Altmann's Biography of Moses Mendelssohn Emphasizes
Philosopher's Scholarship, Piety and Enlightenment Role
Biographical studies, prop-
erly pursued, can serve as
the most significant contribu-
tions to the chronicling of
history. When the subject of
a biography becomes the
medium for defining his gifts
and the message he leaves
as a legacy for the subse-
quent generations, the work
created assumes classical
proportions.
This can unquestionably be
said 'about the immense work,
"Moges Mendelssohn: A Bi-
ographical Study" by Prof.
Alexander Altmann of Bran-
deis University, which has
been issued as a 900-page
book by University of Ala-
bama Press. It is also being
distributed as a subscription
book by the Jewish Publica-
tion Society of America.
Dr. Altmann's work is such
an extensive study of the
literary accomplishments of
the famous Jewish philoso-
pher, who influenced Jewish
scholarship in the 18th Cen-
tury, retaining its import-
ance to this day, it provides
an enrichment of - knowledge
of the Enlightenment and of
Haskala, and of the eminent
personalities who had sig-
nificant roles in the era dur-
ing w h i c h Mendelssohn
guided his contemporaries in
interpreting Jewish ethics
and traditions.
There is an overpowering
effect on the reader in study-
ing the results of Prof. Alt-
mann's facts compiled as a
biography and emerging as
so much more: as history,
as a record of controversies
over religious adherence and
strict and faithful Jewish ob-
servance, as theological dis-
putation, as remarkable re-
porting on the philosophic
discourses with noted Chris-
tians as well as Jews, as
commentary on Jewish laws
by the hero of the book
whose piety and Jewish de-
votions are respected to this
day, although not a single
Mendelssohn is left in Jewish
ranks.
Of course, his personal life
has its many interesting as-
pects, so that as biography
the story of Moses Mendels-
sohn (1729-1786) is in itself
enchanting. Yet, the Altmann
work is major as an account
of disputes, primarily with
Johann Caspar Lavater and
Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi,
among those who raised the-
ological debates with the
Jewish scholar, and his rela-
tionship with Gotthold Eph- -
raim, Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe and Immanuel Kant
among the notables of his
time.
There was a foreshadowing
of the Haskala movement in
Mendelssohn's early activi-
ties, in his editing, in 1758,
> 0 of a Hebrew weekly, Kahelet
Mussar (Preacher of Morals),
whose purpose, Dr. Altmann
explains, was "to strengthen
Jewish youth in their moral
conduct and to arouse their
love for the Hebrew tongue."
Mendelssohn's "Phaedon"
won for him the title of being
"the G e r m an Socrates."
"Phaedon" as a study of the
immortality of the soul
s t i r r e d controversy and
aroused interest intermingled
with admiration and praise.
A strong friendship had
been established by Mendels-
sohn with Gotthold Ephraim
Lessing, and it was with
Lessing that he first discus-
sed some of the views in-
corporated in "Phaedon" in
1760, nine years before the
book's publication.
Dr. Altmann takes into
a c c ount the criticism of
"Phaedon" by Kant, after
Mendelssohn's death, and
Mendelssohn's b i o g r a ph y
states that Kant did not do
full justice to Mendelssohn's
views.
Dr. Altmann goes into de-
tails in relating Mendels-
sohn's views as incorporated
in his classic "Jerusalem"
and in his other great works,
and his Bible and Psalms
translations.
Mendelssohn was the strict
observer of Jewish laws, the
Sabbath, the dietary regula-
tions. He was the very de-
vout personification of Jew-
ish piety. That is why the
dispute with Lavater, the
Christian theologian, is of
such immense importance.
More space is given to it in
this biography than to any
other matter in 'Mendels-
sohn's life. The Mendelssohn-
ian ideology is expressed in
this explanation of the dis-
pute:
"The almost brutal realism
with w hi c h Mendelssohn
argued his conviction of the
truth of Judaism was a sar-
castic retort to Lavater's
challenge to do what pru-
dence, love of truth, and
honesty bade him do. At the
same time, he used the op-
portunity to r e m i n d the
Christian world of the op-
pression and indignities suf-
fered by his people. His
occupation with philosophy
and belles-lettres, he de-
clared, could have had no
other purpose than the ex-
amination of his religion: 'In
the situation in which I found
myself I could not expect the
least temporal advantage
from learned pursuits. I
knew full well that for me no
prosperity of a wordly nature
was to be found on that road.
And pleasure? — Ohl my es-
teemed friend of humanity!
The station assigned to my
coreligionists in civil life is
so remote from all free ex-
ercise of mental strength
that one, surely, does not in-
c r e a se contentedness by
learning to see the rights of
man in true perspective.' "
Dr. Altmann adds:
"Summing up this confessio
Judaica, Mendelssohn de-
clared that having convinced
himself of the truth of Juda-
ism he had quietly continued
on his path. He felt that he
had the right to do so with-
out being answerable to the
world for his innermost con-
victions. He could not deny,
he added. in true Enlighten-
ment style, that he had, in
fact, noticed in his religion
certain 'man-made additions
(viz. to "divine," i.e. natural
religion) and abuses (viz.
corruptions of natural law)
that, alas!, obscure its splen-
dor by far too much.' "
Mendelssohn's relationships
with Jewish communities and
with Jewish personalities of
that time form important
chapters in the historical ex-
periences in which the phi-
losopher was involved. Mar-
cus Herz, Johann Jakob En-
gel, Aaron Solomon Gum-
pertz, David Friedlaender
and many others have their
roles in this story of Mendels-
MOSES MENDELSSOHN
sohn. It is worth making
special mention about one of
them since it provides an
opportunity to quote a Men-
delssohn anecdote. To quote
from Dr. Altmann's work:
"A:m o n g Mendelssohn's
many admirers none was so
deeply and unreservedly at-
tached to him as David
Friedlaender, and Mendels-
sohn responded with equal
warmth. It was to Fried-
laender that Mendelssohn
would reminisce about his
early childhood, and it would
not have been surprising if he
had appointed Friedlaender
his literary executor, had he
appointed anyone. As matters
turned out Friedlaender did
act in such a capacity when
he published the Hebrew
book `Sefer Ha-Nefesh' in 1787
and the fifth and sixth edi-
tions of the Phaedon' in 1814
and 1821 -. . . from his `Nach-
lass' and he took care to in-
dicate that -certain annota-
tions in books originally be-
longing to Mendelssohn had
indeed been entered by him
and in his own hand. The
same attitude of almost filial
piety inspired his e s s a y
"Something on Mendel s-
sohn's Translation of the
Psalms" (in the `Berlinische
Monatsschrift', 1786) and the
German translation of Tc-
cleasiastes', which he wrote
on the basis of Mendelssohn's
Hebrew commentary on the
book and which appeared
with notes by Joel Brill Lowe
in 1788. It was in the spirit
of the master that he con-
tributed "Samples of Rab-
binic" Wisdom" to Johann
Jakob Engel's 'Der Philosoph
fur die Welt'.
Friedlaender's memory was
a store-house of anecdotes
from - Mendelssohn's life, and
his point in telling them was
to show the wisdom and
nobility of the man. One is
almost tempted to draw an
analogy to the way the Hasi-
dim delighted in story-telling
about their great masters.
`Wordly Wisdom of a Sage'
is the title of an anecdote
that he published in the Neue
Berliner Monatsschrift, and
a letter written by him at
the age of seventy-nine, on
Dec. 9, 1829, tells the follow-
ing story:
"Mendelssohn was taking a
48 Friday, January 25, 1974 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS walk with Professor Engel in
—
the so-called Lustgarten in
Berlin. A drunken soldier, a
Pole, as his dialect indicated,
stops in front of them, his
arms akimbo, and utters the
most vulgar insults against
the hunchbacked Jews. Being
ignored, he follows the men
and, judging from his posture
and the motion of his hand,
is about to pluck the little
man by the lobe of his ear
while continuing his abusive
language. In outrage, Engel,
walking on the right side of
Mendelssohn, raises his stick
to ward off the impudent one,
but the calm philosopher
quickly seizes him by the arm.
`Don't! Allow the wretched
slave the pleasure of teasing
a Jew a little.' Engel iould
never tell this incident with--
out deep emotion. He would
add: 'I cannot imitate the
amiably ironical tone of this
noble man.' "
" `Tell me', Friedlaender
wrote by way of postscript,
`assuming Plutarch had re-
ported this anecdote of a
Greek philosopher, would we
not listen to it with a melan-
choly love?' "
Historic Jewish dreams of
a return to Zion confronted
Mendelssohn for his views on
Jewish statehood. In 1781,
Wilhelm von Dohm, in a
t r a c t "Apologia for the
Jews," advanced the view
that, as stated by Altmann,
"the state could not con-
sider adherence to certain
views sufficient reason for
withholding privileges of citi-
zenship," a view supported
by Mendelssohn. J o h a nn
David Michaelis differed,
maintaining that Mosaic laws
kept Jews "as a separate
nation" and that "the mere
fa,ct that Jews still hoped to
return one day to Palestine"
precluded coalescing with
other nations. Mendelssohn's
reply is analyzed by Altmann
as follows:
"In a spirited reply that
Mendelssohn took issue with
the points raised in Michaelis'
review. Mendelssohn did not
deny that the Jews wanted
to maintain their separate
identity as a nation. How-
ever, in his view a group's
readiness to 'coalesce' with
other groups was no criterion
of worthiness so far as civil
rgihts were concerned. The
only legitimate question was:
can the Jews be expected to
discharge the duties incum-
bent upon citizens? Michaelis
had asserted that the answer
to this question was in the
negativ'e; military service on
the sabbath, for example,
was sure to be refused by
the Jew s. Mendelssohn,
rather amazingly, anticipated
no serious difficulties. It was
up to each individual to ad-
just his 'particular views' to
his duties as a citizen. If the
defense of the country was
at stake, everyone called to
arms had to serve. With a
strong dose of' realism, he
suggested that people knew
how to 'modify their views'
in specific circumstances.
As for the hope for a return
in Palestine, history had
shown, Mendelssohn pointed
out, that wherever Jews en-
joyed tolerance, they had
felt quite at home. It was
part of a man's nature—un-
less one happened to be an
`enthusiast' — to love the
place where he was well
treated and to confine the
expression of certain 're-
ligious opinions' to the lit-
urgy. Besides, the talmudic
sages had warned the Jew-
ish nation against a forcible
return to Palestine for the
purpose of restoring their
state before the divinely ap-
pointed time had arrive&
The burden of Dohm's as
well as Mendelssohn's argu-
ment was the nondifference
of the Jews in their human
nature, reactions to circum-
stances, and conduct as citi-
zens."
There was an earlier Men-
delssohnian statement on
Jewish statehood in a corn-
ment on views expressed by
Count Rochus Friedrich of
Lynar. These excerpts from
Altmann's are relevant to
the issue:
"The count, who was deeply
involved in New Testament
studies, may have been influ-
enced by chiliastic ideas such
as propagated by the Danish
mystic Holger Paulli and by
Lavater, who expected the
restoration of a Jewish state
under the rule of Christ.
"Mendelssohn pointed out
*why, in his view, the restora �
tion of the Jewish state was
impossible under prevailing
circumstances. The 'greatest
difficulty' militating against
it was `the character of my
nation.' Jews were not suf-
ficiently prepared for any
big undertaking. Centuries of
pressure had deprived 'our
spirit' of all vigueur.' "
Mendelssohn placed much
hope in his son Joseph pur-
suing his own Jewish loyal-
ties. He had to abandon that
hope. Joseph had been given
a good Jewish education from
age 5 to 16. He studied
Hebrew and the Talmud
from age 5. As Dr. Altmann
explains in his elaboration
on this aspect of Mendels-
sohn's relationships with his
son, the experiences with
youth abandoning their
studies in the present time
relates to the Mendelssohn
aspect of a son's rejection
of his father's aspirations.
Again to quote from the Alt-
mann story:
"In Oct. 4, 1783, when
Joseph was already past his
Bar Mitzva, the father ex-
pressed satisfaction with the
lad's progress and diligence:
what mattered was not the
amount of knowledge ac-
quired but correct and pene-
trating thinking, Joseph's
taste was also , becoming
more refined. Mendelssohn's
only cause for complaint was
the inflexibility of his son's
character and the lack of
gentleness in his whole be-
ing. "You know him: he was
always of a mentality that
would ten times sooner break
than bend."
"The next letter, which
was probably written toward
the end of 1783, 121P 1- a
startling announcement 'y
son Joseph has as goou as
shelved his Hebrew studies.
He came unfortunately into
the hands of a scholar who
was an empty dialectician
(ba'al pilpul); and much as
Joseph likes acumen and is
inclined to argue a case, he
has nevertheless no mind for
dialectics (pilpul) proper.'
Mendelssohn was quite re-
signed to spare Joseph the
training in this 'sterile kind
of acumen.'
"In a letter written about
a year later, on Nov. 20,
1784, Mendelssohn reported:
`My son Joseph attends a
public lecture course in
physics given by Doctor
Marcus Herz, and one in
chemistry by Mister Klap-
roth, without my having as
yet determined that he is to
become a scholar. He has
capabilities so far as the in-
tellect is concerned, but lan-
guages are not his forte. He
is very far behind even in
Latin, and he has forgotten
almost everything you taught
him in Hebrew. I let him go
his own way. As you know, I
am not in favor of compul-
sion; and with this iron
character, which would
rather break than bend,
nothing would be accomplish-
ed by compulsion anyhow.
His sound common sense,
will, I am sure, guide him
toward some goal."
"It was by no means in-
difference, we gather from
these remarks, that made
Mendelssohn acquiesce in
Joseph's turning his back on
Hebrew studies. He simply
realized the futility of exer-
cising undue pressure on so
stubborn a character as Jo-
seph. Besides, Mendelssohn's
philosophical principles were
strictly opposed to any kind
of compulsion: 'Every com-
PulFion.' he had written, 'is
in itself an evil.' His trust in
the power of common sense ,
implied the hope that all
would be well in the end, in-
cluding Joseph's attitude to-
ward religion."
But Joseph remain ,' a
Jew, although his c'
were not retained for uaa-
ism. Dr. Altmann points out
that Joseph "and his sister
Reikel (Recha) were the
only ones of Mendelssohn's
children to resist the lure of
baptism in an age of transi-
tion during which social and
cultural pressures played
havoc with the new genera-
tion."
Mendelssohn's d a ugh ter
Brendel, first married to
Beniken, then a convert as
the wife of a Christian and
as Dorothea Schlegel is in-
troduced interestingly in this
noteworthy biography, be-
cause of her defiant role.
In the extensive notes in
Altmann's work, there is this
note about Felix Bartholdy
Mendelssohn, the son of
Abraham Mendelssohn and
(Continued on Page 46)