Abraham Berliner
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Abraham (Adolf) Berliner (2 May 1833 – 21 April 1915) (
Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: אברהם ברלינר) was a German theologian and historian, born in Obersitzko, in the
Grand Duchy of Posen The Grand Duchy of Posen (; ) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from Prussian Partition, territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. On 9 February 1 ...
,
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
. He was initially educated by his father, who was the teacher in Obersitzko. He continued his education under various rabbis, later studying at the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...
where he received the degree of doctor of philosophy. After serving for some time as preacher and teacher in Arnswalde, in 1865 Berliner was called to
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
to be superintendent of the religious school run by the Society for
Talmudic The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
Studies (Ḥebrat Shas). In 1873, when
Israel Hildesheimer Azriel Hildesheimer (also Esriel and Israel, ; 11 May 1820 – 12 June 1899) was a German rabbi and leader of Orthodox Judaism. He is regarded as a pioneering moderniser of Orthodox Judaism in Germany and as a founder of Modern Orthodox Judaism ...
opened the rabbinical seminary in Berlin, Berliner was selected as professor of Jewish history and literature. In this role and as an author, he was untiring. His edition of
Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
's commentary to the
Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...
(1866) first made him known as a scholar. Berliner added to his reputation through his various historical works, the result of his research in the archives and libraries of
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
, which was financially supported by the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
government. In 1874-75 Berliner edited the scientific periodical ''Magazin für Jüdische Geschichte und Literatur''. From 1876 to 1893 he, together with his colleague, David Hoffmann, continued to edit the periodical under the revised title ''Magazin für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums''. It was due to his zeal that the Hebrew literary society Meḳiẓe Nirdamim was revived in 1885. This society was dedicated towards the publication of older Jewish literature with Berliner now as its director. He engaged as a defender of Judaism in a pamphlet against
Paul de Lagarde Paul Anton de Lagarde (2 November 1827 – 22 December 1891) was a German biblical scholar and orientalist, sometimes regarded as one of the greatest orientalists of the 19th century. Lagarde's anti-Semitism, anti-Slavism, and aversion to tradit ...
(''Prof. Paul de Lagarde, nach Seiner Natur Gezeichnet'', 1887), who denounced all Jewish scholars as dilettanti; and when the blood accusation was revived, he republished (1888) the opinion of Cardinal Ganganelli (afterwards
Pope Clement XIV Pope Clement XIV (; ; 31 October 1705 – 22 September 1774), born Giovanni Vincenzo Antonio Ganganelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 May 1769 to his death in September 1774. At the time of his elec ...
) to prove the falsity of this charge. While Orthodox in his religious views, Berliner was never a fanatic. Not only was his scientific work in line with liberal thinking, but he also paid a high tribute to the merits of
Moritz Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...
, on the occasion of the latter's seventieth birthday (1886), by compiling a bibliography of that eminent scholar's works.


Works

The following is a list of Berliner's works: * ''Raschi, Commentar zum Pentateuch,'' 1866 * ''Aus dem Inneren Leben der Deutschen Juden im Mittelalter,'' 1871; 2d ed., 1900 * ''Pleṭat Soferim: Beiträge zur Jüdischen Schriftauslegung im Mittelalter,'' 1872 * ''Yesod 'Olam, das Aelteste Bekannte Dramatische Gedicht in Hebr. Sprache, von Mose Sacut,'' 1874 * ''Die Massorah zum Targum Onkelos,'' 1875, 1877 * ''Migdal Ḥananel, Ueber Leben und Schriften R. Chananel's in Kairuan,'' 1876 * ''Ein Gang Durch die Bibliotheken Italiens,'' 1877 * ''Rabbi Jesaja Berlin: Eine Biographische Skizze,'' 1879 * ''Beiträge zur Hebräischen Grammatik im Talmud und Midrasch,'' 1879 * ''Hebräische Grabschriften in Italien,'' 1881 * ''Persönliche Beziehungen Zwischen Juden und Christen im Mittelalter,'' 1882 * ''Beiträge zur Geographie und Ethnographie Babyloniens im Talmud und Midrasch,'' 1884 * ''Targum Onkelos'' (now the standard edition), 1884 * ''Aus den Letzten Tagen des Römischen Ghetto,'' 1886 * ''Censur und Confiscation Hebräischer Bücher im Kirchenstaate,'' 1891 * ''Geschichte der Juden in Rom, von der Aeltesten Zeit bis zur Gegenwart (2050 Jahre),'' 3 vols., 1893 * ''Ueber den Einfluss des Ersten Hebräischen Buchdrucks auf den Cultus und die Cultur der Juden,'' 1896 * ''Aus Meiner Bibliothek, Ein Beitrag zur Bibliographie und Typographie,'' 1898.


Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

*
Nahum Sokolow Nahum ben Joseph Samuel Sokolow ( ''Nachum ben Yosef Shmuel Soqolov'', ; 10 January 1859 – 17 May 1936) was a Jewish-Polish people, Polish writer, translator, and journalist, the fifth President of the World Zionist Organization, editor of ''H ...
, ''Sefer Ziḳḳaron,'' p. 13 *Warsaw, 1889 *Reines, ''Dor we-Ḥakamaw.''


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berliner, Abraham 1833 births 1915 deaths People from Szamotuły County German Jewish theologians People from the Province of Posen 19th-century German theologians 19th-century German historians German male non-fiction writers 19th-century German male writers