Elias Abraham Rosenberg (c. 1809 – July 1887) was a merchant from San Francisco who became an adviser to the king of Hawaii, Kalākaua. Most details of his life are unknown, but he is known to have lived in San Francisco in the 1880s and developed a reputation as an eccentric in the local Jewish community. He worked as a peddler but encountered legal issues while selling lottery tickets. In the mid-1880s, he traveled to Hawaii and become popular with Hawaiians, leading to an introduction to King Kalākaua by 1886. He purported to be a fortune teller and began making predictions about the king's future. The king was impressed and grew to trust Rosenberg, spending hours at a time in conversation. The king appointed him as an appraiser of customs; Rosenberg also received a salary as a customs guard. He drew the attention of local satirists and he was a frequent target in gossip columns. He remained in Hawaii until June 1887, when he returned to San Francisco with expensive parting gifts from the king. He died less than a month after reaching California. He left a Sefer Torah and a yad in Hawaii, which became prized possessions of the Hawaiian royal family and were later given to Temple Emanu-El.
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Few details about Rosenberg's life before he traveled to Hawaii are known.[1] Joseph Adler of the University of Hawaii states in The Hawaiian Journal of History that he was born c. 1809.[2] He was from San Francisco[3] and Langley's San Francisco directory records that he worked as a peddler in the early 1880s.[2] He also sold lottery tickets for a time but encountered opposition from the San Francisco Police Department.[4] He is considered to have been an eccentric[3] and was described by San Francisco newspapers as an "adventurer"[4] and a "curio".[2] Jewish Progress, a San Francisco newspaper, stated in 1887 that Rosenberg was a well-known figure in the city.[2]
By fall 1886, Rosenberg had left San Francisco for the Pacific.[5] Rosenberg came ashore in Oahu, possibly arriving on a whaler.[1] He brought an ornate and well-crafted Torah and yad on the voyage.[6] At that time, he had a long white beard and a charming and witty personality. He soon became popular with Hawaiians, who nicknamed him "Rosey"[1] and "Holy Moses".[7] Some of them believed that his first name was "Israel". After he became well known among Hawaiians, King Kalākaua learned of his presence and met with him.[1]
By November 1886, King Kalākaua trusted Rosenberg's skill as a fortune teller[8] and two months later, he granted Rosenberg a private audience at ʻIolani Palace.[9] At that time, the king had sought instruction from several people he regarded as prophets,[4] prompting William DeWitt Alexander to characterize the king's acceptance of Rosenberg as part of his "efforts to revive heathenism".[8] Lorrin A. Thurston recalled that after Rosenberg became close with the King, Rosenberg routinely visited for several consecutive days and the pair held long conversations.[10] Walter M. Gibson, the prime minister of Hawaii, noted that the king kept the details of Rosenberg's statements confidential.[5] Rosenberg told the king Bible stories,[11] read to him from the Talmud,[1] and claimed to have found references to Hawaii in ancient Hebrew texts. This claim encouraged the king as he sought to restore aspects of Hawaiian religion.[4] Temple Emanu-El records that Rosenberg styled himself as "Rabbi Rosenberg" but Alder notes that there is no evidence that Rosenberg was a rabbi.[11] The king, however, promised Rosenberg a plot of land for a synagogue.[1]
In late January, the king appointed Rosenberg as an appraiser of customs in Honolulu. The next month, Rosenberg paid for a notice to be placed in The Honolulu Advertiser in which he claimed to have lost a letter that was sent to him by Queen Victoria. Adler speculates that the existence of the letter was a hoax that Rosenberg designed to lend himself prestige. In mid-February, a Hawaiian newspaper reported that Rosenberg was no longer employed by the customs office. In March, however, he was reappointed by order of the king. The the collector general, who oversaw Rosenberg's position, was replaced in May.[9] In March, April, and May, Rosenberg was paid $100, ostensibly for working as a guard at the customs office. On June 1, he received a payment of $260 for an unknown reason.[12]
Items about Rosenberg regularly appeared in a Hawaiian Gazette gossip column,[7] written under the pseudonym "Flaneur". The columnist alleged that Rosenberg did no work at the customs office but collected a regular salary.[9] Rosenberg was also satirized by a troupe of amateur minstrels at the Hawaii Opera house.[13]
On June 1, Rosenberg received a gold medal and a silver cup from the king. "His Majesty Kalākaua I to Abraham Rosenberg" was inscribed on the cup and one side of the medal. The reverse side of the medal featured a profile of the king and there was a gold crown on the side that attached to a blue ribbon.[2] The next week, the king made a payment of $100 to a local jeweler but it is not known whether it was for the gifts given to Rosenberg.[12] The king's decision to give him lavish gifts was criticized by Flaneur in The Hawaiian Gazette. On June 7, Rosenberg left Hawaii on the steamer Australia, booking passage in steerage class. He returned to San Francisco, but was hospitalized within a month of his return and died in July at the German hospital. Brief death notices were published in Hawaiian[2] and San Francisco-based newspapers.[13]
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| Rosenberg's Torah on display at Temple Emanu-El | |
When Rosenberg departed from Hawaii, he left his Torah and yad[13] with the king.[1] In 1888, the items were included in an exhibition of royal possessions at a bazaar held by Queen Kapiolani.[14] After the king's death, David Kawānanakoa inherited the items.[1] His wife, Abigail Campbell Kawānanakoa, inherited them after his death, and lent them to the Hawaiian Jewish community on holidays. Her granddaughter, Abigail Kinoiki Kekaulike Kawānanakoa, later gained ownership of them. A friend of hers brought about the donation of the yad to Temple Emanu-El, where it was dedicated in 1960. The Torah was lost in the 1940s[13] but was recovered and remains in the possession of the temple.[15]
