Hirsch Edelmann (1805 – 20 November 1858) was a
Russian Jewish author and editor.
Born in
Swislocz
Svislach or Śvislač ( be, Свiслач, ; russian: Сви́слочь, Svisloch; pl, Świsłocz; yi, סיסלעוויטש or ''Sislevitch''; lt, Svisločius) is a town in the South-West of Grodno Region, Belarus, an administrative center of ...
, in the
Russian Empire (present-day
Belarus), he was the son of a
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
nical scholar, and received a good Talmudical education, which he later supplemented by acquainting himself thoroughly with ancient and modern
Hebrew literature
Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews. Hebrew literature was pro ...
. In 1839 Edelmann published his first work, "Haggahot u-Bi'urim," notes and commentaries to the "Me'irat 'Enayim" of Nathanson and Etlinger, Wilna, 1839. Five years later he published "'Alim le-Mibḥan," specimens or extracts from his work on difficult passages of the
Haggadah in the Talmudim and Midrashim, with an appendix, "Megillat Sefer," on Purim and the Megillah, Danzig, 1844. The following year he published in
Königsberg (where, as at
Danzig, he had charge of a printing establishment) two critical editions of the Haggadah for
Passover, with introductions, annotations, etc. The same year he published, also in Königsberg, the "Siddur Hegyon Leb," which is commonly known as "Landshuth's Prayer-Book." To this work Edelmann also contributed glossaries, emendations, and notes.
Edelmann spent about ten years in England, and was one of the first competent scholars to examine the manuscripts and rare printed books of the Oppenheim collection in the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
, Oxford, and to give the outside world some knowledge of their contents. In this work he was assisted by
Leopold Dukes
Leopold Dukes ( hu, Dukes Lipót; 17 January 1810, Pozsony – 3 August 1891, Vienna) was a Hungarian critic of Jewish literature.
Biography
Dukes spent about 20 years in England, and from his researches in the Bodleian Library and the British ...
; and they jointly edited and published "Ginze Oxford" (with an English translation by
Marcus Heymann Breslau, London, 1851).
To this period of Edelmann's activity belong also:
*"Derek Ṭobim," ethical wills of
Judah ibn Tibbon
Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (1120 – after 1190) was a translator and physician.
Born in Granada, he left Spain in 1150, probably on account of persecution by the Almohades, and went to Lunel in southern France. Benjamin of Tudela mentions him as ...
and
Maimonides, also ancient Arabic and Greek proverbs rendered into Hebrew, with English translation by Bresslau, London, 1852
*"Dibre Ḥefeẓ," extracts from various unprinted works, London, 1853
*"Tehillah la-Yesharim," poem by
Moses Ḥayyim Luzzatto from an Oxford manuscript, with preface by Edelmann, London, 1854
*"Ḥemdah Genuzah," unedited manuscripts by early rabbinical authorities, with a literary-historical introduction, Königsberg, 1856.
Edelmann also brought out a valuable critical new edition of
Ishtori Haparchi
Ishtori Haparchi (1280-1355), also Estori Haparchi and Ashtori ha-Parhi ( he, אשתורי הפרחי) is the pen name of the 14th-century Jewish physician, geographer, and traveller, Isaac HaKohen Ben Moses.''Encyclopedia Judaica'' Keter, Jerusal ...
's "Kaftor u-Feraḥ," Berlin, 1851, and wrote "Gedullat Sha'ul," a biography of Rabbi
Saul Wahl
Saul Wahl Katzenellenbogen (1541–1617) was a wealthy and politically influential Polish Jew who is said to have briefly occupied the throne of Poland on 18 August 1587. He has historically borne the nickname, "''Le roi d'un jour''" (king for a ...
, the alleged one-day King of Poland, with an appendix, "Nir le-Dawid ule-Zar'o," the genealogy of
Denis M. Samuel of London, a descendant of that rabbi, London, 1854.
In 1852 Edelmann settled in Berlin. For three months before his death he was in the insane department of the
Charité
The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...
hospital of that city.
Notes
References
*, s.v.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Edelmann, Hirsch
1805 births
1858 deaths
People from Svislach
Belarusian Jews
Writers from the Russian Empire
Jews from the Russian Empire
Jewish Russian writers
Jewish scholars
Russian editors