HURWITZ, PHINEHAS ELIJAH

HURWITZ, PHINEHAS ELIJAH: HURWITZ, PHINEHAS ELIJAH (1765–1821), Hebrew writer and early advocate of Haskalah. Born in Lvov, Hurwitz wandered through Poland, Hungary, Germany, and England. He gained extensive secular knowledge without even knowing a single European language (it seems that a friend acted as translator), and wrote Sefer ha-Berit (1797), the first part of which was an anthology of the sciences, while the second half dealt with metaphysical questions. Sefer ha-Berit went into many editions since it was a source of basic scientific information for Jews who knew no European languages. The author condemned the fact that Jews engaged only in study and commerce which could not provide them with the proper livelihood and which exposed them to antisemitism and urged that they turn to manual labor. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: S.A. Horodezky, Yahadut ha-Sekhel ve-Yahadut ha-Regesh, 2 (1947), 387–405; R. Mahler, Divrei Yemei Yisrael, Dorot Aḥaronim, 4 (1956), 45–52; Zinberg, Sifrut, 3 (1958), 317–24; 5 (1959), 137.

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HASKALAH — (Heb. הַשְׂכָּלָה), Hebrew term for the Enlightenment movement and ideology which began within Jewish society in the 1770s. An adherent of Haskalah became known as a maskil (pl. maskilim). The movement continued to be influential and spread, with … Encyclopedia of Judaism
LITHUANIA — (Lithuanian Lietuva; Pol. Litwa; Rus. Litva; Heb. Lita ליטא or ליטה; Yid. Lite ליטע), southernmost of Baltic states of N.E. Europe; from 1940 Lithuanian S.S.R. (for early period, see poland lithuania ). (See Map: Lithuanian Communities). For the… … Encyclopedia of Judaism
GEOGRAPHY — In the Bible The geographic horizon in the early biblical period was the lu aḥ ha ammim, a table of 70 nations listed in Genesis 10. The identification of the names and the location of the countries are the subject of differences of opinion among … Encyclopedia of Judaism
MASORAH — This article is arranged according to the following outline: 1. THE TRANSMISSION OF THE BIBLE 1.1. THE SOFERIM 1.2. WRITTEN TRANSMISSION 1.2.1. Methods of Writing 1.2.1.1. THE ORDER OF THE BOOKS 1.2.1.2. SEDARIM AND PARASHIYYOT … Encyclopedia of Judaism
VILNA — (Pol. Wilno, Lithuanian Vilnius), from 1323 capital of the grand duchy of lithuania ; from 1940 to 1991 capital of the Lithuanian S.S.R.; from 1991 capital of Lithuania; called by East European Jewry, especially in the modern period, the… … Encyclopedia of Judaism

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