David Levi (1742 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

– 1801) was an English-Jewish writer,

Hebraist A Hebraist is a specialist in Jewish, Hebrew and Hebraic studies. Specifically, British and German scholars of the 18th and 19th centuries who were involved in the study of Hebrew language and literature were commonly known by this designation, a ...

, Jewish apologist, translator, and poet.

Biography

Levi was born to poor immigrant parents who could not afford to educate him. He worked as a shoemaker, then as a hatter, then as a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jame ...

. He read voraciously in Jewish literature from ancient times to the present, as well as in Christian writings about Judaism and about the Bible. Self-educated, he realised how little both Jews and Christians in England knew about Judaism and resolved to explain and defend his faith. His first published work, ''A Succinct Account of the Rites and Ceremonies of the Jews'' (1782), tried to explain Judaism to Jews and to correct Christian misconceptions about Judaism. Next, he translated the prayer books of both the

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

and

Spanish and Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the i ...

. He supervised a translation of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...

into English and published a Hebrew grammar and dictionary, and a guide to the Hebrew language. In 1786,

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

published his ''Letter to the Jews'' (1786), urging them to convert. Levi published a lengthy answer, which led to many arguments with Christian divines. This led to his three-volume ''Dissertation on the Prophecies of the Old Testament'' (1793–1800), which he printed and published himself. It was republished in London in 1817 in two volumes. Levi's work was well known in Christian circles; his ''Dissertation on the Prophecies'' was accepted as authoritative by many scholars, both Jewish and Christian, well into the nineteenth century. His six-volume English translation of the liturgy served as the foundation for later editions published in England and in the United States. His Protestant friend

Henry Lemoine Henry Lemoine (21 October 1786 – 18 May 1854) was a French music publisher, composer, and piano teacher. Life Lemoine was born in Paris, where he was a pupil of Anton Reicha, a composer and piano teacher. In 1816 he took over his father An ...

published an obituary in the ''

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' (October 1801), "He's Gone! the Pride of Israel's Busy Tribe". It praised him as a great explainer and defender of Judaism against both Christians and sceptics. Levi was also poet in ordinary to the synagogue, and furnished odes when required on several public celebrations, as, for instance, on the king's escape from assassination in 1795.

References

* Oxford

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

* Obituary: H. Lemoine, ''Gentlemen's Magazine'', 1st ser., 71 (1801), 934–5 * J. Picciotto, Sketches of Anglo-Jewish history, rev. edn, rev. Israel Finestein (1956) * R. H. Popkin, 'David Levi, Anglo-Jewish theologian', Jewish Quarterly Review, 87 (1996), 79–101 *

Simeon Singer Simeon Singer (1846–1906) was an English Rabbi, preacher, lecturer and public worker. He is best known for his English translation of the ''Authorised Daily Prayer Book'', informally known as the "Singer's Siddur". Biography Personal life and ...

, 'Early translations and translators of the Jewish liturgy in England', Transactions of the Jewish Historical Society of England, 3 (1896–8), 36–71 *

Goldman, Yosef Yosef Goldman (1942 – August 4, 2015) was a scholar of American Jewish history and the co-author of the two-volume reference work, '' Hebrew Printing in America 1735-1926: A History and Annotated Bibliography'' (2006). This work is usually cited b ...

. ''

Hebrew Printing in America, 1735-1926, A History and Annotated Bibliography ''Hebrew Printing in America, 1735-1926, A History and Annotated Bibliography'' () is a history and bibliography of Hebrew books printed in America between 1735 and 1926 by Ari Kinsberg. It records 1208 items, annotated with bibliographical inform ...

'' (YGBooks 2006). . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Levi, David (scholar) Writers from London English Jews Jewish British writers British milliners Shoemakers 1742 births 1801 deaths Jewish apologists Jewish poets 18th-century English poets 18th-century English Jews 18th-century English translators