Manuel Joel

Background

He was born on November 23, 1826 in Birnbaum (Miedzychod), Grand Duchy of Posen.

Career

After teaching for several years at the Breslau rabbinical seminary, founded by Z. Frankel, he became the successor of Abraham Geiger in the rabbinate of Breslau.

His essays on Ibn Gabirol and Maimonides being of permanent worth.

But his most influential work was connected with the relations between Jewish philosophy and the medieval scholasticism.

He showed how Albertus Magnus derived some of his ideas from Maimonides and how Spinoza was indebted to the same writer, as well as to Hasdai Crescas.

These essays were collected in two volumes of Beilrdge zur Geschichte der Philosophic (1876)5 while another two volumes of Blicke in die Religionsgeschichte (1880 - 1883) threw much light on the development of religious thought in the early centuries of the Christian era.

Equally renowned were Joel's pulpit addresses. Though he was no orator, his appeal to the reason was effective, and in their published form his three volumes of Predigten (issued posthumously) have founfl many readers.

Achievements

• He made important contributions to the history of the school of Aqiba as well as to the history of Jewish philosophy

Works

More photos

• book

  • Beiträge zur geschichte der philosophie (German Edition)

    (This book was digitized and reprinted from the collection...)

Views

But his most influential work was connected with the relations between Jewish philosophy and the medieval scholasticism.