Josef Flesch (; 19 September 1781 – 17 December 1839) was

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

n writer, translator, and merchant. He has been called the "father of the Moravian

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

Biography

Josef Flesch was born in Neu-Rausnitz,

, the son of local rabbi Abraham Flesch. He attended

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

with his father's childhood friend, Baruch Jeitteles. After marrying the daughter of Salomon Berger in Leipnik in 1801 and spending three years in the house of his father-in-law, he returned to his hometown and joined his father's business. He was a frequent contributor to the ''

Bikkure ha-Ittim ''Bikkure ha-Ittim'' () was a Hebrew language, Hebrew-language Annual publication, annual published in Vienna from 1820 to 1831. Founded by Salomon Jacob Cohen, it was adopted by the Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galician Haskalah, Maskilim as their me ...

'', and translated into

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 ...

several of the writings of

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

, notably ''Quis rerum divinarum heres sit'' (under the title ''Ha-yoresh divre Elohim'', Prague, 1830) and ''De vita Moysis'' (under the title ''Ḥayye Moshe'', Prague, 1838). To the former work was added the

oration Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

which Flesch delivered at his father's funeral. His other publications include a Hebrew translation of philosopher

Karl Heinrich Heydenreich Karl Heinrich Heydenreich (19 February 1764 – 26 April 1801) was a German philosopher and poet. Heydenreich was born in Stolpen and was educated at the Thomasschule zu Leipzig and the University of Leipzig. In 1787 he became professor of philos ...

, and a list of Jewish scientists under the title ''Reshimat anshe mofet'' (Prague, 1838).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flesch, Josef 1781 births 1839 deaths Jewish translators Latin–Hebrew translators People of the Haskalah Moravian Jews Moravian writers People from Rousínov Translators from German