I
The nineteenth century is remarkable in the annals of Jewish history and
bibliography on account of the many eminent Jewish scholars it has
produced, men who greatly enlarged the field of what is known in modern
phrase as the science of Judaism. They threw new light on diverse Jewish
subjects of much importance, such as the Mishna, the Talmud, the Midrash,
and likewise on general Jewish history and literature. Especially notable
were Zunz, Rapoport, Geiger, Munk, Jost, Fürst, Jellinek, Luzzatto, and
Frankel.
The two last-named savants form the subject of the present essay, and are
here treated together, not merely because the centenary of their birth was
some time ago celebrated in several Jewish communities within the same
year, but because they were the renowned heads of two Rabbinical colleges,
which brought about a revival of Talmudical and general Jewish studies.
Samuel David Luzzatto was born at Trieste, in Austria, in August, 1800. He
belonged to an old Italian Jewish family, several members of which
occupied conspicuous places in the annals of Jewish history and
scholarship. The most noted among them were Moses Hayim Luzzatto
(1707–40), the well-known author of two delightful Hebrew dramas, entitled
_La-Yesharim Téhilla_ and _Migdal Oz_, and Ephraïm Luzzatto, who (in 1768)
published in London a collection of charming little Hebrew poems and
songs^[154-1], which is spoken of in eulogistic terms by Franz Delitzsch,
in his _Geschichte der_ _jüdischen Poesie_. Samuel D. Luzzatto received
his early education at the excellent Jewish Free School of his native
town, where he studied Biblical and Talmudical subjects, general science,
and ancient and modern languages. On leaving school, Luzzatto chose
literature as his future calling, and with that purpose in view he applied
himself with the utmost zeal to the study of the Italian language and
literature, which he in later years knew almost to perfection. At the age
of nineteen he became, by mere chance, known throughout the whole of Italy
as a talented writer of Italian verses. It so happened that the then
Austrian Crown Prince, who subsequently became Emperor of Austria, paid a
flying visit to Trieste, and that the leaders of the local Jewish
community commissioned young Luzzatto to write an Italian sonnet in
commemoration of the royal visit. The Prince expressed his appreciation of
its excellence by causing it to be published in several leading papers of
the country.
But a far more substantial recognition of his attainments was accorded to
Luzzatto a few years later in the shape of a professorship at the Collegio
Rabbinico, which, at the instigation of the Austrian government, had been
established at Padua in the year 1829. A little before this Luzzatto had
married the daughter of one of his former masters, and having just
finished his first important literary work on _Targum Onkelos_, called
_Oheb Ger_, he bestowed upon his firstborn son the name of “Philoxenes,”
which was a literal translation of the title of his book. The book was not
printed for some time, as the only publisher who was willing to produce
it, made the curious stipulation that the author should bind himself to
buy 200 copies of his own work! This was the _honorarium_ offered at the
beginning of last century to a Jewish scholar for an epoch-making work.
Undaunted by this discouragement Luzzatto continued his literary
occupation, and the fruits of his labours ultimately appeared in print,
partly during his lifetime and partly after his death. They dealt with a
great variety of subjects, more especially with Biblical exegesis,
homiletics, Jewish history, philosophy, and poetry. Poetry was one of
Luzzatto's favourite subjects, and he enriched it with many valuable
contributions of his own, which mostly appeared in his two volumes
entitled _Kinnor Naïm_ (כנור נעים). To Luzzatto credit is also due for
having unearthed a great number of Hebrew MSS. containing poems and songs,
which had Ibn Gabirol, Jehuda Halevi, the two Ibn Ezras, and other famous
Hebrew writers of the Middle Ages for their authors. Luzzatto devoted a
great deal of his time and attention to editing them, although he knew
very well from past experiences that work of this kind was a labour of
love only, and nothing more. He was always most willing to assist, in a
literary sense, any one who asked him for the loan of a copy of a rare
Hebrew MS., which he happened to possess, and would himself very often
copy it out with his own hands. Writing to Luzzatto, Zunz once reproached
him for his generosity to unknown persons, who often took advantage of his
kindness and abused it. In his reply to Zunz he said: “It lies in my
nature to act in literary matters just as I do. If to-day Satan himself
were to come to me and ask for a MS., which he wished to have printed in
Hades, I would kiss his hands and cheerfully comply with his request. For
surely I do not work for my own benefit, nor for any ambitious purpose of
my own.”
For many years Luzzatto carried on a correspondence with some of the most
renowned savants of his time, such as Rapoport, Zunz, Steinschneider, the
Christian professors Delitzsch, Rosenmüller, and Martinet, in addition to
whom might also be mentioned Geiger, Sachs, Dukes, Jellinek, Fürst,
Kirchheim, Reggio, and Ghirondi. They all profited more or less from the
literary contents of his letters, which they frequently utilized in their
own work. Luzzatto wrote Hebrew, Aramaic, Latin, French, and German with a
certain amount of ease and fluency, but he was a master of Italian prose
and verse. A renowned Italian poetess, Eugenia Pavia Gentilomo by name,
thought so much of his taste that she always submitted her poems in MS. to
him before she sent them to the press for publication.
Though Luzzatto's general correspondence was large the bulk of it was with
Rapoport and Geiger. It is a well-known fact that Geiger was greatly
helped by Luzzatto in the preparation of his excellent German version of
Jehuda Halevi's Hebrew poems and songs. On one occasion, when Geiger
delayed in answering a long letter of Luzzatto's, the latter reminded him
of his omission in a poem consisting of four stanzas, each of which was
composed in another language. One stanza, written in French, is worth
reproducing:—
Monsieur le Grand-Rabbin, Abraham Violoniste^[157-1]
Avez-vous tout d'un coup cassé le violon?
Ne donne-t-elle plus votre main le doux son,
L'aimable mélodie, ranimant l'esprit triste?
Equally interesting is a German poem by Geiger to Luzzatto, accompanying a
copy of Jehuda Halevi's works, in which he gratefully acknowledges his
many obligations to Luzzatto. It runs as follows:—
Aus frommer Dichter Stamm, selbst frommer Dichter,
Ein Weiser, Edler, mild zugleich als Richter,
Ein Nil, der überströmend Segen spendet,
Doch Deines Wissensfluth nicht Schlamm aussendet.
Hast meine Fluren auch getränket,
Dort edle Reben eingesenket.
Die Frucht ist reif, lass sie Dir reichen,
Nimm sie als treuer Freundschaft Zeichen.
In spite of his multifarious literary occupations Luzzatto devoted
particular care and attention to his professorial duties in the Collegio
Rabbinico. It was his ambition to make it a model for all Rabbinical
colleges. His disciples, consisting as they did of Italians, Germans,
Poles, and Russians, loved and revered their master, who, in his turn,
treated them as if they were his personal friends, and took the liveliest
interest in their affairs. He took a special pride in noting in his own
works any clever idea suggested by his pupils in the course of his
lectures, and he thus encouraged them to literary enterprise on their own
account. If the question were asked what the leading feature of Luzzatto's
character was, it might unhesitatingly be answered that it was
conscientiousness. When it is remembered how he had to struggle against
absolute poverty for many years, and how frequently his home was visited
by sickness and death, his whole-hearted devotion to his duties, his
enthusiasm in his literary pursuits, and his universal kindness become
intensified. It was this conscientiousness which led him to decline the
post of _Haham_ to the Spanish and Portuguese congregation in London,
because he thought that he could not acquire sufficient mastery over the
English language to enable him to preach in it satisfactorily.
It is interesting to note that Luzzatto's literary activity continued
almost till his death. His very last literary production was a Hebrew
sonnet composed in commemoration of the sixth centenary of the birth of
Dante. Luzzatto died after a short illness, on the eve of the Day of
Atonement, in 1865.
The limits of an essay do not permit of entering on any detailed account
of Luzzatto's multifarious books and treatises. Suffice it to say that, if
put together, they would occupy a large space in a small library. It is,
however, not the quantity but rather the quality of his writings that
commands our close attention. This is specially the case with those which
deal with the exposition of the Bible. To this particular branch of study
Luzzatto devoted much time, and to his credit it must be said that he was
one of the first Jewish scholars of the nineteenth century who took it up
seriously and with conspicuous success.
It would be idle to ignore altogether Luzzatto's faults and
inconsistencies, which resulted in a rupture with some of his best
friends. As an instance may be mentioned his quarrels with Rapoport,
Geiger, and some other friends. Again, he sometimes expressed the most
radical views concerning the _Massorah_, and, on the other hand, attacked
the works of Maimonides and Ibn Ezra on account of their liberal ideas in
the exposition of certain Biblical subjects. But, in spite of all this, we
cannot and must not diminish our admiration for a man like Luzzatto, whose
self-sacrificing efforts were always directed towards the advancement of
the interest of Jewish literature generally.
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