Tolkien, Jews and Mandela

[ToshoftheWuffingas]

I was in my local pub last night nattering to a Jew about Elves at Helm's Deep, as you do. Although somewhat exuberant with the juice of the barley he was not incoherent and knew his Tolkien and Silmarillion. He made two statements of things that I had not heard elsewhere. Has anyone else come across them?
First he said that shortly after the publication of The Hobbit, Tolkien showed the book to the Chief Rabbi to ask his comments. I knew Tolkien's contempt at being asked to provide proof of Aryan birth and rejecting the income from a German translation and that one of his close friends was a Jew but I had not heard this story about the Chief Rabbi.

The other thing he told me was that Tolkien had written to Mandela. I have to presume that was at some time between the Treason Trials and Tolkien's death while Mandela was imprisoned though it isn't impossible to have been even earlier. Again, has anyone heard of this? The chap I was talking to had worked in Anti-Aparthid movements when he was younger.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I have not heard either of these things. My first question would be, "what 'Chief Rabbi'?"

[ToshoftheWuffingas]

Presumably the Chief Rabbi of England in the 30's. He didn't go into details and I am very hazy on how the English Jewish community organised themselves then. Don't worry, if I catch him again in the pub I'll have a long line of questions about the provenance of these stories.

He looked about in his 40's and was a student when Mandela was released because he went to the local magistrate to ask for a drinking extension for the student union to celebrate. He could speak both Yiddish and Hebrew and was touched when I wished him Shalom Aleichem when he left.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Cool. I look forward to hearing more.

(You should encourage him to register here.)

[Frelga]

I never heard of anyone calling himself a Chief Rabbi. Jewish religious communities are not organized in any sort of hierarchy, AFAIK. I'd be curious to hear more about both stories.

[Primula Baggins]

Chief Rabbis of England

[Frelga]

Wow, thanks, Prim! I never knew that. I was thinking of Hasidim, who do tend to give quite a bit deference to their Rabbis.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I've never heard of that either. Thanks, Prim.

So the Chief Rabbi in question must have been Joseph Herman Hertz, who is listed as having been Chief Rabbi from 1913-1946. He sounds like he was quite an interesting guy. Here is the Wikipedia entry:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_H._Hertz

It is particularly interesting to note that he lived in South Africa from 1898-1911, "despite attempts by President Paul Kruger in 1899 to expel him for his pro-British sympathies and for advocating the removal of religious disabilities of Jews and Catholics in South Africa." Tolkien, of course, was born in South Africa a few years before this, and his mother converted to Catholicism, with Tolkien blaming her death four years later on the resulting ostracism by her family. I could well imagine there being sympathy between the two men. Alas, a bit of research on Google doesn't seem to reveal any connection between the two of them.

I really look forward to hearing more from your friend, Tosh.

[ToshoftheWuffingas]

Yes, I've been googling too without any luck. The fellow may have been talking in his cups of course or he may have anecdotal information. Who knows? I did wonder if the subsequent Chief Rabbi, Israel Brodie might have been the one he meant? He was at Oxford too though at a different college.
I shall have to go to my pub more regularly.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

(I'd really like to get chance lift a pint or six with you some day, Tosh.)

[Inanna]

Wow. how interesting....

to more Pub visits, Tosh.

[ToshoftheWuffingas]

I couldn't find another thread to tack this on to and it is too brief an item to create a thread solely devoted to it.

A Chinese friend has stayed at mine over Christmas. She knew of my interest in Tolkien and pointed out that his monogram, the composite of his initials is also a character in Chinese, and of course in Japanese too.

The Japanese character/kanji is Soku or taba

http://www.mahou.org/Kanji/422B/

and interestingly means bound, gathered or control.

[Inanna]

Neat! I've seen that character so often, but I never made the connection!


Was Tolkien interested in Japanese and/or Chinese. Or is this another happy coincidence in the flotsam and jetsam of the universe?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I simply can not imagine that it could be a coincidence, but at the same time, I've never heard of this before, and I would think that I would have. How utterly fascinating. Thanks, yet again, for sharing, Tosh!

[ToshoftheWuffingas]

I would be quite happy to ascribe it to coincidence were it not for Tolkien's expertise in language, philology and calligraphy, so I am not sure either way.
I'm not certain when Tolkien adopted that monogram, whether it predated the writing of LOTR or not. It certainly creates added vistas.

[Frelga]

I never heard of Tolkien having much interest in Eastern languages and his writings in general don't show much of Oriental influence. Do they? Even the Easterlings seem to be more Slavic (based on Children of Túrin) than they are Oriental, fanon and movies notwithstanding.

ETA: sort of on topic - I saw a guy in the supermarket with Tolkien's monogram tattooed over his entire upper arm. It was half-covered by the sleeve, so I had to sort of peer to figure out what it was, but it definitely was it. I was in the wrong checkout line, or I would have asked him about it.

[solicitr]

The monogram goes way, back, Tosh: at least to his pictures from the 1920's.

[ToshoftheWuffingas]

So the likelihood is that it is fascinating but not significant. That was my feeling but knowing the Professor's breadth of knowledge I didn't feel I could rule out entirely a nod to another culture.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I still wouldn't rule it out.

[Alatar]

I'm sure it won't surprise anyone that I would opt for the "complete coincidence" option.