Jerusalem. Oder über religiöse Macht und Judenthum. <<FIRST EDITION.>> Complete in two part. pp. (2), 96, 141. <<* Bound with:>> Zöllner, Johann Friedrich. Ueber Moses Mendelssohn's Jerusalem. pp. 186. Engraved portrait of Mendelssohn on title-page.

Auction 90 | Tuesday, July 21st, 2020 at 1:00pm
Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts, Graphic & Ceremonial Arts

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Lot 167
MENDELSSOHN, MOSES.

Jerusalem. Oder über religiöse Macht und Judenthum. <<FIRST EDITION.>> Complete in two part. pp. (2), 96, 141. <<* Bound with:>> Zöllner, Johann Friedrich. Ueber Moses Mendelssohn's Jerusalem. pp. 186. Engraved portrait of Mendelssohn on title-page.

Lightly browned, few leaves starting. Later boards, worn. 8vo. Fürst II, 364.

Berlin: Friedrich Maurer 1783-84

Est: $500 - $700
In his "Jerusalem," Mendelssohn’s most important work, the author argued that with the destruction of the Jewish State and the cessation of the Sanhedrin, Judaism was rendered a religion with no coercive powers. - Nonetheless, Jews are still bound by the Covenant to observe Mosaic Law. Maintaining that the Covenant between God and the Jews had never been abolished, provoked criticism from certain Christian quarters who believed that the Old Testament was nullified following the destruction of the Jewish State. In his reply to Mendelssohn, Zöllner raises this very objection. See A. Altmann, Moses Mendelssohn: A Biographical Study (1973) pp. 549-50.