Jewish literature in the New World, as in almost all countries of the Old World, begins with Hebrew works of a religious nature, and branches out on one side into the special dialect which is spoken by the Jews among themselves, and on the other――into the vernacular. The strictly religious work is not the only one written in Hebrew for any length of time, for there is always a movement towards secular knowledge, which usually begins with a tendency to study Hebrew for its scientific value rather than for its sacredness. In modern times this process of development can be traced clearly in Germany, Holland, Poland and Russia, as well as in America, although here we are yet at the very beginning of our literary activity, and what has been accomplished until the present time may in the future be of more interest to the bibliographer than to the historian of literature. All that was written here by Jews for Jews in Hebrew, Judeo-Spanish and English until about the middle of the nineteenth century, including the works and periodicals that have been mentioned in the preceding chapters, while the authors or editors were under consideration, mostly belongs to the domain of curiosities.[62] It was only in the second half of the last century, when the number of Orthodox Jews and of those able to read modern Hebrew was fast increasing, that a serious attempt to write books for them was made in this country. The strictly rabbinical works, like “responses” on disputed points of religious law or practice, commentaries on parts of the Talmud, and homiletic works, represent the continuation of the most ancient form of Jewish literature, and deserve to be treated first. According to Mr. Eisenstein, the honor of being the author of the first book of American “responsa” belongs to Rabbi ♦Joseph Moses Aronson (d. in New York, 1874), author of _Matai Moshe_, a work which, like numerous others by orthodox rabbis of this country, was printed in Jerusalem. Other rabbinical works, of which there were written in this country a larger number than is generally supposed, include _Heker Halakah_ (New York, 1886), by Rabbi Aaron Spivak, formerly of Omsk, Russia; _Sefer Har-El_ on tractate Bikkurim of the Jerusalem Talmud by Rabbi Abraham Eliezer Alperstein (Chicago, 1886); _Shoel Ke-Inyan_ (Jerusalem, 1895), by Rabbi Shalom Elhanan Joffe (b. in Russia, 1845); _ha-poteah, we-hahotem_, by Rabbi Benjamin Gitelson of Cleveland (New York, 1898); _Torat Meir_ on Rashi’s Talmudical commentary, by Meir Freiman (New York, 1904); _Yegiot Mordecai_ on the Talmud by Mordecai Garfil (Piotrkow, 1907); _Bet Abraham_, by Rabbi Abraham Eber Hirshowitz (Jerusalem, 1908). The venerable Rabbi A. J. G. Lesser is the author of Bet ha-Midrash (Chicago, 1897), which contains homiletics and halaka, and Rabbi Moses Simon Sivitz of Pittsburg (b. 1855) is the author of four books on various rabbinical subjects, all printed in Jerusalem.