Uri Phoebus ha-Levi

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Uri Phoebus ha-Levi ( Uri Phoebus ben Aaron ha-Levi , also called Uri Witzenhausen or Uri Witmund ; born 1625 in Amsterdam ; died January 27, 1715 there ) was a Dutch printer and publisher in the late 17th century. The first Yiddish translation of the Hebrew Bible appeared in his printing house in 1678 .

Life

Uri Phoebus ha-Levi was a grandson of Moses Uri ha-Levi , the first rabbi of a Sephardic community in Amsterdam and thus in Northern Europe. His father Aaron was the cantor of this Portuguese congregation in Amsterdam.

Uri Phoebus ha-Levi started up his first printing press in Amsterdam in 1658 and worked there until 1689; he had learned the trade from Immanuel Beneviste . During these years Amsterdam was the center for the production of Hebrew literature, which was distributed throughout Europe: Defus Amsterdam (printed in Amsterdam) was considered a seal of approval. He published numerous rabbinical and religious writings, some of them in Yiddish, including the first Yiddish translation of the Hebrew Bible by Jekutiel Blitz in 1678 . He also published the first Yiddish newspaper, which appeared on Tuesdays and Fridays ( Tuesdays and Freytagishe Kurant 1680-87 ). His pressure mark consisted of a water jug ​​and two fish.

The majority of Uri Phoebus ha-Levi's printed works were intended for sale to Jews living in Poland. In 1692 he moved to Schowkwa at the invitation of the Polish King Johann Sobieski to print Hebrew books there; previously these were imported. In 1697 and 1699 he took part in the Committee of the Four Countries ( Wa'ad Arba 'Aratzot ) in Jarosław , where he received rabbinical support against business rivals from Lublin and Cracow . He worked in Poland until 1705, when he apparently returned to Amsterdam. In 1711 he published his book Narração da vinda dos judeos espanhoes a Amsterdam , which tells of the arrival of the Sephardic Jews in the Netherlands and is considered the founding legend of the Amsterdam community. Four years later, Uri Phoebus ha-Levi died at the age of 90 (or 89?) Years; he is buried in the Portuguese-Jewish cemetery Beth Haim in Ouderkerk aan de Amstel .

After his death in 1715 the family continued to run the printing company in Poland: some of them took the surname Litteris or Madfes (= Hebrew printer) after their profession. One of his descendants was the writer and poet Meir ha-Levi , whose father Gershon still ran a printing shop in Schowkwa in 1828 and also published his son's works. The von ha-Levi family printed Hebrew literature in Poland until the 20th century.

From a note in the Amsterdam Machsor it is known that Uri Phoebus ha-Levi was in possession of this precious manuscript in the 17th century. Whether he inherited the Machsor from his father or his grandfather is unknown, especially since the prayer book documents an Ashkenazi and not a Sephardic rite. According to the notes in the manuscript, he handed it over to the Amsterdam Jewish Community in 1669, from which he had previously separated because of a dispute there. To be reconciled with the congregation, he gave her the machsor . The reason for the dispute could have been that Uri Phoebus ha-Levi insisted on special rights of his Ashkenazi family within the Sephardic community.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Uri (Phoebus) ben Aaron Ha-Levi. In: encyclopedia.com. December 20, 2017, accessed December 20, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Uri Phoebus ben Aaron ha-Levi (also known as Uri Witzenhausen). In: Jewish Encyclopedia. Retrieved December 21, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Typography. In: jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved December 22, 2017 .
  4. ↑ Barend Theodoor Wallet: Links in a chain: Early modern Yiddish historiography in the northern Netherlands (1743-1812) . Phil. Diss. Amsterdam 2012.
  5. ^ Wolbert GC Smidt: Uri ben Joseph (Feibisch Emden) Halewi. In: East Frisian Landscape. Retrieved December 24, 2017 . (pdf)
  6. ^ Marvin J. Heller: Printing the Talmud. BRILL, 1999, ISBN 978-9-004-11293-3 , p. 303 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  7. ^ Albert van der Heide / Edward van Voolen: The Amsterdam Mahzor: history, liturgy, illumination (=  Litterae Textuales ). Brill, Leiden 1989, ISBN 90-04-08971-3 , pp. 14/15 .
  8. ↑ Yosef Qaplan: An Alternative Path to Modernity. BRILL, ISBN 978-9-004-11742-6 , p. 76 ( limited preview in Google book search).
personal data
SURNAME Uri Phoebus ha-Levi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Uri Phoebus ben Aaron ha-Levi; Uri Witzenhausen; Uri Witmund
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch printer and publisher
DATE OF BIRTH 1625
PLACE OF BIRTH Amsterdam
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 1715
Place of death Amsterdam