DOCSLIB.ORG

Jewish Philosophy, Science of Judaism and Philology in Salomon Munk and Samuel David Luzzatto’S Letters Exchange

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Jewish Philosophy, Science of Judaism and Philology in Salomon Munk and Samuel David Luzzatto’S Letters Exchange European Journal of Jewish Studies 11 (2017) 115–129 brill.com/ejjs Jewish Philosophy, Science of Judaism and Philology in Salomon Munk and Samuel David Luzzatto’s Letters Exchange Chiara Adorisio Abstract The correspondence of the Italian Hebraist Samuel David Luzzatto (1800–1865) and the German-Jewish Orientalist Salomon Munk (1803–1867) sheds light on the trans- European dimension of the movement known as the Science of Judaism. This arti- cle is based on the reconstruction of the friendship between Luzzatto and Munk as reflected in Luzzatto’s letters to Munk in Paris. Their relationship was personal as well as intellectual: Luzzatto sent his son Philoxène, a promising Orientalist, to study under Munk’s supervision. Together with Munk’s letter to Philoxène, these letters provide us with details central to an understanding of the relationship between the two scholars. Although differing in their attitude toward Jewish faith and philosophy, Munk and Luzzatto shared a common interest in Hebrew and Oriental languages. Through their philological and linguistic studies, they challenged the Orientalistic attitude prevalent among European scholars and historians of philosophy in the first half of the nine- teenth century. Keywords Samuel David Luzzatto – Salomon Munk – Jewish philosophy – Wissenschaft des Judentums – Jewish studies – Orientalism – Judeo-Arabic literature and philosophy Samuel David Luzzatto (1800–1865), Italian Hebraist and professor at the Rabbinic College of Padua, and Salomon Munk (1803–1867), German-Jewish Orientalist and professor of Semitic languages and literature at the Collège de France in Paris, are two outstanding figures of the Wissenschaft des Judentums in Europe. They contributed to the main goal of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, the development of Jewish studies as an academic discipline in European © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���6 | doi �0.��63/�87�47�X-��34��Downloaded99 from Brill.com09/25/2021 05:14:45PM via free access 116 Adorisio universities, through their pioneering philological and historical works on Hebrew literature and language (Luzzatto) and on Islamic and Judeo-Arabic philosophy and literature (Munk). They both were accomplished scholars of Oriental languages and of Hebrew grammar and history. Munk, as the author of a geographical, historical and archaeological description of Palestine,1 was considered by his contemporaries, among them Adolph Jellinek in his Eulogy for Salomon Munk,2 to be one of the most important Orientalists of his epoch. Munk and Luzzatto were both in contact with representative figures of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement, founded in Germany at the beginning of the nineteenth century: Munk began his studies with Leopold Zunz and was a student of Abraham Geiger and Eduard Gans in Berlin before he emi- grated to Paris in 1928; Samuel David Luzzatto held lively scholarly exchanges with Moritz Steinschneider, Leopold Zunz, Abraham Geiger, and others. They remained orthodox Jews throughout their lives—a fact which sets them apart from other representatives of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, such as Eduard Gans and Heinrich Heine, who abandoned Jewish orthodoxy or converted to Christianity. Although they were very dissimilar in personality and philo- sophical position, Munk and Luzzatto exchanged several ideas on the scien- tific and objective method of the Science of Judaism, shared their knowledge of Hebrew grammar and Hebrew literature, and warned, through their works, against the threat represented by pantheism both in Jewish mystical currents and in philosophy. Munk and Luzzatto were authors who tried to adapt the ideas of the German-Jewish Wissenschaft des Judentums to two very different contexts: the French academic world, and the world of Italian Hebraism, during the first half of the nineteenth century. The reconstruction of their scholarly dialogue will also allow us to reflect on Munk and Luzzatto’s position on the relationship between Judaism, rationalism and the scientific method. And though Munk and Luzzatto are much more known as historical scholars and philologists, and less as philosophers and Orientalists, still, in their historical and philologi- cal works, one finds numerous philosophical reflections influenced both by Jewish and non-Jewish philosophers, testifying to their profound interest in that subject. The present article is just such an examination of Munk and Luzzatto’s relationship—a relationship that exemplifies the trans-European dimension 1 Salomon Munk, Palestine: Description géographique, historique et archéologique (Paris: Firmin Didot Frères, 1845). 2 Adolph Jellinek, Gedächtnisrede auf den verewigten Herrn Salomon Munk (Vienna: Herzfeld & Bauer, 1867). European Journal of JewishDownloaded Studies from 11 Brill.com09/25/2021 (2017) 115–129 05:14:45PM via free access Jewish Philosophy, Science Of Judaism And Philology 117 of the Wissenschaft des Judentums, and the influence that the German-Jewish scholars had on the development of nineteenth-century Orientalism through- out the continent. My examination is mainly based on the reconstruction of Luzzatto’s and Munk’s friendship through Luzzatto’s correspondence. Both his published and unpublished letters, as well as the letter that Munk wrote to Luzzatto’s son, Philoxène (who was for a brief period of time Munk’s student in Paris), will provide us with details about their relationship. All these letters are preserved in the Samuel David Luzzatto archive of the Centro Bibliografico dell’Unione delle Comunità Ebraiche Italiane in Rome. 1 The Relationship between the Study of Judaism and the Study of Language in Munk and Luzzatto The correspondence between Luzzatto and Munk began around March 1850, when Salomon Munk wrote to Samuel David’s son, Philoxène Luzzatto, a promising student of Oriental languages, saying that he would like to read an example of the young scholar’s work on Assyrian.3 After this letter, Philoxène decided to move to Paris in order to continue his studies under Munk’s guid- ance, and thus became a sort of intermediary between his father and Munk. Writing to Munk about his son, Luzzatto also discusses several questions regarding his own work: I have waited far too long in writing to you and in praising your admirable “Notice” on our ancient grammarians, always awaiting the opportunity to send you my letter with my Philoxène. I am happy to have, in Paris, a man worthy of being a father to my son. His feelings of admiration and sym- pathy toward you equal my own . I thank God that my son may reach France after the fall from power of the pompous words and charlatanism of the tribune, which are diametrically opposed to the motto of Judaism, “speak little and do much.”4 3 At that time, Philoxène Luzzatto had already written his Le sanscritisme de la langue assyri- enne (Padua: A. Bianchi, 1849), and was thinking about publishing a study on Assyrian Inscriptions: Etudes sur les inscriptions assyriennes de Persépolis, Hamadan, Van et Khorsabad (Padua: A. Bianchi, 1850). 4 “J’ai trop long-temps tardé à vous écrire et à vous faire l’éloge de votre admirable ‘Notice’ sur nos anciens Grammairiens, attendant toujours le moment de pouvoir vous envoyer ma lettre par mon Philoxène. Je suis heureux d’avoir à Paris un homme digne d’être père à mon fils. Ses sentiments d’admiration et de sympathie envers vous égalent les miens. Je remercie Dieu European Journal of Jewish Studies 11 (2017) 115–129Downloaded from Brill.com09/25/2021 05:14:45PM via free access 118 Adorisio In his letters (to his son, to Munk and to other scholars such as Albert Cohn), Luzzatto expressed great interest in the work of his German-Jewish émigré colleague, who around 1850 was already known for his French translation of Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. At that time, Munk had already pub- lished seminal studies on Judeo-Arabic texts, a study on the Jewish philoso- pher Salomon Ibn Gabirol and a survey of the history of Jewish philosophy titled Philosophy and Philosophical Authors of the Jews: A Historical Sketch with Explanatory Notes, in which he sketched a history of Jewish philosophy up to the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, and claimed that there was a fundamental conflict between philosophy and Judaism. This claim notwith- standing, the idea of the fundamental difficulty of reconciling Judaism and philosophy took different paths in the thought of the two authors, whose let- ters show their awareness of the differences in their positions. In 1850, Munk invited Luzzatto to join him in Paris and to accept a position at the French Academy of Inscriptions and Literature. Luzzatto politely turned down Munk’s offer and explained his decision in a letter to his son in Paris: Although Munk’s idea consoled me, I have already told you that I would prefer not to leave Italy. But I am happy that that man, whom I consider the best and most learned of the Israelites of France, holds me worthy of such an eminent position, which, however, is not for me; it would impede my studies and distract me with worries alien to my vocation.5 In his autobiography, Luzzatto himself explains what that vocation is. He tells us, for example, that when he was eight years old, a young teacher awakened in him a love for the search for truth, for progress, and for rigorous enquiry. Then, under the influence of the Catholic author Francesco Soave,6 in particular, via Soave’s book Istituzioni di Logica, Metafisica ed Etica, Luzzatto became inter- ested in modern philosophers such as Montesquieu, Locke, and Condillac. Luzzatto never abandoned the study of Jewish sources, but considered que mon fils arrive en France après la chûte du pouvoir des paroles pompeuses, et du char- latanisme de la tribune, diamétralement opposé à la devise du Judaïsme, ‘emor me’at va’aseh harbeh.’ ” From a letter to Salomon Munk in Paris, Padua, Purim 1852, in Epistolario italiano, francese, latino, di Samuel David Luzzatto da Trieste; pubblicato da’ suoi figli, ed.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Apostates and More, Part 2,The History Behind the Ashkenazi
    Apostates and More, Part 2 Apostates and More, Part 2 Marc B. Shapiro Continued from here 1. Another apostate was Rabbi Nehemiah ben Jacob ha-Kohen of Ferrara, who was an important supporter of R. Moses Hayyim Luzzatto during the controversy about him.[1]Here is the the final page of the haskamah he wrote in 1729 for R. Aviad Sar Shalom Basilea’s Emunat Hakhamim. R. Isaac Lampronte, in a halakhic discussion in hisPahad Yitzhak, refers to Nehemiah, but not by name.[2] He calls him .In R .אחד מן החכמים רך בשנים אשר אחרי כן הבאיש ריחו כנודע Hananel Nepi and R. Mordechai Samuel Ghirondi, Toldot Gedolei Yisrael (Trieste, 1853), p. 229, they write about Obviously, “Ishmaelite” is a .שאח”כ נעשה ישמעאלי :Nehemiah code word for Christian.[3] The story reported by Samuel David Luzzatto is that Nehemiah used to go to prostitutes, and when the rabbis found out about this they removed the rabbinate from him. Too embarrassed to remain in the Jewish community, Nehemiah apostatized.[4] Cecil Roth cites another Italian source that Nehemiah converted so he could marry a Christian woman. Unfortunately, his son and three daughters apostatized together with him (his wife had apparently already died).[5] Another apostate who should be mentioned is Michael Solomon Alexander (1799-1844), first Anglican bishop in Jerusalem. Before his apostasy, Alexander was a rabbi.[6] Rabbi Abraham Romano of Tunis also became an apostate. He converted at the end of the seventeenth century when R. Meir Lombrozo was appointed a dayan in his place. After Romano converted, he became well known as a Islamic preacher, and after his death his tomb was venerated by Muslims.
    [Show full text]
  • Elijah Benamozegh (Livorno, 1823-1900) Was a Highly-Respected Italian Rabbi of Moroccan Heritage
    QUEST N. 12 – FOCUS God’s Plurality within Unity: Spinoza’s influence on Benamozegh’s Thought by Gabriel Abensour Abstract Elijah Benamozegh (Livorno, 1823-1900) was a highly-respected Italian rabbi of Moroccan heritage. He was well-versed in Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism and, in his works, connected Kabbalistic and philosophic sources to delineate his conception of God. He argued, inter alia, that Torah and science are in complete harmony, and his religiously tolerant model called for the legitimacy of diversity of faiths and worships. In this paper, I aim to show that Benamozegh’s conception of the Divine – and thus his philosophy and theology – was based on a reading of Kabbalistic sources about God that was heavily influenced by Baruch Spinoza’s philosophy on the nature of the Divine, and in particular, by the Spinozist-inspired concept of “God’s attributes.” This comparison between Benamozegh and Spinoza will enable us to better understand Benamozegh’s bold argument in favor of religious tolerance, but also how and why he succeeded in challenging the traditional concept of heresy, all while using terminology provided by traditional Jewish sources and from within the rabbinic paradigm. Introduction Spinoza and Judaism in the 19th Century Background to Benamozegh’s Position Benamozegh on Spinoza Benamozegh’s Model of Religious Tolerance Idolatry: Misconception or Heresy? Challenging Rabbinic Authority from Within Conclusion __________________ 1 Gabriel Abensour La kabbale a chanté ses dogmes, tandis que Spinoza les a démontrés… La première a révélé des pensées à la manière des poètes, avec leurs libres allures, leurs élans et leurs hardiesses, et la seconde les a exposées à la manière des géomètres.1 Introduction2 Elijah Benamozegh (Livorno, 1823-1900) was an Italian rabbi of Moroccan heritage who taught theology at Livorno’s rabbinical school.
    [Show full text]
  • Kabbalah As a Shield Against the “Scourge” of Biblical Criticism: a Comparative Analysis of the Torah Commentaries of Elia Benamozegh and Mordecai Breuer
    Kabbalah as a Shield against the “Scourge” of Biblical Criticism: A Comparative Analysis of the Torah Commentaries of Elia Benamozegh and Mordecai Breuer Adiel Cohen The belief that the Torah was given by divine revelation, as defined by Maimonides in his eighth principle of faith and accepted collectively by the Jewish people,1 conflicts with the opinions of modern biblical scholarship.2 As a result, biblical commentators adhering to both the peshat (literal or contex- tual) method and the belief in the divine revelation of the Torah, are unable to utilize the exegetical insights associated with the documentary hypothesis developed by Wellhausen and his school, a respected and accepted academic discipline.3 As Moshe Greenberg has written, “orthodoxy saw biblical criticism in general as irreconcilable with the principles of Jewish faith.”4 Therefore, in the words of D. S. Sperling, “in general, Orthodox Jews in America, Israel, and elsewhere have remained on the periphery of biblical scholarship.”5 However, the documentary hypothesis is not the only obstacle to the religious peshat commentator. Theological complications also arise from the use of archeolog- ical discoveries from the ancient Near East, which are analogous to the Torah and can be a very rich source for its interpretation.6 The comparison of biblical 246 Adiel Cohen verses with ancient extra-biblical texts can raise doubts regarding the divine origin of the Torah and weaken faith in its unique sanctity. The Orthodox peshat commentator who aspires to explain the plain con- textual meaning of the Torah and produce a commentary open to the various branches of biblical scholarship must clarify and demonstrate how this use of modern scholarship is compatible with his or her belief in the divine origin of the Torah.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Beginning the Conversation
    NOTES 1 Beginning the Conversation 1. Jacob Katz, Exclusiveness and Tolerance: Jewish-Gentile Relations in Medieval and Modern Times (New York: Schocken, 1969). 2. John Micklethwait, “In God’s Name: A Special Report on Religion and Public Life,” The Economist, London November 3–9, 2007. 3. Mark Lila, “Earthly Powers,” NYT, April 2, 2006. 4. When we mention the clash of civilizations, we think of either the Spengler battle, or a more benign interplay between cultures in individual lives. For the Spengler battle, see Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996). For a more benign interplay in individual lives, see Thomas L. Friedman, The Lexus and the Olive Tree (New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1999). 5. Micklethwait, “In God’s Name.” 6. Robert Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2005). “Interview with Robert Wuthnow” Religion and Ethics Newsweekly April 26, 2002. Episode no. 534 http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week534/ rwuthnow.html 7. Wuthnow, America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity, 291. 8. Eric Sharpe, “Dialogue,” in Mircea Eliade and Charles J. Adams, The Encyclopedia of Religion, first edition, volume 4 (New York: Macmillan, 1987), 345–8. 9. Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald and John Borelli, Interfaith Dialogue: A Catholic View (London: SPCK, 2006). 10. Lily Edelman, Face to Face: A Primer in Dialogue (Washington, DC: B’nai B’rith, Adult Jewish Education, 1967). 11. Ben Zion Bokser, Judaism and the Christian Predicament (New York: Knopf, 1967), 5, 11. 12. Ibid., 375.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Arabic Sciences: a Selected Bibliography
    THE HISTORY OF ARABIC SCIENCES: A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY Mohamed ABATTOUY Fez University Max Planck Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin A first version of this bibliography was presented to the Group Frühe Neuzeit (Max Planck Institute for History of Science, Berlin) in April 1996. I revised and expanded it during a stay of research in MPIWG during the summer 1996 and in Fez (november 1996). During the Workshop Experience and Knowledge Structures in Arabic and Latin Sciences, held in the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin on December 16-17, 1996, a limited number of copies of the present Bibliography was already distributed. Finally, I express my gratitude to Paul Weinig (Berlin) for valuable advice and for proofreading. PREFACE The principal sources for the history of Arabic and Islamic sciences are of course original works written mainly in Arabic between the VIIIth and the XVIth centuries, for the most part. A great part of this scientific material is still in original manuscripts, but many texts had been edited since the XIXth century, and in many cases translated to European languages. In the case of sciences as astronomy and mechanics, instruments and mechanical devices still extant and preserved in museums throughout the world bring important informations. A total of several thousands of mathematical, astronomical, physical, alchemical, biologico-medical manuscripts survived. They are written mainly in Arabic, but some are in Persian and Turkish. The main libraries in which they are preserved are those in the Arabic World: Cairo, Damascus, Tunis, Algiers, Rabat ... as well as in private collections. Beside this material in the Arabic countries, the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek in Berlin, the Biblioteca del Escorial near Madrid, the British Museum and the Bodleian Library in England, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the Süleymaniye and Topkapi Libraries in Istanbul, the National Libraries in Iran, India, Pakistan..
    [Show full text]
  • King Solomon, Jesus, and Aristotle Shavit, Yaacov
    www.ssoar.info An Imaginary Trio: King Solomon, Jesus, and Aristotle Shavit, Yaacov Veröffentlichungsversion / Published Version Monographie / monograph Empfohlene Zitierung / Suggested Citation: Shavit, Y. (2020). An Imaginary Trio: King Solomon, Jesus, and Aristotle. Berlin: De Gruyter. https:// doi.org/10.1515/9783110677263 Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Dieser Text wird unter einer CC BY Lizenz (Namensnennung) zur This document is made available under a CC BY Licence Verfügung gestellt. Nähere Auskünfte zu den CC-Lizenzen finden (Attribution). For more Information see: Sie hier: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.de Diese Version ist zitierbar unter / This version is citable under: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-70582-3 Yaacov Shavit An Imaginary Trio Yaacov Shavit An Imaginary Trio King Solomon, Jesus, and Aristotle Die freie Verfügbarkeit der E-Book-Ausgabe dieser Publikation wurde ermöglicht durch den Fachinformationsdienst Jüdische Studien an der Universitätsbibliothek J. C. Senckenberg Frankfurt am Main und 18 wissenschaftliche Bibliotheken, die die Open-Access-Transformation in den Jüdischen Studien unterstützen. ISBN 978-3-11-067718-8 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-067726-3 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-067730-0 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. For details go to http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Das E-Book ist als Open-Access-Publikation verfügbar über www.degruyter.com, https://www.doabooks.org und https://www.oapen.org Library of Congress Control Number: 2020909307 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
    [Show full text]
  • The Theology of Nahmanides Systematically Presented
    The Theology of Nahmanides Systematically Presented DAVID NOVAK THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED Program in Judaic Studies Brown University BROWN JUDAIC STUDIES Edited by Shaye J. D. Cohen, Ernest S. Frerichs, Calvin Groldscheider Editorial Board Vicki Caron, Lynn Davidman, Wendell S. Dietrich, David Hirsch, David Jacobson, Saul M. Olyan, Alan Zuckerman Number 271 THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED by David Novak THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED by DAVID NOVAK University of Virginia Scholars Press Atlanta, Georgia THE THEOLOGY OF NAHMANIDES SYSTEMATICALLY PRESENTED By David Novak Copyright © 2020 by Brown University Library of Congress Control Number: 2019953676 Open access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program. The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeriva- tives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. To use this book, or parts of this book, in any way not covered by the license, please contact Brown Judaic Studies, Brown University, Box 1826, Providence, RI 02912. STUDIES IN MEDIEVAL JUDAISM Edited by Lenn E. Goodman To the Memory of Harry H. Ruskin (1905-1989) The righteous man lives in his faith. - Habakkuk 2:4 other works by David Novak Law and Theology in Judaism (2 volumes) Suicide and Morality The Image of the Non-Jew in Judaism Halakhah in a Theological Dimension Jewish Christian Dialogue Contents Editor's Foreword ix Preface xi Introduction 1 Notes 17 Chapter 1 The Human Soul 25 Chapter 2 Faith 31 Chapter 3 Tradition 51 Chapter 4 Miracles 61 Chapter 5 Natural and Supernatural 77 Chapter 6 The Land of Israel 89 Chapter 7 The Commandments 99 Chapter 8 Eschatology 125 Bibliography 135 List of Abbreviations 136 Index of Names and Subjects 137 Index of Passages 141 Publishers’ Preface Brown Judaic Studies has been publishing scholarly books in all areas of Ju- daic studies for forty years.
    [Show full text]
  • Speaking of Text a WEEKLY EXPLORATION of the JEWISH BOOKSHELF Finding Our Place in a Universalistic פינחס תשע"ח Age Pinehas 5778
    TORAH FROM JTS www.jtsa.edu/torah Speaking of Text A WEEKLY EXPLORATION OF THE JEWISH BOOKSHELF Finding Our Place in a Universalistic פינחס תשע"ח Age Pinehas 5778 Rabbi Juan Mejia, JTS Alumnus (RS ’09); Coordinator for the American Southwest, Be’chol Lashon Charismatic Saint or Reckless Vigilante? Elijah Benamozegh, Israel and Humanity (1863), translated by Maxwell Luria Pinehas and the Covenant of Peace (Paulist Press, 1995) Dr. Hillel Ben Sasson, Visiting Professor of Israel Studies, Israel and Humanity is the magnum opus of Italian rabbi and polymath Elijah JTS Benamozegh. Born in the cosmopolitan city of Livorno in Italy in the early nineteenth century (only one year before JTS´s founder Rabbi Sabato Morais was Along with Simeon and Levi, who raged against Shekhem and his people in born in the same city), Rabbi Benamozegh was a distinguished community leader, response to defilement of their sister Dina's dignity, the figure of Pinehas has printer, kabbalist, and public intellectual both in Jewish and non-Jewish circles. In become synonymous with decisive and unforgiving zealotry. In the face of his erudite but extremely approachable and poetic treatise, Israel and Humanity, growing sexual promiscuity within the Israelite desert camp, and against the Benamozegh presents a bold and refreshing view of Judaism vis-a-vis other backdrop of a crippled and confused leadership headed by Moses, Pinehas religions (with special emphasis on Christianity). Instead of falling into apologetics and triumphalism, Benamozegh is willing to delve deep and shine a light on the took action: strengths and beauty of other religions, while extolling Judaism´s gifts.
    [Show full text]
  • Kerugma, Volume 1 Number 1 Oktober 2018 the Messiah An
    KERUGMA, VOLUME 1 NUMBER 1 OKTOBER 2018 THE MESSIAH AN DILEMATH JESUS CHRIST Measuring the Feasibility of Jesus Christ as the Messiah in the Mind of Semitic Religion Pangeran Manurung, M.Th. Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Injili Indonesia Surabaya E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Broadly speaking, the subject of the Christology that is still worth talking about in the academic pulpit is the title "Messiah" carried by Jesus Christ. In general, the Judeo-Islamic community and some Christians are still dilemma in positioning Jesus, especially regarding the worthiness of Jesus Christ to be accepted as the Messiah. Placing Jesus Christ in the right place for all three of these great religions has proven to be no easy matter. Especially for Judeo-Islam, Christians generally accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. On the contrary for Jews and Islam. Some Jews gave rise to a half-movement of Judaism and half- Christians in terms of seeing Jesus as the Messiah. Likewise with Islam. Here are some of the main problems. Keynote: Messiah, Jesus Christ, Semitic Religion. Keywords: Christology, Messiah, Christians, , Semitic Religion INTRODUCTION question that is still relevant today is, "What is In general, the available arguments are only about the strong reason for some Jews to decide not to the description of the Messiah of Judaism that is not accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah? Is it because they parallel to the figure of Christ in the New Testament. For did not read Messianic texts in the Old Testament? Jews, Christ did not qualify as the ideal Messiah. Of course they read and understand it.
    [Show full text]
  • Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Middle Islamic Period
    © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Mamluk Studies Volume 16 Edited by Stephan Conermann and Bethany J. Walker Editorial Board: Thomas Bauer (Münster, Germany), Albrecht Fuess (Marburg, Germany), ThomasHerzog (Bern, Switzerland), Konrad Hirschler (London, Great Britain),Anna Paulina Lewicka (Warsaw, Poland), Linda Northrup (Toronto, Canada), Jo VanSteenbergen (Gent, Belgium) © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Stephan Conermann (ed.) Muslim-Jewish Relations in the Middle Islamic Period Jews in the Ayyubid and Mamluk Sultanates (1171–1517) V&Runipress Bonn University Press © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available online: http://dnb.d-nb.de. ISSN 2198-5375 ISBN 978-3-8470-0792-0 You can find alternative editions of this book and additional material on our website: www.v-r.de Publications of Bonn University Press are published by V&R unipress GmbH. Sponsored by the Annemarie Schimmel College ªHistory and Society during the Mamluk Era, 1250±1517º. © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Robert-Bosch-Breite 6, 37079 Göttingen, Germany / www.v-r.de All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. Cover image: Ben Ezra Synagogue, Cairo, Egypt (photographer: Faris Knight, 10/12/2011). © 2017, V&R unipress GmbH, Göttingen ISBN Print: 9783847107927 – ISBN E-Book: 9783847007920 Contents Stephan Conermann Introduction.................................
    [Show full text]
  • Brief Bibliographic Guide in Medieval Islamic Philosophy and Theology
    BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHICAL GUIDE IN MEDIEVAL AND POST-CLASSICAL ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY (2012-2013) Thérèse-Anne Druart The Catholic University of America I cannot thank enough all the scholars who kindly sent me information and, in particular, those who provided me with a copy of their publications or photocopies of tables of contents of collective works. They are true scholars and true friends. Collective Works or Collections of Articles Ad notitiam ignoti. L’organon dans la translatio studiorum à l’époque d’Albert le Grand, ed. by Julie Brumberg-Chaumont (Studia Artistarum 37). Turnhout: Brepols, 2013, 348 pp., ISBN 9782503541839. Circolazione dei saperi nel Mediterraneo. Filosofia e scienze (secoli IX-XVII). Circulation des savoirs autour de la Méditerranée. Philosophie et sciences (IXe-XVIIe siècle). Atti del VII Colloquio Internazionale della Société Internationale d’Histoire des Sciences et de la Philosophie Arabes et Islamiques, Firenze, 16-28 febbraio 2006, ed. by Graziella Federici Vescovini e Ahmad Hasnawi (Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Educazione e dei Processi Culturali e Formativi, Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione, Università degli Studi di Firenze; Istituto e Museo di Storia della Scienza, Università degli Studi di Firenze; Centre d’Histoire des Sciences et des Philosophies Arabes et Médiévales, CNRS Paris). Florence: Cadmo, 2013, xviii-402 pp., ISBN 9788879234085. The Early Islamic Grammatical Tradition, ed. by Ramzi Baalbaki (The Formation of the Classical Islamic World 36). Farnham: Ashgate, 2007, l-365 pp., ISBN 9780860787181. Education and Learning in the Early Islamic World, ed. by Claude Gilliot (Formation of the Classical Islamic World 43). Farnham: Ashgate, 2012, xc-410 pp., ISBN 9780860787174.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy and Kabbalah. Elia Benamozegh (1823–1900), a Progressive/Traditional Thinker
    religions Article Philosophy and Kabbalah. Elia Benamozegh (1823–1900), a Progressive/Traditional Thinker Alessandro Guetta Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales, 75007 Paris, France; [email protected] Abstract: Elia Benamozegh (born—1823 in Livorno and died—1900 in Livorno)—philosopher, biblical exegete, teacher at the Rabbinical College—was an original and fruitful thinker. At a time when the Jewish kabbalah, or esoteric tradition, was considered by the protagonists of Jewish studies as the result of an era of intellectual and religious decadence, Benamozegh indicated it to be the authentic theology of Judaism. In numerous works of varying nature, in Italian, French and Hebrew, the kabbalah is studied by comparing it with the thought of Spinoza and with German idealism (Hegel in particular), and, at a later stage, also with positivism and evolutionism. Benamozegh formulated a pluralistic religious philosophy open to progress by constantly referring to the first phase of Vico’s historicist philosophy and above all to the work of Vincenzo Gioberti. We can read this philosophy as an original and consistent response to the challenges of Modern, secularized thought. Keywords: Judaism; philosophy; kabbalah 1. Elia Benamozegh, His Life and Cultural Context Elia Benamozegh (born—1823 in Livorno and died—1900 in Livorno) is probably the Citation: Guetta, Alessandro. 2021. last representative of the long Italian Jewish philosophical tradition of rabbinic inspiration, Philosophy and Kabbalah. Elia and also one of the rare modern Jewish philosophers of religion that doesn’t stem from the Benamozegh (1823–1900), a Progressive/Traditional Thinker. German or Polish–Lithuanian area. The son of Moroccan parents, he was trained in Jewish Religions 12: 625.
    [Show full text]