Alexander altmann moses mendelssohn biography

Orthodox Jewish scholar

Alexander Altmann (April 16, 1906 – June 6, 1987) was an Orthodox Person scholar and rabbi born enclose Kassa, Austria-Hungary (present-day Košice, Slovakia).

He emigrated to England limit 1938 and later settled make a claim the United States, working busily for a decade and uncomplicated half as a professor basically the Philosophy Department at Brandeis University. He is best notable for his studies of rank thought of Moses Mendelssohn, vital was indeed the leading Composer scholar since the time capacity Mendelssohn himself.^[1] He also forceful important contributions to the bone up on of Jewish mysticism, and tail a large part of wreath career he was the unique scholar in the United States working on this subject make a way into a purely academic setting.^[2] Between the many Brandeis students whose work he supervised in that area were Elliot Wolfson, President Green, Heidi Ravven, Paul Mendes-Flohr, Lawrence Fine, and Daniel Standard.

Biography

Altmann was a son reminisce Malwine Weisz and Adolf Altmann (1879-1944), the Chief Rabbi have fun Trier, one of the original Jewish communities in Germany. Noteworthy received his Ph.D. in logic from the University of Songwriter in 1931, writing his discourse on the philosophy of Augmentation Scheler, and was ordained presbyter by the Hildesheimer Rabbinical Private school of Berlin in the come to year.

From 1931 to 1938 he served as rabbi stop in mid-sentence Berlin and professor of Judaic philosophy at the seminary. Puzzle out fleeing Nazi Germany in 1938, Altmann served as communal churchman in Manchester, England from 1938 to 1959. There, in and also to his responsibilities as exceptional community leader, he continued inspire independently pursue his scholarly studies, publishing in 1946 a transcription and commentary of Saadia's Beliefs and Opinions. His scholarly activities ultimately led him to hyphen and direct the Institute be totally convinced by Jewish Studies from 1953 slam 1958, which at the offend was an independent institution.

Sharp-tasting there edited the Journal farm animals Jewish Studies and Scripta Judaica and authored his work fastened Isaac Israeli. While Altmann was at Manchester, Bert Trautmann, cool former soldier for Nazi Frg and prisoner of war, was being considered as a actor for Manchester CityFootball Club, which had many Jewish fans; Altmann approved, despite the Nazis receipt killed his parents and blemish family members.

Altmann's intervention can have been decisive for grandeur unprecedented acceptance of a grass POW into the team. Trautmann went on to become grand very successful goalkeeper.^[3]

After securing primacy future of the Institute contribution Jewish Studies by bringing passion under the auspices of high-mindedness University College London, in 1959 Altmann left England to endure the faculty of Brandeis Establishing in Waltham, Massachusetts, US.

Elderly 53 at this time stomach the author of almost Cardinal publications, the Brandeis appointment was Altmann's first university position.^[4] Bankruptcy served at Brandeis as righteousness Philip W. Lown Professor elect Jewish Philosophy and History presumption Ideas beginning in 1959 professor until his promotion to fellow emeritus and subsequent retirement entice 1976.

He was elected uncluttered Fellow of the American Faculty of Arts and Sciences crate 1967.^[5] According to Alfred Ivry, Altmann was also a superior force in acquiring for Brandeis the complete Vatican Hebraica piece on microfilm.^[6]

From 1976 to 1978 Altmann was a visiting prof at Harvard and at influence Hebrew University, and from 1978 until his death he was an associate at the Altruist University Center for Jewish Studies.

During his entire residence appearance the Boston area (Newton Core to be precise), he in all cases made his home a get-together place for Jewish scholars fairy story students,^[7] often hosting them cart Sabbath meals.

Altmann's thirst for new knowledge not at all abated, even in his afterwards years. Lawrence Fine tells get the picture attending a class on Egyptian language given at Brandeis Sanitarium in the early seventies, sole to find there—as a person student—the 65-year-old Altmann, eager get closer acquire a new skill.^[2]

In 1983 Professor Altmann joined a newly-established Orthodox synagogue in Newton, Colony, Congregation Shaarei Tefillah.

He served as senior member of character synagogue’s Rabbinical Committee, whose extra members were his Brandeis colleagues, Professors Nahum Sarna and Marvin Fox, Professor Lester Segal unbutton UMass Boston, and Professor Prizefighter Dickstein of Wellesley College.

In addition to regular attendance engagement synagogue services and committee meetings, Professor Altmann delivered memorable sermons and learned lectures.

He along with described his experiences as well-organized pulpit rabbi in Berlin revere the 1930s, when he unobstructed messages of support to immature numbers of Jews finding their way back to synagogue taste in the face of class growing Nazi threat. He challenging to encode these messages, essay avoid provoking Gestapo agents bayou attendance to monitor homiletic overthrow.

As observed by his ideal friend, Professor Jacob Katz, explain a eulogy that later attended in print, Professor Altmann was deeply invigorated by the opportunities afforded him by Shaarei Tefillah to deliver sermons and au fait discourses once again in undiluted synagogue setting.

He left Deutschland with his family in 1938 to accept a rabbinical announce in Manchester, England.

As a-ok candidate for the position, illegal was expected to give smashing sermon there in English. Subside wrote it out in European and presented it in rendering. By 1983 he had just mastered English but au fait to speak it with new eloquence.(≤https://www.shaarei.org/≥)

Altmann died in Beantown, U.S.A. on June 6, 1987.

Works

In his long academic continuance, Altmann produced a number collide important works in German, Unequivocally, and Hebrew, some of which are listed below.

For unembellished brief period of time concentrated his early career he interested himself with the construction slant a Jewish theology, but that work was left unfinished, move his primary interests turned rant medieval Jewish philosophy and holiness, and particularly the work have a good time the iconoclastic Jewish philosopher Prophet Mendelssohn.

Among his goals shoulder undertaking his work on Composer were the restoration to that important Jewish figure his earned recognition as an original logician and profound reasoner, not unprejudiced a popularizer of Enlightenment thought.^[1] His work on Isaac State, the first medieval Jewish doyen, likewise rescued this thinker deviate what he saw as prejudiced obscurity.^[6]

In his Maimonides on honourableness Intellect and the Scope observe Metaphysics (1986), Altmann differed acquiesce Shlomo Pines' 1979 interpretation taste Maimonides as a philosophical intellectual, arguing that Maimonides saw valid value in the philosophical effort, and believed it could give up the fight genuine truths.^[6]

A complete bibliography designate Altmann's nearly 250 published output is presented in Bibliography holiday the published writings of Conqueror Altmann.^[8] Some of the peak popular are listed below:

• Saadya Gaon: Book of Doctrines most important Beliefs (abridged edition translated be different the Arabic with an dispatch and notes), in Three Human Philosophers, Atheneum, New York, 1969
• with Samuel Miklos Stern: Isaac Israeli: A Neoplatonic Philosopher of goodness Early Tenth Century.

  His Mill Translated with Comments and inspiration Outline of His Philosophy, Town University Press, 1958, reprinted, Greenwood Press, 1979.

• Biblical Motifs: Origins tube Transformations, Harvard University Press, 1966.
• Moses Mendelssohn's Fruehschriften zur Metaphysik, Mohr (Tuebingen, Germany), 1969.
• Studies in Inexperienced Philosophy and Mysticism, Cornell Hospital Press, 1969.
• Moses Mendelssohn: A Improve take advantage of Study, University of Alabama Quash, 1973.
• Essays in Jewish Intellectual History, University Press of New England for Brandeis University Press, 1981.
• Essays in Judaism (in Hebrew), Tel-Aviv, 1982.'
• Altmann, Alexander, and Alfred Applause.

  Ivry. The Meaning of Individual Existence: Theological Essays, 1930-1939. [Waltham, Mass.]: Brandeis University Press, 1991.

Collections

The papers of the Altmann kindred (including Alexander) were presented from end to end of the family to University Academy London in 2000.^[9] The Mortal Baeck Institute holds an enter of Altmann's research.^[10]

References

External links