Samuel Abraham Poznański or Shemuel Avraham Poznanski ( ,

Lubraniec Lubraniec is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship in central Poland, with 3,130 inhabitants (2010). It is located in the historic region of Kuyavia. History Lubraniec was the ancestral seat of the Lubrański noble family. Lubraniec was ...

, 3 September 1864–1921) was a Polish-Jewish scholar, known for his studies of

Karaism Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a non-Rabbinical Jewish sect characterized by the recognition of the written Tanakh alone as its supreme authority in ''halakha'' (religious law) and theology. Karaites believe that all of the divine commandmen ...

and the

Hebrew calendar The Hebrew calendar (), also called the Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today for Jewish religious observance and as an official calendar of Israel. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays and other rituals, such as '' yahrze ...

Arabist An Arabist is someone, often but not always from outside the Arab world, who specialises in the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture, culture (usually including Arabic literature). Origins Arabists began in Al Andalus, medieval Muslim ...

, Hebrew

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

, and authority on modern Karaism; rabbi and preacher at the Great Synagogue in Warsaw. He graduated from a gymnasium of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and studied at

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...

and the

Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums, or Higher Institute for Jewish Studies, was a rabbinical seminary established in Berlin in 1872 and closed down by the Nazi government of Germany in 1942. Upon the order of the government, the nam ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. At that time he formed an intimate friendship with his teacher

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 ...

, for whose eightieth birthday in 1896 he edited the

Festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

. He was appointed a member of the Warsaw council of rabbis by a committee of the Great Synagogue on Tłomackie Street, Warsaw just before his death where he preached. Orthodox Jews opposed his appointment and even resorted to street demonstrations.R. Zebrowski
"Modernization or an attempt to divide the community? Battle for the appointment of a progressive rabbi in Warsaw"
(abstract) He was succeeded at the Great Synagogue by

Moses Schorr Moses Schorr, Polish: Mojżesz Schorr (May 10, 1874 – July 8, 1941) was a rabbi, Polish historian, politician, Bible scholar, assyriologist and orientalist. Schorr was an expert on the history of the Jews in Poland. He was the first Jewish ...

in 1923. He was an ardent

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

, and a delegate to the

First Zionist Congress The First Zionist Congress () was the inaugural congress of the Zionist Organization, Zionist Organization (ZO) held in the Stadtcasino Basel in the city of Basel on August 29–31, 1897. Two hundred and eight delegates from 17 countries and 2 ...

Writings

Poznanski is the author of the following works: * "Eine Hebräische Grammatik des Dreizehnten Jahr-hunderts" (Berlin, 1894); * "Mose b. Samuel ha-Kohen ibn Chiquitilla Nebst den Fragmenten Seiner Schriften" (Leipsic, 1895); * "Isak b. Elasar ha-Levis Einleitung zu Seinem Sephath Jether" (Breslau, 1895); * "Aboul Faradj Haroun ben al-Faradj le Grammairien de Jürusalem et Son Mouschtamil" (Paris, 1896); * "Die Girgisani-Handschriften im British Museum" (Berlin, 1896); * "Karaite Miscellanies" (London, 1896); * "Mesroi al Okbari, Chef d'une Secte Juive du Neuvième Siècle" (Paris, 1896); * "The Anti-Karaite Writings of Saadjah Gaon" (London, 1897); * "Jacob ben Ephraim, ein Anti-Karäischer Polemiker des Zehnten Jahrhunderts" (Breslau, 1900, in "Kaufmann Gedenkbuch"); * "Perush R. Sa'adya Gaon le-Dani'el" (Berdychev, 1900); * "Tanhoum Yeruschalmi et Son Commentaire sur le Livre de Jonas" (Paris, 1900); "Miscellen über Saadja III.: Die Beschreibung des Erlösungs-Jahres in Emunoth we-Deoth ch. 8" (Breslau, 1901); * "Tehillah le-Dawid" (Kaufmann) in Hebrew (Warsaw, 1902); * "Le Commentaire sur le Livre d'Osée par Eliezer (ou Eléazar) de Beaugency" (Berdychev, 1902); * "Anan et Ses Ecrits" (Paris, 1902); * "Der Arabische Kommentar zum Buche Josua von Abû Zakarjâ Jahjâ Ibn Bal'am" (Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1903); * "Ephrajim ben Schemarja de Fostât et l'Académie Palestinienne" (Paris, 1904); * "Schechters Saadyana" (Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1904); * "Fragments de l'Exegèse Biblique de Menahem bar Chelbo" (Warsaw, 1904); * "Ibn Hazm über Jüdische Sekten" (London, 1904). He has contributed also numerous articles to the "Monatsschrift," Stade's "

Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft The ''Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft'' (''ZATW''/''ZAW'') is an academic German journal established in 1881. It is concerned with theological, linguistic and historical criticism of the Hebrew Bible. Formerly, it represented a ...

," "Ha-Goren" (Berdychev), "

Ha-Ẓefirah ''Ha-Tsfira'' () was a Hebrew language, Hebrew-language newspaper published in Poland in 1862 and 1874–1931. History The first issue of ''Ha-Tsfira'' appeared in Warsaw, Congress Poland, in 1862, edited by Chaim Selig Slonimski. ''Ha-Tsfira'' wa ...

" (Warsaw), " Revue des Etudes Juives," and the "

Jewish Quarterly Review ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Jewish studies. It is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (University of P ...

References

External links

*
Important Persons in Karaim History
*

Solomon Schechter Solomon Schechter (‎; 7 December 1847 – 19 November 1915) was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the United Synagogue of America, President of the ...

''Letters to Samuel Poznanski''
(in Hebrew, 1943).

Bibliography

* G. Kressel, Cyclopaedia of modern Hebrew Literature (Leksīqōn has-sifrūt hā'ibrīt be-dōrōt ha-aharōnīm), vol. II, 1965, (Hebrew). *

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a multi-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, Jewish holida ...

, vol.13, 929 - 930. {{DEFAULTSORT:Poznanski, Samuel 1864 births 1921 deaths Polish Reform rabbis Polish Zionists Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums alumni Delegates to the First World Zionist Congress