Abraham Epstein ( he, אברהם עפשטיין; 19 December 1841 – 1918) was a Russo-Austrian
rabbinical scholar born in
Staro Constantinov,
Volhynia.
Epstein diligently studied the works of
Isaac Baer Levinsohn
Isaac Baer Levinsohn (; October 13, 1788 – February 13, 1860), also known as the Ribal (), was a Jewish scholar of Hebrew, a satirist, a writer and Haskalah leader. He has been called "the Mendelssohn of Russia." In his ''Bet Yehudah'' (1837), ...
,
Nachman Krochmal, and
S. D. Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto ( he, שמואל דוד לוצאטו, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.
Early ...
, and when he traveled in western Europe for the first time in 1861, he made the acquaintance of
J.L. Rapoport
Solomon Judah Löb HaKohen Rapoport ( he, שלמה יהודה כהן רפאפורט; June 1, 1786 – October 15, 1867) was a Galician and Czech rabbi and Jewish scholar.
Rapoport was known by an acronym "Shir", שי"ר occasionally שי ...
,
Z. Frankel
Zecharias Frankel, also known as Zacharias Frankel (30 September 1801 – 13 February 1875) was a Bohemian-German rabbi and a historian who studied the historical development of Judaism. He was born in Prague and died in Breslau. He was the foun ...
, and
Michael Sachs. After his father's death in 1874 (see Israel Epstein's biography in ''
Ha-Shaḥar
''Ha-Shaḥar'' () was a Hebrew-language monthly periodical, published and edited at Vienna by Peretz Smolenskin from 1868 to 1884.
The journal contained scientific articles, essays, biographies, and literature, as well as general Jewish news. The ...
'', vi.699-708) Epstein took charge of his extensive business interests, but gradually wound up all his affairs, and from 1884 devoted most of his time to travel and study. He settled in
Vienna in 1876 and became an
Austrian subject. He was the possessor of a large library which contained many valuable manuscripts.
Literary works
Epstein is the author of the ''Ḳadmut ha-Tanḥuma,'' a review of
S. Buber's edition of the
Midrash Tanḥuma
Midrash Tanhuma ( he, מִדְרָשׁ תַּנְחוּמָא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch aggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of ...
(Presburg, 1886), and of ''Mi-Ḳadmoniyyot ha-Yehudim,'' which contains (1) treatises on
Jewish chronology
Traditional Jewish chronology (aka Jewish timekeeping). Jewish tradition has long preserved a record of dates and time sequences of important historical events related to the Jewish nation, including but not limited to the dates fixed for the build ...
and archaeology, and (2) a revised and annotated edition of
Midrash Tadshe (Vienna, 1887). He also wrote:
* ''Bereschit-Rabbati, Dessen Verhältnisse zu Rabba,'' etc. (Berlin, 1888)
* ''R. Simeon Kara und der Jalkut Schimeoni'' (Cracow, 1891)
* ''Eldad ha-Dani,'' a critical edition, with variations from divers manuscripts, of the well-known work of
Eldad Eldad ( he, אֶלְדָּד) may refer to:
* Eldad and Medad, two Biblical figures mentioned in the Book of Numbers
* Kfar Eldad, an Israeli Communal settlement in the Gush Etzion Regional Council
* Maccabi Neve Sha'anan Eldad F.C., an Israeli f ...
, with an introduction and notes (Vienna, 1891)
* ''La Lettre d'Eldad sur les Dix Tribus'' (Paris, 1892; reprinted from ''R. E. J.'' xxv)
* ''R. Moshe ha-Darshan mi-Narbona'' (Vienna, 1891)
* ''Dibre Biḳḳoret li-Kebod Rabbi S. L. Rapoport,'' a defense of J.L. Rapoport against the attacks of
I. H. Weiss
Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia.
After having received elementary instruction in Hebrew ...
(Vienna, 1896)
* ''Jüdische Alterthümer in Worms und Speier'' (Breslau, 1896; reprinted from ''Monatsschrift,'' v.40).
He wrote in addition many critical, biographical, historical, and archeological articles for the Jewish periodical press, especially for ''Monatsschrift,'' ''Revue des Etudes Juives,'' and ''Ha-Ḥoḳer,'' some of which have been reprinted in book form.
References
Sources
;Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
* Autobiographical sketch in Sokolow's Sefer Zikaron, pp. 162–166, Warsaw, 1890;
*
William Zeitlin, ''Bibliotheca Hebraica Post-Mendelssohniana'' p. 79;
*
Chaim David Lippe, ''Bibliographisches Lexicon'', iii.98-99, Vienna, 1899.
External links
Jewish Encyclopedia article for Abraham Epstein*
1841 births
1918 deaths
Austro-Hungarian Jews
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Austria-Hungary
People from Starokostiantyniv
{{Austria-hist-stub