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Christian Yiddishism in the E. Mod. Period (Jewish Studies)

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  1.  
  2. Introduction
  3. “Christian Yiddishism” refers to the engagement of Christian authors with the Yiddish language and literature in the Early Modern period (c. 1500–1800), which developed as a branch of the broader phenomenon of Christian Hebraism. In this context, the term “Yiddishists” does not intend to designate admirers or supporters of the Yiddish language, as was sometimes the case in later periods, but simply persons who took interest with the language, studied it, and wrote about it, out of various reasons and motivations. The Christian interest in Yiddish gave rise to a vast corpus of linguistic and philological writings on the Jewish language and its literature, prepared by Christian authors for a Christian readership. These writings included theoretical depictions and analyses of the Yiddish language, grammars and textbooks, dictionaries, bibliographies of Yiddish writings, literary surveys, and translations from and to Yiddish. Christian Yiddishism was first and foremost a Protestant phenomenon. It had its roots in the Reformation era and in the work of reformers, and during the ensuing two and a half centuries was dominated by Protestant scholars. It was also an essentially German phenomenon. The Christian writings on Yiddish were written almost exclusively by German scholars and were published throughout the German-speaking lands (especially in Leipzig, Halle, Basel, Nuremberg, Wittenberg, and Frankfurt am Main). Accordingly, the language that dominates these writings, besides Latin, is German. Most of the Christian Yiddishists came from the heart of the academic and ecclesiastical establishment of the time: many held positions as professors of theology, Hebrew, and oriental languages at the leading German universities; others served as preachers, ministers, and superintendents of the Protestant Church. Hebrew lecturers and censors, professional missionaries, school headmasters, and even a couple of police inspectors also participated in the Yiddish enterprise. About a quarter of the authors who could be identified were converts from Judaism. Christian concern with Yiddish was part of a wider interest in Jews and Judaism in early modern Germany, manifested in the rise of Christian Hebraism, in Christian ethnographies on Jewish life and religion, and in the revival of the Judenmission. It was also part of the early modern concern with language, linguistics, and philology in general, and with questions regarding vernaculars, dialects, and foreign languages in particular. Scholarly engagement with the historical phenomenon of Christian Yiddishism can thus contribute to our understanding of Christian-Jewish relations in early modern Europe, as well as to the field of social and cultural history of language.
  4.  
  5. General Overviews
  6. Despite the fact that the cultural phenomenon of “Christian Yiddishism” is almost five hundred years old, the literature produced during its first 250 years, from the Reformation to the Enlightenment (which 20th-century Yiddishist Ber Borochov classified as “primitive filologishe shriftn,” to distinguish from the “modern” literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries), has received only limited consideration in modern historical research. Since the writings of early modern Christian Yiddishists deal with the Jews’ language, they have mainly attracted the attention of modern linguists and philologists of historical Yiddish. The corpus that emerged from their investigations includes detailed bibliographies of the existing Christian works on Yiddish (see Bibliographies and Catalogues), as well as more-elaborated literary surveys that offer a useful introduction to the field, such as Avé-Lallemant 1980 [published in 1862], Althaus 1968, Katz 1986, and Baumgarten 2005. They provide short descriptions of the Christian works and basic biographical details on the prominent authors, refer briefly to the historical context in which the works were written, and present the single works in the frame of a historical narrative. In some cases they also provide linguistic analysis and evaluation of the more important works. A more comprehensive and thorough analysis of the Christian works on Yiddish is offered in Weinreich 1993 [published in 1923] and, more recently, in Frakes 2007. Both Max Weinreich and Jerold Frakes are mainly concerned with the linguistic and philological aspects of the Christian writings. As do other modern researchers of Yiddish, they focus on the technical aspects, the means and methods of the research in Yiddish linguistics, while attempting to evaluate the accuracy of the early modern linguistic presentations, and hence their reliability as sources in the study of historical Yiddish. In contrast to this linguistic-philological perspective, Elyada 2012 uses a historical-cultural point of view, which aims to define the place of the Jewish language in the different, albeit intertwined, theological, cultural, economic, and social discourses of the Early Modern period. This approach can also be found in Gilman 1986 and Grossman 2000. Both these works, however, focus on the discourse on the Jewish language from the Enlightenment onward and dedicate only limited attention to the Early Modern period. Elyada 2017 discusses early modern Christian Yiddishism from the perspective of translation.
  7.  
  8. Althaus, Hans Peter. “Die Erforschung der jiddischen Sprache.” In Germanische Dialektologie: Festschrift für Walther Mitzka zum 80. Geburtstag. Vol. 1. Edited by Ludwig Erich Schmitt, 224–263. Zeitschrift für Mundartforschung, n.s. 5. Wiesbaden, Germany: Steiner, 1968.
  9.  
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  11.  
  12. As part of the discussion of the evolution of Yiddish studies up until the author’s day, a useful and interesting survey of early modern Christian Yiddishism is to be found on pp. 231–242.
  13.  
  14. Find this resource:
  15.  
  16. Avé-Lallemant, Friedrich Christian Benedict. Das deutsche Gaunertum in seiner social-politischen, literarischen und linguistischen Ausbildung zu seinem heutigen Bestande. 3 vols. Hildesheim, Germany, and New York: G. Olms, 1980.
  17.  
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  19.  
  20. Originally published as four volumes in 1858–1862 (Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus). The work of a police inspector from Lübeck, whose investigations of the language of the German underworld led him to undertake a fundamental research of Yiddish. Volume 3 of his magnum opus, published in 1862, includes a grammatical, literary, and historical analysis of Yiddish, as well as a chapter on early modern Christian writings on the language (pp. 211–244). Available online.
  21.  
  22. Find this resource:
  23.  
  24. Baumgarten, Jean. Introduction to Old Yiddish Literature. Edited and translated by Jerold C. Frakes. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.
  25.  
  26. DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199276332.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  27.  
  28. Originally published in French in 1993. The book is dedicated to the topic of early modern Yiddish literature. In the first chapter of the book, Baumgarten offers an interesting discussion on Christian Yiddishism, emphasizing its connection to the European context of the time. Available online by subscription.
  29.  
  30. Find this resource:
  31.  
  32. Elyada, Aya. A Goy Who Speaks Yiddish: Christians and the Jewish Language in Early Modern Germany. Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2012.
  33.  
  34. DOI: 10.11126/stanford/9780804781930.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  35.  
  36. The most comprehensive treatment of early modern Christian Yiddishism to date. The book does not consider the linguistic and philological aspects of the Christian works on Yiddish, but rather the cultural and historical ones. Specifically, it discusses the various motivations for Christian preoccupation with the Yiddish language and literature in early modern Germany, as well as the ways in which Yiddish was depicted and represented in the Christian texts.
  37.  
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  39.  
  40. Elyada, Aya. “Zwischen Austausch und Polemik: Christliche Übersetzungen jiddischer Literatur im Deutschland der Frühneuzeit.” Zeitschrift für Religions- und Geistesgeschichte 69.1 (2017): 47–73.
  41.  
  42. DOI: 10.1163/15700739-90000267Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  43.  
  44. The paper explores German translations of Yiddish literary texts, prepared by Christian Yiddishists for Christian readership in the Early Modern period. It examines the motivations for translation, the methods used by the Christian translators, and how these methods served the latter’s purposes. Available online by subscription.
  45.  
  46. Find this resource:
  47.  
  48. Frakes, Jerold C. The Cultural Study of Yiddish in Early Modern Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
  49.  
  50. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-137-04655-0Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  51.  
  52. A history of the scholarly linguistic treatments of Yiddish in the 16th and 17th centuries. After a couple of introductory chapters, surveying the biography of the Christian authors and their works on Yiddish, the lion’s share of the book comprises reprints of the texts (seventeen in number) in the original Latin or German, and their translation into English. Available online by subscription.
  53.  
  54. Find this resource:
  55.  
  56. Gilman, Sander L. Jewish Self-Hatred: Anti-Semitism and the Hidden Language of the Jews. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986.
  57.  
  58. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  59.  
  60. The book discusses the discourse on the Jewish languages—both Hebrew and Yiddish—in the German world from the Middle Ages to the second half of the 20th century, including a small part dedicated to the Early Modern period. Although highly interesting and rich with illuminating insights, the book lacks a more substantial historical infrastructure and is therefore not always sufficient as far as the historical research is concerned.
  61.  
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  63.  
  64. Grossman, Jeffrey A. The Discourse on Yiddish in Germany: From the Enlightenment to the Second Empire. Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture. Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2000.
  65.  
  66. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  67.  
  68. Explores the discourse on Yiddish both in Jewish and Christian circles in modern Germany, including the analysis of several works by 18th-century Christian Yiddishists. Combining historical and literary analysis of the primary sources, the book focuses on several representative test cases from the fields of scholarship, literature, mission, commerce, and the theater. It offers important insights and an engaging narrative.
  69.  
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  71.  
  72. Katz, Dovid. “On Yiddish, in Yiddish, and for Yiddish: 500 Years of Yiddish Scholarship.” In Identity and Ethos: A Festschrift for Sol Liptzin on the Occasion of His 85th Birthday. Edited by Mark H. Gelber, 23–36. New York: Peter Lang, 1986.
  73.  
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  75.  
  76. As part of the history of Yiddish studies, the essay offers (pp. 23–28) a concise and useful overview of early modern Christian Yiddishism, according to its main branches (scholarly treatments, Judenmission, “business Yiddish,” criminological literature, and anti-Semitic literature).
  77.  
  78. Find this resource:
  79.  
  80. Weinreich, Max. Geschichte der jiddischen Sprachforschung. Edited by Jerold C. Frakes. South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism 27. Atlanta: Scholars, 1993.
  81.  
  82. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  83.  
  84. A later edition of Weinreich’s dissertation, submitted at the University of Marburg in 1923. Considered to this day the standard work in the field, his study offers a systematic presentation and analysis of linguistic treatises on Yiddish from the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century, including the works of many Christian Yiddishists of the Early Modern period.
  85.  
  86. Find this resource:
  87.  
  88. Bibliographies and Catalogues
  89. There exist several bibliographies of the works of early modern Christian Yiddishists, the earliest among them from the early 18th century (Wolf 1715–1733). Modern bibliographies, from the 20th century onward, include Borochov 1966 [in 1913] and Habersaat 1965. Most recently, the Old Yiddish book collection of the library of Rostock University was catalogued, including important works by early modern Christian Yiddishists, as discussed in Süß and Tröger 2003.
  90.  
  91. Borochov, Ber. “Di bibliotek funem yidishn filolog: Fir hundert yor yidishe shprakhforshung.” In Shprakh-forshung un literatur-geshikhte. Collected and edited by Nachman Mayzel, 76–136. Tel Aviv: Y. L. Perets Farlag, 1966.
  92.  
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  94.  
  95. A comprehensive—even if not always accurate—bibliography, written by Borochov in 1913. To some of the works he adds his own impressions and remarks. A good starting point into the topic.
  96.  
  97. Find this resource:
  98.  
  99. Habersaat, Karl. “Zur Geschichte der jiddischen Grammatik: Eine bibliographische Studie.” Zeitschrift für Deutsche Philologie 84 (1965): 419–435.
  100.  
  101. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  102.  
  103. Provides a list of Yiddish grammars, textbooks, and lexicons between the early 16th century and the end of the 19th century, about thirty-five of them by early modern Christian authors.
  104.  
  105. Find this resource:
  106.  
  107. Süß, Hermann, and Heike Tröger, eds. Die altjiddischen (jüdisch-deutschen) Drucke der Universitätsbibliothek Rostock. Kataloge der Universitätsbibliothek Rostock 3.1. Erlangen, Germany: Harald Fischer Verlag, 2003.
  108.  
  109. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  110.  
  111. A catalogue of the Old Yiddish collection at the Rostock University Library, including many writings by early modern Christian Yiddishists. A large part of the collection came from the private library of the Rostocker Hebraist and orientalist Oluf Gerhard Tychsen (b. 1734–d. 1815). The catalogue includes helpful bibliographical information on every work and useful indexes. The writings themselves appeared on microfiche and as an online edition in 2001 and 2010, respectively (see Süß and Tröger 2001, cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions).
  112.  
  113. Find this resource:
  114.  
  115. Wolf, Johann Christoph. Bibliotheca Hebraea. 4 vols. Hamburg, Germany, and Leipzig: Felginer, 1715–1733.
  116.  
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  118.  
  119. This vast bibliography of Hebraica and Judaica by the Hamburg orientalist Wolf was fundamental to modern bibliographies in the field. In the early 21st century, after being superseded by newer bibliographies, it is valuable mainly as yet another representative of early modern Christian Hebraism. On works in the field of Christian Yiddishism, see especially Vol. 2 (1721), pp. 593–594. Available online.
  120.  
  121. Find this resource:
  122.  
  123. Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions
  124. The corpus produced by early modern Christian Yiddishists comprises dozens of writings on the Yiddish language and literature, ranging from entire books to individual chapters, and sometimes only a few passages within a larger work. Copies of almost all works are extant in libraries in Germany and around the world. Some works have later reprints or facsimile editions, such as the ones included in Althaus 1966 and Frakes 2007. In the early 21st century, almost all works in the corpus have been digitized, and they are now free online (accessible, for example, via the Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog). Another important resource is Süß and Tröger 2001, which contains several works that are not accessible for free, as well as full bibliographical details of all works in the collection.
  125.  
  126. Althaus, Hans Peter, ed. Schriften zur jiddischen Sprache: Johann Heinrich Callenberg, Wilhelm Christian Just Chrysander; Faksimiliedruck nach den Ausgaben von 1733, 1736 und 1750. Marburg, Germany: Elwert, 1966.
  127.  
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  129.  
  130. Includes a facsimile of four works by two major Christian Yiddishists of the 18th century: two Yiddish grammars (see Callenberg 1733 and Chrysander 1750, both cited under Missionary Texts, Dictionaries, and Grammars), a Yiddish lexicon (see Callenberg 1736, cited under Missionary Texts, Dictionaries, and Grammars), and an essay advocating the study of Yiddish among Christians (see Chrysander 1750, cited under General Works on Yiddish Language and Literature). All four works were produced with a specifically missionary purpose, as part of the use of Yiddish in the Judenmission. The book includes an epilogue by Hans Peter Althaus on pp. 283–297.
  131.  
  132. Find this resource:
  133.  
  134. Frakes, Jerold C. The Cultural Study of Yiddish in Early Modern Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
  135.  
  136. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-137-04655-0Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  137.  
  138. Includes reprints of seventeen linguistic introductions to Yiddish, offered in the works of 16th- and 17th-century Christian Yiddishists. The reprinted works are accompanied by Frakes’s annotations and a facing English translation. Apart from small mistakes or typos here and there, the reprints are reliable and the English translation is very helpful.
  139.  
  140. Find this resource:
  141.  
  142. Süß, Hermann, and Heike Tröger. Die Hebraica und Judaica der Sammlung Tychsen und der Universitätsbibliothek Rostock: Die altjiddische (jüdisch-deutsche) Literatur. Edited by Heike Tröger and Hermann Süß, Universitätsbibliothek Rostock. Erlangen, Germany: Harald Fischer Verlag, 2001.
  143.  
  144. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  145.  
  146. Microfiche edition produced in 2001; online edition available since 2010. The collection of Old Yiddish works at the Rostock University Library. Comprises almost four hundred titles with c. 48,000 pages, including many works by Christian Yiddishists. Includes a search function according to title, author, year, keywords, etc. For every work, the bibliographical details, title page, and test reading (Probelesen) are for free; entire works are accessible with subscription/payment. The catalogue of this collection appeared separately; see Süß and Tröger 2003 (cited under Bibliographies and Catalogues).
  147.  
  148. Find this resource:
  149.  
  150. Scholarly Linguistic Introductions
  151. From its beginnings in the early 16th century until the late 17th century, the corpus of Christian writings on Yiddish consisted primarily of linguistic treatments of the Jewish language. Written almost exclusively in Latin, these texts were directed at a scholarly audience and appeared mainly as appendixes or special chapters in works on Hebrew grammar. The first text of this kind, and the only one known to us from before the Reformation, is Böschenstein 1514, followed in the mid-16th century by Fagius 1543a and Fagius 1543b, two works by Paulus Fagius, the Protestant reformer, publisher, and professor of Hebrew in Strasbourg. In the ensuing century, one should note the works of several officials in the German academic and ecclesiastical establishment of the time, such as Meelführer 1607, Sennert 1666, Kümmet 1688, and Pfeiffer 1688. Of special importance in this genre is Buxtorf 1609, a work by the most renowned and influential Christian Hebraist of the 17th century, Johann Buxtorf. These concise linguistic introductions to Yiddish focused primarily on the written language and hardly went beyond a description of the Hebrew alphabet, basic information about the vowels and consonants, and some additional details concerning certain characteristics of the language. Most of them also provide short texts as reading exercises. Moreover, the Christian authors of these introductions usually considered Yiddish to be merely a German variant, or rather a “distorted German,” as can be seen already from the names they used for the language: rather than “Jiddisch” (Yiddish), a term that appeared in German only in the modern era, they referred to the Jewish language as “Judeo-German,” “Jewish-German,” “Hebrew-German,” or even “German in Hebrew letters” (Juden-deutsch, jüdisch-deutsch, hebräisch-deutsch, Germanica literis Ebraicis). Another result of this notion of Yiddish as basically a German variant was that the Christian authors did not seek to provide a systematic presentation of Yiddish grammar, but mainly to demonstrate how one can transcribe German into the Hebrew alphabet. In many instances, the authors fail to adequately differentiate between Yiddish and German: in different cases, authors described German usages rather than Yiddish ones, and some of the reading examples were not actual Yiddish texts but German texts transcribed into the Hebrew alphabet by the authors.
  152.  
  153. Böschenstein, Johannes. Elementale introductorium in hebreas litteras teutonice & hebraice legendas. Augsburg, Germany: Oeglin, 1514.
  154.  
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  156.  
  157. “Elementary introduction to reading German and Hebrew in Hebrew letters,” included in an untitled collection of various texts. Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 84–87.
  158.  
  159. Find this resource:
  160.  
  161. Buxtorf, Johann. Thesaurus grammaticus linguae sanctae hebraeae. Basel, Switzerland: Waldkirch, 1609.
  162.  
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  164.  
  165. On pp. 648–671 is a section titled “Lectionis Hebraeo-Germanicae usus & exercitatio” (The practice and exercise of reading Hebrew-German). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 156–183. Includes grammatical introduction, a short bibliography of Yiddish books, and several Yiddish texts as reading exercise. Further editions published in Basel in 1615, 1620, 1629, 1651, and 1663.
  166.  
  167. Find this resource:
  168.  
  169. Fagius, Paulus. Compendiaria isagoge in linguam hebraeam. Konstanz, Germany: Fagius, 1543a.
  170.  
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  172.  
  173. Inside: “De variis literarum figuris seu notulis” (On various forms and pointings of letters). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 94–99.
  174.  
  175. Find this resource:
  176.  
  177. Fagius, Paulus. Prima quatuor capita Geneseos hebraice. Konstanz, Germany: Fagius, 1543b.
  178.  
  179. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  180.  
  181. Inside: “Succincta ratio legendi Hebraeo-Germanica” (A concise method for reading Hebrew-German). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 100–101. Available online.
  182.  
  183. Find this resource:
  184.  
  185. Kümmet, Caspar. Schola Hebraica: In qua per duas Grammaticae Partes, Lexicum Radicum, & aliquot Appendices. Würzburg, Germany, and Nuremberg, Germany: Endter, 1688.
  186.  
  187. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  188.  
  189. On pp. 308–316: “Appendix III: De Lectione Hebraeo-Germanica” (On reading Hebrew-German). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 200–209. Available online.
  190.  
  191. Find this resource:
  192.  
  193. Meelführer, Johann. Grammaticae hebraeae compendiosa institutio. Ansbach, Germany: Bohemus, 1607.
  194.  
  195. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  196.  
  197. On pp. 262–267: “De Scriptura Judaeorum, qua utuntur, cum in Epistolis, tum in Commentariis, pro lingua Germanica exprimenda” (On the script of the Jews which is used in letters, as well as commentaries, in order to represent the German language). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 150–155. Further editions published in Jena, Germany (1623), and Nuremberg, Germany (1626). Available online.
  198.  
  199. Find this resource:
  200.  
  201. Pfeiffer, August. Critica Sacra. Leipzig: Hübner, 1688.
  202.  
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  204.  
  205. On pp. 378–385: “De lectione Ebraeo-Germanica” (On reading Hebrew-German). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 188–199. Originally published in Dresden, Germany, in 1680. Further editions: Leipzig (1702, 1712), Dresden (1721), and Altdorf, Germany (1751, 1773). Available online.
  206.  
  207. Find this resource:
  208.  
  209. Sennert, Andreas. Rabbinismus, h. e. Praecepta Targumico-Talmudico-Rabbinica. Wittenberg, Germany: Fincelianis, 1666.
  210.  
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  212.  
  213. On pp. 63–65: “Appendix: De scriptura ebraeo-germanica” (On Hebrew-German script). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 184–187. Available online.
  214.  
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  216.  
  217. General Works on Yiddish Language and Literature
  218. The notion of Yiddish as no more than a slightly modified German, resulting in concise linguistic presentations that focused on Jewish “deviations” from German usage, was typical first and foremost to the earlier works on Yiddish, from the 16th and 17th centuries. In the 18th century, on the other hand, one can observe a certain shift in the Christian works on Yiddish. Although during this period, too, the authors were not preoccupied so much with establishing grammatical rules of correct usage, but merely with presenting Yiddish as “corrupted” German, the depictions of the Jewish language presented by most of them nonetheless show greater complexity and a deeper understanding of the nature of Yiddish than in the previous centuries. Most noticeable is the greater attention given to the Hebraic component of Yiddish. The developments in the linguistic presentations of Yiddish in the works of 18th-century Christian authors were closely related to other developments in the genre as a whole: while the Christian works on Yiddish from the 16th and 17th centuries were mainly scholarly ones, written almost exclusively in Latin, the ones produced in the late 17th century and during the 18th century were of a more popular character. Written mainly in German, they were directed at broader sections of the Christian population, including missionaries and businessmen, and paid more attention to the spoken language, in addition to the written one. The 18th-century works on Yiddish were also more extensive, as elaborated discussions on the nature of Yiddish, its literature, and its Jewish speakers replaced the laconic, more strictly linguistic presentations of the earlier period. Wagenseil 1699 is the first and probably most renowned work in this genre, followed by Schudt 1714–1718, an ethnographic work on the Frankfurt Jews, including their language. The attempt to explain to Christian readers why they should engage themselves with Yiddish language and literature, which was a recurring motif in almost all 18th-century works on the Jewish language, received a comprehensive treatment in Chrysander 1750, dedicated entirely to this question. From the second half of the 18th century, one should note Gottfried 1753, the work of the convert Johann Adam Gottfried, and Thirsch 1773, a work attributed to a Jesuit—one of the few examples of a Catholic work on Yiddish. Friedrich 1784, again written by a convert, is considered in research the finest early modern manual of Yiddish.
  219.  
  220. Chrysander, Wilhelm Christian Just. Unterricht vom Nutzen des Juden-Teutschen. Wolfenbüttel, Germany: Meißner, 1750.
  221.  
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  223.  
  224. “A lesson on the usefulness of the Judeo-German [language].” In this book, Chrysander, the German theologian and philologist in Helmstedt and later in Rinteln, offers various reasons why Christians should learn Yiddish and become acquainted with its literature, with a special emphasis on the use of Yiddish for missionary purposes. Facsimile in Althaus 1966 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions). Available online.
  225.  
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  227.  
  228. Friedrich, Carl Wilhelm. Unterricht in der Judensprache und Schrift: Zum Gebrauch für Gelehrte und Ungelehrte. Prentzlow, Germany: Ragoczy, 1784.
  229.  
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  231.  
  232. Written by a convert, this work offers the first known classification of Yiddish dialects. Available online.
  233.  
  234. Find this resource:
  235.  
  236. Gottfried, Johann Adam. Anweisung zum Jüdischdeutschen. Tübingen, Germany: Löffler, 1753.
  237.  
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  239.  
  240. Extant at the Württembergische Landesbibliothek Stuttgart, the Bavarian National Library in Munich, and other repositories. In the title to his book, Gottfried boasts that with his “Instruction in the Judeo-German,” everyone—even without previous knowledge of Hebrew—will be able to learn Yiddish in no more than eight days.
  241.  
  242. Find this resource:
  243.  
  244. Schudt, Johann Jacob. Jüdische Merckwürdigkeiten. 4 vols. Frankfurt and Leipzig: Matthias Andrea, 1714–1718.
  245.  
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  247.  
  248. In Vol. 2, pp. 281–296: “Caput XVI: Von der Franckfurter und anderer Juden Teutsch-Hebräischen Sprache” (On the Frankfurter and other Jews’ German-Hebrew language), with a supplement in Vol. 4, pp. 113–123. Vol. 3: Anthology of Jewish, including Yiddish texts, some with German translation. Reprinted in Berlin in 1922. Available online.
  249.  
  250. Find this resource:
  251.  
  252. Thirsch, Leopold. Nützliches Handlexikon der jüdischen Sprache. Prague: Schönfeld, 1773.
  253.  
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  255.  
  256. Attributed to the Jesuit Leopold Thirsch, a Hebrew teacher and censor of Hebrew books. First known edition published in Prague in 1773, with numerous following editions, although the actual first edition probably appeared before 1773. Further editions: Prague (1776, 1777) and more. Available online.
  257.  
  258. Find this resource:
  259.  
  260. Wagenseil, Johann Christoph. Belehrung der Jüdisch-Teutschen Red- und Schreibart. Königsberg, Prussia: Rhode, 1699.
  261.  
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  263.  
  264. On pp. 81–90: “Bericht wie das Jüdisch-Teutsche zu lesen” (Report on how to read Jewish-German). Reprinted with annotations and English translation in Frakes 2007 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions), pp. 220–233. Includes a long programmatic introduction, in which Wagenseil explains the benefits of knowledge of Yiddish for Christians, as well as an anthology of Yiddish texts, some with German translation. Further editions published in Frankfurt (1715, 1737). Available online.
  265.  
  266. Find this resource:
  267.  
  268. Missionary Texts, Dictionaries, and Grammars
  269. A leading motivation for the engagement of early modern Christians with Yiddish was the long-standing ambition to convert the Jews to Christianity. This ambition gave rise to persistent missionary endeavors, which received new impetus with the Reformation and the beginning of the Protestant movement. Responding to Martin Luther’s call from the early 1520s regarding the need to deal kindly with the Jews and to instruct them carefully in the Holy Scriptures in order to convert them, Protestant theologians and missionaries looked for suitable ways for a successful mission. After realizing that anti-Jewish polemics in Latin, German, or even Hebrew proved useless among the wider circles of the Jewish population, they decided to address the Jews in their own language; namely, Yiddish. By this, they hoped to approach the Jews from a position of familiarity and even friendliness, and, most importantly, to make the evangelical literature accessible to Jewish readers. Initial efforts in this direction were undertaken as early as the 16th century, with Yiddish translations of the Bible and the New Testament produced and published by Christian scholars for Jewish readership, most notably Helicz 1540 and Schadeus 1592a. But it was only from the late 17th century onward, with the rise of the Pietist movement and its renewed emphasis on Jewish conversion, that mission in Yiddish began in earnest. Following several missionary works in Yiddish published by Lutheran authors at the beginning of the 18th century, including Moller 1700 and Calvör 1710, the engagement with Yiddish for missionary purposes culminated with the work of the Pietist Johann Heinrich Callenberg. Professor of philosophy and oriental languages from the Prussian city of Halle, Callenberg founded in the city in 1728 the missionary “Jewish and Islamic Institute” (Institutum Judaicum et Muhammedicum). In his efforts to promote Jewish conversion, he contributed significantly to Protestant preoccupation with Yiddish. In the first place, he founded a printing press in Halle, where he published missionary works in Yiddish in an unprecedented scale, including Müller] 1728 and Callenberg 1737. Many of these missionary texts can be found in the Sammlung Tychsen (see Süß and Tröger 2001, cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions). Moreover, Callenberg established the first university course in Yiddish in 1729 as part of the training of would-be missionaries and produced Callenberg 1733 and Callenberg 1736—a Yiddish-German dictionary and a popular Yiddish textbook—specifically for missionary purposes. Instruction in the Yiddish language for missionary purposes can also be found in other instances (e.g., Moller 1700, Calvör 1710, Schadeus 1592b, and Chrysander 1750).
  270.  
  271. Callenberg, Johann Heinrich. Kurtze Anleitung zur Jüdischteutschen Sprache. Halle, Germany: Institutum Judaicum, 1733.
  272.  
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  274.  
  275. Callenberg composed and published this Yiddish textbook as well as a Yiddish-German lexicon (see Callenberg 1736) specifically in order to aid missionaries in their interactions with Jews. By this he hoped to promote the study of Yiddish as a missionizing tool among his students and also among others who wished to take part in the missionary effort. Further editions were published in Halle in 1738 and 1749, with a facsimile published in Althaus 1966 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions). Available online.
  276.  
  277. Find this resource:
  278.  
  279. Callenberg, Johann Heinrich. Jüdischteutsches Wörterbüchlein. Halle, Germany: Institutum Judaicum, 1736.
  280.  
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  282.  
  283. Callenberg composed and published this Yiddish-German lexicon as well as a Yiddish textbook (see Callenberg 1733) specifically in order to aid missionaries in their interactions with Jews. By this he hoped to promote the study of Yiddish as a missionizing tool among his students and also among others who wished to take part in the missionary effort. Facsimile in Althaus 1966 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions). Available online.
  284.  
  285. Find this resource:
  286.  
  287. Callenberg, Johann Heinrich, ed. and trans. Genesis germanice litteris judaicogermanicis. Halle, Germany: Institutum Judaicum, 1737.
  288.  
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  290.  
  291. A Yiddish translation of the book of Genesis. One of the many Yiddish translations to scriptural texts published in the missionary institute in Halle and distributed among the Jews. In the Sammlung Tychsen Fb-3454(1).1 (see Süß and Tröger 2001, cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions).
  292.  
  293. Find this resource:
  294.  
  295. Calvör, Caspar. Gloria Christi, oder Herrligkeit Jesu Christi. Leipzig: König, 1710.
  296.  
  297. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  298.  
  299. A bilingual text in Yiddish and German, it contains questions and answers regarding the Christian faith. Composed by the Lutheran theologian Calvör as an aid for missionaries and for Jews who wished to learn the principles of Christianity. Inside: “Anleitung wie das Jüdisch-Teutsche zu lesen” (Tutorial on how to read Jewish-German). Available online.
  300.  
  301. Find this resource:
  302.  
  303. Chrysander, Wilhelm Christian Just. Jüdisch-Teutsche Grammatick. Leipzig and Wolfenbüttel, Germany: Meisner, 1750.
  304.  
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  306.  
  307. Composed by the leading Yiddish grammarian of the 18th century, this book offers invaluable data on the Yiddish language and an excellent description of its nature as a fusion language. Facsimile in Althaus 1966 (cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions). Reprinted in Max Weinreich’s Chrysander’s Yiddish grammar of 1750: Jüdisch-teutsche Grammatick (New York: YIVO, 1958). Available online.
  308.  
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  310.  
  311. Helicz, Paul, ed. Dos nay testiment dos do vert ginent Evangelyon . . . dos ist . . . bsure toyve. Kraków: Paul Helicz, 1540.
  312.  
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  314.  
  315. Today there are only two known copies of the work: in the Cambridge University Library (also on microfilm), and in the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków. This is the first known Yiddish translation of the New Testament, probably translated by Johann Harzuge. In the Latin dedication, Helicz (also spelled “Helic”) emphasizes the missionary goal of this publication. Although dedicated to the Catholic Bishop of Kraków, the translation in fact follows the German version of Martin Luther.
  316.  
  317. Find this resource:
  318.  
  319. Moller, Christian, ed. and trans. Novum Testamentum Hebraeo-Teutonicum. Frankfurt an der Oder: Gottschalckius, 1700.
  320.  
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  322.  
  323. The text follows the German version of Martin Luther. Inside: “Bericht, wie das Jüdisch-Teutsche zu lesen” (A report on how to read the Jewish-German [language]). Available online.
  324.  
  325. Find this resource:
  326.  
  327. Müller, Johannes. Or le’eys erev . . . Dos likht kegn abend tsayt. Halle, Germany: Institutum Judaicum, 1728.
  328.  
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  330.  
  331. The most renowned missionary work in Yiddish, and the first to be published by Callenberg in Halle. The work discusses the imminent redemption of the Jewish people without revealing its Christian message until the very last pages. German translation by Callenberg: Das Licht am Abend (Halle, Germany: Institutum Judaicum, 1736). Available online.
  332.  
  333. Find this resource:
  334.  
  335. Schadeus, Elias, ed. and trans. Fünff Bücher des Newen Testaments. Strasbourg, France: Schadeus, 1592a.
  336.  
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  338.  
  339. Follows the German version by Martin Luther. This translation comprises a selection of five books of the New Testament (the Gospels of Luke and John, Acts, and the Epistles to the Romans and to the Hebrews), which the reformer considered “the best and most useful” for Jewish readers. In the Sammlung Tychsen Fb-3087 (see Süß and Tröger 2001, cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions).
  340.  
  341. Find this resource:
  342.  
  343. Schadeus, Elias. Mysterium: Das ist Geheimnis S. Pauli Röm. am II; Von bekehrung der Juden. Strasbourg, France: Meyer, 1592b.
  344.  
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  346.  
  347. Extant in Augsburg University Library, Erlangen-Nuremberg University Library, Leipzig University Library, and other repositories. A later edition from 1892 is not entirely reliable. Inside: “Ein gewisser Bericht von der Teutsch Hebreischen Schrifft deren sich die Juden gebrauchen” (A certain report on the German-Hebrew Script). In the introduction to the work, Schadeus elaborates on his decision from the same year to publish a Yiddish translation of New Testament books (see Schadeus 1592a), and he explicitly promotes the use of Yiddish as part of a “friendly” missionary approach.
  348.  
  349. Find this resource:
  350.  
  351. Textbooks for Merchants and Businessmen
  352. From the beginning of the 18th century onward, the popular demand for a working knowledge of Yiddish gave rise to a new genre of self-study manuals of the Jewish language, intended primarily for merchants and businessmen. Written in German for a broad audience, these works aimed to teach basic Yiddish necessary for conducting business affairs. They offered rudimentary grammatical instructions and elaborated lexicons, which focused on Hebraisms frequently used by Yiddish-speaking merchants. These included monetary terms and weights and measures, as well as other practical information useful for businessmen, such as the numeric system of the Hebrew alphabet and the Jewish way of counting the years. Most works also provided exercises both in the spoken and written language. These comprised samples of Jewish promissory notes, as well as model conversations in Yiddish—between two Jewish businessmen or between a Jewish merchant and his Christian client—with facing German translation. These manuals, it should be noted, did not merely aim to facilitate commercial transactions between Jews and Christians. With the prevalent notion at the time, as if Jews used their “secret language” to deceive innocent Christians in business transactions, these manuals purported to teach Christians Yiddish as means to defend themselves in the face of an alleged Jewish deception. The earliest book of this type known to us is Helicz 1543. All other known business-oriented Yiddish manuals appeared only in the 18th century, most notably Oppenheimer 1731, Selig 1767, and Selig 1792. Among other popular works of “teach yourself Yiddish,” most probably used by Christian businessmen though not only by them, one should note Gottfried 1753, Thirsch 1773, and Friedrich 1784 (all cited under General Works on Yiddish Language and Literature). Some works of the “business Yiddish” genre addressed a more specialized audience, such as Reizenstein 1764, which offers instructions in Yiddish specifically for horse dealers. One final group of writings that needs to be mentioned here is what came to be known as “anti-Semitic works on the Yiddish language,” which aimed to “expose” Jewish blasphemies and anti-Christian abusive words and, in general, ridiculed and denigrated the language. Many of these works, including J.W. 1714, PhilogLottus 1733, and Bibliophilus 1742 (all cited under Anti-Jewish Writings), explicitly advertised themselves as manuals of “business Yiddish.” They specifically address merchants and businessmen and include much of the usual apparatus characteristic of the genre.
  353.  
  354. Helicz, Paul. Elemental oder lesebuechlein. Hundesfeld, Poland: Helicz, 1543.
  355.  
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  357.  
  358. Published by the convert Helicz (also spelled “Helic”) in Hundesfeld, Germany, near Breslau. The same Helicz was the publisher of the Yiddish New Testament in Kraków, 1540 (see Helicz 1540, cited under Missionary Texts, Dictionaries, and Grammars). Facsimile in Elemental- [!] oder Lesebüchlein des Paul Helicz, edited by Max Silberberg (Breslau, Germany: Verein Jüdisches Museum, 1929). Available online.
  359.  
  360. Find this resource:
  361.  
  362. Oppenheimer, Eberhard Carl Friedrich. Hodegus ebraeo-rabbinicus, das ist: . . . Anweisung wie . . . die Rabbinischen Bücher und Briefe, Contracte . . . u. derer heutigen Jüden teutsch zu lesen und zu verstehen. Leipzig: Zschau, 1731.
  363.  
  364. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  365.  
  366. A manual of commercial Yiddish very similar to Helicz’s Lesebuechlein, but with more-explicit anti-Jewish overtones and polemics. Available online.
  367.  
  368. Find this resource:
  369.  
  370. Reizenstein, Wolf Ehrenfried von. Der vollkommene Pferde-Kenner. 2 vols. Uffenheim, Germany: Meyer, 1764.
  371.  
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  373.  
  374. This manual for horse dealers includes a thirty-six-page appendix on the special variety of Yiddish spoken by Jewish practitioners of the trade “Anhang, woraus diejenigen Redens-Arten können erlernet werden, deren sich die Juden in ihrem Umgang gegen einander und sonderlich auf Roß-Märkten bedienen” (Appendix, from which those expressions may be learned which the Jews make use of in their dealings with each other and especially at horse markets”). Further editions were published in Anspach, Germany, in 1780, and at an unrecorded location in 1805. Available online.
  375.  
  376. Find this resource:
  377.  
  378. Selig, Gottfried. Kurze und gründliche Anleitung zu einer leichten Erlernung der Jüdischdeutschen Sprache. Leipzig: Rumpf, 1767.
  379.  
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  381.  
  382. Translates as “A brief and thorough introduction to an easy learning of the Jewish-German language.” Published by the convert Selig, lecturer for Hebrew at the University of Leipzig. He dedicated this work to the “highly esteemed businessmen of the city of Leipzig,” the driving force behind the publication of the work, as he noted. The booklet quickly ran out of stock, and Selig published a revised and enlarged edition in 1792 (see Selig 1792). Available online.
  383.  
  384. Find this resource:
  385.  
  386. Selig, Gottfried. Lehrbuch zur gründlichen Erlernung der jüdischdeutschen Sprache. Leipzig: Voß & Leo, 1792.
  387.  
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  389.  
  390. Translates as “Textbook to a thorough learning of the Jewish-German language.” A second, revised and enlarged edition of Selig 1767. Available online.
  391.  
  392. Find this resource:
  393.  
  394. Yiddish and Rotwelsch
  395. The image of Yiddish as the Jews’ secret language, which was advocated by quite a few of the Christian Yiddishists, was significantly reinforced by the fact that Yiddish was also the language of the large Jewish underclass of paupers, vagrants, beggars, and criminals. The association of Yiddish with criminality was nourished to a large extent by the linguistic affinity between Yiddish and Rotwelsch, the secret language of the German underworld at the time. The idea of Yiddish as the language of the thieves, put forward quite blatantly in Luther 1909 (written in 1528), gave rise to “criminological” research on the Jewish language, as a byproduct of the interest in Rotwelsch on the one hand, and in Jewish criminality (specifically banditry) on the other. The first half of the 18th century, in particular, saw the publication of criminal reports describing the investigations and trials of bandits, both Jewish and non-Jewish, who had been arrested. Considerable attention has been given to the language of the bandits, and the criminal reports also often presented word lists of the thieves’ jargon, in which quite a few Yiddish words and phrases were included. As the authors of the reports—investigators and police officials—emphasized, these works were intended for policemen and government officials in charge of the public order, as well as for ordinary Christians. Indeed, the Rotwelsch glossaries were meant to provide the decent reader with a means to recognize a criminal and beware of him. In addition to Rotwelsch glossaries included in general works on bandits and other criminals, as in the case of Anonymous 1753, we also have reports focusing on specifically Jewish robber bands—and the specific Yiddish vocabulary included in their Rotwelsch, as in the case of Einert 1735 and Einert 1758. The close connection between Jews and criminality and between the Jewish language and the language of the criminals, which was well established already by the mid-18th century, as, for example, in Schweser and Krackherr 1768, continued to shape Christian perceptions of Yiddish well into the 19th and early 20th centuries.
  396.  
  397. Anonymous. Actenmäßige Nachricht von einer zahlreichen Diebs-Bande . . . Auch Verzeichniß vorgekommener Wörter von der Spitzbuben-Sprache. Hildburghausen, Germany, 1753.
  398.  
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  400.  
  401. On pp. 73–83: “Verzeichniß vorgekommener Wörter von der Spitzbuben-Sprache. NB. Die mit einen [sic] Sterngen bemerckte Wörter sind unter den Juden-Spitzbuben gewöhnlich” (A list of words to be found in the language of the rascals/rogues. NB. Those words marked with a star are common among the Jewish rascals/rogues). Further editions were published in Jena, Germany (1753), and at an unrecorded location in 1754. Available online.
  402.  
  403. Find this resource:
  404.  
  405. Einert, Paul Nicol. Actenmäßige Designation Derer von einer Diebischen Juden-Bande verübten Kirchen-Raubereyen und gewaltsamen mörderischen Einbrüche. 3d rev. ed. Coburg, Germany: Hof-Buchdruckerey, 1735.
  406.  
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  408.  
  409. Inside: “Jüdische Diebsausdrücke” (Jewish thieves’ expressions). This work documents the investigation and trial of a famous Jewish robber band and was published anonymously by the chief investigator. In the third edition we find a Rotwelsch glossary: “For better understanding of the Jewish thieves’ dealings, some words and special technical terms common among the robber bands will follow, which the thieves are in the habit of using among themselves.” Available online.
  410.  
  411. Find this resource:
  412.  
  413. Einert, Paul Nicol. Entdeckter Jüdischer Baldober oder Sachsen-Coburgische Acta Criminalia wider eine Jüdische Diebs- und Rauber-Bande. Coburg, Germany: Otto, 1758.
  414.  
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  416.  
  417. On pp. 591–595: “Anhang I: Verzeichniß vorgekommener Wörter von der Spitzbuben-Sprache, welche unter den Juden-Spitzbuben gewöhnlich” (A list of words to be found in the language of the rascals/rogues, which are common among the Jewish rascals/rogues). Originally published in Coburg in 1737. Available online.
  418.  
  419. Find this resource:
  420.  
  421. Luther, Martin. “Von der falschen Betler büberey.” In D. Martin Luthers Werke: Kritische Gesamtausgabe; Schriften. Vol. 26. By Martin Luther, 634–654. Weimar, Germany: H. Böhlau, 1909.
  422.  
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  424.  
  425. This is a German version of the popular Liber vagatorum (Book of vagabonds, c. 1510), the influential study on the German underworld and its language in the Early Modern period. In his introduction to the German edition of 1528, Lutherpoints out the Jewish component of Rotwelsch, asserting that “this Rotwelsch has certainly come from the Jews, for it contains many Hebrew words” (p. 638). This statement was reiterated in later works on Yiddish as a proof for the linkage between this language and the language of the underworld. Available online.
  426.  
  427. Find this resource:
  428.  
  429. Schweser, Christoph Heinrich, and Christoph Friedrich Krackherr. Des Klugen Beamten tägliches Hand-Lexicon: . . . Nebst einem Anhange eines vollständigen Wörterbuchs von der Jüdisch-teutschen und Rothwelschen oder sogenanten Spitzbuben Sprache. Nuremberg, Germany: Raspe, 1768.
  430.  
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  432.  
  433. On pp. 492–514: “Anhang eines jüdisch teutschen und rothwelschen Wörterbuchs” (An appendix of Jewish-German and Rotwelsch dictionaries). As Krackherr notes on the title page, he appended a dictionary “of Yiddish and Rotwelsch, or the so-called thieves’ jargon [Spitzbuben Sprache], for the use of those who deal with Jews, or have to conduct judicial investigations about them.” Available online.
  434.  
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  436.  
  437. Anti-Jewish Writings
  438. Although many of the works written by early modern Christian Yiddishists had anti-Jewish undertones to varying degrees, some works put the polemics against the Yiddish language and its Jewish speakers at center stage. The common characteristic of these works was the idea that Yiddish literature and daily discourse were saturated with blasphemies and anti-Christian expressions. As the Jews’ “secret language,” so ran the argument, Yiddish allowed the Jewish minority to covertly express their animosity toward the Christian religion and its adherents, thus posing a tangible threat to the Christian religious and social order. During the Early Modern period, former Jews and Christian Hebraists ardently collected popular Jewish expressions from Yiddish literature and oral culture, intended to mock and insult Christianity and its adherents. Two representatives of this genre are Brenz 1614 and Schwab 1619, both of which are works by converts from Judaism. This genre reached its sinister peak with Eisenmenger 1711, probably the most famous anti-Jewish work of the Early Modern period. Within the corpus of Yiddish textbooks and manuals intended for a Christian audience, the issue of anti-Christian sayings in Yiddish oral culture gained a central position in what came to be known in research as “anti-Semitic works on the Yiddish language,” published during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Seeking to ridicule and denigrate the Jews and their language, these works focused on the vulgar stratum of Yiddish as spoken among common Jews and included many instances of slang, coarse and offensive expressions, cursing, and abusive language. At the same time, they used their writing on Yiddish for “exposing” Jewish secrets and anti-Christian sentiments. The most renowned work of this genre is J.W. 1714, followed by PhilogLottus 1733 and Bibliophilus 1742. Advocating themselves primarily as language manuals for Christians who had business interactions with Jewish merchants and businessmen (on this genre, see Textbooks for Merchants and Businessmen), these works brought the idea of Yiddish as the Jews’ secret language to its most blatant expression. According to these works, Jews used Yiddish not only to deceive their Christian clients or business partners, but also to curse and imprecate them in a most contemptible manner.
  439.  
  440. Bibliophilus. Jüdischer Sprach-Meister, oder Hebräisch-Teutsches Wörter-Buch. Frankfurt and Leipzig, 1742.
  441.  
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  443.  
  444. The author, who used the pseudonym Bibliophilus, advocates his dictionary as an easy instruction to the expressions Jews use among themselves in their “Hebräisch-Juden-Teutsch,” claiming that such knowledge would enable Christians to understand what the Jews say about them in their presence, or indeed straight to their faces, safely encrypted in the form of an unintelligible language. Appendix: “Of the Jews’ sacrileges and blasphemies against Christ our Savior, his Holy Mother, and against all Christians.” Available online.
  445.  
  446. Find this resource:
  447.  
  448. Brenz, Samuel Friedrich. Jüdischer abgestreiffter Schlangen-Balg. Nuremberg, Germany: Scherfen, 1614.
  449.  
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  451.  
  452. “Jewish cast-off snakeskin, that is a thorough detection and rejection of all blasphemies and lies that the poisonous Jewish snake-vermin habitually use, partly in the damned synagogues, partly in their homes and in secret gatherings.” Written by a Bavarian Jew who had converted to Christianity in 1610, this book explicitly purported to expose the anti-Christian elements allegedly hidden in Jewish religion and culture. Reprinted in Wülfer 1681 (see Christian Translations of Yiddish Works). Available online.
  453.  
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  455.  
  456. Eisenmenger, Johann A. Entdecktes Judenthum. 2 vols. Königsberg, Prussia, 1711.
  457.  
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  459.  
  460. In this work, Eisenmenger published passages and excerpts from numerous Jewish books, including thirteen books in Yiddish, in order to expose what the Jewish blasphemies, sacrileges, and anti-Christian expressions allegedly hidden in them. Originally published in Frankfurt am Main (1700). Available online.
  461.  
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  463.  
  464. J.W. Jüdischer Sprach-Meister, oder Erklärung was zwischen zweyen Juden . . . auf ihre gewöhnliche Redens-Art, abgehandelt wird. N.p., c. 1714.
  465.  
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  467.  
  468. The work aims to teach Christians the spoken language of the Jews by means of a lengthy dialogue in Yiddish (written in Latin characters) with a parallel German translation. The dialogue is between two Yiddish-speaking Jews who conspire to deceive a Christian client. Reprinted with an English translation, annotations, and introduction in The Eighteenth-Century Language Text of Jüdischer Sprach-Meister: A West-Yiddish Dialogue Together with an English Translation and Introduction, edited and translated by Jordan D. Finkin (Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen, 2010). Available online.
  469.  
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  471.  
  472. PhilogLottus. Kurtze und gründliche Anweisung zur Teutsch-Jüdischen Sprache. Freiberg, Germany: Matthäi, 1733.
  473.  
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  475.  
  476. Advocating itself on the title page as useful for theology students, businessmen, or indeed “anyone else who has dealings with Jews,” this booklet, perhaps authored by J. P. Lütke (using the pseudonym PhilogLottus), offers a tutorial of Yiddish grammar as well as a German-Yiddish lexicon, with at least some dubious expressions. Available online.
  477.  
  478. Find this resource:
  479.  
  480. Schwab, Dietrich. Detectum velum Mosaicum Iudaeorum nostri temporis, Das ist: Jüdischer Deckmantel deß Mosaischen Gesetzes . . . auffgehoben und entdecket. Mainz, Germany: Schwab, 1619.
  481.  
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  483.  
  484. The work of a convert from Judaism, this book aims to “expose” Jewish blasphemies and anti-Christian sentiments, hidden among other things in their “secret language,” Yiddish. By this, the author hopes to help his new co-religionists to protect themselves in the face of an alleged Jewish threat. Available online.
  485.  
  486. Find this resource:
  487.  
  488. Christian Translations of Yiddish Works
  489. During the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, a rich corpus of literary texts in Yiddish emerged in the Ashkenazi communities throughout Europe. Known today as “Old Yiddish literature” (as opposed to the modern, eastern European Yiddish literature of the 19th and early 20th centuries), these works enjoyed great popularity among early modern Jewish readers. They also attracted the attention of Christian Yiddishists, who composed bibliographies of these Old Yiddish texts, discussed them in literary surveys, and translated them into German (and sometimes into Latin) for the benefit of Christian readers. If we are to judge from the statements of the translators themselves, as they appear on the title pages of their works, in the dedicatory epistles, or in the preface to the reader, Christian translations from Yiddish resulted from a wide array of motivations, ranging from entertainment to the instruction of the Yiddish language and even to aiding students of theology in the study of Hebrew and the biblical text. The idea that religious and pious texts in Yiddish could serve as “edifying entertainment” also for Christian readers underlies, for example, Paulus Aemilius 1562 and Schöttgen 1742, by the convert Paulus Aemilius and the Lutheran pedagogue and theologian Johann Christian Schöttgen, respectively. Yet, it seems that most translators were interested mainly in Yiddish literature as a window to the closed Jewish world of their time. Acquaintance with the Yiddish literature, it was argued, would serve Christians as a source of information about actual Jewish beliefs and practices. This would prove helpful in repudiating Judaism by using the Jews’ own sources for polemics against them, as well as in exposing alleged Jewish secrets, most notably instances of blasphemy and anti-Jewish expressions. In some of the translations, such as Wagenseil 1705 and Willemer 1734, various motivations were at play; in others, such as Helvicus 1611–1612 and to some extent also Wülfer 1681, it was polemic and anti-Jewish discourse that took center stage.
  490.  
  491. Helvicus, Christoph, ed. and trans. Jüdische Historien oder Thalmuhdische, Rabbinische, wunderbarliche Legenden. 2 vols. Giessen, Germany: Chemlein, 1611–1612.
  492.  
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  494.  
  495. A German translation of numerous stories from the widely read Mayse-bukh (Book of stories; published in Basel, Switzerland, in 1602), a Yiddish compilation of about 250 stories based largely on Talmudic and midrashic tales. The German translator of the book, Helwig (Helvicus), added to his translation—published in two volumes—both introductions and endnotes (in the second volume), in which he polemicized with the Yiddish text and condemned the Jewish stories as foolish and superstitious. A further edition was published in Giessen in 1617. In the Sammlung Tychsen CIc-375 (see Süß and Tröger 2001, cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions).
  496.  
  497. Find this resource:
  498.  
  499. Paulus Aemilius, ed. and trans. Die zway ersten Bücher der Künig . . . in unser Hochteütsch gebracht. Ingolstadt, Germany: Weyssenhorn, 1562.
  500.  
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  502.  
  503. Extant in Heidelberg University Library, the National Library of Bavaria, Stabi Berlin, and other repositories. A German translation of the Shmuel-bukh (The Book of Samuel), a biblical epic in Yiddish from the 15th century. Aemilius’s book is the first known example of an entire Yiddish work in German translation to appear in print.
  504.  
  505. Find this resource:
  506.  
  507. Schöttgen, Christian, ed. and trans. [Five stories from the Mayse-bukh]. Der Rabbiner 28 (July 1742): 221–224.
  508.  
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  510.  
  511. Continued in Der Rabbiner 29 (July 1742): 226–232 and 31 (August 1742): 245–248. German translation of five stories from the popular Yiddish Mayse-bukh (Book of stories, 1602), published by the Hebraist and pedagogue Schöttgen in his Der Rabbiner, a weekly journal dedicated to Jewish topics and especially rabbinic literature. Reprinted and discussed in Nathanael Riemer‘s “Unbekannte Bearbeitungen des Ma’assebuches,” in Jiddistik-Mitteilungen 38 (2007): 1–23 (especially pp. 15–23). Available online.
  512.  
  513. Find this resource:
  514.  
  515. Wagenseil, Johann Christoph, trans. “Rabbi Mose Stendels nach Jüdisch-Teutscher Red-Art vorlängst in Reimen gebrachte Psalmen Davids.” In Benachrichtigungen wegen einiger die Judenschafft angehenden wichtigen Sachen. Leipzig: Johann Heinichens Wittwe, 1705.
  516.  
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  518.  
  519. This translation appears as an appendix to the second part of the work, titled “Johann Christof Wagenseils Benachrichtigung Wegen einiger die gemeine Jüdischheit betreffenden wichtigen Sachen.” It is a German translation of a Yiddish version of the book of Psalms, published by Rabbi Mose Stendel in Kraków in 1586. In the Sammlung Tychsen CIc-360 (see Süß and Tröger 2001, cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions)
  520.  
  521. Find this resource:
  522.  
  523. Willemer, Philipp Helfrich, ed. and trans. Gebet-Buch derer heutigen Jüdinnen . . . aus dem Hebräischen und Jüdisch-Teutschen in das Hoch-Teutsche übersetzt und mit Anmerckungen beleuchtet. Świdnica, Poland, and Leipzig: Böhm, 1734.
  524.  
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  526.  
  527. A German translation of a Yiddish prayer book for Jewish women. With a programmatic introduction by Johann Jacob Rambach, a Lutheran professor of theology from the University of Giessen. In the Sammlung Tychsen CIc-370(1).1 and CIc-659.2 (see Süß and Tröger 2001, cited under Primary Texts, Translations, and Editions).
  528.  
  529. Find this resource:
  530.  
  531. Wülfer, Johann. Theriaca Judaica ad examen revocata. Nuremberg, Germany: Knorzius, 1681.
  532.  
  533. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  534.  
  535. Includes a reprint of Brenz’s Jüdischer abgestreiffter Schlangen-Balg (see Brenz 1614, cited under Anti-Jewish Writings), as well as a Jewish refutation of Brenz’s anti-Jewish accusations, published in Hanau in 1615 (Salman Zvi’s Yudisher teryak). The seventy-page-long Yiddish text is followed by a 392-page-long text by Wülfer, which includes a Latin translation of the Jewish work and vast polemics against it. Available online.
  536.  
  537. Find this resource:
  538.  
  539. Prominent Christian Yiddishists and Their Work
  540. To date, there are very few publications focusing on the work of individual Christian Yiddishists. To find information on this topic, one would have to turn to the general overviews on early modern Christian Yiddishism, especially to those discussing every scholar separately, such as Weinreich 1993 and Frakes 2007 (both cited under General Overviews). However, almost all Christian Yiddishists were quite renowned scholars at their time, and their work as theologians, orientalists, Hebraists, or missionaries attracted the attention of early modern contemporaries as well as modern researchers. Hence we can find considerable information on these scholars and on their work in other fields of study, beyond that of Christian Yiddishism. Apart from the basic information on early modern German scholars, which can be gleaned from works of reference such as the Allgemeine deutsche Biographie, the Neue deutsche Biographie, or Christian Gottlieb Jöcher’s Allgemeines Gelehrten-Lexikon, the entries in the six subsections of this heading present selected studies dedicated to some of the prominent Christian Yiddishists, both with and without regard to their work in the field of Yiddish.
  541.  
  542. Johann Buxtorf
  543. Johann Buxtorf (b. 1564–d. 1629), probably the most prominent Hebraist of the 17th century, contributed significantly to the field of early modern Yiddish studies. In addition to his tutorial on the language, included in Buxtorf 1609 (cited under Scholarly Linguistic Introductions), he was also well acquainted with the Yiddish literature of his day and made use of it in his works; most notably, in his ethnographic essay on Jewish rituals and practices, from 1603. Among modern studies on Buxtorf as a pioneering Christian Hebraist, one should mention the various papers by Stephen G. Burnett, and especially Burnett 1996, his comprehensive book on the topic. In the 2010s, Anthony Grafton and Joanna Weinberg embarked on a large-scale project on Buxtorf, from which two articles, Weinberg 2016 and Grafton and Weinberg 2016, have already seen light.
  544.  
  545. Burnett, Stephen G. From Christian Hebraism to Jewish Studies: Johannes Buxtorf (1564–1629) and Hebrew Learning in the Seventeenth Century. Studies in the History of Christian Thought 68. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1996.
  546.  
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  548.  
  549. This groundbreaking book in the study of Christian Hebraism explores Buxtorf’s career as a professor of Hebrew and as an editor and censor of Jewish books in Basel, Switzerland. It analyzes his work on various Hebrew and Jewish topics, including Hebrew grammars and lexicons and ethnographical work on Jewish rituals and daily life, and discusses Buxtorf’s contribution to biblical studies.
  550.  
  551. Find this resource:
  552.  
  553. Grafton, Anthony, and Joanna Weinberg. “Johann Buxtorf Makes a Notebook.” In Canonical Texts and Scholarly Practices: A Global Comparative Approach. Edited by Anthony Grafton and Glenn W. Most, 275–298. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2016.
  554.  
  555. DOI: 10.1017/CBO9781316226728.014Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  556.  
  557. The paper presents a close analysis of Buxtorf’s copybook, in which the great Hebraist filled around three hundred pages with bibliographical notes and excerpts of Jewish literature, as well as with information he gleaned from conversations with Jewish interlocutors. The authors use the copybook to reconstruct the working methods of Buxtorf in the field of Jewish studies and to trace the evolution of his notions regarding Jews and Judaism.
  558.  
  559. Find this resource:
  560.  
  561. Weinberg, Joanna. “Crossroads in Hebraism: Johann Buxtorf Gives a Hebrew Lesson to Philippe Duplessis-Mornay.” In Jewish Books and Their Readers: Aspects of the Intellectual Life of Christians and Jews in Early Modern Europe. Edited by Scott Mandelbrote and Joanna Weinberg, 151–168. Brill’s Series in Church History and Religious Culture 75. Boston: Brill, 2016.
  562.  
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  564.  
  565. The paper discusses the encounter and scholarly exchange between Buxtorf and the Huguenot leader and Hebraist Duplessis-Mornay, while offering new ways to understanding Buxtorf’s contribution to the fields of Christian Hebraism and rabbinic studies.
  566.  
  567. Find this resource:
  568.  
  569. Johann Heinrich Callenberg
  570. An ardent Pietist and professor of philosophy and oriental languages at the University of Halle, Callenberg (b. 1694–d. 1760) was the central figure of 18th-century Christian Yiddishism. His extensive missionary work among the Jews of central and eastern Europe gave new impetus to the Christian engagement with the Yiddish language and literature. In 1728 Callenberg founded in Halle, Germany, the missionary “Jewish and Islamic Institute” (Institutum Judaicum et Muhammedicum), which quickly became a Christian center of Yiddish learning and publishing (see Missionary Texts, Dictionaries, and Grammars). Callenberg’s Yiddish textbook and lexicon are discussed in Althaus 1966, as an epilogue to their facsimile edition. The missionary activity in Halle in general, centered on the towering figure of Callenberg, has gained considerable attention in historical research since the mid-1990s. Two important works on the topic are Clark 1995 and Rymatzki 2004. In both works, the broader discussion on Callenberg and his institute also includes his activities in the field of Yiddish.
  571.  
  572. Althaus, Hans Peter. “Nachwort.” In Schriften zur jiddischen Sprache: Johann Heinrich Callenberg, Wilhelm Christian Just Chrysander; Faksimiliedruck nach den Ausgaben von 1733, 1736 und 1750. Edited by Hans Peter Althaus, 283–297. Marburg, Germany: Elwert, 1966.
  573.  
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  575.  
  576. Includes a facsimile of Callenberg 1733 and Callenberg 1736 (both cited under Missionary Texts, Dictionaries, and Grammars)—the Yiddish grammar and lexicon authored and published by Callenberg in his missionary printing press in Halle. The book includes an epilogue by Althaus, with helpful information on Callenberg and his missionary texts.
  577.  
  578. Find this resource:
  579.  
  580. Clark, Christopher M. The Politics of Conversion: Missionary Protestantism and the Jews in Prussia, 1728–1941. Oxford: Clarendon, 1995.
  581.  
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  583.  
  584. On Callenberg and his missionary institute, see chapter 2. Provides an illuminating discussion on the central role of Callenberg and his “Jewish Institute” in the Judenmission, against the backdrop of the implementation of Pietism in the Prussian city of Halle in general, and at its university in particular.
  585.  
  586. Find this resource:
  587.  
  588. Rymatzki, Christoph. Hallischer Pietismus und Judenmission: Johann Heinrich Callenbergs Institutum Judaicum und dessen Freundeskreis (1728–1736). Hallesche Forschungen 11. Tübingen, Germany: Niemeyer, 2004.
  589.  
  590. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  591.  
  592. Based on archival materials, the book provides a comprehensive, detailed description of the establishment of Callenberg’s “Jewish Institute” in Halle and of its missionary activities during the first eight years of its existence, under Callenberg’s leadership.
  593.  
  594. Find this resource:
  595.  
  596. Paul Fagius
  597. One of the first Christian Yiddishists, Fagius (b. 1504–d. 1549) considered Yiddish learning to be of value first and foremost for Christian students of theology. To his mind, the linguistic affinity between Yiddish and Hebrew could aid Christians in their study of the holy tongue and the biblical text. Fagius contributed significantly to the field of early modern Yiddishism both as author and publisher. Raubenheimer 1957 is a biography of Fagius. Interesting discussions of Fagius and his work as a Hebraist can be found in studies on 16th-century Christian Hebraism and Christian-Jewish relations, especially Friedman 1983 and Kaplan 2011.
  598.  
  599. Friedman, Jerome. The Most Ancient Testimony: Sixteenth-Century Christian-Hebraica in the Age of Renaissance Nostalgia. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 1983.
  600.  
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  602.  
  603. Still a standard work in the study of early modern Christian Hebraism, this groundbreaking book offers illuminating discussions of several pioneering figures of Christian Hebraists from the late 15th century and the first half of the 16th century, including Johannes Reuchlin, Sebastian Münster, and Fagius. On Fagius, see especially chapters 5 and 8.
  604.  
  605. Find this resource:
  606.  
  607. Kaplan, Debra. Beyond Expulsion: Jews, Christians, and Reformation Strasbourg. Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2011.
  608.  
  609. DOI: 10.11126/stanford/9780804774420.001.0001Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  610.  
  611. Chapter 6 provides an illuminating discussion of Fagius’s activities as a Christian reformer and Hebraist in the city of Strasbourg, against the backdrop of Christian-Jewish relations in the city during the Reformation.
  612.  
  613. Find this resource:
  614.  
  615. Raubenheimer, Richard. Paul Fagius aus Rheinzabern: Sein Leben und Wirken als Reformator und Gelehrter. Zweibrücken, Germany: Verein für Pfälzische Kirchengeschichte, 1957.
  616.  
  617. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  618.  
  619. A useful (even if somewhat outmoded) biography of the Protestant reformer and professor of Hebrew Fagius, including his work in Isny and Strasbourg and his exile in England before his death.
  620.  
  621. Find this resource:
  622.  
  623. Paul Helicz
  624. The Helicz brothers were the first Jewish printers in Poland, and the first to print books in Hebrew and Yiddish for the Jewish community in the land. In the late 1530s the brothers converted to Christianity. With his Yiddish New Testament (1540) and the Elemental oder lesebuechlein (1543), Paul Helicz (b. c. 1500–d. c. 1550) became the pioneering figure of two prominent branches of Christian Yiddishism: that of Yiddish in the service of the Judenmission, and that of Yiddish manuals for merchants and businessmen. Not much is known about Helicz, and there are hardly any studies on his life and work. His 1543 Yiddish manual is discussed in Shtif 1929, and his by-now-rare New Testament has received some very welcome attention in Teter and Fram 2006.
  625.  
  626. Shtif, Nokhem. “Paul Helicz’s Elemental oder lesebuechlein (Hundesfeld, 1543) (to the History of Yiddish Studies in the Sixteenth Century).” Filologishe Shriften 3 (1929): 515–524.
  627.  
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  629.  
  630. The renowned Yiddish scholar Shtif offers in this article a close description, as well as a linguistic evaluation and some useful background of Helicz’s Yiddish tutorial from 1543. In Yiddish.
  631.  
  632. Find this resource:
  633.  
  634. Teter, Magda, and Edward Fram. “Apostasy, Fraud, and the Beginnings of Hebrew Printing in Cracow.” AJS Review 30.1 (2006): 31–66.
  635.  
  636. DOI: 10.1017/S036400940600002XSave Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  637.  
  638. This fascinating and well-researched paper explores the Hebrew and Yiddish printing activities of the Helicz brothers in Poland before and after their conversion to Christianity, as well as the impact of their conversion on the family business. An elaborate discussion on Paul Helicz’s Yiddish translation of the New Testament on pp. 54–61. Available online by subscription.
  639.  
  640. Find this resource:
  641.  
  642. Johann Jacob Schudt
  643. Johann Jacob Schudt (b. 1664–d. 1722), Lutheran theologian and rector of the Frankfurt Gymnasium, is best known to this day for his four-volume work Jüdische Merckwürdigkeiten (Jewish curiosities), published in 1714–1718. With its elaborated depictions of Jewish customs, rituals, and everyday life, this work is considered an important representative of the genre of Christian ethnographies on the Jews, which flourished in early modern Europe. It is interesting to note that while other authors of Christian ethnographies touch only briefly (if at all) on the language of their Jewish neighbors, Schudt dedicates an entire chapter to Hebrew and Yiddish and includes various Yiddish texts in the Jewish anthology he provides in the third volume of his work. In the early 21st century, Schudt and his ethnographic work have gained considerable interest in historical research. A conference held in Frankfurt in 2004 on the early modern Frankfurter Judengasse included a session dedicated to Schudt and his ethnographic work, and one held in the city ten years later, in 2014, was dedicated entirely to this topic. The papers presented in the conferences saw light in Backhaus, et al. 2006 and Cluse and Voß 2015. Both volumes also include contributions on Schudt as a Christian Yiddishist.
  644.  
  645. Backhaus, Fritz, Gisela Engel, Robert Liberles, and Margarete Schlüter, eds. Die Frankfurter Judengasse: Jüdisches Leben in der frühen Neuzeit. Schriftenreihe des Jüdischen Museums Frankfurt am Main 9. Frankfurt: Societäts Verlag, 2006.
  646.  
  647. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  648.  
  649. This collected volume on Jewish life in early modern Frankfurt includes a section dedicated to Schudt as the ethnographer of the Jewish ghetto in the city. Aya Lahav-Elyada’s paper (pp. 90–99, 301–304) discusses the aspect of language in Schudt’s writing, offering a close reading and analysis of the depiction of Hebrew and Yiddish in his Jüdische Merckwürdigkeiten. Some of the papers in this collected volume appeared in English translation in The Frankfurt Judengasse: Jewish Life in an Early Modern German City (London: Vallentine Mitchell, 2010).
  650.  
  651. Find this resource:
  652.  
  653. Cluse, Christoph, and Rebekka Voß, eds. Special Issue: Frankfurt’s ‘Jewish Notabilia’ (‘Jüdische Merckwürdigkeiten’): Ethnographic Views of Urban Jewry in Central Europe around 1700.” Frankfurter Judaistische Beiträge 40 (2015).
  654.  
  655. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  656.  
  657. This rich and multifaceted volume includes papers discussing various aspects of Schudt’s work as a Hebraist and ethnographer. Simon Neuberg’s paper, “Some Philological and Bibliographical Aspects of Yiddish Texts in Schudt” (pp. 103–114) focuses on the Yiddish texts included in the work.
  658.  
  659. Find this resource:
  660.  
  661. Johann Christoph Wagenseil
  662. One of the most prolific and well-known Christian Hebraists in general, and Christian Yiddishists in particular, Wagenseil (b. 1633–d. 1705) not only published a tutorial on the Yiddish language, but he also collected Yiddish books, published various Yiddish texts, and translated works from Yiddish into German. Although he himself was not an active missionary and did not compose missionary texts, he was an ardent advocate of mission among the Jews, and the one to lay the theoretical foundations for the use of Yiddish for missionary purposes. Several studies on Wagenseil focus on various aspects of his life and work. Weissberg 1969 discusses Wagenseil’s Yiddish tutorial, Dickmann 1974 focuses on his advocacy of mission among the Jews, and Bobzin 2005 examines his vast library, which was particularly reach in Hebraica and Judaica. Peter Blastenbrei published several papers on Wagenseil and his attitude toward Jews and Judaism, including Blastenbrei 2004—a comprehensive monograph on the topic.
  663.  
  664. Blastenbrei, Peter. Johann Christoph Wagenseil und seine Stellung zum Judentum. Erlangen, Germany: Fischer, 2004.
  665.  
  666. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  667.  
  668. Provides an overview of Wagenseil’s life and work, as well as an analysis of his works concerning Hebrew, Jews, and Judaism. The book discusses, for example, Wagenseil’s stance on the blood libels, Jewish history, and the prospect of Jewish conversion, highlighting what the author perceives as Wagenseil’s “practical Philosemitism.”
  669.  
  670. Find this resource:
  671.  
  672. Bobzin, Hartmut. “Der Altdorfer Gelehrte Johann Christoph Wagenseil und seine Bibliothek.” Paper presented at the sixth international Reuchlin conference, on “Reuchlin und seine Erben,” held in the summer of 2002 at Pforzheim, Germany. In Reuchlin und seine Erben: Forscher, Denker, Ideologen und Spinner. Edited by Peter Schäfer and Irina Wandrey, 77–95. Pforzheimer Reuchlinschriften 11. Ostfildern, Germany: Thorbecke, 2005.
  673.  
  674. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  675.  
  676. Provides a short overview on Wagenseil’s life and work, and a closer description of some of the Hebrew and Yiddish items in his library.
  677.  
  678. Find this resource:
  679.  
  680. Dickmann, Friedrich. “Das Judenmissionsprogramm Johann Christoph Wagenseils.” Neue Zeitschrift für Systematische Theologie und Religionsphilosophie 16.1 (1974): 75–92.
  681.  
  682. DOI: 10.1515/nzst.1974.16.1.75Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  683.  
  684. Provides a close reading and analysis of Wagenseil’s writings on the topic of Christian mission to the Jews. A brief discussion of Wagenseil’s work as Yiddishist on pp. 82–83. Available online by subscription.
  685.  
  686. Find this resource:
  687.  
  688. Weissberg, Josef. “Johann Christof Wagenseils Bericht ‘Wie das Juedisch-Teutsche zu lesen?’” Zeitschrift für Deutsche Sprache 25 (1969): 154–168.
  689.  
  690. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  691.  
  692. Provides a linguistic analysis of Wagenseil’s Yiddish grammar, published in Wagenseil 1699 (cited under General Works on Yiddish Language and Literature), pp. 81–90. The author compares Wagenseil’s description of the Yiddish language (consonants, vowels, etc.) to other early modern Yiddish works in order to evaluate the correctness of Wagenseil’s grammar as well as to shed light on the Yiddish language of the time.
  693.  
  694. Find this resource:
  695.  
  696. Other Christian Yiddishists
  697. In addition to the Christian authors who published Yiddish tutorials, textbooks, and lexicons, there were also many Yiddishists who did not publish specifically on Yiddish but learned the Jewish language, used it in their works, commented on it on different occasions, or translated literary texts from Yiddish into German and Latin. The Yiddishist activity of such scholars, too, gained some attention in modern research. Simon 1993 offers a close reading and linguistic analysis of Paulus Aemilius’s German translation of the Yiddish Shmuel-bukh from the mid-16th century, Riemer 2012 explores Christoph Helwig’s translation of the Yiddish Mayse-bukh from the beginning of the 17th century, and Katz 1980 and Rohrbacher 2005 discuss Johann Eisenmenger’s Entdecktes Judentum from the beginning of the 18th century, in which Eisenmenger made an extensive use of Yiddish texts.
  698.  
  699. Katz, Jacob. From Prejudice to Destruction: Anti-Semitism, 1700–1933. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1980.
  700.  
  701. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  702.  
  703. In chapter 1, on Eisenmenger and his Entdecktes Judentum, Katz discusses Eisenmenger as a conspicuous representative of the Christian anti-Semitic tradition, whose polemical work against the Jews exerted considerable influence also on modern anti-Semitic discourse.
  704.  
  705. Find this resource:
  706.  
  707. Riemer, Nathanael. “The Christian Hebraist Christoph Helwig (1581–1617) and His Rendering of Jewish Stories in (His Work) Jüdische Historien.” European Journal of Jewish Studies 6.1 (2012): 71–104.
  708.  
  709. DOI: 10.1163/187247112X637560Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  710.  
  711. The paper explores the life and work of the Lutheran theologian and philologist Helwig, who served as professor of Hebrew at the University of Gießen. The lion’s share of the paper focuses on Helwig’s German translation of numerous stories from the Yiddish Mayse-bukh (Book of stories, 1602), published in 1611–1612. Available online by subscription.
  712.  
  713. Find this resource:
  714.  
  715. Rohrbacher, Stefan. “‘Gründlicher und Wahrhaffter Bericht’: Des Orientalisten Johann Andreas Eisenmengers Entdecktes Judenthum (1700) als Klassiker des ‘wissenschaftlichen’ Antisemitismus.” Paper presented at the sixth international Reuchlin conference, on “Reuchlin und seine Erben,” held in the summer of 2002 at Pforzheim, Germany. In Reuchlin und seine Erben: Forscher, Denker, Ideologen und Spinner. Edited by Peter Schäfer and Irina Wandrey, 171–188. Pforzheimer Reuchlinschriften 11. Ostfildern, Germany: Thorbecke, 2005.
  716.  
  717. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  718.  
  719. Provides a short overview on Wagenseil’s life and his Entdecktes Judenthum, as well as an interesting discussion on the reception of the work in Germany of the 18th and 19th centuries.
  720.  
  721. Find this resource:
  722.  
  723. Simon, Bettina. Jiddische Sprachgeschichte: Versuch einer neuen Grundlegung. Frankfurt: Jüdischer Verlag, 1993.
  724.  
  725. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  726.  
  727. In this book, Simon attempts to write a history of the Yiddish language and to explore its relations to German. Despite its problematic method and conclusions, which are disputed in early-21st-century research, her treatment of the German translation of the Yiddish Shmuel-bukh, published by the 16th-century convert Paulus Aemilius, is nonetheless informative and of great interest. Originally published in 1988.
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