Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a
German-Jewish
The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
and
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development 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 ...
'', or 'Jewish Enlightenment' of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Born to a poor Jewish family in
Dessau
Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
,
Principality of Anhalt
The Principality of Anhalt (german: Fürstentum Anhalt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, located in Central Germany, in what is today part of the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Under the rule of the House of Ascania, the Anhalt territory ...
, and originally destined for 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 of ...
nical career, Mendelssohn educated himself in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
thought and literature. Through his writings on philosophy and religion he came to be regarded as a leading cultural figure of his time by both Christian and Jewish inhabitants of German-speaking Europe and beyond. His involvement in the Berlin
textile industry
The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry.
Industry process
Cotton manufacturi ...
formed the foundation of his family's wealth.
His descendants include the composers
Fanny and
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
; Felix's son, chemist
Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Paul Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born Paul Felix Abraham Mendelssohn Bartholdy; 18 January 1841, Leipzig – 17 February 1880, Berlin) was a German chemist and a pioneer in the manufacture of aniline dye. He co-founded the Aktien-Gesellschaft für Ani ...
; Fanny's grandsons,
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
and
Kurt Hensel
Kurt Wilhelm Sebastian Hensel (29 December 1861 – 1 June 1941) was a German mathematician born in Königsberg.
Life and career
Hensel was born in Königsberg, East Prussia (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the son of Julia (née von Adelson) and lan ...
; and the founders of the
Mendelssohn & Co. banking house.
Life
Youth
Moses Mendelssohn was born in
Dessau
Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...
. His father's name was Mendel, but Moses and his brother Saul were the first to adopt the surname Mendelssohn ("Mendel's son").
Moses's son
Abraham Mendelssohn
Abraham Ernst Mendelssohn Bartholdy (born Abraham Mendelssohn; 10 December 1776 – 19 November 1835) was a German banker and philanthropist. He was the father of Fanny Mendelssohn, Felix Mendelssohn, Rebecka Mendelssohn, and Paul Mendelssohn.
E ...
wrote in 1829 (to Felix), "My father felt that the name Moses Ben Mendel Dessau would handicap him in gaining the needed access to those who had the better education at their disposal. Without any fear that his own father would take offense, my father assumed the name Mendelssohn. The change, though a small one, was decisive."
Mendel was an impoverished
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing.
The profession of the scribe, previously widespread across cultures, lost most of its promi ...
—a writer of
Torah
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
scrolls—and his son Moses in his boyhood developed curvature of the
spine
Spine or spinal may refer to:
Science Biology
* Vertebral column, also known as the backbone
* Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite
* Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants
* Spine (zoolog ...
. Moses' early education was provided by his father and by the local rabbi,
David Fränkel
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
, who, besides teaching him the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
and
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
, introduced to him the philosophy 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 ...
. In 1743 Fränkel received a call to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, and a few months later Moses followed him. Moses, age 14, "entered Berlin at the Rosenthaler Tor, the only gate in the city wall through which Jews (and cattle) were allowed to pass." "Mendelssohn enrolled in Frankel's exacting seminary, where the program consisted of unending rote repetitions of early medieval texts, interpretations thereof, elaborations of Talmudic law, and copious commentary accumulated over the centuries."
A refugee Polish Jew,
Israel Zamosz Israel ben Moses ha-Levi Zamosz (c. 1700, Bibrka, Buberki – April 20, 1772, Brody) was an eighteenth-century Talmudist, mathematician and poet.
Biography
He was born in Bibrka, Buberki to an undistinguished family and studied in Zamość, Zamosz ...
, taught him mathematics, and a young Jewish
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
taught him
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
. He was, however, mainly self-taught. He learned to spell and to philosophize at the same time (according to the historian
Graetz). With his scanty earnings he bought a Latin copy of
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...
's ''
An Essay Concerning Human Understanding
''An Essay Concerning Human Understanding'' is a work by John Locke concerning the foundation of human knowledge and understanding. It first appeared in 1689 (although dated 1690) with the printed title ''An Essay Concerning Humane Understand ...
'', and mastered it with the aid of a Latin dictionary. He then made the acquaintance of
Aaron Solomon Gumperz
Aaron Solomon Gumperz (December 10, 1723 – April 10, 1769) was a Jewish German scholar and physician.
In March, 1751, Gumperz graduated with a degree in medicine from the University of Frankfurt (Oder), his dissertation being "''Ueber die Temper ...
, who taught him basic French and English. In 1750, a wealthy Jewish
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
-merchant, Isaac Bernhard, appointed him to teach his children. Mendelssohn soon won the confidence of Bernhard, who made the young student successively his bookkeeper and his partner.
It was possibly Gumperz who introduced Mendelssohn to
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (, ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the developmen ...
in 1754, who became one of his greatest friends. It is said that the first time Mendelssohn met Lessing, they played
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
. In Lessing's play ''
Nathan the Wise
''Nathan the Wise'' (original German title: ', ) is a play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing from 1779. It is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was never performed during Lessing's lifetime and was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsch ...
'' Nathan and the character Saladin first meet during a game of chess. Lessing had recently produced the drama ''Die Juden'', whose moral was that a Jew can possess nobility of character. This notion was, in the contemporary Berlin of
Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
, generally ridiculed as untrue. Lessing found in Mendelssohn the realization of his dream. Within a few months, the two became closely intellectually allied. Lessing also brought Mendelssohn to public attention for the first time: Mendelssohn had written an essay attacking Germans' neglect of their native philosophers (principally
Gottfried Leibniz
Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathem ...
), and lent the manuscript to Lessing. Without consulting the author, Lessing published Mendelssohn's ''Philosophical Conversations'' (''Philosophische Gespräche'') anonymously in 1755. In the same year there appeared in
Danzig (now
Gdańsk
Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...
, Poland) an anonymous satire, ''Pope a Metaphysician'' (''Pope ein Metaphysiker''), which turned out to be the joint work of Lessing and Mendelssohn.
Early prominence as philosopher and critic
Mendelssohn became (1756–1759) the leading spirit of
Friedrich Nicolai
Christoph Friedrich Nicolai (18 March 1733 – 11 January 1811) was a German writer and bookseller.
Life
Nicolai was born in Berlin, where his father, Christoph Gottlieb Nicolai (d. 1752), was the founder of the bookseller ''Nicolaisch ...
's important literary undertakings, the ''Bibliothek'' and the ''Literaturbriefe'', and ran some risk (which Frederick's good nature mitigated) by criticizing the poems of the King of Prussia. In 1762 he married Fromet Guggenheim, who survived him by twenty-six years. In the year following his marriage Mendelssohn won the prize offered by the
Berlin Academy for an essay on the application of mathematical proofs to metaphysics, ''On Evidence in the Metaphysical Sciences''; among the competitors were
Thomas Abbt
Thomas Abbt (; 25 November 1738 – 3 November 1766) was a German mathematician and writer.
Biography
Born in Ulm as the son of a wig-maker, Abbt visited a secondary school in Ulm, then moved in 1756 to study theology, philosophy and mathematics ...
and
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...
, who came second.
[Dahlstrom (2008)] In October 1763 the king granted Mendelssohn, but not his wife or children, the privilege of
Protected Jew
''Schutzjude'' (, "protected Jew") was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts.
Within the Holy Roman Empire, except some eastern territories gained by the Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries (e.g. Brandenb ...
(''
Schutzjude
''Schutzjude'' (, "protected Jew") was a status for German Jews granted by the imperial, princely or royal courts.
Within the Holy Roman Empire, except some eastern territories gained by the Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries (e.g. Brandenb ...
''), which assured his right to undisturbed residence in Berlin.
As a result of his correspondence with Abbt, Mendelssohn resolved to write on the immortality of the soul.
Materialistic Materialism is the view that the universe consists only of organized matter and energy.
Materialism or materialist may also refer to:
* Economic materialism, the desire to accumulate material goods
* Christian materialism, the combination of Chris ...
views were at the time rampant and fashionable, and faith in immortality was at a low ebb. At this favourable juncture appeared ''
Phädon oder über die Unsterblichkeit der Seele'' (''Phaedo or On the Immortality of Souls''; 1767). Modelled on
Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
's dialogue of the
same name, Mendelssohn's work possessed some of the charm of its Greek exemplar and impressed the German world with its beauty and lucidity of style.
[Elon (2002), p. 40.] ''Phaedo'' was an immediate success, and besides being one of the most widely read books of its time in
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
was speedily translated into several European languages,
including
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. The author was hailed as the "German Plato", or the "German Socrates"; royal and other aristocratic friends showered attentions on him, and it was said that "no stranger who came to Berlin failed to pay his personal respects to the German Socrates."
Lavater
![Mendelssohn, Lessing, Lavater](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Mendelssohn%2C_Lessing%2C_Lavater.jpg)
So far, Mendelssohn had devoted his talents to philosophy and
criticism
Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...
; now, however, an incident turned the current of his life in the direction of the cause of
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
. In April 1763,
Johann Kaspar Lavater
Johann Kaspar (or Caspar) Lavater (; 15 November 1741 – 2 January 1801) was a Swiss poet, writer, philosopher, physiognomist and theologian.
Early life
Lavater was born in Zürich, and was educated at the '' Gymnasium'' there, where J. J. ...
, then a young theology-student from Zurich, made a trip to Berlin, where he visited the already famous Jewish philosopher with some companions. They insisted on Mendelssohn telling them his views on Jesus and managed to get from him the statement, that, provided the historical Jesus had kept himself and his theology strictly within limits of orthodox Judaism, Mendelssohn "respected the morality of Jesus' character." Six years later, in October 1769, Lavater sent Mendelssohn his German translation of
Charles Bonnet
Charles Bonnet (; 13 March 1720 – 20 May 1793) was a Genevan naturalist and philosophical writer. He is responsible for coining the term ''phyllotaxis'' to describe the arrangement of leaves on a plant. He was among the first to notice parthe ...
's essay on Christian Evidences, with a preface where he publicly challenged Mendelssohn to refute Bonnet or if he could not then to "do what wisdom, the love of truth and honesty must bid him, what a Socrates would have done if he had read the book and found it unanswerable." Mendelssohn answered in an open letter in December 1769: "Suppose there were living among my contemporaries a
Confucius
Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
or a
Solon
Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...
, I could, according to the principles of my faith, love and admire the great man without falling into the ridiculous idea that I must convert a Solon or a Confucius." The ongoing public controversy cost Mendelssohn much time, energy and strength.
Lavater later described Mendelssohn in his book on
physiognomy
Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the general ...
, ''Physiognomische Fragmente zur Beförderung der Menschenkenntnis und Menschenliebe'' (1775–1778), as "a companionable, brilliant soul, with piercing eyes, the body of an
Aesop
Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales cre ...
ho was traditionally considered uglya man of keen insight, exquisite taste and wide erudition
..frank and open-hearted"—ending his public praise with the wish of Mendelssohn recognizing, "together with Plato and Moses... the crucified glory of Christ." When, in 1775 the Swiss-German Jews, faced with the threat of expulsion, turned to Mendelssohn and asked him to intervene on their behalf with "his friend" Lavater, Lavater, after receiving Mendelssohn's letter, promptly and effectively secured their stay.
Illness
In March 1771 Mendelssohn's health deteriorated so badly that
Marcus Elieser Bloch
Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723–1799) was a German physician and naturalist who is best known for his contribution to ichthyology through his multi-volume catalog of plates illustrating the fishes of the world. Brought up in a Hebrew-speaking Jewish ...
, his doctor, decided his patient had to give up philosophy, at least temporarily. After a short and restless sleep one evening, Mendelssohn found himself incapable of moving and had the feeling of something lashing his neck with fiery rods, his heart was palpitating and he was in an extreme anxiety, yet fully conscious. This spell was then broken suddenly by some external stimulation. Attacks of this kind recurred. The cause of his disease was ascribed to the mental stress due to his theological controversy with Lavater.
[Brand, 1974] However, this sort of attack, in milder form, had presumably occurred many years earlier. Bloch diagnosed the disease as due to 'congestion of blood in the brain' (a meaningless diagnosis in modern medical practice as such congestion is anatomically impossible), and after some controversy this diagnosis was also accepted by the famous Hanoverian court physician,
Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann
Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann / Johann Georg Zimmermann (8 December 1728, in Brugg, Aargau7 October 1795, in Hanover) was a Swiss philosophical writer, naturalist, and physician. He was the private physician of George III and later Frederick ...
, an admirer of Mendelssohn.
In retrospect, his illness might be diagnosed as a heart-rhythm-problem (such as
atrial fibrillation) and/or a mild form of
familial dysautonomia
Familial dysautonomia (FD), also known as Riley-Day Syndrome, is a rare, progressive, recessive genetic disorder of the autonomic nervous system that affects the development and survival of sensory, sympathetic and some parasympathetic neurons ...
, a hereditary disease of Ashkenazi Jews, which often brings with it a curvature of the spine and
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
-like symptoms in times of stress.
Mendelssohn was treated with
China bark, blood lettings on the foot,
leech
Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular segmented bodie ...
es applied to the ears,
enema
An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...
s, foot baths,
lemonade
Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage.
There are varieties of lemonade found throughout the world. In North America and South Asia, cloudy still lemonade is the most common variety. There it is traditionally a homemade drink using le ...
and mainly vegetarian food. “No mental stress whatsoever” was ordered. However, although he remained subject to periods of setback, he eventually recovered sufficiently to write the major works of his later career.
Death
![Juedischer Friedhof Berlin-mitte 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Juedischer_Friedhof_Berlin-mitte_2.jpg)
Mendelssohn died on 4 January 1786 as the result (it was thought at the time) of a cold contracted while carrying a manuscript (his reply to Jacobi, titled ''To Lessing's Friends (An die Freunde Lessings)'') to his publishers on New Year's Eve; Jacobi was held by some to have been responsible for his death.
He was buried in the Jewish Cemetery of Berlin. The translation of the
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
inscription on his gravestone (see picture to the right) reads: "H
rer
sts
STS, or sts, may refer to:
Medicine
* Secondary traumatic stress, a condition which leads to a diminished ability to empathize
* Sequence-tagged site, a gene-reference in genomics
* Soft-tissue sarcoma
* Staurosporine, an antibiotic
* STS (gen ...
/ the wise R
bMoses of Dessau / born on the 12th of
Elul
Elul ( he, אֱלוּל, Standard ''ʾElūl'', Tiberian ''ʾĔlūl'') is the twelfth month of the Jewish civil year and the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a month of 29 days. Elul usually occurs in August ...
5489
September 1729/ died on Wednesday the 5th of
Shevat
Shevat (Hebrew: שְׁבָט, Standard ''Šəvaṭ'', Tiberian ''Šeḇāṭ''; from Akkadian ''Šabātu'') is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calend ...
January/ and buried the next morning on Thursday 6th/ 5546
January 1786/ M
yH
sS
ul beB
und up in theB
nd of eternalL
fe. Although the cemetery was largely destroyed during the Nazi era, after
German reunification
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, in 2007-2008, it was reestablished with monuments to its past, including a recreation of Mendelssohn's gravestone.
Philosophical work
Works on religion and civil society
![Ritualgesetze der Juden](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Ritualgesetze_der_Juden.jpg)
It was after the breakdown of his health that Mendelssohn decided to "dedicate the remains of my strength for the benefit of my children or a goodly portion of my nation"—which he did by trying to bring the Jews closer to "culture, from which my nation, alas! is kept in such a distance, that one might well despair of ever overcoming it". One of the means of doing this was by "giving them a better translation of the holy books than they previously had". To this end Mendelssohn undertook his German translation of the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
and other parts of the Bible. This work was called the ''Bi'ur'' (''the explanation'') (1783) and also contained a commentary, only that on
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
having been written by Mendelssohn himself. The translation was in an elegant High German, designed to allow Jews to learn the language faster. Most of the German Jews in that period spoke
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
and many were literate in Hebrew (the language of Jewish scripture, liturgy, and scholarship). The commentary was also thoroughly rabbinic, quoting mainly from medieval exegetes but also from Talmud-era ''
midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
im''. Mendelssohn is also believed to be behind the foundation of the first modern public school for Jewish boys, "Freyschule für Knaben", in Berlin in 1778 by one of his most ardent pupils,
David Friedländer
David Friedländer (sometimes spelled Friedlander; 16 December 1750, Königsberg – 25 December 1834, Berlin) was a German banker, writer and communal leader.
Life
Friedländer settled in Berlin in 1771. As the son-in-law of the rich banker D ...
, where both religious and worldly subjects were taught.
Mendelssohn also tried to better the Jews' situation in general by furthering their rights and acceptance. He induced
Christian Wilhelm von Dohm
Christian Wilhelm von Dohm (; 11 December 1751 – 29 May 1820) was a German historian and political writer.
Biography
Dohm was born in Lemgo on 11 December 1751. The son of a Lutheran pastor at , he was a radical advocate for Jewish emancipatio ...
to publish in 1781 his work, ''On the Civil Amelioration of the Condition of the Jews'', which played a significant part in the rise of tolerance. Mendelssohn himself published a German translation of the ''Vindiciae Judaeorum'' by
Menasseh Ben Israel
Manoel Dias Soeiro (1604 – 20 November 1657), better known by his Hebrew name Menasseh ben Israel (), also known as Menasheh ben Yossef ben Yisrael, also known with the Hebrew acronym, MB"Y or MBI, was a Portuguese rabbi, kabbalist, writ ...
.
The interest caused by these actions led Mendelssohn to publish his most important contribution to the problems connected with the position of Judaism in a Gentile world. This was ''
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
'' (1783; Eng. trans. 1838 and 1852). It is a forcible plea for freedom of conscience, described by Kant as "an irrefutable book". Mendelssohn wrote:
Brothers, if you care for true piety, let us not feign agreement, where diversity is evidently the plan and purpose of Providence. None of us thinks and feels exactly like his fellow man: why do we wish to deceive each other with delusive words?
Its basic thrust is that the state has no right to interfere with the religion of its citizens, Jews included. While it proclaims the mandatory character of Jewish law for all Jews (including, based on Mendelssohn's understanding of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, those converted to Christianity), it does not grant the rabbinate the right to punish Jews for deviating from it. He maintained that Judaism was less a "divine need, than a revealed life". ''Jerusalem'' concludes with the cry "Love truth, love peace!"—in a quote from
Zacharias 8:19.
Kant called this "the proclamation of a great reform, which, however, will be slow in manifestation and in progress, and which will affect not only your people but others as well." Mendelssohn asserted the pragmatic principle of the possible plurality of truths: that just as various nations need different constitutions—to one a
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
, to another a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, may be the most congenial to the national genius—so individuals may need different religions. The test of religion is its effect on conduct. This is the moral of Lessing's ''
Nathan the Wise
''Nathan the Wise'' (original German title: ', ) is a play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing from 1779. It is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was never performed during Lessing's lifetime and was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsch ...
'' (''Nathan der Weise''), the hero of which is undoubtedly Mendelssohn, and in which the
parable of the three rings is the epitome of the pragmatic position.
To Mendelssohn his theory represented a strengthening bond to Judaism. But in the first part of the 19th century, the criticism of Jewish
dogma
Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam ...
s and traditions was associated with a firm adhesion to the older Jewish mode of living. Reason was applied to beliefs, the historic consciousness to life. Modern reform in Judaism has parted to some extent from this conception. In the view of the German writer
Heinrich Heine
Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...
, "as
Luther
Luther may refer to:
People
* Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation
* Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement
* Luther (give ...
had overthrown the Papacy, so Mendelssohn overthrew the
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
; and he did so after the same fashion, namely, by rejecting tradition, by declaring the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
to be the source of religion, and by translating the most important part of it. By these means he shattered Judaic, as Luther had shattered Christian,
catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
; for the Talmud is, in fact, the catholicism of the Jews."
Later years and legacy
Mendelssohn grew ever more famous, and counted among his friends many of the great figures of his time. But his final years were overshadowed and saddened by the so-called
pantheism controversy
The pantheism controversy (german: Pantheismusstreit), also known as ''Spinozismusstreit'' or ''Spinozastreit'', refers to the 1780s debates in German intellectual life that discussed the merits of Spinoza's "pantheistic" conception of God. What ...
. Ever since his friend
Lessing had died, he had wanted to write an essay or a book about his character. When
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi (; 25 January 1743 – 10 March 1819) was an influential German philosopher, literary figure, and socialite.
He is notable for popularizing nihilism, a term coined by Obereit in 1787, and promoting it as the prime faul ...
, an acquaintance of both men, heard of Mendelssohn's project, he stated that he had confidential information about Lessing being a "
Spinozist
Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
", which, in these years, was regarded as being more or less synonymous with "
atheist
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
"—something which Lessing was accused of being anyway by religious circles.
This led to an exchange of letters between Jacobi and Mendelssohn which showed they had hardly any common ground. Mendelssohn then published his ''Morgenstunden oder Vorlesungen über das Dasein Gottes'' (''Morning hours or lectures about God's existence''), seemingly a series of lectures to his oldest son, his son-in-law and a young friend, usually held "in the morning hours", in which he explained his personal philosophical world-view, his own understanding of Spinoza and Lessing's "purified" (''geläutert'') pantheism. But almost simultaneously with the publication of this book in 1785, Jacobi published extracts of his and Mendelssohn's letters as ''Briefe über die Lehre Spinozas'', stating publicly that Lessing was a self-confessed "pantheist" in the sense of "atheist". Mendelssohn was thus drawn into a poisonous literary controversy, and found himself attacked from all sides, including former friends or acquaintances such as
Johann Gottfried von Herder
Johann Gottfried von Herder ( , ; 25 August 174418 December 1803) was a German philosopher, theologian, poet, and literary critic. He is associated with the Enlightenment, ''Sturm und Drang'', and Weimar Classicism.
Biography
Born in Mohrung ...
and
Johann Georg Hamann
Johann Georg Hamann (; ; 27 August 1730 – 21 June 1788) was a German Lutheran philosopher from Königsberg known as "the Wizard of the North" who was one of the leader figures of post-Kantian philosophy. His work was used by his student J. G. ...
. Mendelssohn's contribution to this debate, ''To Lessing's Friends (An die Freunde Lessings)'' (1786), was his last work, completed a few days before his death.
Mendelssohn's complete works have been published in 19 volumes (in the original languages) (Stuttgart, 1971 ff., ed. A. Altmann and others)
Family
![Mendelssohn Medal](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Mendelssohn_Medal.JPG)
Mendelssohn had
six children, of whom only his second-oldest daughter, Recha, and his eldest son, Joseph, retained the Jewish faith.
His sons were:
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
(founder of the
Mendelssohn banking house and a friend and benefactor of
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
), Abraham (who married Lea Salomon and was the father of Fanny and
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
), and Nathan (a mechanical engineer of considerable repute). His daughters were
Brendel (later Dorothea; the wife of
Simon Veit
Simon Veit (25 May 1754, Brandenburg? - 1 October 1819, Berlin?) was a German merchant and banker of Jewish ancestry.
Life and work
His father, Juda Veit (1716-1786), was a wool merchant and founder of a bank. He was descended from one of the ...
and mother of
Philipp Veit
Philipp Veit (13 February 179318 December 1877) was a German Romantic painter and one of the main exponents of the Nazarene movement. It is to Veit that the credit of having been the first to revive the nearly forgotten technique of fresco ...
, subsequently the mistress, and then wife, of
Friedrich von Schlegel
Karl Wilhelm Friedrich (after 1814: von) Schlegel (; ; 10 March 1772 – 12 January 1829) was a German poet, literary critic, philosopher, philologist, and Indologist. With his older brother, August Wilhelm Schlegel, he was one of the main figures ...
), Recha and Henriette, all gifted women. Recha's only grandson (son of Heinrich Beer, brother of the composer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...
), was born and educated as a Jew, but died very young, together with his parents, apparently from an epidemic. Joseph Mendelssohn's son Alexander (d. 1871) was the last male descendant of Moses Mendelssohn to practice Judaism.
See also
*
Biurists The Biurists were a class of Jewish Biblical exegetes, of the school of Moses Mendelssohn.
Most of the Biblical commentators immediately preceding Mendelssohn had interpreted the Biblical passages from an individual point of view, and Mendelssohn wa ...
*
Fridolin Friedmann Fridolin Moritz Max Friedmann (June 2, 1897 – October 15, 1976) was a progressive German-Jewish educator. He taught at the Odenwald School and was later headmaster at the Landschulheim Caputh, both in Germany. He accompanied several Kindertranspo ...
*
Sara Grotthuis
Sara Grotthuis, born Sara Meyer, also known as Sophie Leopoldine Wilhelmine Baroness von Grotthuis and as Sara Wulff by her first marriage (1763 – 11 December 1828), was one of the most well-known "salonnières" (salon hostesses and patrons of t ...
*
Heinrich Josefsohn
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
*
Altmann, Alexander. ''Moses Mendelssohn: A Biographical Study'', 1973. .
* Bloch, Marcus, ''Medicinische Bemerkungen. Nebst einer Abhandlung vom Pyrmonter-Augenbrunnen''. Berlin 1774
*
Brand, Aron, ''The Illness of Moses Mendelssohn'', "Koroth" 6, 421-426, 1974
* Dahlstrom, Daniel, ''Moses Mendelssohn''
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2008 Edition) Edward N. Zalta (ed.)
* Kayserling, Meyer
Moses Mendelssohn, sein Leben und seine Werke. Nebst einem Anhange ungedruckter Briefe'. Leipzig, 1862.
* Lavater, J. K., ''Sammlung derer Briefe, welche bey Gelegenheit der Bonnetschen philosophischen Untersuchung der Beweise für das Christenthum zwischen Hrn. Lavater, Moses Mendelssohn, und Hrn Dr. Kölbele gewechselt worden
ollection of those letters which have passed between Mr. Lavater, Moses Mendelssohn, and Mr. Dr. Kölbele on occasion of Bonnet's investigation concerning the evidence of Christianity'' Frankfurt am Main 1774
Google Books.
* Mendelssohn, Moses, tr. A. Arkush, intr. A. Altmann: ''Jerusalem, or, on religious power and Judaism'', 1983. .
* Mendelssohn, Moses, tr., intr., comm. B. Rosenstock: ''Last Works'', 2012. Includes ''Morning Hours: Lectures on the Existence of God'' (''Morgenstunden'', 1785) and ''To the Friends of Lessing'' (''An die Freunde Lessings'', 1786). .
*
Momigliano, Arnaldo, ''On Pagans, Jews, and Christians'', Weslyan University Press, 1987
* Schoeps, Julius H. ''Das Erbe der Mendelssohhns'', Frankfurt 2009.
* Tree, Stephen. ''Moses Mendelssohn''. Rowohlt Verlag, Reinbek, 2007. .
Attribution
*
External links
Works by and about Moses Mendelssohn in University Library JCS Frankfurt am Main: Digital Collections Judaica*
Moses Mendelssohn's books at Google BooksTranslation of Moses Mendelssohn's ''Sache Gottes,'' ''The Case for God,'' a work unpublished in his lifetime dealing with questions related to theodicy, including Mendelssohn's denial of the doctrine of eternal punishmentStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entryOhr Le-Netivah (introduction to the 'Biur')on HebrewBooks.org
Contains Mendelssohn's Jerusalem, slightly modified for easier readingMoses MendelssohnIn Our Time (BBC Radio 4)
''In Our Time'' is a live BBC radio discussion series and podcast exploring a wide variety of historical topics, presented by Melvyn Bragg, since 15 October 1998.[Christopher Clark
Sir Christopher Munro Clark (born 14 March 1960) is an Australian historian living in the United Kingdom and Germany. He is the twenty-second Regius Professor of History at the University of Cambridge. In 2015, he was knighted for his servi ...](_bla ...<br></span></div> stream (original broadcast 22 March 2012) discussion with <div class=)
(
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
), Abigail Green (
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
), Adam Sutcliffe (
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
), hosted by
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg, (born 6 October 1939), is an English broadcaster, author and parliamentarian. He is best known for his work with ITV as editor and presenter of ''The South Bank Show'' (1978–2010), and for the BBC Radio 4 documenta ...
, and including a list of further readings.
Video Lecture on Moses Mendelssohn by Dr. Henry AbramsonGuide to the Material on Moses Mendelssohn Collectionat the
Leo Baeck Institute, New York
The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...
Digitized works by Moses Mendelssohnat the
Leo Baeck Institute, New York
The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendelssohn, Moses
1729 births
1786 deaths
Enlightenment philosophers
18th-century German Jewish theologians
German male non-fiction writers
Haskalah
Jewish philosophers
Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
People from Dessau-Roßlau
Philosophers of Judaism
Translators of the Bible into German
18th-century German writers
18th-century German male writers
18th-century philosophers
Jewish translators of the Bible
People of the Haskalah