Medallion Commemorating Moses Mendelssohn
Prussia, Germany, 1774
Cast silver
Courtesy of Ira Rezak
The obverse features Mendelssohn’s portrait. The reverse shows a skull and a butterfly symbolizing the eternality of the spirit.
Must Know
Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786), considered to be one of the most famous philosophers of the 18th century, and the father of the Jewish enlightenment, was born in Dessau, Germany. he received a traditional Jewish education before moving to Berlin at a young age, the centre of the enlightenment, and had a tremendous appetite for knowledge. In Berlin he studied languages and acquired knowledge in philosophy and science. he associated with the top thinkers and philosophers of international cultural society.
His thinking indicates the beginning of humanistic and liberal Jewish thought seeking to promote the values of religious tolerance and of a multicultural society, interpreting Judaism through rationalist and moral standards. he wrote and published many works – mainly in German. In his book “Jerusalem” Mendelssohn presents his belief regarding the beneficial relationship between Judaism and Christianity, combining the two worlds in which he lived – the traditional and the modern. he spoke of religious tolerance, the separation between religion and the state, equal rights, and of a country with universal values based on intelligence.
His main project and venture was “The Paths of Peace”, where he translated the Torah into German. Mendelssohn was an example for the symbiosis which existed between the best of European culture and adherence to Jewish faith and tradition. Throughout his life, he was a faithful, observant and struggling Jew amidst Europe’s cultured and educated society. Despite his loyalty to the Jewish religion and his opposition to religious conversion, most of his descendants left Judaism. Of his six children, four converted to Christianity, and of his nine grandchildren only one remained a Jew.
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Mendelssohn is considered to be the father of the Jewish enlightenment [Haskalah], which was characterised by the gradual changes for and emancipation of the Jews (gaining equal civil, social and political rights) and the development of rational humanism. The “maskilim” [activists of the Haskalah] broadened and shared their knowledge of the Torah through the vernacular (the common language of the people), implemented reforms in education and encouraged an interest in the non-Jewish world. These new policies encompassed not just tradition but also intellect, reason and nature.
he was also a brilliant conversationalist and his home was a regular meeting place for Christian and Jewish intellectuals, who congregated to discuss Jewish matters. Mendelssohn was considered to be a new type of Jewish intellectual, interested in general cultural matters – literature, philosophy, music, mathematics and more. Those who knew Mendelssohn described him as an unusual and extraordinary person – open and moderate, intelligent, tolerant and honest. His closest friendship was with Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, an author, playwright, and intellectual who composed many classic German plays. Lessing encouraged Mendelssohn to write and publish his writings, which mark the beginning of a humanistic and liberal thought which sought to promote values of religious tolerance and of a multicultural society which considered Judaism through rationalist and moral standards. he wrote and published many works – mainly in German. In his book “Jerusalem” Mendelssohn presents his belief regarding the beneficial relationship between Judaism and Christianity, combining the two worlds in which he lived – the traditional and the modern. In the book, Mendelssohn examines the relationship between the state and religion. he highlights the importance of religious tolerance and details ways of implementing it, in order to lay the foundations for giving equal rights to his people. The condition for that is, in his opinion, the complete separation between religion and the state and the unequivocal distinction between their varying functions. In his view, religious tolerance is only possible in a state with universal values which has control over “religious intelligence”, that is, religion which has in its place central moral imperatives – rational, pure and absolute, such as “love your neighbour as yourself”.
His central work was “The Paths of Peace” – the publishing of the five books comprising the Pentateuch with a translation into German. Through translating this book, originally written in hebrew, Mendelssohn sought to encourage Jews to learn German. Mendelssohn and his assistants also added commentary to the Torah (in hebrew), known as “the note” which was based on traditional simplistic interpretations. Mendelssohn was an example of a symbiosis that took place between the best of European culture and adherence to Jewish faith and tradition. he was a faithful Jew throughout his life, observant and fighting for his place amongst the culture and educated society of Europe. Despite his loyalty to Judaism and his opposition to religious conversion, most of his descendants left the religion. Out of six children – four converted to Christianity and out of nine grandchildren – only one remained Jewish.
Mendelssohn modelled his surname on his father’s name, Mendel. Mendel is the Yiddish form of the hebrew name “Menachem”, meaning comfort whilst “sohn” is the German for son; thus Mendelssohn translates as “Mendel’s son”.
In German he used to sign with the name Moses Mendelssohn. Whereas in hebrew (or in Yiddish) he signed according to tradition: Moses ben Menachem; Moses ben R. Mendel, or: Moses of Dessau (from the town Dessau).
Mendelssohn is engrained in both Jewish and collective memory. he appears in paintings, illustrations, engravings and sculptures, on coins and even on chinaware, created both during his time and after. In Germany there are institutes and streets named after him. In the Jewish cemetery in Berlin, that was completely destroyed during the Nazi regime, monuments have been re-established including that of Mendelssohn’s grave.
he has been given the nickname: the German Socrates.
Felix Mendelssohn, a renowned composer of the 19th century, was the grandson of Moses Mendelssohn.
