Elijah Benamozegh

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Elijah Benamozegh

Elijah Benamozegh (born 1823 – died 6 February 1900),

Jewish community of Livorno,[2] where the "Piazza Benamozegh" now commemorates his name and distinction. His major work is Israel and Humanity (1863), which was translated into English by Dr. Mordechai Luria in 1995.[4]

Life

He was born in

theology
, which he endeavored to reconcile with each other.

Tomb of Elijah Benamozegh

At the age of twenty-five he entered a commercial career, spending all his leisure time in study; but his natural tendency toward science and an active religious life soon caused him to abandon the pursuit of wealth. He then began to publish scientific and apologetic works, in which he revealed a great attachment to the Jewish religion, exhibiting at the same time a broad and liberal mind. His solicitude for Jewish traditions caused him to support Kabbalah. Later, Benamozegh was appointed rabbi and professor of theology at the rabbinical school of his native town; and, his other occupations notwithstanding, he continued to write and defend Jewish traditions until his death, in Livorno.

Religious universalism

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    Benamozegh's works are noted for his free and uninhibited use of various non-Jewish religious sources, especially the

    split of early Christianity from Judaism.[1][6]

    In his theological works, Benamozegh suggested to explain the

    Christian dogmas of the Trinity and Incarnation as an oversimplified and corrupt version of the Kabbalistic-panentheistic doctrine of Divine Emanations.[7] While he disagreed with the Trinitarian Christian theology, he considered it, unlike most other Orthodox rabbis, an erroneous misunderstanding of subtle Kabbalistic doctrines rather than a major deviation from monotheism. Moreover, he claimed that Christianity is too monotheistic in comparison with the Kabbalah, which views all Pagan deities in their essence as partial manifestations or faces of the Absolute. Similarly, Benamozegh criticized the Christian view of Jesus as incarnated God on monistic or panentheistic grounds. According to Benamozegh's Kabbalistic view, the entire world is an incarnation of the Shekhinah, the feminine aspect of Divinity. He believed that Hinduism is closer in this respect to mystical Judaism than Christianity.[8]

    Benamozegh offered a novel mystical interpretation of

    apophatic, Infinite Absolute.[7][9][10]

    Indeed, dualistic, panentheistic, and highly complex views of the Godhead are common in the Kabbalistic literature.[11][12][13] A number of known rabbis criticized Kabbalah for Gnostic-like dualistic views of God.

    A particular interest was evolutionary theory and its universalist implications. Over time, Benamozegh came to view

    theory of the common descent of all life as evidence in support of Kabbalistic teachings, which he synthesized to offer a majestic vision of cosmic evolution, with radical implications for understanding the development of morality and religion itself.[14]

    Benamozegh's universalist views were recently promoted by Adin Steinsaltz, who made a somewhat similar attempt to unify all major world religions and philosophies.[15][16]

    Cosmopolitanism and patriotism

    Benamozegh considered himself, simultaneously, an Italian

    chosenness was far from narrow particularism. According to his worldview, the Jews are chosen to serve the humanity as a priestly people, by proving a common mystical ground that transcends the boundaries of the nations and religious traditions. He also emphasized the impact of other cultures on Judaism, starting from the ancient Egyptian paganism, as well as the great role of the proselytes in the Jewish history. Unlike some exclusivist Kabbalists
    , Benamozegh believed that Kabbalah is a universal theology that unites all human beings and views them as equals.

    At the same time, Benamozegh was a staunch Italian patriot. He even wrote a daring formulation, based on the Jewish

    declaration of faith: O Israelites, that you will always love Italy, that you will love her with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. Apparently, according to his panentheistic philosophy, Benamozegh viewed the Italian soil as a specially beloved expression of the Shekhinah
    .

    Works

    • "Emat Mafgia'" (The Fear of the Opponent), a refutation of Leon of Modena's attacks upon the Cabala, in 2 vols., Leghorn, 1858
    • "Ger Tzedek" (A Righteous Proselyte), critical notes on Targum Onkelos, ib., 1858
    • "Ner le-David" (Lamp of David), commentary on the Psalms, published together with the text, ib., 1858
    • "Em la-Mikra" (Matrix of Scripture), commentary on the Pentateuch containing critical, philological, archeological, and scientific notes on the dogmas, history, laws, and customs of the ancient peoples, published together with the text under the title "Torat Adonai," Leghorn and Paris, 1862–65
    • "Ta'am Leshad," refutation of Samuel David Luzzatto's dialogue on the Cabala, Leghorn, 1863
    • "Mebo Kelali," general introduction to the traditions of Judaism, published in "Ha-Lebanon," 1864, pp. 73 et seq.
    • "Storia degli Esseni," Florence, 1865
    • "Morale Juive et Morale Chrétienne. Examen Comparatif Suivi de Quelques Réflexions sur les Principes de l'Islamisme," Paris, 1867
    • "Jewish and Christian Ethics with a Criticism on Mahomedism" (English translation of the above. E. Blochman, 1873)
    • "Teologia Dogmatica ed Apologetica," Leghorn, 1877 (on metaphysics)
    • "Le Crime de la Guerre Dénoncé à L'Humanité," Paris, 1881 (this work won for its author a medal and honorable mention from the
      Édouard Laboulaye, and Frédéric Passy
      )
    • "Ya'aneh be-Esh" (He Will Answer Through Fire), discussion of cremation according to the Bible and the Talmud, Leghorn, 1886.
    • "Israël et l'Humanité" (Israel and Humanity), discussion of universal religion and the roles of and relationships between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, 1914 (posthumous, edited by Aimé Pallière [fr]).

    References

    1. ^
      S2CID 170858477
      .
    2. ^
      S2CID 243702643
      .
    3. Yashar Books
      , 2006. page 241-242
    4. ^ "Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals: Rabbi Eliyahu Benamozegh: Israel and Humanity". Jewishideas.org. 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
    5. ^ Azagury, Yaëlle (28 December 2017). "The forgotten Sephardi heritage: Rabbi Elijah Benamozegh". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
    6. ISBN 9780521517409
      .
    7. ^
      ISBN 0-8091-3541-8
      , p. 43: Christianity... also associated the sephirot Tiferet and Malkhut materially and definitely in the person of Christ. Benamozegh contended that, with the dogma of the Incarnation, Christianity invalidated one of the basic tenets of Kabbalah - namely, the perpetual tension between the real and the ideal, symbolized precisely by Malkhut and Tiferet; p. 61-64:The very core of Feuerbach's criticism, the anthropomorphic nature of this idea of the divinity, does not bother Benamozegh at all.
    8. ISBN 0-8047-5371-7
      , p. 329: Jesus was a good Jew who did not dream of founding a rival church; p. 202: According to Christianity, the descend of God into the finite is accomplished in the bosom of mankind alone, or rather in a single man; but for the Kabbalah, the incarnation exists in and through the very fact of the entire creation, although man occupies the central focus.
    9. ^ The Unknown Sanctuary: A Pilgrimage from Rome to Israel, by Aime Palliere, Bloch Pub Co, 1986
    10. ^ Loughran, James; Klenicki, Leon. "The Thought and Life of Elijah Benamozegh". Jcrelations.net. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
    11. ^ Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition, by Gershom Scholem
    12. ^ Abraham Cohen de Herrera, by Nissim Yosha, Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy
    13. ^ Between Enlightenment and Romanticism: Computational Kabbalah of Rabbi Pinchas Elijah Hurwitz, by Yoel Matveyev, History and Philosophy of Logic 32 (1)
    14. S2CID 54063674
      .
    15. Project MUSE 176866
      .
    16. Project MUSE 176866
      .

     This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Isidore Singer and Isaac Broydé (1901–1906). "Benamozegh, Elijah". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

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