Abraham Epstein ( he, אברהם עפשטיין; 19 December 1841 – 1918) was a Russo-Austrian

rabbinical Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...

scholar born in

Staro Constantinov Starokostiantyniv ( uk, Старокостянтинів; pl, Starokonstantynów, or ''Konstantynów''; yi, אלט-קאָנסטאַנטין ''Alt Konstantin'') is a city in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. ...

Volhynia Volhynia (also spelled Volynia) ( ; uk, Воли́нь, Volyn' pl, Wołyń, russian: Волы́нь, Volýnʹ, ), is a historic region in Central and Eastern Europe, between south-eastern Poland, south-western Belarus, and western Ukraine. Th ...

. Epstein diligently studied the works of Isaac Baer Levinsohn,

Nachman Krochmal Nachman HaKohen Krochmal ( he, נחמן קְרוֹכְמַל; born in Brody, Galicia, on 17 February 1785; died at Ternopil on 31 July 1840) was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian. Biography He began the study of the Talmud ...

, 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, and

Michael Sachs Michael Yechiel Sachs (; 3 September 1808 – 31 January 1864) was a Prussian rabbi from Groß-Glogau, Silesia. Life He was one of the first Jewish graduates from the modern universities, earning a Ph.D. degree in 1836. He was appointed Rabbi i ...

. 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 en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in 1876 and became an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

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 Solomon (or Salomon) Buber (2 February 1827 – 28 December 1906) was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew works. He is especially remembered for his editions of Midrash and other medieval Jewish manuscripts, and for the pioneering res ...

'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 Midrash Tadshe (Hebrew: מדרש תדשא) is a small midrash which begins with an interpretation of Gen. 1:11: The name of the author occurs twice, and the midrash closes with the words "'ad kan me-divrei R. Pinchas ben Yair." No other auth ...

(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 (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 William Zeitlin (; – 1921) was a Russian scholar and bibliographer. Biography William Zeitlin was born in Homel, Mogilev Governorate, into a prominent Jewish family from Shklov. His major work was ''Kiryat Sefer'', or ''Bibliotheca Hebraica P ...

, ''Bibliotheca Hebraica Post-Mendelssohniana'' p. 79; *

Chaim David Lippe Chaim David Lippe (December 22, 1823, at Stanisławów, Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria – August 26, 1900, at Vienna) was an Austrian Jewish publisher and bibliographer. For some time he was cantor and instructor in religion at Eperies, Hunga ...

, ''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