Historians of the European Jewish experience have long
marginalized the intellectual achievement of Jews in England, where
it was assumed no seminal figures contributed to the development of
modern Jewish thought. In this first comprehensive account of the
emergence of Anglo-Jewish thought in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries, David Ruderman impels a reconsideration of the formative
beginnings of modern European Jewish culture. He uncovers a vibrant
Jewish intellectual life in England during the Enlightenment era by
examining a small but fascinating group of hitherto neglected
Jewish thinkers in the process of transforming their traditional
Hebraic culture into a modern English one. This lively portrait of
English Jews reformulating their tradition in light of
Enlightenment categories illuminates an overlooked corner in the
history of Jewish culture in England and Jewish thought during the
Enlightenment.
Ruderman overturns the conventional view that the origins of
modern Jewish consciousness are located exclusively within the
German-Jewish experience, particularly Moses Mendelssohn's circle.
Independent of the better-known German experience, the encounter
between Jewish and English thought was incubated amid the
unprecedented freedom enjoyed by Jews in England. This resulted in
a less inhibited defense of Jews and Judaism. In addition to the
original and prolific thinkers David Levi and Abraham Tang,
Ruderman introduces Abraham and Joshua Van Oven, Mordechai Shnaber
Levison, Samuel Falk, Isaac Delgado, Solomon Bennett, Hyman
Hurwitz, Emanuel Mendes da Costa, Ralph Shomberg, and others. Of
obvious appeal and import to students of Jewish and English
history, this study depicts the challenge of defining a religious
identity in the modern age.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
