Menasseh ben Israel, rabbi, scholar, philosopher, diplomat and Hebrew printer, 1604-1657
Menasseh ben Israel, rabbi, scholar, philosopher, diplomat and Hebrew printer, 1604-1657
In the midst of history – Menasseh ben Israel’s mission to England
Apology for the honorable nation of the Jews and all the sons of Israel
The Lost tribes of Israel, rediscovered in South America
Short demurrer to the Jewes long discontinued remitter into England
A loving salutation to the seed of Abraham among the Jewes
Printing and Teaching Judaism
Menasseh ben Israel's Liturgical Bible: Pentateuch, Five Scrolls and the Prophetic Portions (1)
Menasseh ben Israel's Liturgical Bible: Pentateuch, Five Scrolls and the Prophetic Portions (2)
A mystical treatise on the fear of God
A Treasury of [religious] Laws which the people of Israel is obligated to know and keep
Fifty precious sermons by Amsterdam’s senior rabbi
"THEOLOGUS ET PHILOSOPHUS HEBRAEUS"
The first part of The Conciliador
Thirty problems concerning Creation
Three books on the resurrection of the dead (1)
Three books on the resurrection of the dead (2)
Three books on the resurrection of the dead (3)
Portrait of the Tabernacle of Moses (1)
Portrait of the Tabernacle of Moses (2)
Portrait of the Tabernacle of Moses (3)
Menasseh ben Israel bridged the Jewish and the Christian worlds. He was a rabbi, a scholar and a publisher, who authored and printed works in Latin, Portuguese, Spanish and Hebrew. He also collaborated with Rembrandt, who etched his portrait.
Menasseh ben Israel is particularly interesting to Hebrew scholars and librarians. He revolutionised Hebrew printing and made Amsterdam the capital of Hebrew publishing. He helped create a new standard of Hebrew typography that became widely known, imitated, and pirated as “Defus Amsterdam” (Amsterdam print) and “Otiyot Amsterdam” (Amsterdam Letters). What is also striking is the multilingual nature of his world, publishing in Hebrew, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin, Dutch and English.
Menasseh’s work appears in Leeds University Library’s Special Collections in the collection of Cecil Roth. Roth was born in London in 1899 and died in Jerusalem in 1970. He was a British Jewish historian and collector of Hebrew books and manuscripts. He was honoured as a “Friend of the Sephardic Community”, and had a special interest in Menasseh ben Israel.
Roth’s monograph ‘A Life of Menasseh ben Israel: Rabbi, Printer, and Diplomat’ was first published in Philadelphia by the Jewish Publication Society of America in 1934. By the time he began his career as a collector, some of Menasseh’s imprints were already extremely rare.
Roth’s collection contains 12 books authored or printed by Menasseh ben Israel, spanning the years 1630 to 1710. They carry the shelfmarks Roth Collection 104, 111, 534, 629 to 636, and 889.
This resource reunites Roth’s rare works by Menasseh for the first time since they entered the Brotherton Library, and displays them together with treasures from other collections in the same library.
This resource was curated by Dr Eva Frojmovic, lecturer in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, and director of the Centre for Jewish Studies.