The effect of the maskilim was so great, that even in the beis medrash there were found Haskalah books.

Ettinger was very popular here because of his liveliness; always cheerful, filled with jokes, never lazy ..., so that there was no joyous event or meeting in the town where he was not invited.

Due to an economic crisis, Ettinger left for Odessa, where there lived his brother-in-law, Wolf. Wolf was a broker on the stock exchange, but after spending four months in Odessa, in 1825 he [Ettinger] went to study in Lemberg (at the Medicinisch-Chyrurgische Lehrnanstalt zu Lemberg), supported by his relatives.

Among the colleagues and the Lemberg maskilim, Ettinger was known as the "merry Solomon." He was especially friendly with the future liver doctor in Vienna, Arnold Zhelinski, to whom we have to thank for this beautiful picture of Ettinger.

In the beginning of 1830 Ettinger ended his studies (Dr. M. Weinreich even points out that, upon his request, no confirmation was received that Ettinger had studied at Lemberg University.) And in returning  to  Zamość, ... he was crowned with the name, "Doctor." Although he practiced, he himself never used to sign [with the name] "Dr." During the November uprising, he and his entire family settled in the glass house of his brother-in-law, Jacob Gold, near Yaneve, and at the start of 1831 he returned with his family to Zamość, where he received a permit to manage a private practice and was appointed as an administrator and city manager, as well as in the Jewish hospital.

Around 1834 in Warsaw he received the title of "Doctor of the Second Level" (Lekarz). But eventually he bought a piece of land in Zhdanov, near Zamość, and settled there with his whole family, both because of the fact that working the land had long been an ideal for him, and also because of the fact that Colonists were then exempt from military service. Ettinger lived out the rest of his years in the colony(besides in the time of the cholera epidemic in Zamość, July 1855, when the authorities turned to his medical knowledge again) and engaged in agriculture. 

Still  being in Lemberg, Ettinger discovered the writer in him, and here he began to write his parables, and probably here he also created his "Serkele."

Ettinger himself wrote (in a prospectus of his work -- cited here by Dr. M. Weinreich): " ... The first that I had written were several parables and articles (in German they were called epigrams).I saw that the public liked them very much, that people understood everything I had just written, and everyone rewrote them, but, as is their way, with errors and mistakes. As I saw this I was confused, and I thought up a lot of parables and writings (epigrams) by myself, and in the end I completed an entire theatre play. However, I did not want to rely on myself and gave what I had written to be read by such people who are very educated, who have already read many books in other languages, and also such people, who are very stupid and can no longer speak the Yiddish language, so that I can hear from everyone what they have to say. The historical people praised it according to their manner, and the prostakes according to their manner. Both [groups of people], however, began to beg me, and are still begging me now, to let what I wrote be published. I had been so mischievous: I want to make a plan so that I can -- apart from what I had already written, to deliver new things, i.e. theatre plays, stories, parables, articles (epigrams) and other things of this nature. For my part, I am finished with the plan and am in a position to deliver news all the time, but I would like to ask the public that the first booklet, which I will now print, should be signed by some of the people who want to have it, this booklet should be printed, and I promise them that they will be happy, because I already have such a blackened nature that I always put a lot of effort into making people happy with me. Now there will be published a theatre play in five situations. It is called "Serkele, oder, Di yortsayt nokh a brider (Serkele, or, The Anniversary of a Brother's Death)," and parables and articles (epigrams). I will see that it will be printed on beautiful paper, and with such letters that it would be quite easy to read, and the names of the people who will sign themselves on the signature sheet will be printed in the booklet." And at the start of 1837 he wrote to an unknown addressee (mentioned by Dr. Weinreich): "I must tell you soon that I want to see both "Serkele," as well as the "parables" printed. That would be something for my pocket. According to the promise of Mr. Togendhold, I hope to receive a permit in Warsaw from the censor." On 24 May 1843 the well-known Anton Eisenbaum (at one time the editor of "The Observer on the Vistula," and later the director of the Warsaw rabbinical school), Ettinger's good friend submitted a request to the authorities of the Warsaw learning circle, that they should give permission to publish "Serkele," and the "parables." Such works -- he wrote -- being accessible to all classes of Jews, show in vivid colors, the defects and ridiculousness; they portray the whole Jewish way of speaking in a striking and comical way, and therefore they can have a redeeming (bardzo zbawienny) revelation on the minds." But on 10 August of the same year, the strict censor had let "the Jewish Eisenbaum" know that, after an understanding with the Hebrew censor, they would permit the publicaion of the aforementioned two manuscripts, but only on the condition that all the changes required by the Censorship Committee's report should be made: All the changes that the report of the Censorship Committee demands should be made, erasing individual places and changing entire sentences and pieces. " ... Ettinger -- Dr. Weinreich writes -- was beside himself on such a sentence of  the Censor Committee. He, the author, stuttered every word, overworked every line, wrote the headers and the names of the people precisely with typed letters, the remarks [written] precisely with red ink -- and here comes a barbaric hand and shreds his works, not to reckon absolutely with the author."

But even though his "Serkele" was not printed by him, the comedy was very popular. After all, the author himself made it very popular. At each opportunity, he read it. A.B. Gotlober recalls that when in 1837 he wandered off to Zamość and there became ill from cholera, there certainly wasn't a single patient that Ettinger didn't speak to: "What's up with cholera? I'd rather read my "Serkele" to you." Gotlober finished: "He read to me, and I became healthy." Also Elkhasnador Tsederbaum recalls that Ettinger used to give his "Serkele" and his songs to certain people, that they should copy them. He used to honor his acquaintances with his own manuscript, and after that, his name and his works became popular in Russia without printing [them]."

Ettinger's fellow townsman, Sh. Ashkenazi, recalls: "Too sick, he used to bring his writings to read. "Serkele," going around from home to home."

The first production of the play, "Serkele," was given in 1863. M.Y. Papierna recalls in his memoirs about the offering by Madame Slonimski: "A very educated lady, natural and assimilated, she brought with her from Warsaw, as a curiosity, the Yiddish drama "Sarah'ke" (Serkele), by Doctor Ettinger from Zamość. She liked the drama very much. She used to like to read it to acquaintances. The same winter she thought to make it a spectacle, where the drama would be performed by rabbinical students from the rabbinical school. The plan to present a drama in Yiddish seemed absurd to the Zhitomir intelligentsia, but Madame Slonimska stood firm on her plan. Perhaps she alone looked on them as if on a curiosity, but nevertheless she therefore took to it with great energy. She distributed, organized, rehearsed, took care of appropriate decorations, and the spectacle came about in response to the teachers of the rabbinical school and from the rest of the Zhitomir intelligentsia. The spectacle created a furor. The students played their roles very well. But more than anyone else, Goldfaden stood out, who played the most difficult role -- "Serkele."" 

In a conversation with D.Y. Silverbush, Goldfaden related that at the production he (Goldfaden) "was the right-hand of the woman Slonimska. Taking care of the decorations for teaching the students, he was almost the whole bigshot."

According to Tsederbaum: "They used to read (Ettinger's work) in the society of maskilim, who used to enjoy listening to it, and they also tried to perform "circles" on the stage in some places. The money, which came in from a listener, used to be given away for charitable purposes. The actor was from the intelligentsia. As such they did it in Mogileve on the Dniester, and among the other actors there also particiipated the famous poet, R' Jacob Eichenbaum, asd "R' Yokhanan Shadkhan." It was easy to understand that also among the other actors there were important people alike." And intelligent amateurs had already performed the play, "Serkele," in several places, And the spectators and listeners admired how the play was written according to the laws of the plays of the living and orderly languages, which have great literature."

According to a communication from Sh. Mendelson (Warsaw) to M. Weinreich, it is remembered by the  Koło rabbi's wife how they staged "Serkele" at Purim in Koło. [Koło is in the Kutno region of Poland].

This same account of Mrs. Borodina in Tomashow, [was given] regarding the time around 1885-1895.

"Serkele" also was one of the first productions in professional Yiddish theatre. Y. Riminik brings up the basis of a review in "Odeski Listok," that the play on 11 August 1888 (1880) was staged by J.J. Lerner in Odessa. Lerner therefore -- as can be seen in the review -- committed a falsification: in the programs that he gave, [it is stated that] he had remade the play from Dr. Ettinger's novel (?!)

According to a review of a future production in December 1880, one can see that the play was performed with the following personnel: "Serkele" -- Issachar Goldshteyn, "Shadkhan" -- Moshe Teich,(Yerakhmiel") "Zaike" -- Sigmund Mogulesko, "Gavriel Hendler" -- Moshe Zilberman, "Lerer" -- Aba Shoengold.

About this offering, there is also a review by Shomer, who points out that Lerner "overdid the play a bit."

Initially on 25 September 1923 there came a modern production of the play in Warsaw's Central Theatre: "Serkele, or, Di yortsayt nokh a bruder," nor a naye teater-shtik in dray oyftsyen, fun dr. shlomo ettinger, director -- Zygmunt Turkow, music -- Yitzhak Schlossberg, sets -- M. Appelbaum, with the following ensemble:

"R' Moshe  Dantsiker" -- A[dam] Domb
"Serkele" -- Esther-Rachel Kaminska
"Frade altele" -- S[onia] Altboym
"Hinde" -- D[iana] Blumenfeld
"R' Gavriel Hendler" -- D[avid] Lederman
"Markus Redlikh" -- Jonas Turkow
"R' Yokhanan, a shadkhan" -- S[amuel] Landau
"A fremder" -- M[oshe] Lipman
"A doktor" -- H. Feinstein
"R' Shmelke Troynins" -- Zygmunt Turkow
"Berl" -- P[esakh] Kerman
"Khava" -- Ida Kaminska
"Khayim" -- W[illy] Nodik
"Rakhmiel" -- Yakov Mandelblit
"A vort fun shrayber" -- A[vraham] Levin




                         A Warsaw production of "Serkele"


On 7 February 1924 in the "Palace" Yiddish theatre in Vilna, to honor the "100-year anniversary of the Yiddish press," there was staged the first act of "Serkele" by the local troupe.

In 1861, several years after the author's passing, one A. Gonshorovski published the play in Johannesburg in an enlarged form, under the name "Komedy in five acts of Serkele, or, Di falshe yortsayt, geshehn in Lemberg shnt tkts'h." An example of the edition (20+12, 110 pages), can be found in the library of the Institute for Yiddish Culture at the Ukrainian Scientific Academy in Kiev.

In 1862 the author's sons, Michael and Jacob, received a permit from the censor to publish their father's work, but there is nothing to show from the undertaking.

In 1875 a Warsaw bookstore (or publisher) re-published the play: "Serkele, oder, Di falshe yortsayt," a comedy in five acts, done in Lemberg," Warsaw trl'u (16°, 80 pages). In Russian it is given as: "Naye oysgabe fun der yohanisburger oysgabe fun 1861."

According to M. Weinreich -- according to L. Morgenstern -- there is also a Lemberg edition that is a reprint from Johannesburg.

In 1925 Dr. M. Weinreich published the play ("Dr. Shlomo Ettinger ksbim, published according to the manuscript with a biography and bibliography, introduction and notes by Dr. Max Weinreich, Vilna publishing house of B. Kletzkin, 1925. The other part ("Serkele, oder, Di yortsayt nokh a bruder, gor a naye teater-shtik in finf oyftsyen," 16°, pages 289-459). Using five different manuscripts, which he indicated:

M.S. 1 (found with N. Prilutski)
M.S. 2 (in possession of H' Shapiro, Lodz)
M.S. 3 (in possession of Levite, Warsaw)
M.S. 4 (in the "Sfrih lumis" in Jerusalem)
M.S. 5 (in the New York Public Library)

Dr. Weinreich remarks: "The three printed editions have not been taken into account at all, because they have nothing to do with Ettinger's creation; incidentally, I didn't find the Johannesburg print anywhere. ... Our text is given according to M.S. 3, the variants and notes -- according to M.S. 2, in general, the differences between similar texts, which all originate from Ettinger's hand, are minimal and are mostly caused by the demands of the censor."

In 1929 Sh.[Solomon] Bastomski in his "Baveglekher khrestomatye," the first act of the play was published, together with the author's introduction (a vort fri'r).

In a written booklet of some hundred pages, which the collector circle of the I.L. Peretz Union in Chortkov had sent to YIVO, one finds four manuscripts of unknown Yiddish plays, also a copy of "Serkele": "Serkele," a theatre play in the Yiddish language in five stages."

With the remarks that "Ettinger has been in Yiddish literature for nineteen years. The first artistic stylist until Mendel," and as such, in his manner, perhaps no less than Mendele," Wiener points to the sources of influences for Ettinger's "Serkele": "First of all, you have to take into account the effect of Wolfsohn's "Leichtsinn und Froemmelei (Carelessness and Bigotry [?])." More important is the inevitable effect of the age ("Die genarte welt [The Genius World?]"), in which Ettinger found the literary prototype for his "Serkele" figure (The fine Brihte). According to Peretz's testimony, we know that Ettinger, in addition to this, used a prototype for this figure, a person taken from life ("The Cold Aunt," by Peretz) ... as regards interpretations of foreign language literature, one must first assume that Ettinger was familiar with Molière's comedy,Tartuffe, (should be in a German translation), which was very popular during the Enlightenment at that time. The figure "Serkele" is to some extent a combined synthesis of: the old "Madame Pernelle," "Madame Elmire" (in Molière's "Tartuffe"), the "fine Brihte" from "Ange've," and the prototype that was taken from real life ("The Cold Aunt"). The popular theme about the blooming orphan who lives with an uncle and aunt, and about the father, who goes to a faraway country due to his business, then returns and reads about all the entanglements and accumulated intrigues, already takes place in a youth work, Lessing's comedy, "Der Schatz (The Treasure)" (1750). ...  In this play we already find a range of the most important  features of the "Serkele"-subject, and also a series of figures from the "Serkele" play. Ettinger, as every maskilim, was already fond of the author of "Nathan the Wise." He also translated several of his parables and epigrams.It is very possible and close to the truth that Ettinger was familiar with the weak, classical plays of Lessing's younger period, such as: "Der Freigeist," "Die Juden," "Der Misogyn," "Der Junge Gelehrte," and also the play about which we speak: "Der Schatz." There are features in "Serkele" that may be a hint of the effects of those plays of Lessing.

Weiner points out (with parallels) that Ettinger knew how to find prototypes for "Serkele" in Lessing's "Minna von Barnhelm," in Schiller's "Intrige un libe (Intrigue and Love)," in Molière's "Birger als adliger (Citizen as Noble?)," Kotzebue's adaptation of Lessing, Kotzebue's "Virvald (Worry?)," and came to the conclusion: "We see that It is absolutely not necessary to arrive at the hypothesis (Weinreich's) about the effect of phenomena (his play, "недоросль [The Underage]"), which makes so little sense. Much more convenient and probable are the effects of the German and German-translated literature that we have noticed: from Molière, Lessing, Schiller and Kotzebue. The social sense of Lessing's and Kotzebue's plays is almost the same as in Ettinger's plays. ... The most important effect in Yiddish Ettinger continues from the anonymous "Genarte Welt." ... "Serkele" today is still readable before Lessing's youth comedy, "Der Schatz." Artistically, it is certainly not inferior to Fonvizin's "The Underage," and much higher than Kotzebue's empty imitation. Regardless of all the obvious implications and influences, "Serkele" -- historically speaking -- is a significant, artistic work,without which, for the first time, a series of specific ethnographic "national" figures are fixed in Yiddish literature, which were then repeated many times in literature, and rarely when bolder and artistically sharp."

Against this, Sh. Niger writes: "Serkele" is an ordinary melodrama with the ordinary righteous and wicked [characters]. In their words, in their language, here there is often still something alive, convincing, but not in their offering. Their individual characters are not brought out, and they are interesting but of a social-psychological and cultural-historical standpoint."

B. Gorin writes: "She (Serkele) does not show any signs that it was written nearly two generations before Goldfaden laid the cornerstone of Yiddish theatre. On the Yiddish stage hundreds of such plays are played to this day. They are cast in the mold of "Serkele." Not anymore -- in "Serkele" the language is fresher, more alive, more Yiddish. "Serkele" is written in a modern, pure Yiddish. "Serkele" is the pattern for the future Yiddish playwrights, and to tell the truth, they imitate it badly. They have only taken the melodramatic, the effect and have not been able to uncover the living pulse in the play. ... According to its construction, "Serkele" stands much higher than hundreds, hundreds of plays of our time on the Yiddish stage. The play is built on all the rules of the dramatic arts, and "Serkele" is surely the most brilliant beginning of the modern Yiddish drama in Russia ... So, for example, the first scene opens in the first act [with] the servant and the maid. Later, this became a shambles, and in almost three-quarters of Yiddish theatre plays, the first scene opens like this. No star wants to open any curtain on the Yiddish stage. He also instinctively understands to end and exit with an effect. Almost all of the scenes in "Serkele" have value. ... And this also became a shambles for all of the playwrights without an outcome." And further: "Shlomo Ettinger has tried to avoid using German words and sought to give them a Yiddish form. For example, he labels the play as a "kuk-shpil," instead of the German "shoyshpil." He created this word "areynkum," instead of the German "oyftrit," and so on. ... As the story takes place in Lemberg, the language has a local stamp. For example, "ekh," "mekh," etc. The Litvak Jew, who enters into the play, speaks with confidence. But true to the concept given by Wolfsohn, the educated speak German, as in "Leichtsinn und Froemmelei." This became a law that cannot be violated, that the educated should speak German."

And M. Weinreich writes: "The biggest difference between Ettinger and such Haskalah writers such as Aaron Wolfsohn we see is when we compare their two comedies. In "Leichtsinn und Froemmelei," all of the remarks are in German; even those heroes who speak Yiddish, that is, that the author's language is German, and Yiddish has the status of an ethnographic curiosity. In "Serkele,"  conversely, even during Redlech's (the student's) responses, the remarks are written in Yiddish."

Besides "Serkele," Ettinger still wrote fragments of two plays that were entirely unknown until Dr. M. Weinreich published them in 1925 (in Ettinger's second volume). The found fragments from the plays had no names [mentioned] in the manuscripts, and they were titled by Weinreich; "Der feter fun amerike (The Uncle from America?) (pages 460-506), which includes a complete first act and two appearances of the second act, and the "Freylekhe yungeleyt" (pages 507-513), which includes a short fragment.

About the effect of the two fragments, M. Weinreich writes: "In the dramatic fragment, "The Uncle From America," we recognize clearly in the figure of Manasseh (from the anonymous play, "Di genarte velt") a very distinct smile. In general, the scene between the Tartuffe melamed R' Zundl, and the servant "Menasha" in the aforementioned fragment of Ettinger's (pages 474-478), imitate similar scenes between the melamed and Uri in the Age've. ... The motive of presenting strangers (an effect from Lessing's "Der Schatz") repeats itself (such as in "Serkele") in Ettinger's fragment, "The Uncle From America." ... By the way, mentioning the topic of Ettinger's fragment, "The Uncle From America," it is very strong in Schiller's comedy, "Der Neffe als Onkel."

Ettinger passed away suddenly on 31 December 1856, and his body was brought from Zhdanov to Zamość, where the Beit Din accompanied by the entire town, carried the coffin to Bit Elmin. On the gravestone in Zamość, there was inscribed an epitaph in Hebrew that he himself had prepared.

Ettinger left seven children, of which the third son, Jacob (Wilhelm), in 1862 studied in the Warsaw rabbinical school, and then was a prominent Russian publisher in Peterburg and publisher of a medical encyclopedia. He passed away on 13 January 1915 as a Christian.

Characterizing Ettinger's creativity, M. Weinreich writes: "But after all, Ettinger's effect was scarce and limited to narrow circles. Had he possessed the temperament of a revolutionary, he would perhaps have become the grandfather of our literature. He also possessed literary ability. If he is behind Mendel in talent, he certainly stands above him in the sense of form, even though he wrote thirty years earlier. But as he was in his character, he could not break it, and he remained the great grandfather of Yiddish literature, the lesser-known, half-forgotten great grandfather, who must be presented to our present-day reader in the way of research."

In contrast to A. Kappel's (pseudonym for Dr. Mukdoni) characterization of Ettinger as the "only maskil who felt the true, pure love of the old forms of Jewish life -- he did not abuse anyone, did not laugh at anyone and never wanted to present himself as a teacher and preacher," M. Wiener points out -- based on a remark by A. Tsederbaum, -- that "from the beginning there was a tendency to smear the character of Ettinger's creativity. But also in the works that have been printed, we have enough sharp examples of the fight against Hasidism, against clericalism, and at least against certain community leaders -- there are enough examples to prove that he did "sharpen knives" against a certain "party," and that he did not live in such an idyllic peace with the community, Hasidim and the clericalism."

Zalmen Reisen writes: "He, [who was] European-educated, in a time when secular education meant assimilation and separation from the people, he remained a man of the people all his life. It is therefore more than natural that even in his works Ettinger has been shown to avoid the narrow dogmatics of the intellectuals, and he did not produce because of side intentions and tendencies in order to enlighten the reader, but out of the inner urge of an artist's nature. Ettinger's artistic talent is best shown in his works, which are in verse. In them, not only the most important Yiddish writer for Mendelian books is revealed to us, but also the first artist in the Yiddish language in the modern sense of the word. In general, however, "Serkele" is a lively, realistic comedy, written fluently, for that time [with] really extraordinary vernacular language, and also according to its construction, it stands at the height of the dramatic art at the beginning of the 19th century. Everything in the comedy testifies to this, that when he wrote it he had in mind to see it performed on the stage, which he apparently knew well."

N. Auslander writes: "Ettinger's dialogue is psychologically sustained and never goes out of the bounds
of typicality. Here is the marriage of "psychology" with typicality. Ettinger was the first to introduce the marriage of "psychology" with typicality in Yiddish literature."

Per Dr. Weinreich's comment that Ettinger did not see a single printed line of his [works] during his lifetime, it  is noted by M. Weiner, that in Gotlober's book, "Prkhi habib" (Josefov, 14 pages, 1837), there was published a Hebrew song by Ettinger.

Ettinger's published plays in Yiddish:

1) A comedy in five acts, Serkele, oder, Di falshe yortzayt geshehn in Lemberg, Shns tkts'h, Johannesburg (1861) (20+12, 110 pages).

1a) Serkele, or, Di falshe yortsayt, a komedye in finf aktn, geshehn in lemberg, Warsaw Trl'u (16°, 80 pages, 1875).

1b) Dr. Shlomo Ettinger, "Serkele, oder, Di yortsayt nokh a bruder, gor a naye teater-shtik in finef oystsyen. (gedrukt in "ale csbim fun dr. shlomo ettinger," dos andere khlk vilner farlag fun b. kletzkin . 16°, pages 289-459, 1925).

1c) Baveglekhe khrestomatye, tsunoyfgeshtelt fun Sh. Bastomski, Sh. Ettinger, Serkele, oder, Di yortsayt nokh a bruder, gor a naye teater-shtik in finef oyftsyen. Ershter yftsi. Vilna, farlang "Naye Yidishe folksshul," 1929 (16°, 24 pages).

2) Dr. Shlomo Ettinger, Der feter fun amerike ("Ksbim," Dos andere khlk, pages 460-506).

3) Dr. Shlomo Ettinger, Di freylekhe yungeleyt (dort, pages 507-513).

•  Z. Reisen -- "History of Yiddish Literature," Volume II, pages 725-739.

• B. Gorin -- "History of Yiddish Theatre," Volume I, pages 91-100; Volume II, page 270.

• A. Einhorn -- A yom-tov, "Nayer Haynt," Warsaw, 24 September 1923.

• Gon-Mem (N. Mayzel) -- Dr. Shlomo Ettinger un zayn "Serkele," "Unzer folkstsaytung," Warsaw, 24 September 1923.

• A teatral (B. Mikhalevitsh) -- Der Tkhis-hmsim fun "serkele" in teater "tsentral," "Unzer folkstsaytung," Warsaw, 28 September 1923.

• Aaron Zeitlin -- Etinger oyf der bine, "Der moment," Warsaw, 28 September 1923.

• A.A. (Einhorn) -- Teatrale notitsen, "Nayer haynt," Warsaw, 28 September 1923.

• Z.R. (Reisen) -- Der yidisher teater, "Tog," Vilna, 15 February 1924.

• "The Drama of Transition" by Isaak Goldberg, Cincinnati, 1924.

• Dr. Max Weinreich -- "Ale ksbim fun Dr. Shlomo Ettinger," Vilna, 1925.
  

• Sholem Perlmutter -- Idishe dramatirgen, "Di idishe velt," Cleveland, 18 November 1928.

• N. Auslander -- Di eltere idishe drame un ir kinstlerishe oysshtatung, "Teater-bukh," Kiev, 1927, pages 46-54.

• Y. Mendl -- Oyf Shlomo Ettingers kbr, "Literarishe bleter," Warsaw, N' 165, 1927.

• Dr. M. Weinreich -- "Bilder fun der yidisher literatur-geshikhte," Vilna, 1928, pages 280-291.

• Moshe Shalit -- Bleterndik, "Literarishe bleter," Warsaw, N' 22, 1928.

• Dr. Jacob Shatzky -- Retsenzies, "Pinkus," N.Y., 1928, Heft 3, Volume 1, pages 281-83.

• I. Tsinberg -- Ale ksbim fun Dr. Shlomo Ettinger, "Literarishe bleter," Warsaw, N' 14-15, 1928.

• M. Weiner -- Di oysgabe fun etingers shriftn, "Bibliologisher zamlbukh," Volume I, unter der redaktsye fun Y. Liberburg, 1930, tsentraler farlag fun di felker fun f.sh.r.r., pages 115-163.
  

• Y. Riminik -- Notitsn, dort pages 518-19.

• Dr. M. Weinreich -- Fir umbakante teater shtik fun mitn 19-tn yorhundert, "Archive," Vilna, 1930, pages 175-76.

• Sh. Niger -- A doktor vos shraybt lider un drames, "Der tog," N.Y., 14, 21 December 1930.

• Dr. Y. Shiper -- Dr. Shlomo Ettinger's varshever krubim un fraynd, "YIVO bleter," Vilna, April-May 1932, pages 371-384.

• Sh.Y. Imber -- Galitsyen-legende un virklekhkeyt, "Haynt," Warsaw, 2 June 1933.