Isaac Bear Levinsohn
Isaak Bär Levinsohn (also: Isaak Ber Lewinson and other spellings, abbreviated with the acronym RIBaL ; * October 13, 1788 in Kremenez , western Ukraine; † February 12, 1860 in Kremenez) was an important Hebrew writer of his time , a pioneer of the Enlightenment ( Haskala ) among the Jews of Russia , called "the Russian Mendelssohn ".
Life
Levinsohn was a very gifted and inquisitive student. By the age of ten he knew the Hebrew Bible by heart. At that time he was very atypical of the Russian language and wrote a Russian grammar in the Hebrew language.
He wrote in his life besides basic philosophical work to justify the Jewish tendency writings within the meaning of the Haskalah and apologies (including Efes dammim , against the blood libel , completed in 1834, first published in 1837, several editions and translations, in particular during the Damascus Affair a Role played).
As one of the first Jewish enlighteners, coming from Hebrew (in which he had meanwhile achieved literary fame), he also turned to Yiddish in order to reach the general public (dramatic satire Di Hefker Welt , "Die Zügellose Welt", 1828, the the grievances in the shtetl thematized, a sharp accounting with Hasidim and with the community leaders; could not be printed until 1888).
Web links
- Isaak Bär Levinsohn in the Jewish Encyclopedia (English)
- Online version of The Blood Lie , Schildberger, Berlin 1892
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Levinsohn, Isaac Bear |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Lewinson, Isaak Ber; RIBaL |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Jewish enlightener |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 13, 1788 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kremenets |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 12, 1860 |
| Place of death | Kremenets |