|
Showing 1 - 2 of
2 matches in All Departments
This book explores the "Golden Age" of Sephardic Jewry on the
Iberian Peninsula and its perception in German Jewish culture
during the era of emancipation. For Jews living in Germany, the
history of Sephardic Jewry developed into a historical example with
its distinctive valence and signature against the pressure to
assimilate and the emergence of anti-Semitism in Germany. It
provided, moreover, a forum to engage in internal dialogue amongst
Jews and external dialogue with German majority society about
challenging questions of religious, political, and national
identity. In this respect, the perception of prominent Sephardic
Jews as intercultural mediators was key to emphasizing the skills
and values Jews had to offer to civilizations in the past. German
Jews invoked this past significance in their case for a Jewish role
in present and future societies, especially in Germany.
Menasseh ben Israel (1604–1657) was one of the best-known rabbis
in early modern Europe. In the course of his life he became an
important Jewish interlocutor for Christian scholars interested in
Hebrew studies and negotiated with Oliver Cromwell and Parliament
the return of the Jews to England. Born to a family of former
conversos, Menasseh was versed in Christian theology and astutely
used this knowledge to adapt the content and tone of his
publications to the interests and needs of his Christian readers.
Judaism for Christians: Menasseh Ben Israel (1604–1657) is the
first extensive study to systematically focus on key titles in
Menasseh’s Latin works and discuss the success and failure of his
strategies of translation in the larger context of early modern
Christian Hebraism. Rauschenbach also examines the mistranslation
of his books by Christian scholars, who were not yet ready to share
Menasseh’s vision of an Abrahamic theology and of a republic of
letters whose members were not divided by denomination. Ultimately,
Menasseh’s plans to use Jewish knowledge as an entrée billet for
Jews into Christian societies proved to be illusory, as Christian
readers understood him instead as a Jewish witness for “Christian
truths.” Menasseh’s Jewish coreligionists disapproved of what
they perceived to be his dangerous involvement in Christian
debates, providing non-Jews with delicate information. It was only
a century after his death that Menasseh became a model for new
generations of Jewish scholars.
|
You may like...
Tenet
John David Washington, Robert Pattinson
Blu-ray disc
(1)
R54
R45
Discovery Miles 450
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.