Words of Peace and Truth

Naphtali Herts Wessely

1782

There is one people in the world alone who are not sufficiently concerned with “human knowledge” and who have neglected the public instruction of their youth in the laws of etiquette, the sciences and the arts. We, the children of Israel, who are dispersed throughout all of Europe and who live in most of its states, have turned our backs on these…

Please login or register for free access to Posen Library

Already have an account?

Engage with this Source

Creator Bio

Naphtali Herts Wessely

1725–1805

Born in Hamburg and raised in Copenhagen, Naphtali Herts Wessely was a pioneering Haskalah figure and a contemporary of Moses Mendelssohn. He studied religious subjects under Jonathan Eybeschütz, but also studied modern languages and eventually became a poet and linguist, exploring biblical Hebrew and writing biblical commentaries. As a representative of the Feitel Bank, Wessely moved to Berlin, where he met Mendelssohn. He strongly advocated for the social and educational reforms laid out in Joseph II of Austria’s Edict of Toleration, writing Divre shalom ve-emet (1782) to advocate for Jews in German-speaking lands to accept these reforms. (Selections from Wessely’s Divre shalom ve-emet and his Sefer ha-midot appear in this volume.)

Details

Words of Peace and Truth

Engage with this Source

Language:

Places:

Categories:

Subjects:

You may also like

Words of Peace and Truth

Engage with this Source

Language:

Places:

Categories:

Subjects:

You may also like

Sefer ha-midot (Book of Virtues)

Editor’s Apology: She’elot u-teshuvot Maharil

Can American Jewry Be Culturally Creative?