Grossman: 'The Old Teacher': a Jewish professional school?

[Paul B. Gallagher]

Alina Orlov wrote:

> Dear Robert, I came upon against this question in my work on the
> origins of Jewish art in pre-revolutionary Russia. Certainly,
> provincial technical/craft/vocational institutions allowed Jews
> access where others didn't, but I do not have the statistics on the
> prevalence of such schools. The idea of Jewish craft schools seems to
> be well established by WWI, when Jewish communities helped raise
> money for them. The Jewish Society for the Encouragement of Art
> (1915-1919), based in St. Petersburg, had plans to establish a
> technical school with an emphasis on artisan work in Ekaterinoslav.
> It also supported young men attending technical schools to help them
> professionalize in an artistic craft. The use of 'professional' here
> should be considered in exactly the context that you mention--as a
> step up from shtetl streets into the kind of mastery that would allow
> an existence outside the Pale. If you'd like I can send along my
> article that touches on this: Orlov, A. (2005). Beyond ‘Jewish Luck’:
> The Institutional Context of Early Russian-Jewish Art.  Studies in
> Jewish Civilization, 16, 61-78.

This is consistent with the modern use of профессиональный, a false 
friend for English speakers, in the sense of "vocational." There is no 
implication of "élite professional" as in doctor, lawyer, etc.

-- 
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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