David Castelli (December 30, 1836, Leghorn,

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

– 1901,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

) was an Italian scholar and educator in the field of secular

Jewish studies Jewish studies (or Judaic studies; he, מדעי היהדות, madey ha-yahadut, sciences of Judaism) is an academic discipline centered on the study of Jews and Judaism. Jewish studies is interdisciplinary and combines aspects of history (esp ...

. He was educated at the rabbinical college of Leghorn, and from 1857 to 1863 was teacher of Hebrew and Italian in the

Jewish schools A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiate s ...

of that city. Then he became secretary of the Jewish congregation in

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

, where at the same time he was a private teacher. From January 1876 until his death he occupied the chair of Hebrew at the ''Istituto di Studi Superiori Pratici e di Perfezionamento'' in Florence.

Biography

David Castelli was born in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (pronou ...

, a city which in the 19th century, under the guidance of Rabbi Elia Benamozegh, became the seat of one of the liveliest

Italian Jewish Italian Jews ( it, Ebrei Italiani, he, יהודים איטלקים ''Yehudim Italkim'') or Roman Jews ( it, Ebrei Romani, he, יהודים רומים ''Yehudim Romim'') can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in I ...

communities of the time. Of Castelli's numerous works and essays the following may be mentioned. Initiated by his father to the rabbinical profession, Castelli was self-taught for his higher education until from 1857 to 1863 he was a teacher of

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and literature in the schools of the city. * ''L'Ecclesiaste, Traduzione e Studio Critico'', Pisa, 1866 * ''Leggende Talmudiche, Traduzione con Prefazione Critica'', Pisa, 1869 * ''Il Messia Secondo gli Ebrei'' Florence, 1874 * ''Il Diritto di Testare nella Legislazione Ebraica'', Florence, 1878 * ''Della Poesia Biblica'', Florence, 1878 * "Il Commento di Sabbatai Donnolo al Libro della Creazione, Testo Ebraico con Note Critiche e Introduzione in Ebraico e in Italiano", Florence, 1880, in ''Pubblicazioni del Regio Istituto di Studi Superiori'' * ''La Profezia nella Biblia'', Florence, 1882 * ''La Legge del Popolo Ebreo nel suo Storico Svolgimento'', Florence, 1884 * ''Storia degli Israeliti Secondo le Fonti Bibliche Criticamente Esposte'', 2 vols., Milan, 1887–88 * ''Il Cantico dei Cantici, Studio Esegetico, Traduzione e Note'', Florence, 1892 * ''Ammaestramenti del Vecchio e del Nuovo Testamento, Raccolti e Tradotti'', Florence, 1896 * ''Il Poema Semitico del Pessimismo (Il Libro di Job), Tradotto e Commentato'', Florence, 1897 * ''Gli Ebrei, Sunto di Storia Politica e Letteraria'', Florence, 1899

References

* Facchini, C., ''David Castelli. Ebraismo e scienze delle religioni tra Otto e Novecento'', Brescia: Morcelliana, 2005

External links

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Brief biographical information
1836 births 1901 deaths 19th-century Italian educators 19th-century Jewish biblical scholars Italian biblical scholars Jewish educators 19th-century Italian Jews Livornese Jews {{Italy-academic-bio-stub