Naphtali Herz Homberg (; September 1749 – 24 August 1841) was a Bohemian ''

maskil The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western E ...

'', educator, and writer.

Biography

Heerz Homberg was born at Lieben in 1749. He studied

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) 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 cen ...

at Prague,

Presburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

, and Glogau, and began the study of general literature in his seventeenth year. The reading of

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revol ...

's '' Emile'' awakened in him the desire to devote himself to

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

. He prepared himself at Berlin, where he became tutor (1779) to

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or ' ...

's eldest son, Joseph. During the three years he remained under Mendelssohn's roof he himself became a pupil of the philosopher, who continued to take an interest in him, as may be seen by his fifteen letters to Homberg (Mendelssohn's ''Gesammelte Schriften'', v., Leipzig, 1844). Under

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 u ...

the status of the Jews in Austria underwent a complete change. German normal schools were to be introduced into the Jewish communities, but there were no men available to organize these schools and take charge of the public instruction. Homberg now decided to return to his native country. Being very highly recommended by Mendelssohn, he was appointed (1784) superintendent of all the German-Jewish schools of

Galicia Galicia may refer to: Geographic regions * Galicia (Spain), a region and autonomous community of northwestern Spain ** Gallaecia, a Roman province ** The post-Roman Kingdom of the Suebi, also called the Kingdom of Gallaecia ** The medieval King ...

. In 1793 he was called by

Emperor Francis II Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

to Vienna to formulate laws regulating the moral and political status of the Jews in Austria. The work appeared in 1797, and won for Homberg the great gold medal. When the normal schools of Galicia were placed under the general direction of the district schools, Homberg retired to Vienna, employing his time partly as censor and partly in compiling such readers for Jews as had been ordered by the royal commission for studies. He was not successful in either of these directions. Homberg was later appointed assistant professor of religious and moral philosophy at Prague, with the title of "Schulrath," retaining this position until his death.

Bibliography

* Hebrew commentary to

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html" ;"title="f Moses">f Moseslabel=none) and th ...

. * * * * * A religious and moral reader for young people. * From the French, with notes. * Religious-moral reader for children. * * A commentary on the

Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "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. In that sense, Torah means the ...

and on

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

and

Jeremiah Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning "Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewis ...

. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Homberg, Herz 1749 births 1841 deaths 18th-century Bohemian people 19th-century Austrian people Austrian educators Austrian expatriates in Germany Austrian expatriates in Hungary Austrian male writers Hebrew-language writers Jewish educators Jewish Czech writers People of the Haskalah Writers from Prague