Talmud

Behrend Lehmann

1697–99

Printed page with Hebrew text in circular frame and images of four figures around central text: a man with turban, frond, and censer on left, a man with staff and tablets on right, a king on bottom left, and a man playing harp on bottom right, and animal next to pitcher on top of page.
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The twelve-volume “Bermann Talmud'' was financed by the Court Jew Behrend Lehmann (Issachar Bermann Segal), printed in Frankfurt an der Oder, Germany, by Michael Gottschalk, and published by John Christopher Beckman, with special permission from Frederick I of Prussia (1657–1713). Each volume has an engraved title page showing Moses, Aaron, David, and Solomon. Behrend Lehmann, who was a Polish Resident at the Court of Brandenberg and a Court Jew in Saxony, had extensive diplomatic and financial connections. Beckmann, a professor at the university of Frankfurt an der Oder, assisted in preparing the application to publish the Talmud. Lehmann spared no expense for this publication, bringing rabbinic scholars and their families to Frankfurt. He contracted the services of Gottschalk and Martin Bernigeroth, engraver to the prince-elector of Saxony. On the cover page, at the top is the coat of arms of Lehmann: a rampant bear standing in a basin and resting its front paws on an ewer. Lehmann was a Levite, and the image alludes to an important role of Levites in the synagogue, namely, washing the hands of the priests before they recite the priestly blessing.

Credits

Berend Lehmann, from Talmud gadol (Frankfurt an der Oder: Michael Gottschalk, 1699–97), frontispiece, Library of Congress.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 5.

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Page of printed Hebrew text with word set in decorated border on top.
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Related Guide

Jewish Printing and Book Culture

1500–1750

Jewish printing unified far-flung communities by standardizing religious texts, created textual uniformity, and enabled vernacular translations, and facilitated the spread of Jewish texts and knowledge. 

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Early Modern Jewish Languages

1500–1750

As Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews migrated eastward, Yiddish and Ladino emerged as distinct languages. Both languages developed literary traditions, as print became more widespread.

Creator Bio

Behrend Lehmann

1661–1740

Behrend Lehmann (also known as Issachar Bermann Segal) was an important figure in the courts of Elector Frederick III of Brandenburg (1657–1713) and the Polish king August the Strong of Saxony (1670–1733). He served both rulers as a financer, diplomatic agent, and provider of jewelry to the kings and their retinues. In 1696, Lehmann received permission from the king to have the Talmud printed in Frankfurt-on-the-Oder. He financed the building of synagogues in Berlin and Halberstadt and obtained royal permission for Jews to live in Halle and Magdeburg. Lehmann owned estates in Halberstadt, Blankenberg, and other cities in Germany and for a while owned the town of Lissa (today, Leszno, Poland).

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