Grundsätze der Jüdischen Religion

One of the first instructive texts on Judaism to be published in Germany.

In his Foundations of the Jewish Religion, Rabbi Abraham Nathan Wolf lays out the basic principles and teachings of Judaism, written in simple and accessible language, but without reducing the moral and religious content of the Jewish law and faith.

The settlement of Jews in Dessau dates from 1621. The Jewish community there led the struggle for the emancipation of the German Jews. Both Rabbi Abraham Nathan Wolf and Moses Mendelssohn were born there. Wolf's views on Judaism were considered extremely liberal at the time; though this made him popular with Mendelssohn, his attempts to align traditional Jewish education with modern European culture also led to his persecution by conservative Jewish scholars, who nicknamed him 'the backslider.'

Other publications by Wolf include the Pesher Davar (Berlin, 1777), a comprehensive commentary on the Book of Job, plus contributions to Ha-Meassef and the first three volumes of Bikkurey ha-'Ittim.

First Edition. 8vo (17 x 10 cm). Text in German. Contemporary boards, some worming marks to boards and leaves, edges rubbed. 126 pp.