Daniel Neufeld (1814 – 15 October 1874) was a Polish-born Jewish author, poet, and

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

Biography

Daniel Neufeld was born to a Jewish family in

Praszka Praszka (german: Praschkau) is a town in Olesno County, Opole Voivodeship, Poland, with 7,655 inhabitants (2019). History The oldest known mention of the settlement dates back to 1260. It was granted town rights in 1392 by Polish King Wład ...

, where he received a traditional '' cheder'' education. At the age of 13 he enrolled in a provincial grammar school run by the

Piarist Fathers The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...

in Wieluń, but did not graduate, possibly because of his involvement in the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

. Neufeld opened a Jewish

boys' school Single-sex education, also known as single-gender education and gender-isolated education, is the practice of conducting education with male and female students attending separate classes, perhaps in separate buildings or schools. The practice of ...

in 1838, with a curriculum that included the exact sciences, foreign language, and principles of

progressive Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

. Neufeld moved to Chenstokhov in 1840, establishing there a private

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for Jewish boys. Neufeld settled in Warsaw in 1861, where worked as an editor of Samuel Orgelbrand's '' Encyklopedia powszechna'' (until 1868) and as a teacher in Jewish government schools. There he published a work on the Great Sanhedrin of 1806 under the title ''Wielki Sanhedryn Paryski w Roku 1806''. On 5 July 1861, Neufeld commenced the publication in Polish of a Jewish weekly newspaper entitled ' ( he, script=latn, Ayelet ha-Shaḥar), which sought to promote among Jews the Polish language and way of life. The periodical was closed during the

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

on 23 October 1863 and he was exiled to Siberia. Upon returning to Warsaw two years later, the tsarist authorities forbade Neufeld from teaching or printing in the press. He instead dedicated himself to promoting progressive Judaism and

assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture *Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs **Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the progre ...

. He published a Polish translation of the books of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

and Exodus, with a commentary (1863); a pamphlet on the establishment of a Jewish consistory in Poland entitled ''Urzadzenie Konsystorza Zydowskiego w Polsce''; a gnomology of the fathers of the Synagogue; and Polish translations of the '' siddur'' and the '' Haggadah'' (1865). Towards the end of his life Neufeld settled in Piotrków, where he served as the honorary director of a Jewish hospital. He died in Warsaw in October 1874.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neufeld, Daniel 1814 births 1874 deaths Jewish poets Jewish translators of the Bible Polish editors 19th-century Polish Jews Translators of the Bible into Polish 19th-century translators