Hirsch Sommerhausen
Hirsch Sommerhausen | |
---|---|
Born | Niederwerrn, Electorate of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire | 22 October 1781
Died | 5 March 1853 Brussels, Belgium | (aged 71)
Language | Hebrew, Dutch, French, German[1] |
Spouse |
Marianne Bing (m. 1825) |
Relatives | Isaiah Beer Bing (father-in-law) |
Tzvi Hirsch (Hartog) Sommerhausen (Hebrew: צבי הירש זומרהויזן, romanized: Tsevi Hirsh Zomerhoyzen; 22 October 1781 – 5 March 1853)[3] was a German-born Dutch Jewish writer, poet, and translator. He was a central figure of the Haskalah in Holland.[4]
Biography
Early life
Hirsch Sommerhausen was born to Caroline (née Cohen) and Simon Sommerhausen in Niederwerrn, Franconia, where the latter was leader of the Jewish community.[5] His father previously spent some years in Berlin, where he was acquainted with Mendelssohn, and in Holland.[6] His mother belonged to a prominent rabbinic family.[2]
The family relocated to Berlin around 1790,
Career
In 1807, Sommerhausen co-founded the literary society Tot Nut en Beschaving ('For Common Welfare and Civilization'), which aimed to cultivate the arts and sciences and promote practical moral philosophy.[7] The following year, alongside Moses Lemans, M. C. Belinfante and others, he founded the Maskilic educational society Ḥanokh la-naʿar ʿal pi darko (Dutch orthography: Chanoch Lanangar Gnal Pie Darkoo), which was dedicated to improving Jewish education and promoting the use of Dutch instead of Yiddish among Jews in Holland.[4][8] The society was commissioned by Louis Napoleon to produce Dutch translations of the Tanakh and siddur.[9]
In 1817 he settled in
Sommerhausen was granted a doctorate in philosophy and letters by the
Death
Sommerhausen suffered for asthma for many years, which ended his life on 5 March 1853 at the age of 71.[2] Henri Loeb , Chief Rabbi of Belgium, and Louis Lassen, president of the Consistoire central israélite de Belgique , delivered eulogies at his funeral.[6]
Selected publications
- Rodef mesharim (in Hebrew). Amsterdam: Y. L. Rofe. 1808. A polemical treatise on the pronunciation of Hebrew vowels and consonants,[11] in support of Moses Lemans.[12]
- Belinfante, Moses Cohen, ed. (1809). Bikure ḥinukh (in Hebrew). Amsterdam: Belinfante. Samples in Hebrew and Dutch, published by the Ḥanokh la-naʿar society in collaboration with several of its other members.[3]
- Yesodot ha-Mikra. Of Hebreeuwsch spel- en leesboekje voor eerstbeginnenden (in Hebrew and Dutch). Amsterdam: Belinfante & Van Embden. 1810. Hebrew spelling and reading book with primer.[3]
- Ḥarizum (in Hebrew and Dutch). Amsterdam. 1811. Hebrew stanzas for the wedding celebration of a friend, with a Dutch metrical translation.[3]
- Redevoering inhoudende eene korte levensbeschrijving en den lof van Moses Mendelszoon (in Dutch). Amsterdam: J. van Embden. 1812. Biography of Moses Mendelssohn.
- Recueil des thèmes, pour faciliter l'enseignement du hollandais (in French). Vol. 1–2. Brussels. 1822.[10]
- Shire tehillot (in Hebrew). Brussels. 1836. Poems for holidays and special occasions, approved by the rabbis for synagogue worship.[12]
- Recueil de thèmes, d'exercices, et de versions pour faciliter l'étude de la langue flamande (in French). Vol. 1–3. Brussels: Hauman. 1839.
- Ḥitsei shenunim. Agudat mikhtamim (in Hebrew). Amsterdam: Belinfante & Van Embden. 1840. A collection of 358 satirical epigrams.[3]
- Daat dorot. Époques de l'histoire ancienne et moderne des israélites (in Hebrew and French). Brussels: Lelong. 1842. Mnemonic poems in Hebrew and French to repeat the main points of Jewish history.
- Hagadah le-leil shikorim [Haggadah for the Night of Drunkards] (in Hebrew and Aramaic). Hamburg. 1842. A humorous parody of the Passover Haggadah for Purim.[3][13] Published in at least six editions by 1907, including one with a translation into Judeo-Arabic (Algeria, 1890).[14]
References
- ^ ISBN 978-90-5356-186-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums (in German). Vol. 17. Leipzig: Baumgärtners Buchhandlung. 1853. pp. 170, 236–237.
- ^ a b c d e f Zeitlin, William (1890). "Sommerhausen, Hirsch". Bibliotheca hebraica post-Mendelssohniana (in German). Leipzig: K. F. Koehler's Antiquarium. pp. 374–375.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-49681-1.
- ^ "Sur quelques Israélites Hollandaises. Souvenirs semi-séculaires par H. Somerhausen". Joods Cultureel Kwartier (in Dutch). Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ a b c Cahen, Samuel (1853). Cahen, Samuel (ed.). "Hartog Somerhausen, docteur en philosophie et lettres". Archives israélites de France (in French). 14. Paris: 186–193.
- ^ S2CID 162352849.
- ISBN 978-1-4128-4020-0.
- JSTOR 41482709.
- ^ a b Fürst, Julius, ed. (5 January 1850). "Kurze biographische Skizzen aus der Gegenwart". Der Orient. Berichte, Studien und Kritiken. 11 (1).
- ^ Katznelson, J. L.; Ginzburg, Baron D., eds. (1910). [Sommerhausen, Zevi Hirsch]. Jewish Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron (in Russian). Vol. 7. St. Petersburg: Brockhaus & Efron. p. 831.
- ^ a b Fürst, Julius (1863). Bibliotheca Judaica: Bibliographisches Handbuch der gesammten jüdischen Literatur (in German). Vol. 3. Leipzig: Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann. pp. 349–352.
- S2CID 151329771.
- ^ Davidson, Israel (1907). Parody in Jewish Literature. Columbia University Oriental Studies. Vol. 2. Columbia University Press. pp. 110–111, 247–249.