrants, he also composed his own Hebrew verse and he published his first volume, Neginot Ben Yehudah (Songs of the Son of Judah), in 1907, followed by Megillat Ekhah ha-Hadashah (A Modern Book of Lamentations) ten years later. The following is a (partial?) bibliography of individual compositions, as it appeared in Three Anniversaries:

Perhaps his most unusual poem is the one that he composed for the occasion of the birthday of Prof. Goetzel (George) Selikowitz, the Semitist/Egyptologist/Yiddishist: "made up of eight words, which by reading in various ways, from top to bottom, bottom to top, from left to right and right to left, across and diagonal, can be read 64 times."

As fellow landsman Thanbo informs us, the poem "appears to be the form of a Latin square - each line uses the eight words in a different order, it's the same down and across, the same word is on each diagonal." But was it really Fine's innovation to apply the Latin square to verse (in general or in Hebrew)?

In addition to his support for Hebraist activities, Fine was also committed to the Zionist movement. In 1900 he traveled to London as a delegate to the World Zionist Congress and he was active in the Zionist Organization of America.

Fine’s contributions to the Jewish community and their reciprocal appreciation may be gauged by the following reminisce:

In 1908 on Purim night, March 17, the author was greatly honored by a delegation of prominent people of Baltimore who visited him and presented him with an enlarged portrait of himself and a poem composed by Dr. [R. Shabbetai] Schaffer, praising him for his work, with the autographs of the ten visitors. After the presentation the delegation enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. Fine, who served some elegant Carmel wine from Palestine. Dr. [William] Rosenau and Dr. Schaffer both made speeches at the presentation and Mr. Fine expressed pleasure in a speech of acceptance.

The following year Fine embarked on a trip that took him though Europe, Egypt and the Land of Israel. In each city he visited he called upon rabbis and scholars.

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It should be noted that Fine's attachment to Hebraism and Zionism in no way diminished his great love affair with his adopted home land (and its leaders), which served as the subject for much of his verse. Indeed, as has been mentioned above, the last subject of the triple dedication of Three Anniversaries was the "Star Spangled Banner," in honor of which he composed "Shir ha-degel" (English trans. by Dr. Tobias Salzman):

For the occasion Fine also prepared a parchment scroll resembling a Torah, among whose contents was his "Shir ha-Degel." The mantle (depicted below) was presented to Fine by his wife as an anniversary present (see the verso?).

The scroll and mantle were donated to the Smithsonian in 1921 and are described in Judaica at the Smithsonian (no. 52):

Made to resemble a Torah, this scroll was made in celebration of the centennial of the composition of the national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." The scroll contains a hymn written in Hebrew on parchment by Israel Fine and an insert with an English translation by Dr. Tobias Salzmann. The scroll is attached to oak rollers, which were cut down at some point and the handles removed.

The English translation is printed on white silk with a border of red, white, and blue ribbon. The silk panel was originally rolled into the scroll following the Hebrew text. Highlighted in red and blue ink are the words "The Star-Spangled Banner." There is a portrait of George Washington, above which is an eagle superimposed on an American flag; below is a laurel wreath inscribed "The Father of his country."

The end of the silk panel contains a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, above which is an unfurled American flag with the words "E Pluribus Unum" on a ribbon flying from the flagstaff. Below Lincoln's portrait is an eagle in flight holding a laurel branch in its claws, the shield of the United States, and the words "Emancipation Proclamation Abraham Lincoln." This is followed by the famous "With malice toward none" section of Lincoln's second inaugural address.

On one side of the textile mantle of the scroll is an American flag with a ribbon inscribed "The Star-Spangled banner." A Hebrew inscription reads "The flag [of the tribe] of Judah" (Numbers 2:3). The back of the mantle has an appliqued American flag flanked by the dates 1814-1914. Below in Hebrew is "Israel Levin Fine/Froma Minna Fine/1865-1915 / Baltimore."

Fine was also active on behalf of local civic causes. In 1911 he was selected to be a member of a committee that attended the jubilee celebration of Cardinal James Gibbons at the 5th Regiment Armory.

Fine’s final volume, Zemirot Yisra’el (Songs of Israel), appeared in 1930. He died that same year.

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Addendum:

The follow is from the sketch in Judaica at the Smithsonian, the accuracy of which may have suffered (as I mentioned at the beginning of the post) owing to the vagaries of time and inter-generational transmission.

His father, Judah, was a Talmudic scholar, and his mother tended the family business, a dry-goods store . . . Following their marriage he [Israel Fine] continued his studies for four more years before entering the commercial world. He had his own business and then became a sales representative in Moscow . . .

In 1891 [sic] Fine moved to America with his wife, four daughters, and a [six] son. After a brief stay in Philadelphia, he moved to Baltimore and opened the clothing firm of Israel Fine and Son. Fine became active in the Jewish community of Baltimore and was close to some of its prominent members. Most notable was Rabbi Benjamin Szold of the Oheb Shalom Synagogue. In 1902 Szold presented Fine with a carved wooden cane inscribed with the verse from Psalms 110:2: "The Lord will send the staff of your strength from Zion." Fine was also a friend of Dr. Harry Friedenwald. It is possible that Fine decided to present the "Star-Spangled Banner" scroll to the Smithsonian because of this personal association . . .

In 1926, when he was almost 80 years old, he traveled to Palestine, where he met Sir Herbert Samuel, the first high commissioner under the British Mandate.

Fine was a very charitable person, supporting numerous worthy causes and institutions, both Jewish and non-Jewish, in the United States, Palestine, and elsewhere. Although his contributions were substantial, he was not tremendously wealthy; interestingly, however, many of his donations were reported in the press. Perhaps it was because of the nature of his giving. A telling example was reported in the Baltimore American on 9 July 1922, when Fine decided "to forgo a banquet in order to alleviate the suffering of the needy of his own and other races on his birthday, when he will be 75 years.

For another post on Israel Fine, click here.