Friedrich Weinreb

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Friedrich Weinreb

Friedrich Weinreb (born November 18, 1910 in Lemberg , Austria-Hungary ; died October 19, 1988 in Zurich ) was a Jewish-Hasidic narrator and writer.

biography

Weinreb came from traditional Eastern European Hasidic Judaism . Because of the events of the war in 1916, his family fled to Vienna and emigrated to the Netherlands . Weinreb spent his further childhood and youth in Scheveningen and then studied economics in Vienna and Rotterdam , where he received his doctorate in 1938 .

According to his own admission, during the German occupation of the Netherlands between 1940 and 1945, Weinreb managed to save around 1,500 Dutch Jews from the threat of murder in the German extermination camps through prudent, fearless and cunning actions . The Dutch authorities, who suspected him after the war of having cooperated with the German occupiers, saw it quite differently. He was imprisoned for collaboration from mid-1945 to late 1948. During this time he began his extensive biographical and religious records. Even after that, Weinreb remained extremely controversial in the Netherlands. A study by historian Jacques Presser from 1965 commissioned by the Dutch government was able to rehabilitate Weinreb. A few years later a report was published by the Rijksinstituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie ("Reichsinstitut für Kriegsdocumentatie"), a state-run institute for the history of the country in the Second World War that is respected in the Netherlands. Based on numerous testimonies, the researchers came to the conclusion that Weinreb had been guilty of collaboration and treason during World War II . Weinreb supporters have always questioned these allegations. The dispute over his person is known in the Netherlands as the "Affair Weinreb". It caused Weinreb to leave the country forever.

Between 1952 and 1968, Weinreb was a university professor for econometrics and statistics in various countries, first in Indonesia from 1952 to 1956 , then in Turkey from 1958 to 1961 . From 1961 to 1964 he was an economics advisor at the United Nations in Geneva .

Between 1968 and 1970 he lived in Jerusalem , where he turned more intensely than before to religious topics from Jewish tradition. This led to a series of lectures in Europe, in the Netherlands, in Germany and above all in Zurich, where his now numerous books and writings from the field of the Hasidic and Kabbalistic tradition were published. Weinreb had lived entirely in Zurich since 1970 and devoted himself exclusively to conveying this tradition through narrative.

Even after his death in 1988, Weinreb remained extremely controversial in the Netherlands. He was especially by the historian Regina Grüter in her work Een fantast schrijft geschiedenis (1997) as a fantasist and impostor held up while other scientists understand its involvement in the war as a resistance against the persecution of Jews and appreciate his contributions to teaching Jewish mystical traditions .

The divine word

Weinreb was mainly concerned with the interpretation of the biblical word. In his main work Creation in the Word - The Structure of the Bible in Jewish Tradition, he is concerned with the timeless "meaning" of the Hebrew Bible as a document of being in general, beyond all historically verifiable facts. For Weinreb, the direct mediation of the word between God and the listener of the text is essential for every biblical reading. A prerequisite for a deeper understanding of the Bible is the recognition of the Hebrew biblical language as an essential communication of fundamental, timeless truth. Above all, Kabbalistic traditions come into play, which show a connection between word and number.

Weinreb's lectures and texts on various topics from the Jewish tradition (e.g. festivals, calendar, astrology ) were created on this biblical basis . Weinreb dealt with questions of the Judeo-Christian relationship in his own interpretations of the New Testament . In addition, he also dealt with psychological, sociological and medical issues from a spiritual point of view.

Impact history

Due to his intensive contacts with Christianity , Islam and the Eastern religions, Weinreb was very interested in the dialogue between the religions. However, this never led him to relativize his own Jewish origins. Rather, according to Weinreb, the togetherness of all religions becomes apparent precisely where one pursues one's own religious tradition intensively down to the very bottom.

However, Christians in particular feel addressed by the doctrine of Weinrebs. In his book “Inner World of the Word in the New Testament” (published in 1988, the year he died) Weinreb stated that the message of Jesus Christ corresponds perfectly to the Jewish expectation of the Messiah : “The stories in the New Testament tell exactly what one can say about the miracle of the Messiah awaits ”; and: “Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ is crucial to the whole Bible. And if the Bible is our being, the being of the whole world, from there it is decisive for everything. The Jews too firmly believe in the Messiah as the only certainty. (...) The Christ, the Messiah is the goal, hope, certainty for every life, is the basis of creation. "

Weinreb opposes an understanding that interprets the biblical presentation in a historical-linear sense. According to Weinreb, z. B. Judas Iscariot does not understand the spiritual meaning of the divine word and succumbs to a false separation of inside and outside, spirit and body, which for Weinreb makes him a "man of rift" (Iscariot derived from Weinreb's interpretation of "man of Krioth"; kriah , Hebrew = crack) makes: “With this he (Judas) delivered him (Jesus) to the world of temporality, made a historical person out of him. He did not understand that Jesus is a figure of eternity, wherever he goes now, and therefore appears here and comes again. ”Likewise,“ the Christians would have suddenly made the anointed into a historical figure ... how man perceives the past ” . For the Jewish understanding of Scripture, however, the hermeneutic principle applies: "'In the Bible there is no before and after." Even if the resurrection is told at the end, it also applies to Adam, to Noah. And then the spatial is not, as sometimes earthly, far apart. "

Klaus W. Hälbig thinks that Weinreb's understanding of Scripture, which goes back to Jewish tradition and mysticism, agrees with the Christian understanding of the early Church . “Of course, it radically calls into question many of the basic assumptions of today's historical-critical exegesis . To accept this and to receive Weinreb would mean a complete paradigm shift for the scientific interpretation of the Scriptures. Insofar as such a change in the turn to the canonical interpretation of Scripture is currently emerging, Weinreb's interpretation of the Bible is undoubtedly gaining in importance. "

On the other hand, Weinreb had little influence on the religious life of his fellow Jews. With a few exceptions, this also applies to further developments of classical Hasidism that are popular today, especially in the USA and Israel . Hasidic Jews or other followers of Kabbalah did not find out about Weinreb's work because of the language barrier to German or Dutch. In addition, the independence of the Kabbalistic mystic was essential for Weinreb's self-image, which made communication with organized Judaism fundamentally difficult.

In Germany, the study group around Johanna J. Danis deals intensively with the Weinrebs plant. Weinreb was present as an honorary member when the "Institute for Psychosymbolics" was founded in Munich in 1985 and gave a lecture entitled: About signs and symbols .

In 2010, Christian Schneider, Weinrebs editor, wrote the extensive book The Sacrifice in the Bible. Publishing Closer to God . The book goes back to free lectures from the years 1965-66 and wants to open up the depth of the 3rd book of Moses .

Works (selection)

The Weinrebs list of publications comprises more than 50 titles.

Major works

  • The divine blueprint of the world. The meaning of the Bible according to the oldest Jewish tradition. Origo, Zurich 1966.
    • Unabridged new edition: Creation in the Word. The structure of the Bible in Jewish tradition. Thauros, hamlet in the Allgäu 1994.
  • The role of Esther. The Book of Esther according to the oldest Jewish tradition. Origo, Zurich 1968.
  • The Book of Jonah (Jona). The meaning of the Book of Jonah according to the oldest Jewish tradition. Origo, Zurich 1970.
  • The Jewish roots of the Gospel of Matthew. Origo, Zurich 1972.
  • Life in this world and in the hereafter. An ancient, forgotten image of man. Origo, Zurich 1974.
  • Miracles of signs - miracles of language. The meaning and mystery of the letters. Origo, Bern 1979.
  • Legend of the two trees. Alternative model of an autobiography. Origo, Bern 1981.
  • Dream life. Traditional dream interpretation. Four volumes, Thauros, Munich 1981.
  • Astrology in Jewish mysticism. Thauros, Munich 1982.
  • The biblical calendar. With a Hasidic story for every day of the year. Four volumes, Thauros, Weiler 1984ff.
  • The Jewish Passover meal and what is told about redemption. Thauros, hamlet 1985.
  • Inner world of the Word in the New Testament. An interpretation from the sources of Judaism. Thauros, hamlet 1988.
  • The book of time and eternity. The Jewish calendar and its festivals. Thauros, hamlet 1991.
  • The Gospel of Mark. The Redeemer as the figure of the religious path. Two volumes, Thauros, Weiler 1999.
  • The joys of Job. An interpretation of the book of Job according to Jewish tradition. Friedrich Weinreb Foundation, Weiler 2006.
  • The sacrifice in the Bible. Getting closer to God. Weinreb Foundation, Zurich 2011, ISBN 978-3-905783-66-7 .

Autobiographical works

  • Encounters with angels and people. Mystery of doing. Autobiographical Notes 1910–1936. Origo, Zurich 1974.
  • The war of the Roman woman. Memoirs 1935–1943. Two volumes, Thauros, Munich 1982.
  • The miracle of the end of the wars. Experiences in the last war. Thauros, hamlet 1985.
  • The detention. Birth of a new world. Memories 1945 to 1948. Ibid. 1988.
  • The long shadows of war. Three volumes: In the Land of the Blind / Clever as the Snake, Gentle as the Dove / Endgame. 1989 ibid.
  • My revolution. Memoirs 1948–1987. 1990 ibid.

Lectures

Many of Weinreb's courses and lectures are available as audio files. Provide an overview:

  • Hear and see Weinreb. Autobiographical notes on lectures and publications from 1928 to 1980 . A celebratory gift for Friedrich Weinreb on the occasion of his 70th birthday with a complete list of his lectures on Jewish tradition, given in German and Dutch, and a bibliography. Thauros, Munich 1980.
  • The preserved voice. About hearing and speaking in the oral tradition . With contents and a complete list of the audio cassettes of the ISIOM Weinreb sound archive 1971–1982. Thauros, Munich 1983.

Literature on Weinreb

Non-fiction

  • Eugen Baer: Eternal life in the word. An introduction to the life and work of Friedrich Weinreb. Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-905783-67-4 .
  • Klaus W. Halbig: The miracle of the word. Friedrich Weinreb (1910–1988), mystic and Torah scholar. In: Spirit and Life. 2011, No. 2, pp. 148-170.
  • Klaus W. Halbig: The tree of life. Cross and Torah in a mystical interpretation. Würzburg 2011, ISBN 978-3-429-03395-8 (The basis is the interpretation of Weinrebs from the two trees in paradise).
  • Regina Grüter: A fantastic schrijft is divorced. De affaires rond Friedrich Weinreb. Amsterdam 1997 (Dutch), ISBN 90-5018-379-4 .
  • Israel Koren: Friedrich Weinrebs interpretation of the two creation stories in the book of Genesis. Thauros, Weiler 2001, ISBN 3-88411-056-X .
  • JH Laenen: Frederik Weinreb en de Joodse Mystiek. Baarn 2003 (Dutch), ISBN 90-259-5363-8 .
  • René Marres: Frederik Weinreb. Verzetsman en groot schrijver. Soesterberg 2002 (Dutch), ISBN 90-5911-080-3 .
  • Christian Schneider: In the teaching house of the word. Speeches and essays - Friedrich Weinreb on the hundredth birthday. Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-905783-68-1 .
  • D. Giltay Veth, AJ van der Leeuw: Report door het Rijksinstituut voor Oorlogsdocumentatie aan de Minister van Justitie inzake de activiteiten van drs. F. Weinreb gedurende de jaren 1940–1945, in het licht van nadere Gegevens bezien. The Hague 1976 (Dutch), ISBN 90-12-01068-3 .

Others

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ René Marres, Frederik Weinreb. Verzetsman en groot schrijver.
  2. ↑ JH Laenen, Frederik Weinreb en de Joodse Mystiek.
  3. ^ Friedrich Weinreb (texts) and Dieter Franck (images): Die Zwanzigzeichen , in: Christian Schneider (Ed.) : Zeichen aus demablo, Thaurus Verlag Munich 1980, pp. 13–79.
  4. ↑ Friedrich Weinreb: Inner world of the word in the New Testament. An interpretation from the sources of Judaism. Hamlet i. A. 1988, pp. 171 and 209.
  5. ↑ Friedrich Weinreb: Inner world of the word in the New Testament. An interpretation from the sources of Judaism. Hamlet i. A. 1988, pp. 61 and 224.
  6. ↑ Friedrich Weinreb: Inner world of the word in the New Testament. An interpretation from the sources of Judaism. Hamlet i. A. 1988, p. 209.
  7. ↑ Friedrich Weinreb: Inner world of the word in the New Testament. An interpretation from the sources of Judaism. Hamlet i. A. 1988, p. 240.
  8. ↑ Klaus W. Halbig: The miracle of the word. Friedrich Weinreb (1910–1988), mystic and Torah scholar. In: Spirit and Life. 2011, No. 2, pp. 148–170, here p. 151. Compare: Der Baum des Lebens. Cross and Torah in a mystical interpretation. Wuerzburg 2011.
personal data
SURNAME Weinreb, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jewish-Hasidic sage, narrator and writer
DATE OF BIRTH November 18, 1910
PLACE OF BIRTH Lviv , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH October 19, 1988
Place of death Zurich