FIRST NEW-STYLE MISSIONARY AND PUBLISHER. MORDECAI BEN MOSHE SHEMAIA - PHILIPP ERNST CHRISTFELS (1671-1759) (Erster Missionar neuen Stils und Verleger. Mordechaj ben Mosche Schemaja - Philipp Ernst Christfels (1671-1759))

• Authors: Doktor Jan
• Languages of publication: DE

Abstracts

EN

Mordechai ben Moshe Shemaia (1671-1759) was a Messianist Jew. In 1700, he studied together with Abraham Rovigo, who was staying in Fürth at the time. When an anathema was put on Rovigo's book entitled 'Eshel Abraham', published in 1701, Rovigo and his disciples were expelled from Fürth. Mordechai, who received baptism in 1701, and with it took the name of Philip Ernst Christfels, was also excommunicated. He declined an offer of a Leipzig University job and became a publisher of Jewish books in Wilhermsdorf. His printer was Zvi Hirsch, a friend of him from their youth, who signed the books they published. Christfels successfully defeated the competitors from nearby Fürth, forcing them to close down their printing shop. His accusations of blasphemies allegedly contained in Jewish prayer books resulted in confiscations of Jewish books in many principalities. This led to a surge in demand for religious literature whose orthodoxy was guaranteed by Christfels as the censor. Christfels established contacts with the Jesuit Franz Haselbauer, the supreme censor of Jewish books in Poland. Without his consent, no Jewish books could be printed or imported. Christfels won his trust and the books published by him received approval, and consequently a captive market in the Czech, Austrian, Hungarian and Moravian lands, which was practically off limits to his competitors. This is where most of the books were distributed. Christfels ended his publishing activity in unclear circumstances in 1739, when his printer Zvi Hirsh returned to Fürth and revived his own publishing business.

Keywords

EN

CHRISTFELS PHILIPP ERNST; JEWISH PUBLISHING; JEWS IN GERMANY; NEOPHYTES

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw, Poland
• Journal: Kwartalnik Historii Żydow
• Year: 2009
• Issue: 3(231)
• Pages: 269-289
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Doktor Jan

• Jan Doktor, Zydowski Instytut Historyczny w Warszawie, ul. Tlomackie 3/5, 00-090 Warszawa, Poland

Identifiers

CEJSH db identifier

09PLAAAA068825