Judah Löb Mieses (; – 26 June 1831) was a Galician writer and

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

Biography

Judah Löb Mieses was born into a wealthy rabbinic family in

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, Galicia (today Lviv, Ukraine), and was educated in both Jewish and secular subjects. He made his house the centre of a literary circle, supporting and guiding young

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

Isaac Erter Isaac Erter (, ; 1792 – April 1851) was a Polish-Jewish satirist and poet of the Galician Haskalah. His Hebrew prose has been compared to that of writers Heinrich Heine and Ludwig Börne. Biography Isaac Erter was born into the family of a p ...

, to whom he offered use of his extensive library. He also provided financial assistance to

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

students to attend universities in Germany and Austria. He died in the cholera epidemic of 1831.

Work

Mieses was a strong opponent of

Hasidism Hasidism () or Hasidic Judaism is a religious movement within Judaism that arose in the 18th century as a Spirituality, spiritual revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine before spreading rapidly throughout Eastern Europe. Today, most ...

. His main work, ''Kin'at ha-Emet'' (Vienna, 1828; 2nd ed., Lemberg, 1879), contains an introduction and three

dialogues Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is ch ...

between

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

and Solomon of Chelm. In it Mieses advocates for a "pure Judaism" free from superstitious beliefs. He sharply criticizes Hasidic leaders for spreading superstition, and for exploiting the credulity of the ignorant masses. He appends to his book, under the title ''Likkute Feraḥim'', extracts from the writings of

Judah ha-Levi Judah haLevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of which ...

, Joseph ibn Ezra,

Kimhi Kimhi, Kimchi, Kamhe, or Kamche () is a Jewish surname of disputed origin. Notable people with the surname include: Medieval * Joseph ben Isaac Kimhi (1105–1170), biblical commentator and poet, father of David and Moses Kimhi *Moses Kimhi (c. 1 ...

, Albo,

Abravanel The Abravanel family ( ''ʾAbravanʾēl'' or ''ʾAbarbənʾēl''), also spelled as ''Abarbanel'', ''Abrabanel'', ''Avravanel'', ''Barbernell'', or ''Barbanel'' literally meaning ''Ab'' ("father") ''rabban'' ("priest") ''el'' ("of God") is one of ...

, Joseph Delmedigo, and others, in support of his views. He also wrote additions to David Caro's ''Tekunat ha-Rabbanim'', which include a plan for modern

Jewish education Jewish education (, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Judaism places a heavy emphasis on Torah ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mieses, Judah Löb 1790s births 1831 deaths 19th-century Austrian Jews Deaths from cholera Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) People of the Haskalah Writers from Lviv