The Memoirs of Gluckel of Hameln

It is a privilege to read a personal memoir of an inhabitant of 17th-century Germany. I have read "history books" about this period, but Glueckel's memoir tells me how it felt to be actually present. Glueckel is a good writer, although I'm sure the translator also deserves some of the credit.

Almost all of the human beings who have lived on this earth have left behind no name or story. This is also true about the vast majority of Jews even when the Jews are a people for whom remembrance is a sacred act. The great great majority of Jews who have lived on this planet too have no names and no stories. Thus the memoir of Gluckel of Hameln is so welcome .In it she tells the story of her family, her struggling as a widow to make a living , to marry off the eleven surviving of her fourteen children. She tells too something of the incredibly difficult and limited world she lived in, and of the special difficulties Jews had to contend with to remain alive. Gluckel may go into too much detail and not be the greatest writer in the world but she certainly is a person of tremendous moxie, courageous, dedication , insight . How wonderful it would be if we could have the stories of many others of great value who lived, gave to the world and then passed from it as if they were not here at all. This is a well- worth reading document of both historical and human significance

I loved this book. Perhaps I should say that I like old memoirs and journals, particularly by women [and there are so few of them!] and that I also enjoy reading historical documents and about history of certain places and certain centuries. That may be one of the biases of these lines. I might also add I am not Jewish. What is fascinating and intriguing is how this person,living 400 years ago, comes out alive and well, in this text. That we understand her and her motives, her sense of humor. We commune with her preocupations which give or take small differences are preoccupations we have today: the raising of offspring; providing what you can to insure your child's future better than your own; guidance through religious beliefs and wisdom against false new religious leaders; the conduct of ethical and profitable business. Glückel also reveals surprising details of everyday life. For instance, she required special permissions to travel and to stay within the borders of towns for being Jewish; she travels more frequently than I expected, despite her being a woman, despite the difficulties of lodging, depite her jewishness. Sickness is awful anytime but here we see how absolutely dreadful it could be even for a well to do merchant family. She also comandeers her business decisively and dynamically. Her errors in judgment are few for anyone, in any century! And she loves her husband, and she is loved by him, even though she probably had an arranged marriage just like the ones she provided for her children. I love this book because Glückel puts me in touch with the 17th century daily life, but more than that, she reminds me of the infinite chain that links us all; and in particular infinite connection that all women share, Jewish or not. Glückel simply reminded me of the universality of our experiences, transcending centuries, religions and cultures. Few books can do that.

This beautiful and electrifying book has, after twenty years, replaced Testament of Youth as my very favorite. I am personally responsible for Schocken Books rising 1 1/4 points on the New York market, in giving every single person I know (and some I do not) this book as a gift. My refrigerator has not been defrosted in over a year, and the rabbi is wondering when I will agree to read Torah again at shul, and my husband is wondering why my paychecks have been on the slender side lately, but I am out there on the streets making sure at least one more person a day learns of this wonderful book.Gluckel was a Jewish woman who lived in Germany, with enough privilege to be often given permission to travel outside of the shtetl, and see other parts of the country. She traveled sometimes with her husband, a merchant, and at other times to meet and make arrangements with other families for the marriages of her children. More often, though, she stayed home with her fourteen children during the long periods of her husband's absences.She and her husband were very much in love, albeit undoubtedly had had an arranged marriage, just as the ones she made for her children. In fact, the marriages of her children occupy much of the text.Some of the rest is given to stories, stories that entertain as well as instruct, and can fairly be call aggadot, midrashim, and parables. But there's quite a lot of history: there is a fascinating first-hand account of the mission of the false messiah, Shabbtai Tzvi. I don't believe there exists another first-hand account of this event in this tenor: Gluckel does not know she is writing of one of the major events of history.Gluckel's stated intent is to write the story of her family, so that her children will always know what sort of people they came from. This is the rest of the text: anecdotes about grandparents, aunts and uncles. Gluckel's explanation for her need to compile such a document is that since her husband died, she finds it hard to sleep, and needs something to occupy the night hours, "to drive away the idle melancholy thoughts that torment me." Nonetheless, with all the recent expulsions and migrations of the Jews, Gluckel saw families split apart, and children growing up separated from cousins and grandparents, confined to different shtetls, in different countries (when the diary was begun, in 1690, less than 150 years had passed since the Catholic Church had consigned Jews to shtetls). So just as Jews in exile had compiled the Talmud, Gluckel may have been driven to keep written records as oral communication became difficult.Fortunately that never happened. Still, we have Gluckel's wonderful memoir. She is a natural writer: she doesn't waste words, even when gossiping. This book is a page turner.Gluckel came to life as I read this in a way few characters in books do-- I would swear, as I held it, I could feel a pulse. By the time I turned the last page, I felt as though I'd made a friend.

This is an extremely entertaining, readable translation of Gluckel's diaries. It is full of general descriptions of her relatives' businesses, and detailed information about the workings of her own family's jewelry trading business. Anyone who is interested in early modern European economic history or Ashkenazic Jewish history or genealogy should own this book.