View Auction Listing - Iggerot Zafon

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Bidding Information
Lot #		23317
Auction End Date		4/28/2009 11:53:00 AM (mm/dd/yyyy)

Title Information

Title (English)

Iggerot Zafon

Title (Hebrew)

אגרות צפון

Author

R. Samason b. Raphael Hirsch

City

Vilna

Publisher

Widow & Brothers Romm

Publication Date

1891

Collection Information

Independent Item

This listing is an independent item not part of any collection

Description Information

Physical
Description

244 pp., 215:138 mm., usual age staining, stamps on title. A good copy bound in later boards, rubbed.

Detailed
Description

Hebrew translation of the German original Neunzehn; Briefe ueber Judenthum, (Altona 1836). R. Samason b. Raphael Hirsch's first and most significant work written during his 11 years in office as Landrabbiner of the principality of Oldenburg. Neunzehn Briefe ueber Judentum (Iggerot Zafon; "Nineteen Letters on Judaism": first published under the pseudonym "Ben Uzziel," Altona, 1836; it appeared in many editions, translated into English by B. Drachman 1899; revised 1960), and Choreb, oder Versuche ueber Jissroels Pflichten in der Zerstreuung (1837, 19215; Horeb-Essays on Israel's "Duties" in the Diaspora, ed. and tr. by I. Grunfeld, 1962). In these two works, which together form a complete unit, and were designed for young men and women with a consciousness of Judaism, Hirsch laid down his basic views on Judaism which were elaborated and explained in his subsequent writings. The first made a profound impression in German Jewish circles for its brilliant intellectual presentation, in classic German, of Orthodox Judaism. It is written in the form of an exchange of letters between two youths: Benjamin, the spokesman for the "perplexed," who expresses the doubts of a young Jewish intellectual, and Naphtali, the representative of traditional Judaism, who formulates his answers in 18 letters discussing questions concerning the relationship of Judaism to world culture. R. Samson b. Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) was the leader and foremost exponent of Orthodoxy in Germany in the 19th century. Born in Hamburg, Hirsch studied Talmud there with his grandfather R. Mendel Frankfurter. His education was also influenced by rabbis Jacob Ettlinger and Isaac Bernays, and by his father, R. Raphael (who had changed his surname from Frankfurter to Hirsch). R. Hirsch's importance as a religious spiritual leader, his wide influence as a preacher and teacher, organizer and writer, made him a dedicated champion of Orthodoxy in its controversy with the Reform-liberal Judaism. While advocating strict adherence to halakhah, R. Hirsch tried to find a solution to the political and cultural challenges presented in modern life to Judaism. He considered his view of Judaism not as a system of philosophical speculation but as an explication of the Sinaitic revelation. Despite widespread opposition to his ideas from many circles in German Jewry his personal qualities won their respect and admiration.

Paragraph 2

יכלכל תשעה עשר מכתבים על דבר היהדות ... חברם בלשון אשכנז הרב ... ר' שמשון בר' רפאל הירש זצ"ל רב לעדת ישרון בפראנקפורט ענ"מ ונעתקו לשפת עבר, גם חברה תולדת המחבר, מאתי משה זלמן במהו' שמואל הלל ז"ל אהרנזאהן מקאוונא...תוצאה שניה ... עמ' [3]: לתוצאה השניה: "האלף וחמש מאות עקזעמפלארען מהספר ... תוצאה ראשונה ... כמעט ספו תמו".

Reference
Description

I. Grunfeld, Three Generations: The Influence of Samson Raphael Hirsch on Jewish Life and Thought (1958), incl. extensive bibliography; EJ; CD-EPI 0126995

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