Menachem Mendel Lefin (also Menahem Mendel Levin) (1749–1826) was an early leader of the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...

movement.

Biography

He was born in Satanov,

Podolia Podolia or Podilia ( uk, Поділля, Podillia, ; russian: Подолье, Podolye; ro, Podolia; pl, Podole; german: Podolien; be, Падолле, Padollie; lt, Podolė), is a historic region in Eastern Europe, located in the west-central ...

, where he had a traditional Jewish education supplemented by studies in science, mathematics, and medieval philosophy. In the early 1780s he lived in Berlin, where he met

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'Je ...

and other Haskalah leaders. He was later introduced to Prince

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential Polish aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts and a candidate for the Polish crow ...

, and became a tutor to Czartoryski's children in

. He spent most of his life living in Galicia, and had great influence on

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

Joseph Perl Joseph Perl (also ''Josef Perl''; November 10, 1773, Ternopil – October 1, 1839, Ternopil), was an Ashkenazi Jewish educator and writer, a scion of the Haskalah or Jewish Enlightenment. He wrote in Hebrew, Yiddish, and German; in 1819, he publi ...

. He is widely regarded as the "father of the Galician

." He campaigned in favor of adding general education to the standard curriculum in Jewish schools, and he was a fierce opponent of the Hasidic movement and the

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

, which he viewed as "nonsense." Among his influential works is a Musar text titled ''Cheshbon Ha-Nefesh'' (Moral Accounting), which was published in 1808, based in part on the ethical program described in the autobiography of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

.Afsai, Shai (2019).
Benjamin Franklin’s Influence on ''Mussar'' Thought and Practice: a Chronicle of Misapprehension
" ''Review of Rabbinic Judaism'' 22, 2: 228-276; Afsai, Shai (2011). "The Sage, the Prince & the Rabbi." ''Philalethes'' 64, 3 (2011): 101-109,128. Levin died in Tarnopol in 1826. Among his writings are: *''Sefer Makhkimat Peti'' ("Book of the Enlightening of the Foolish"), no longer extantDauber, Jeremy (2004). ''Antonio’s Devils: Writers of the Jewish Enlightenment and the Birth of Modern Hebrew and Yiddish Literature''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. . p. 217. *''Der Ershter Khosid'' ("The First Hasid"), no longer extant *''Moda la-Binah'' (Berlin, 1789), which encouraged East European Jews to study natural sciences and medicine *''Masot ha-Yam'' (Zolkiew, 1818; Lemberg, 1859), a translation of

Campe In Greek mythology, Campe or Kampe (; el, Κάμπη) was a female monster. She was the guard, in Tartarus, of the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires, whom Uranus had imprisoned there. When it was prophesied to Zeus that he would be victorious in the ...

's travel book *A translation of

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

' ''

Guide for the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish th ...

'' (Zolkiew, 1829), written in easy-to-read Mishnaic Hebrew *''Elon Moreh,'' an introduction to the ''Guide for the Perplexed'' (Odessa, 1867) *''Sefer Kohelet'' (Odessa, 1873; Vilna, 1930), a Yiddish translation of Ecclesiastes *''Essai d'un plan de réforme ayant pour objet d'eclairer la nation juive en Pologne et de redresser par là ses moeurs'' (1791–92).

References

External links

*Shai Afsai.
Benjamin Franklin and Judaism
" ''Journal of the American Revolution''. November 17, 2016. *Nancy Sinkoff, ''YIVO Encyclopedia'', http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Lefin_Menahem_Mendel {{DEFAULTSORT:Lefin, Menachem Mendel 1749 births 1826 deaths Hebrew-language writers People from Khmelnytskyi Oblast 18th-century Polish Jews People from Podolia Voivodeship Jewish ethicists People of the Haskalah