Moses Mendelssohn: Writings on Judaism, Christianity, and the Bible

289 Pages·2011·3.294 MB·English

by  Michah Gottlieb

Moses Mendelssohn
the tauber institute series for
the study of european jewry
Jehuda Reinharz, General Editor
Sylvia Fuks Fried, Associate Editor
Eugene R. Sheppard, Associate Editor
the brandeis library of modern jewish thought
Eugene R. Sheppard and Samuel Moyn, Editors
This library aims to redefine the canon of modern Jewish thought by publishing
primary source readings from individual Jewish thinkers or groups of thinkers in reliable
English translations. Designed for courses in modern Jewish philosophy, thought, and
intellectual history, each volume features a general introduction and annotations to each
source with the instructor and student in mind.
Moses Mendelssohn: Writings on Judaism, Christianity, and the Bible
Michah Gottlieb, editor
Jews and Race: Writings on Identity and Difference, 1880–1940
Mitchell B. Hart, editor
for the complete list of books that are available
in this series, please see www.upne.com
Moses
Edited by
Michah Gottlieb
Mendelssohn
writings
on judaism,
christianity,
& the bib le
Translations by
Curtis Bowman,
Elias Sacks, and
Allan Arkush
Brandeis University Press
Waltham, Massachusetts
brandeis university press
An imprint of University Press of New England
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mendelssohn, Moses, 1729–1786.
[Selections. English. 2011]
Moses Mendelssohn: writings on Judaism, Christianity, and the
Bible / edited by Michah Gottlieb; translations by Curtis Bowman,
Elias Sacks, and Allan Arkush.
p. cm.—(The Tauber Institute series for the study of European
Jewry) (The Brandeis library of modern Jewish thought)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-1-58465-684-5 (cloth: alk. paper)—
isbn 978-1-58465-685-2 (pbk.: alk. paper)—
isbn 978-1-61168-214-4 (e-book)
1. Judaism—Works to 1900. 2. Bible. O.T.—Criticism,
interpretation, etc. 3. Judaism—Relations—Christianity.
4. Christianity and other religions—Judaism. 5. Philosophy,
German—18th century. I. Gottlieb, Michah. II. Bowman, Curtis.
III. Sacks, Elias. IV. Arkush, Allan, 1949– V. Title. VI. Title: Writings
on Judaism, Christianity, and the Bible. VII. Series.
b2690.a5 2011
296.3—dc23 2011027263
5 4 3 2 1
For my children
Gabriella, Jordanna, and Itai
Contents
Foreword ix
Introduction: Moses Mendelssohn and the Project of
Modern Jewish Philosophy xi
I | Polemical Writings
The Lavater Affair and Related Documents (1769–1773)
Prefatory Note to Selections 1, 2, & 3 3
1 | Lavater’s Dedication 5
2 | Open Letter to Lavater 6
3 | From “Counter-Reflections to Bonnet’s Palingenesis” 16
Prefatory Note to Selection 4 31
4 | Letter to Rabbi Jacob Emden, 26 October 1773 32
Prefatory Note to Selection 5 36
5 | Letter to “a Man of Rank” (Rochus Friedrich Graf von Lynar) 37
Jerusalem and Related Documents (1782–1783)
Prefatory Note to Selection 6 39
6 | From the Preface to Vindiciae Judaeorum 40
Prefatory Note to Selections 7 & 8 53
7 | “The Search for Light and Right” 55
8 | Mörschel’s Postscript 68
Prefatory Note to Selections 9 & 10 70
9 | From Jerusalem, or on Religious Power and Judaism 72
10 | From Letter to Naphtali Herz Homberg 124
The Pantheism Controversy (1785–1786)
Prefatory Note to Selection 11 125
11 | From Jacobi’s On the Doctrine of Spinoza 127
Prefatory Note to Selections 12 & 13 140
12 | From Morning Hours 142
13 | From To Lessing’s Friends 153
II | Writings on the Bible
Prefatory Note to Selection 14 175
14 | From Introduction to Commentary on Ecclesiastes 176
Prefatory Note to Selection 15 182
15 | Introduction to Translation of Psalms 183
Prefatory Note to Selections 16 & 17 185
16 | From Letter to August Hennings, 29 June 1779 187
17 | From Light for the Path 189
Prefatory Note to Selection 18 202
18 | Selections from the Bi’ur 205
on peshat and derash
lex talionis
on adam’s sin
on biblical poetry
the eternal
on commanding belief in god, jewish election, and idolatry
on divine jealousy
on kingship
III | Miscellany
Prefatory Note to Selections 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, & 25 233
19 | On the Religious Legitimacy of Studying Logic 235
20 | An Ontological Proof for God’s Existence 241
21 | A Cosmological Proof for God’s Existence 243
22 | A Proof for the Immortality of the Soul 246
23 | A Rational Foundation for Ethics 249
24 | On the Possibility of Miracles 252
25 | On the Reliability of Miracles 255
Suggestions for Further Reading 257
Index 259
Foreword
It is with great excitement that we present a volume of the Brandeis Library
of Modern Jewish Thought devoted to Moses Mendelssohn. This volume
offers both the teacher and student his seminal writings, many of which ap-
pear here for the first time in English translation. The texts are drawn from
his German and Hebrew writings across literary genres: from philosophical
treatise to epistolary discussion and polemical exchange; and from com-
mentary on Bible and medieval Jewish thought to excurses on epistemology,
theology, ethics, and education. They illuminate the difficult challenges that
Mendelssohn faced and the heated controversies with which he contended,
and underscore his account of and vision for humanity. The reader is thereby
able to go beyond the customary one-dimensional portraits of Mendelssohn
and engage with him as a central figure at the intersection of religious and
philosophical Enlightenment in the latter half of the eighteenth century.
Eugene R. Sheppard and Samuel Moyn, Editors
The Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought