Moses Mendelssohn : sage of modernity /

The strength of this work on Moses Mendelssohn, the recognized force of the Jewish Enlightenment in Germany, is the integrative private (community, family, work) and public portrait of a complex sage who played a major role in the acculturation of traditional Judaism in the public milieu of European Jewry in general and German Jewry in particular. Seven chapters reveal the cumulative knowledge of a core debate in the naturalization of Jews in 18th-century Europe, namely, the dilemma between reason and revelation and its effect on emancipated European Jewish life and thought. Feiner (Bar Ilan Univ., Israel) focuses on three directions of the fractious debate. First, inwardly, is the clash between enlightened religious tolerance and traditional religious absolutism. Second, outwardly, Judaism as revealed legislation is more apt to universal rational religion than Christianity's dependency on revealed doctrine and dogma. Third, pragmatically, "true Judaism" exemplifies natural religion; it embraces God, redemption, and reward. In the context of well-publicized religious disputations, inner community accusations, books, articles, and assorted events, Feiner presents, analytically, sympathetically, and persuasively, Mendelssohn's advocacy of rational, ethical Judaism as a harbinger in the embracing age of European nationalism, humanism, and secularism. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through researchers/faculty; general readers. Z. Garber Los Angeles Valley College

Feiner, a professor of Modern Jewish History at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, presents an all-encompassing biography of Mendelssohn, a prominent 18th-century Jewish intellectual. From his early life as a child prodigy to an adulthood of serious study, notoriety, and wealth, Feiner paints a complete portrait. As a child, Mendelssohn had a remarkable capacity for learning, accompanying his rabbi and mentor to Berlin for advanced Torah studies. Although the Prussian economy was tightly controlled by Christians, Mendelssohn was allowed to stay for his scholarship and in virtue of the prominent family with whom he was boarding. Mendelssohn's intellectual interests soon expanded beyond Torah study, and he familiarized himself with the sciences and philosophy of his day. In his early twenties, he began publishing his own ideas, famously challenging other respected thinkers, which brought him respect, a reputation, and fortune. Feiner describes Mendelssohn's intellectual and social ascent in a tight, concise narrative, supported through preserved documents like Mendelssohn's correspondences between his friends and family. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.