Description
Book SynopsisDrawing from diverse multilingual sources, Krzemień delves into Solomon Dubno's life (1738–1813), unraveling complexities of the Haskalah movement's ties to Eastern European Jewish culture. Dubno, a devout Polish Jew and adept Hebrew grammarian, played a pivotal role in Moses Mendelssohn's endeavor to translate the Bible into German with a modern commentary (Biur). The book explores Dubno's library, mapping the intellectual realm of a Polish Maskil in Western Europe. It assesses his influence on Mendelssohn's project and the reasons behind their divergence. Additionally, it analyzes Dubno's poetry, designed to captivate peers with the Bible's linguistic beauty. The outcome portrays early Haskalah as a polyvocal, polycentric creation shaped by diverse, occasionally conflicting, visions, personalities, and egos.
Trade Review“This wonderful and comprehensive study of one of the less known but prominent and moderate agents of Jewish modernity helps us understand the complexity of the modern Jewish cultural project in the eighteenth century. Dubno, committed to tradition, represents the multifarious phenomenon of the Jewish Diaspora in Europe which included individuals with heterogeneous views. The book is a major contribution to the new scholarship on the Jewish Enlightenment, justly emphasizing the East European origins of the Haskalah.”
— Shmuel Feiner, The Samuel Braun Chair for the History of the Jews in Germany, Bar Ilan University
“This is a much, much needed and important book, impressively wide yet precise in source basis, innovative yet crystal-clear in analysis, and bold yet convincing in argumentation. Through the intellectual biography of a maskil, Talmudist, and Hebraist, Solomon Dubno, this impressive study helps us understand much more: the trajectories of the Jewish Enlightenment and the complex interrelation between East and Central European versions of the Haskalah in both their intellectual and social dimensions. A must-read for anybody interested in early modern and modern Jewish culture, both Western and Eastern.”
— Marcin Wodziński, Professor of Jewish history and literature, University of Wrocław
Table of ContentsA Note from the Editors
Preface: Zuzanna Krzemień at University College London
A Note on the Presentation of Source Materials
Introduction
Eastern European participation in the Jewish Enlightenment: the lessons of one life
A Jewish scholar's life between Volhynia, Berlin, and Amsterdam
Re-orientations: the scope and limits of Jewish intellectual transformation in the Age of Enlightenment
Dubno, Hebrew Literature, and the Haskalah
Chapter outline
1. Solomon Dubno's Booklists
Introduction
Book collecting in early modern times
The content of Solomon Dubno’s library
General overview
Methods of book collecting
Maskilic works
Non-Jewish books and works on Christianity
Rabbinic literature
Authors with the largest number of books in Dubno’s booklist
Philosophy
Poetry and belles lettres
History and contemporary Jewish conflicts
Grammar
Science
Dubno’s collex
Conclusion
2. Dubno and the Biur Project
The publication of the Biur
The conflict between Mendelssohn and Dubno
Dubno’s role in the publication of the Biur
The authorship of Alim li-terufah
The Biur and the Jewish tradition of biblical textual criticism
The Biur as a debate with Christianity
The reaction to the publication of the Biur
Speculations regarding Dubno’s withdrawal from the Biur project
Dubno’s own Pentateuch edition
Conclusion
3. Dubno and the Renewal of Hebrew Language
The study of Hebrew grammar among Ashkenazi Jewry
Dubno’s views on Hebrew grammar
The status of the Hebrew language in the maskilic community
Enlightenment thinkers’ views on language
Dubno’s belief in the divine nature of Hebrew
Dubno’s view of the German Pentateuch translation
Conclusion
4. Dubno’s Poetry and Belles Lettres
Introduction
Maskilic Hebrew poetry in the eighteenth century
“Yuval ve-Na’aman”
Dubno’s poetry
Works wrongly attributed to Dubno
Conclusion
Conclusions
Bibliography
Appendix
Se’u enekhem
Shir kashur min me’ah yetedot
Shir na’eh al midat ha-ḥanupah
