12:40 PM
Gil Student
I'm looking at the 2003 translation of R. Marcus Lehmann's Akiva (link). Here is how the bio in the book describes him:
Rav Meir (Marcus) Lehmann zt"l, the remarkable, talented, and prolific Rav of nineteenth century Germany [1831-1890] remains famous for his scholarly works and for his unique adaptation of the secular to serve our Creator...Heh, heh, heh. Note that:
Rav Lehmann received Rabbinical ordination from HaRav Shlomo Yehuda Leib Cohen Rappaport, Rav and Rosh Beis Din of Prague, in 1852. He also received a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Berlin. Thus he had attained the perfect prerequisites for authoring the numerous inspiring historical novels which he wrote over a 23-year period.
- He is called Meir instead of the name he was commonly called, Marcus.
- The implied apology for his accomplishments in secular studies.
- R. Shlomo Rapoport is referred to as "HaRav" and "Rav and Rosh Beis Din of Prague". All true, but he was extremely controversial because of his noted maskilic tendencies. In the entry on him in the Jewish Encyclopedia, he is described as having an "Orthodoxy" similar to Zecharias Frankel, the father of what we call Conservative Judaism.
