Wilhelm Herzberg’s Jewish Family Papers (1868): Interdisciplinary Readings of a Forgotten Bestseller

260 Pages·2021·1.381 MB·German

by  Manja Herrmann

Wilhelm Herzberg’s Jewish Family Papers (1868)
Europäisch-jüdische Studien
Beiträge
European-Jewish Studies
Contributions
Edited by the Moses Mendelssohn Center for
European-Jewish Studies
Editorial Manager: Werner Treß
Volume 53
Wilhelm Herzberg’s
Jewish Family Papers
(1868)
Interdisciplinary Readings of a Forgotten Bestseller
Edited by Manja Herrmann
This project was generously supported by
WAG Wissenschaftliche

Arbeitsgemeinschaft
des Leo Baeck Instituts in der
Bundesrepublik Deutschland
ISBN 978-3-11-029766-9
e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-029771-3
e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-038104-7
ISSN 2192-9602
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020945495
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de.
© 2021 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Cover Illustration: Wilhelm Herzberg (1827–1897), Jewish-German writer, one of the founders of
the Midrash Abarbanel School, Jerusalem, photography (ca. 1890),
source: Abraham Schwadron Collection – Portraits, The National Library of Israel,
call number: Schwad 02 05 181
Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck
www.degruyter.com
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements VII
Foreword IX
Manja Herrmann
Introduction – Wilhelm Herzberg’s Jüdische Familienpapiere. Briefe eines
Missionairs (1868): Interdisciplinary Readings of a Bestseller 1
Ulrike Schneider
Ein Paradebeispiel der neo-orthodoxen Belletristik im 19. Jahrhundert?
Ein Überblick zur Publikations- und Rezeptionsgeschichte der Jüdischen
Familienpapiere von Wilhelm Herzberg 11
Judith Müller and Dekel Shay Schory
The Hebrew Translations of Wilhelm Herzberg’s Jewish Family Papers:
Interpretation and Reception in Multiple Layers 29
Susanne Korbel
The Translatability of Jewish Cultures: Wilhelm Herzberg’s Jewish Family
Papers in the Transatlantic Context 57
Anna-Dorothea Ludewig
“We Jewish Women Are Free”: Concepts of Womanhood in Wilhelm Herzberg’s
Novel Jewish Family Papers 77
Carsten Schapkow
Wilhelm Herzbergs Binnenerzählung „Das Mädchen von Tanger“ als
Darstellung eines authentischen Judentums 99
Magdalena Vinco
„Rückkehr heißt das Wort“ – Die Rückkehr zum Judentum in den
Familienromanen Jüdische Familienpapiere Wilhelm Herzbergs und
Dray doyres Yoel Mastboyms 123
VI TableofContents
Armin Pöhlmann
Warum Judenmission misslingen muss: Mission und Konversion in Wilhelm
Herzbergs Roman Jüdische Familienpapiere. Briefe eines Missionairs 137
Ze’ev Strauss
The Narrative of Philosophical Reasoning: Mendelssohn’s Jerusalem in
Wilhelm Herzberg’s Jewish Family Papers 165
Micha Brumlik
Eine religionsphilosophische Emanzipationsdebatte: Der Roman Jüdische
Familienpapiere von Wilhelm Herzberg 191
Appendix
Reuven Michael
Dr. Wilhelm Herzberg (1827–1897). Eine lückenhafte Biographie 209
List of Contributors 243
Index 247
Acknowledgements
Since I first came across Wilhelm Herzberg’s Jewish Family Papers almost ten
yearsago,ithasbeenmywishtodirectmorescholarlyattentiontothisintrigu-
ing novel.Therefore, it is my great pleasure to sincerely thank the people and
institutions who were involved in the publication of this volume. Over two
years ago, my idea began to crystallize in a more concrete manner.On July 13,
2018, a first workshop on Herzberg’s Jewish Family Papers took place at the
Selma Stern Center for Jewish Studies Berlin-Brandenburg. I would like to ex-
press my gratitude to the co-organizer of this workshop, Kathrin Wittler, as
wellastoalltheparticipantsforathought-provokingandhighlystimulatingday.
Itismyhonestpleasuretothankallthecontributorstothisvolume,someof
whom attended the workshop in 2018. I am extremely happy that Iwas able to
gathersuchanoutstandinggroupofexpertsandIappreciatetheirparticipation
inthisprojectandtheirsharedfascinationwithHerzberg’sJewishFamilyPapers.
Itistomygreatestregretthattwoofthescholarswhoinitiallyexpressedinterest
in this project – Prof. Reinhard Rürup (1934‒2018) and Prof. Jonathan Hess
(1965‒2018) – passed away before the workshop took place. I would like to
offer my sincerest condolences and deepest sympathy to their families, friends,
and colleagues.
Neithertheworkshopnorthispublicationwouldhavebeenpossiblewithout
thegenerousfinancialsupportoftheWissenschaftlicheArbeitsgemeinschaftdes
Leo Baeck Instituts (WAG), the German branch of the Leo Baeck Institute. Its
chairperson from 2009 to 2020, Prof. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, deserves
myhighestgratitudeandacknowledgementforsupportingbothscholarsofGer-
man-Jewishstudiesintheearlystagesoftheircareeringeneralandthisproject
inparticular.Prof.Schüler-Springorumisthedrivingforcebehindtheestablish-
ment of a postdoctoral network within the WAG,which was founded in March
2017. Five of our contributors are members of this network.
TheSelmaSternCenterforJewishStudiesBerlin-Brandenburg,especiallyits
seniorfellows,supportedthisprojectfromtheverybeginningandIwouldliketo
take this opportunity to sincerely thank Prof. Christina von Braun, Prof. Micha
Brumlik, Prof. Irmelavon der Lühe, and Prof. Helmut Peitsch for their ongoing
support and encouragement of the postdoctoral researchers at the Selma Stern
Center.
IamverygratefultotheDeGruyterpublishinghouse,Dr.JuliaBrauch,and
Dr. Werner Tress for including this volume in their program. The anonymous
reader’sreportwasextremelyhelpful,andthecopy-editingwashighlyprofessio-
nal.Additionally,numerousanonymousreviewersandlanguageeditorswerein-
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110297713-001
VIII Acknowledgements
volvedinthepublicationprocessandIwouldliketoextendmywarmestthanks
to all of them for taking the time to help to improve the individual chapters. A
specialthanksgoestoCamillaWinterandKatharineHandelfortheirwonderful
collaboration. Furthermore, I would like to thank Prof. Mark H. Gelber, Prof.
Rainer Kampling, Dr. Jan Kühne, Dr. Małgorzata Anna Maksymiak, Dr. Monika
Schärtl, Dr. Stefan Vogt, Simone Damis,HagitDreyfuss, Nadja Fiensch,Camilla
Herrmann, and Adina Stern for their support.
Themostimportantthankyou,however,goestomyhusbandPatrick.Itwas
tenyearsagoinJerusalem,aftercominghomefromalongdayofresearchatthe
National Library of Israel,that I first told him about “this novel,which kind of
seems interesting for the concept of authenticity in Zionism.” Thank you for
being there every step of the way – literally!
Manja Herrmann
Foreword
AschairpersonoftheWissenschaftlicheArbeitsgemeinschaftdesLeoBaeckInsti-
tutsderBundesrepublik Deutschland (WAG)from2009 to2020,Iamveryhappy
topresentthisbilingualvolume.IfirstheardaboutHerzberg’snovelJewishFam-
ily Papers in a lecture by Manja Herrmann during a workshop entitled “Unbe-
kannte Jahre. Die vernachlässigte Epoche deutsch-jüdischen Aufstiegs: 1848–
1880,” whichwas organized by the WAG and took place in Berlin in 2016.This
workshopwasdedicatedtotheperiodbetween1848and1880,whichrepresents
a blind spot in German-Jewish studies.
Published in 1868, Herzberg’s forgotten novel falls right in the middle of
these “unknown years.” Therefore, when Manja Herrmann approached me
with the idea of a workshop followed by an edited volume dedicated to Herz-
berg’s Jewish Family Papers, I was more than happy to support the project. As
the German branch of the Leo Baeck Institute, the WAG has been encouraging
research in German-Jewish studies in Germany since its establishment in 1989.
Moreover,since2017,theWAGhashadapostdoctoralnetwork,whichnowcon-
sists of over forty members, five of whom have contributed to the present vol-
ume.
ThisvolumegathersnumerousinterdisciplinaryperspectivesonJewishFam-
ilyPapersandpicksuponseveralnewtrendsinGerman-Jewishstudiesingen-
eral, as well as in the WAG in particular. Iwish this bookgreat success and its
readers many insights into a fascinatingsource.
Stefanie Schüler-Springorum
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110297713-002