Moses Mendelssohn: Writings on Judaism, Christianity, and the Bible

by Michah Gottlieb (Editor)

Overview

German Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) is best known in the English-speaking world for his Jerusalem (1783), the first attempt to present Judaism as a religion compatible with the ideas of the Enlightenment. While incorporating much of Jerusalem, Michah Gottlieb’s volume seeks to expand knowledge of Mendelssohn’s thought by presenting translations of many of his other seminal writings from the German or Hebrew originals. These writings include essays, commentaries, unpublished reflections, and personal letters. Part One includes selections from the three major controversies of Mendelssohn’s life, all of which involved polemical encounters with Christian thinkers. Part Two presents selections from Mendelssohn’s writings on the Bible. Part Three offers texts that illuminate Mendelssohn’s thoughts on a diverse range of religious topics, including God’s existence, the immortality of the soul, and miracles. Designed for class adoption, the volume contains annotations and an introduction by the editor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611682144
Publisher:	Brandeis University Press
Publication date:	10/11/2011
Series:	Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	267
File size:	520 KB

About the Author

MICHAH GOTTLIEB is an assistant professor in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies, New York University.

Table of Contents

Foreword • Introduction: Moses Mendelssohn and the Project of Modern Jewish Philosophy • POLEMICAL WRITINGS • The Lavater Affair and Related Documents (1769–1773) • Lavater’s Dedication • Open Letter to Lavater • From “Counter-Reflections to Bonnet’s Palingenesis” • Letter to Rabbi Jacob Emden, 26 October 1773 • Letter to “a Man of Rank” (Rochus Friedrich Graf von Lynar) • Jerusalem and Related Documents (1782–1783) • From the Preface to Vindiciae Judaeorum • “The Search for Light and Right” • Mörschel’s Postscript • From Jerusalem, or on Religious Power and Judaism • From Letter to Naphtali Herz Homberg • The Pantheism Controversy (1785–1786) • From Jacobi’s On the Doctrine of Spinoza • From Morning Hours • From To Lessing’s Friends • WRITINGS ON THE BIBLE • From Introduction to Commentary on Ecclesiastes • Introduction to Translation of Psalms • From Letter to August Hennings, 29 June 1779 • From Light for the Path • Selections from the Bi’ur • On Peshat and Derash • Lex Talionis • On Adam’s Sin • On Biblical Poetry • The Eternal • On Commanding Belief in God, Jewish Election, and Idolatry • On Divine Jealousy • On Kingship • MISCELLANY • On the Religious Legitimacy of Studying Logic • An Ontological Proof for God’s Existence • A Cosmological Proof for God’s Existence • A Proof for the Immortality of the Soul • A Rational Foundation for Ethics • On the Possibility of Miracles • On the Reliability of Miracles • Suggestions for Further Reading • Index

What People are Saying About This

Shmuel Feiner

“The works of Moses Mendelssohn, the most prolific Jewish writer in eighteenth-century Europe, marked the beginning of a liberal Jewish philosophy that sought to promote the humanistic values of the Enlightenment and to interpret Judaism according to rationalistic and moral criteria. His public and private writings remain relevant to understanding the Jewish experience in all its complexity in these modern times. The publication of these key works will no doubt enrich the discussion of the challenges confronted by the Jews in the past and in the present.”

David Ellenson

“This volume is an invaluable resource for the intellectual-historical study of Moses Mendelssohn, his works, and his era. It will promote an appreciation of the importance Mendelssohn holds for Jewish philosophy and life today. The translations are superb, and Gottlieb has performed a major service for historical scholarship and contemporary religious thought in selecting, introducing, and annotating these sources. Bravo to Gottlieb and his colleagues!”

Editorial Reviews

"Gottlieb has chosen outstanding texts to include in this volume, which are certain to be of interest to anyone with even a passing interest in Mendelssohn or the Enlightenment. Indeed, I suspect this work will become the new standard volume for those teaching Mendelssohn. He provides helpful introductions and annotations to the works in question, making even Mendelssohn's more technical works on Jewish exegesis accessible to philosophers with no training in Jewish Studies. . . . A volume such as this is long overdue, and hopefully a new appreciation of Mendelssohn will follow in its wake."—Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews


"Gottlieb’s choices of letters, documents, and selections from major works are most enlightening. And while most of the works are by Mendelssohn, the fact that letters to him and commentaries by contemporaries are included gives an added, humanizing dimension to the book’s subject. What further distinguished this volume are the excellent prefatory notes which introduce nearly all the selections and the helpful footnotes which do much more than simply credit sources or define arcane terms."—Jewish Book World


"....Although the second scholarly edition of Mendelssohn’s collected works (Jubiläumsausgabe; 1929-1938; 1971) made his Hebrew texts available to modern scholars, only now, thanks to Micah Gottlieb and others, have Mendelssohn’s Hebrew writings become available in English (and thus stand some chance of being introduced to students at American universities). Anyone interested in Jewish contributions to modern Bible exegesis or to modern Jewish reflections about the Bible in general will welcome these translations." —The Bible and Interpretation


“We should be indebted to Gottlieb for providing the English-speaking community greater access to Mendelssohn, and especially those interested in teaching Mendelssohn’s writings. Mendelssohn has always deserved a place in our philosophy and general religious studies curricula. Thanks to Gottlieb, this is now possible.”—Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations

From the Publisher