Misplaced Pages

#728271

32-606: After the death of his parents, who were victims of the persecutions at Kalisz in 1655, from the Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658) Bass went to Prague . His teacher there in the Talmud was Meïr Wärters (d. 1693); and Loeb Shir ha-Shirim instructed him in singing. He was appointed bass singer in the celebrated Altneuschule of Prague, being called, from his position, "Bass," or "Bassista," or "Meshorer." His leisure time he devoted to literary pursuits, more especially to improving

64-519: A Hebrew printing-press. Thereupon he settled at Dyhernfurth , a small town near Breslau founded shortly before 1663, whose owner, Herr von Glaubitz, glad to have a large establishment on his estate, was very well disposed toward Bass. In order the more easily to obtain Jewish workmen, Bass united into a congregation the small band of printers, typesetters, and workmen who had followed him to Dyhernfurth, for whose needs he cared, acquiring as early as 1689

96-438: A letter to Theophil Unger (Wolf, Bibl. Hebr. iii., No. 1728), gives Pieve di Sacco , Italy , as the place of Hannover's death, without indicating the date. The place of his birth is equally uncertain. According to Graziadio Nepi - Mordecai Ghirondi , ( Toledot Gedole Yisrael, p. 270) he was born at Kraków , but Steinschneider claims that "Nathan Hannover" and "Nathan of Kraków" were two different individuals. Hannover

128-766: A letter to the magistrate of Breslau, as early as July 15, 1694, to have the sale of Hebrew books interdicted, on the ground that such works contained "blasphemous and irreligious words"; and they had succeeded. As the magistrate saw, however, that the confiscated books contained no objectionable matter, they were restored to Bass. In 1712 the Jesuit father Franz Kolb , teacher of Hebrew at the University of Prague, succeeded in having Bass and his son Joseph arrested, and their books confiscated. The book of devotions, Nathan Hannover 's Sha'are Zion (Gates of Zion), which Bass reprinted after it had already gone through several editions,

160-408: A list of 2,200 Hebrew books, in the alphabetical order of the titles, conscientiously giving the author, place of printing, year, and size of each book, as well as a short summary of its contents. The majority of the books described he knew at first hand; the description of the others he borrowed from the works of Buxtorf and Giulio Bartolocci (from the latter only in the first part). Bass's work

192-425: A place for a cemetery. The first book from Bass's press appeared in the middle of August, 1689, the first customer being, as he had anticipated, a Polish scholar, Rabbi Samuel ben Uri of Woydyslaw , whose commentary Beit Shmuel on Shulchen Aruch , Even Ha'ezer , was printed at Dyhernfurth. The books that followed during the next year were either works of Polish scholars or liturgical collections intended for

224-417: A second time, to the great dissatisfaction of his family and neighbors, his wife being a young girl. He finally transferred his business to his only son, Joseph, in 1711. His trials culminated in his sudden arrest, April 13, 1712, on the charge of having spread abroad incendiary speeches against all divine and civic government. The Jesuits , who looked with an evil eye upon Bass's undertaking, had endeavored, in

256-711: A small Russian flotilla defected to the other side and the Russians had to lift the siege. In the aftermath of this reverse, the Swedes recaptured much of Ingria, took the Pskov Monastery of the Caves and inflicted a defeat on the Russian general Matvey Sheremetev  [ ru ] at Walk (Valga) in 1657, but were eventually defeated by another Russian general, Ivan Khovansky , at Gdov , on 16 September 1657. By

288-626: A subdivision of the Biblical group; while Talmud commentaries and novellæ are included in the Talmudic group. Although this classification is still very superficial and primitive, it indicates its author's wide knowledge and astonishing range of reading. In addition to the list and classification of the books, Bass gives an alphabetical index of authors, including one of the Tannaim , Amoraim , Saboraim , and Geonim . Bass's introduction to his work

320-509: A suitable place for his purposes, on account of its vicinity to the Polish frontier, and of the large commerce carried on between Breslau and Poland. Hence, after a residence of five years, he left Amsterdam; going first, it seems, to Vienna , in order to obtain a license from the imperial government. The negotiations between Bass and the magistrates of Breslau occupied nearly four years, and not until 1687 or 1688 did he receive permission to set up

352-569: Is also intended for elementary instruction.) His itinerary, entitled Massekhet Derek Eretz , is a short treatise on the roads of the country (Amsterdam, 1680); the book, written in Yiddish, contains also tables of all the current coins, measures, and weights in European countries, and a list of routes, post connections, and distances. Russo-Swedish War (1656%E2%80%931658) 1657 1658 The Russo-Swedish War of 1656–1658 , known as

SECTION 10

#1732780824729

384-672: Is chiefly known for his work entitled Yeven Mezulah ( Hebrew : יון מצולה , Venice, 1653; translated into English as Abyss of Despair in 1950 ). It describes the course of the Khmelnytsky Uprising in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from a Jewish perspective. Hannover in this work gives a brief description of the Polish Crown of the time and of the relations between the Poles, Jews and Cossacks, and

416-638: Is considered so essential that there exists a summary work on it, called Ikar Siftei Chachamim . This work generally leaves out the questions that the Siftei Chachamim raises on Rashi, and simply sums up his idea that he culled from the Rashi in about a sentence or two equivalent to the paragraph-length entries in the Siftei Chachamim . (One example is Weinfeld, Joseph Halevi Shalom. Chumash Orech Yamim . Jerusalem: Orech Publishers, 1997.) In 1669 he reprinted Moses Sartels ' Yiddish glossary on

448-407: Is distinguished not only by its brevity and accuracy, but by an entirely original feature, in respect to which he had no predecessor, and almost no successor; namely, a classification of the entire Jewish literature, as far as he knew it. He divides the whole into two chief groups, Biblical and post-Biblical, and each group again into ten subdivisions. Thus, dictionaries, grammars, and translations form

480-532: Is most characteristic of the spirit prevailing among German Jews at that time: he cites ten "religious reasons" for the usefulness of his work. Not only was Bass's undertaking new to the German Jews , but it also appeared strange to them; only the Portuguese Jews of Amsterdam, who had a leaning toward methods and systems, knew how to appreciate him. Christian scholars, however, were at once impressed by

512-728: The Bible , adding a grammatical preface, a work intended to supply the lack of grammatical knowledge among teachers of the young, and to furnish the latter with the correct German rendering in translating the Bible. Bass was greatly interested in improving the instruction of the young, and recommended the German-Polish Jews to imitate the methods of instruction obtaining in the Portuguese community of Amsterdam , describing in detail their curriculum. (His subcommentary Siftei Hachamim

544-480: The Pentateuch and the five Megillot . Its general method is to identify the difficulty which made Rashi's comments necessary. Much of its material is based on earlier supercommentaries such as that of Elijah Mizrachi ; it summed up with brevity and clearness the best work of fifteen previous supercommentaries on Rashi. Even today the book is considered a useful aid toward understanding and appreciating Rashi. It

576-817: The Treaty of Kardis (Kärde), which obliged Russia to yield its Livonian and Ingrian conquests to Sweden, confirming the provisions of the Treaty of Stolbovo. This settlement was observed until the Great Northern War broke out in 1700. [REDACTED]   This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary (in Russian). 1906. {{ cite encyclopedia }} : Missing or empty |title= ( help ) Nathan Hannover Nathan Nata ben Moses Hannover ( Hebrew : נתן נטע הנובר )

608-448: The Treaty of Valiesar (Vallisaare), whereby Russia was allowed to keep the conquered territories in present-day Latvia and Estonia — Koknese, Aluksne , Dorpat , Nyslott — for three years. When the term expired, Russia's military position in the Polish war had deteriorated to such a point that the tsar could not allow himself to be involved into a new conflict against powerful Sweden. His boyars had no other choice but to sign in 1661

640-621: The War of Rupture , was fought by Russia and Sweden as a theater of the Second Northern War . It took place during a pause in the contemporary Russo-Polish War (1654–1667) as a consequence of the Truce of Vilna . Despite initial successes, Tsar Alexis of Russia failed to secure his principal objective—to revise the Treaty of Stolbovo , which had stripped Russia of the Baltic coast at

672-589: The bank of the Western Dvina towards Riga , taking Daugavpils (see Siege of Dyneburg ) and Koknese (see Storm of Kokenhusen ) on their way. By the end of August, the capital of Livonia was besieged and bombarded . As Russia had no full-fledged navy to intercept reinforcements coming to the Swedish garrison across the Baltic , Riga managed to hold out until October, when foreign officers commanding

SECTION 20

#1732780824729

704-720: The causes which led to the uprising. He also gives a very vivid picture of Jewish life in Poland and the yeshivot . This work, owing to its literary value, was translated into Yiddish (1687), into German (1720), and into French by Daniel Levy (published by Benjamin II , Tlemçen, 1855). This last translation was revised by the historian J. Lelewel, and served as a basis for Meyer Kayserling 's German translation (also published by Benjamin II, Hanover, 1863). Kostomarov , utilizing Salomon Mandelkern 's Russian translation, gives many extracts from it in his Bogdan Chmielnicki (iii. 283-306). In

736-555: The close of the Ingrian War . The war ended in a Swedish victory. When Charles X Gustav of Sweden invaded Poland , captured Warsaw and announced his claims on the Russian conquests in the orbit of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Afanasy Ordin-Nashchokin (who led Russian diplomacy at the time) decided it was an opportune time to suspend hostilities against the weakened Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and to attack

768-578: The end of 1658, Denmark was knocked out of the Northern Wars and the Ukrainian Cossacks under Khmelnytskyi's successor, Ivan Vyhovsky , allied themselves with Poland, changing the international situation drastically and inducing the tsar to resume the war against Poland as soon as possible. Under such circumstances, it was necessary to bring the Swedish adventure to a speedy end. On 20 December, Ordin-Nashchokin negotiated with Sweden

800-629: The instruction of the young. Between 1674 and 1679 Bass traveled through Poland , Germany , and the Dutch Republic , stopping in such cities as Głogów , Kalisz , Krotoszyn , Leszno , Poznań , Worms , and Amsterdam , the centers of Jewish scholarship. He finally settled at Amsterdam in 1679, where he entered into friendly and scholarly relations with the eminent men of the German and the Portuguese-Spanish communities. That city

832-762: The rear of the Swedish Empire instead. To that end he opened negotiations and concluded a truce with Poland in summer 1656 (the Truce of Vilna , also known as the Truce of Niemież), a move which enraged a major ally of Russia, Ukrainian hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky who maintained good relations with Sweden and was fighting against Poland. In July, a reserve force of the Russian army struck across Swedish Ingria and overran two key Baltic fortresses — Nöteborg and Nyen . A separate detachment advanced on Dorpat (Tartu), which fell in October. The main forces marched along

864-499: The scholarship, style, usefulness, and reliability of the bibliography. Latin as well as German translations, some of which are still extant in manuscript, were undertaken by Christian Orientalists. The greatest proof of Bass's merit lies in the fact that Johann Christoph Wolf 's Bibliotheca Hebræa is based chiefly on the Siftei Yeshenim. His work Siftei Chachamim is a supercommentary to Rashi 's commentary to

896-460: The second edition of his bibliographic manual, which he intended to issue in enlarged and revised form. He died July 21, 1718, at Krotoschin without completing the work. Bass's works have the constant characteristic of answering practical needs. Bass's chief work is his bibliographical manual Siftei Yeshenim ('Lips of the Sleepers'; compare Shir haShirim Rabbah to 7:10). This work contains

928-642: The use of Polish Jews. Being issued in a correct, neat, and pleasing form, they easily found buyers, especially at the fairs of Breslau, where Bass himself sold his books. But the ill-will against Jews, apparent since 1697 in Silesia , and especially at Breslau, greatly injured Bass's establishment; he was himself forbidden to stay in Breslau (July 20, 1706). Another stroke of misfortune was the partial destruction of his establishment by fire in 1708. To this were added domestic difficulties. When an old man he had married

960-622: Was a Ruthenian Jewish historian, Talmudist , and kabbalist . Hannover lived at Zaslav , Volhynia , and when that town was attacked by the Cossacks he fled to Prague and eventually Venice , where he studied Kabbalah under Rabbis Chaim HaKohen , Moses Zacuto as well as Rabbi Samuel Aboab . Later he became rabbi of Iași , Moldavia , and afterward, according to Jacob Aboab , he returned to Italy . He died, according to Leopold Zunz ( Kalender, 5623, p. 18), at Ungarisch-Brod , Moravia , on 14 July 1663. Jacob Aboab, however, in

992-623: Was the center of Jewish printing and publishing, and Bass, becoming thoroughly familiar with the business, resolved to devote himself entirely to issuing Jewish books. With a keen eye for the practical, he perceived that the eastern part of Germany was a suitable place for a Jewish printing establishment. The literary productivity of the Lithuanian-Polish Jews was at this time obliged to seek an outlet in Amsterdam or Prague almost exclusively; Bass accordingly fixed upon Breslau as

Shabbethai Bass - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-434: Was transformed in the hands of the learned father into a blasphemous work directed against Christianity and Christians. Bass would have fared ill had not the censor Pohl, who had been commissioned to examine the contents of the books, been both faithful and competent. In consequence of his decision, Bass was released after ten weeks' imprisonment, at first on bail, and then absolutely. The last years of his life were devoted to

#728271