Isaac Baer Levinsohn - Questioned By Prince Lieven

Questioned By Prince Lieven

In 1827, a year before the appearance of "Te'uddah," Levinsohn presented the manuscript, with an explanatory statement, to the Russian government, which accepted it with much favor, and awarded Levinsohn, on the representations of D. N. Bludov, a thousand rubles "for a work in Hebrew having for its object the moral education of the Jewish people." In the same year the minister of public instruction, Prince Lieven, submitted to Levinsohn thirty-four questions on Jewish religion and history, among them the following: "What is the Talmud?" "Who was the author of it?" "When, where, and in what language was it written?" "Have the Jews other books of such authority?" "Is there anything sensible in the Talmud? It is stated that it is full of improbable legends and fables." "How could the authors of the Talmud permit themselves to add to, or detract from, the commandments of the Torah, which forbids that?" "What is the object of the numerous rites that consume so much useful time?" "Is it true that the Jews are the descendants of those Pharisees whom the lawgiver of the Christians had accused of lying and superstition?" "Is it true that the Talmud forbids the Jews the study of foreign languages and science, as well as the pursuit of agricultural occupations?" "What is Ḥasidism, and who was its founder?" "In what towns mainly do the Ḥasidim reside?" "Do the Jews possess schools or learned books?" "How do the Jewish masses regard their schools?" "Can the condition of the Jews be improved? and, if so, by what means?" "What Messiah is it that the Jews are expecting?" "Is it true that the Jews expect to rule the entire world when the Messiah arrives, and that members of other religions will be excluded from participation in the after-life?" "How can a Jew be admitted into Christian society and be accorded full civic rights when he keeps himself aloof from the Christians and takes no interest in the welfare of the country where he resides?" Levinsohn referred the minister to his "Te'uddah" and to other works in various languages, transmitted to him concise answers to his questions, and promised to write a book in which these questions would be discussed in detail.

In 1828 "Te'uddah" saw the light. "It was not the yearning for fame," says Levinsohn in the preface, "that impelled me to write this book. . . . Friends seeking truth and light asked me to point out tothem the true way of life; they wish to know what learning, aside from the Talmud and its commentaries, it is necessary for a Jew to acquire for the perfection and refinement of his nature as a man and a Jew."