Moses ben Ḥanoch Altschul (commonly known as Moses Ḥanochs; 1633) was the author of the "''Brantspiegel''" (1602). Altschul was a considerable figure in the history of

Jewish literature Jewish literature includes works written by Jews on Jewish themes, literary works written in Jewish languages on various themes, and literary works in any language written by Jewish writers. Ancient Jewish literature includes Biblical literature ...

or, more properly speaking, of Judæo-German literature; for he was one of the first to use the vernacular in a polished diction, though he dealt with a subject that was not new nor peculiar to the secular life – that of

ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

. The "''Brantspiegel''" (''Mirror''), called in Hebrew "''Sefer HaMareh''" (), first published at

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, was intended as a direct appeal to the Jews of the period to live in social and moral purity. The book is divided into chapters, the number of which varies from sixty-eight to seventy-six, according to the different editions. They all indicate the many roads to morality, and the

penance Penance is any act or a set of actions done out of contrition for sins committed, as well as an alternative name for the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. The word ''penance'' derive ...

that the Jew should undergo for deviating from these roads. The author alleges two reasons for the title of his book: (1) It was called "''Spiegel''" (

Mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

) because the author wished that it should be constantly before the people, to show them their own

presentment A presentment is the act of presenting to an authority a formal statement of a matter to be dealt with. It can be a formal presentation of a matter such as a complaint, indictment or bill of exchange. In early-medieval England, juries of presentme ...

s. (2) "''Brant''" or "''Brand''" (Burning; that is, Magnifying) was pre-fixed because, as the author states, ordinary mirrors make things appear very small; while this glass was intended to show objects (especially bad qualities) in enlarged forms, so that people would then try to remove them. The author remarks, in the preface, that his book may be read on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

. The work became very popular; it called forth many imitations and analogous works, such as the "''Sitten Spiegel''," "''Zier Spiegel''," "''Zucht Spiegel''," and at a much later date the "''Kleine Brantspiegel''" (''Small Mirror''); and the work is expressly mentioned in the

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

of Altschul's son Ḥanoch (

Moritz Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...

, "''Catalogue of the Hebrew Books in the Bodleian Library''" cols. 1312, 1823, 1824, and in "Serapeum," x. 325;

Johann Christoph Wolf Johann Christoph Wolf (February 21, 1683, at Wernigerode – July 25, 1739, at Hamburg) was a German Christian Hebraist, polymath, and collector of books. He studied at Wittenberg, and traveled in Holland and England in the interest of science, c ...

, "''Bibliotheca Hebræa''" i. No. 1544, ii. 1272, 107, iii. 750). Moses ben Ḥanoch, who wrote "''Zikron Bayit''" (), was Altschul's grandson.

Mistaken identity as Ish Yerushalaẏim

Altschul was often – as early even as 1676, on the very title-page of the

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

edition of his work – mistaken for Ish Yerushalaẏim (a native of Jerusalem). This error is due to a corruption of the initial letters of his patronymic, into .

Mistaken identity as Ish Yerushalaẏim

References

Further reading