ALSEN (Danish Als)  , an island in the Baltic, off the coast of Schleswig, in the Little Belt . It formerly belonged to Denmark, but, as a result of the Danish war of 1864, was incorporated with Germany . Its area is 105 sq. m.; the length nearly 20, and the breadth from 3 to 12 M . Pop . (1900) 25,000, most of whom speak Danish . The island is fertile, richly wooded, and yields grain and fruit . Sonderburg, the capital, with a good harbour and a considerable trade, is connected with the mainland by a pontoon bridge . Other places of note are Norburg and Augustenburg . On the peninsula I(ekenis at the S.W. end of Alsen there is a lighthouse . Here, in 1848, the Danes directed their main attack against Field-marshal Wrangel's army . In 1864 the Prussians under Herwarth von Bittenfeld took Alsen, which was occupied by 9000 Danish troops under Steinmann, thus bringing the Danish war to a close . Since 1870 Alsen has been fortified .

'ALSHEKH,

MOSES, Jewish rabbi in Safed (Palestine) in the later part of the 16th century . He was the author of many homiletical commentaries on the Hebrew Bible . His works still justly enjoy much popularity, largely because of their powerful influence as practical exhortations to virtuous life .