Saul Isaac Kaempf (born at
Lissa,
Posen, May 6, 1818; died at
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 ...
October 16, 1892) was an Austrian-Bohemian rabbi and Orientalist.
Life
He received his first lessons from his father,
Aaron Jacob Kaempf, a Talmudic scholar, and then entered the gymnasium at Berlin and continued the study of the ''
Talmud
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 Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
'' under
E. Rosenstein. In 1836 he returned to Posen and studied under
Akiba Eger.
Four years later he entered the
University of Halle
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...
, took up philosophy and philology, and became one of the favorite pupils of
Gesenius. He received the degree of Ph. D. and his rabbinical diploma, and accepted a call to
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in Northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard) ...
as teacher and preacher, in the same year (1844). Two years later he was called to Prague as preacher of the Temple Congregation, succeeding
Michael Sachs; he remained there until his retirement in 1890. In 1850 Kaempf became ''
privat-docent
''Privatdozent'' (for men) or ''Privatdozentin'' (for women), abbreviated PD, P.D. or Priv.-Doz., is an academic title conferred at some European universities, especially in German-speaking countries, to someone who holds certain formal qualifi ...
'' in Semitic languages at the
University of Prague, his dissertation being ''Ueber die Bedeutung des Studiums der Semitischen Sprachen'' (Prague, 1850); eight years later he was appointed assistant professor of Oriental languages at the same university.
Works
Kaempf was a prolific writer. His works include:
* "Biographie des Hochberühmten Hochseligen Herrn Akiba Eger, Oberrabbiner zu Posen, Nebst einem Hebräischen Trauergedicht" (with other Hebrew and German poems, Lissa, 1838)
* "Die ersten Makamen aus dem Tachkemoni oder Divan des
Charisi" (Berlin, 1845)
* "Simrath Jah: Gottesdienstliches Gesangbuch, eingeführt im Israelitischen Tempel zu Prag" (Prague, 1849)
* "Nichtandalusische Poesie andalusischer Dichter aus dem elften, zwölften und dreizehnten Jahrhundert. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Poesie des Mittelalters" (vol. ii. printed under the title "Zehn Makamen aus dem Tachkemoni, oder Divan des Charisi," ib. 1858)
* "Suleiman: Dramatisches Gedicht" (ib. 1859)
* "Mamtik Sod: Beleuchtung des Frankelschen Werkes 'Hodegetik zur Mischna' in Dogmatischer Beziehung," a defense of Frankel in his controversy with S. R. Hirsch (ib. 1861)
* "Die Inschrift auf dem Denkmal Mesa's, König von Moab" (ib. 1870)
* "Phönizische Epigraphik: Die Grabschrift Eschmunazars, Königs der Sidonier" (ib. 1874)
* "Das Hohelied ins Deutsche Uebertragen" (ib. 1877).
His collection of prayers for Jewish holidays and festivals, according to the ritual of the Temple Congregation of Prague (ib. 1854; also translated), has been frequently republished. In cooperation with
Ludwig Philippson
Ludwig Philippson (28 December 1811 – 29 December 1889) was a German rabbi and author.
Early life and education
Ludwig Philippson was born in Dessau, the son of Moses Philippson, a printer, writer, teacher, translator, publisher and a member o ...
and
W. Landau he edited the Bible for the Jewish Bible Society.
In addition to many single sermons delivered at celebrations and on various special occasions, several treatises of larger scope were contributed by him to various periodicals: "Ueber die Vorstellung der Alten Hebräer von der Unsterblichkeit der Seele" (in "Orient, Lit." 1842, Nos. 7-27); "Ueber Spinoza's Theologisch Politischen Traktat" (ib. 1842, Nos. 34-47); "Hillel der Aeltere" (ib. 1849).
Further reading
* F. S., ''Saul Isaac Kaempf: eine biographische Skizze'', Prague, 1865.
* Hinrichsen, ''Das literarische Deutschland'', pp. 283 ''et seq''., Berlin and Rostock.
* Kayserling, ''Bibliothek jüdischer Kanzelredner'', ii. 310 ''et seq''.
External links
''Jewish Encyclopedia''
“Kaempf, Saul Isaac”by Isidore Singer & Meyer Kayserling (1906). Now in public domain.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaempf, Saul Isaac
1818 births
1892 deaths
Rabbis from Austria-Hungary
Austrian orientalists