Detailed
Description |
|
Translation of the kabbalistic Kizzur Shelah into Yiddish by Wolf Gershels of Prague under the title of Ez Hayyim, 39 editions of which have appeared. He was also the author of Derekh ha-Yashar la-Olam ha-Ba (Frankfort, 1703), an ethical work written in Yiddish, which language, he contended, had become a religious and cultural necessity in Jewish life; since it had acquired a sacred character, the gulf between it and Hebrew, the holy tongue, was progressively diminishing. His works provide an insight into the contemporary life of the smaller Jewish communities of Germany.
R. Jehiel Michal b. Abraham ha-Levi Epstein (d. 1706), German rabbi and author. Epstein is principally known for his Kizzur Shelah (Fuerth, 1683, 1696) and for a siddur which he issued with a translation of the prayers, laws, and customs in Yiddish, entitled Derekh Yesharah (Frankfort, 1697). These he wrote largely for the benefit of Jews living in isolated villages who were without the guidance of rabbis and teachers. Kizzur Shelah, mainly an abbreviated version of R. Isaiah Horowitz' Shenei Luhot ha-Berit (Shelah), also contains glosses as well as new laws and customs which R. Epstein extracted from works appearing after the publication of R. Horowitz' book. In addition, the author deals with Jewish education, its organization and syllabus. Criticizing the prevailing system, he proposed that the pupils be first taught the Bible and the four sedarim of the Mishnah relevant to the times (an approach reminiscent of that of R. Judah Loew b. Bezalel of Prague) and only subsequently the Talmud and the codes. He opposed the form of casuistry known as hillukim on the basis of its being largely forced. The proposed educational reform could, he maintained, only be achieved through cooperation between the heder, the home, and the bet midrash. |
