Moses Mendelssohn;: A biographical study

by Illustrated by 17 Illustrations (Illustrator)

Sound book with clean pages. Slightly discoloured dust jacket -ageing of the spine-.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish

900 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really ought to throw a party (siyum, in Orthodox tradition) to celebrate my completing (sort of, if a lot of skimming counts) this hefty tome. Instead, I was inspired to create a new goodreads shelf -- named for the immortal Homer Simpson quote -- "Lord help me, I'm just not that bright." I was amazed, as I perused my shelves, at how many of my books this category actually applies to.

This is an incredibly detailed, 759-page, academic biography of Moses Mendelssohn. If you're a philosophy person, there's a lot of material here for you. A whole lot. As for me, well, I used to think I liked philosophy. I used to think I was a philosophical sort of person. I'm now reconsidering that view.

I think part of the problem for me is that my curiosity about Moses Mendelssohn, though deep, is also admittedly narrow. I'm fascinated by Moses as a deeply traditional Jew who also managed to succeed in the secular realm at a time when this was almost unheard of for Jews, particularly traditional ones. I was mainly interested in his personal and family life (though he was deeply Orthodox, most of his children left Judaism: thoughts?), his struggles and conflicts as he integrated his religious and secular sides, and his interactions with the Jewish community, particularly rabbinical authorities who were ambivalent about his activities. What I got in his book was a long exploration of his philosophical writings and copious details about his friendships and correspondence with Christian intellectuals. Even the parts that offered me glimpses of what I was looking for were either brief or so detailed that my eyes eventually glazed over.

I had a similar problem when I read Nadler's biography of Spinoza too, and I can speculate about possible explanations. Maybe there's just not enough information available about these individuals as human beings, and book-length biographies can only focus on their writings and correspondence because that's material we actually have. Maybe if I were more intellectual or academic this would actually be what interests me, as opposed to my wish for the People Magazine versions of Spinoza and Mendelssohn. Oh, well.

So why five stars, then? Well, I'm kind of embarrassed to give a book like this less than five stars simply because my intellectual limitations inhibit my appreciation for it (which explains a lot of five star books on my lord-help-me shelf). I mean, 759 pages! Lots and lots of detail! Lots and lots of quoted correspondence to back up every point! Every. Freakin'. Little. Point. This was clearly a major academic effort, well-researched, and seems to be The Book on Moses Mendelssohn.

According to my husband, a one-time historian, Shmuel Feiner's biography of Moses Mendelssohn is a more accessible choice. Since it's written in Hebrew, though, I didn't bother trying to track it down here. I heard there may be a translation coming out, though, so if you're curious about Mendelssohn but not motivated to tackle Altmann's book (and I wouldn't blame you), you might want to give that one a try.

[Natalie Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amid the excitement surrounding the bio-pic of German-born Manchester City FC goalkeeper Bert Trautmann one Jewish figure emerges as the real hero.
It is clear that the small but hugely significant role played by Rabbi Dr Alexander Altmann was not only pivotal in the former prisoner of war being accepted by local fans but that his intercession was typical of his extraordinarily broadminded and generous nature.
Like Trautmann, Rabbi Dr Altmann settled in England from Germany. But the similarity ends there.
Trautmann had joined the original Nazi Youth organisation and enlisted in the Luftwaffe early in World War 11 before being captured and sent to a Prisoner of War camp at Ashton-in-Makerfield near Manchester.
Rabbi Dr Altmann, an Austro-Hungarian-born Berlin resident, had meanwhile fled the Nazis despite having established a fine career there and settled in Manchester in 1938 where he served as the greatly esteemed ‘Communal Rabbi’ until 1959.
He and his wife, Judith then re-emigrated to the United States where he became yet more renowned, especially in his specialist disciplines of medieval Jewish philosophy and mysticism.
It is quite extraordinary that Rabbi Altmann should have openly approved of Trautmann’s appointment as goalkeeper to the local club, not only in the face of so much overt hostility from fellow Jews but because the Nazis had murdered many of his own family.
Indeed, in his celebrated open letter published by the Manchester Evening Chronicle supporting Trautmann and opposing a proposed boycott, he wrote:
“Each member of the Jewish community is entitled to his own opinion, but there is no concerted action inside the community in favour of this proposal. Despite the terrible cruelties we suffered at the Germans, [sic] we would not try to punish an individual German, who is unconnected with these crimes, out of hatred. If this footballer is a decent fellow. I would say there is no harm in it. Each case must be judged on its own merits”.
But it seems that no-one acquainted with Rabbi Dr Altmann would have been surprised by his magnanimous gesture as his attitude towards secular matters was a reflection of his approach to scholarship. So I close here with words from a tribute made to him on his passing by his friend and colleague Rabbi Dr Isadore Twersky who wrote that he "shunned parochialism and arid compartmentalisation".

[Orla · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very thorough book but maybe a little too much detail in places.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating biography of one of the most important influences on the history of Judaism.