Samuel Joseph Fuenn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 15 October 1818 (1818-10-15) |
| Died | 11 January 1891 (1891-01-12) (aged 72) Vilna, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Children | Dr.Benjamin Fuenn |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Hebrew |
| Subject | |
| Literary movement | Haskalah |
| Notable works |
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| Signature | |
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Samuel Joseph Fuenn (Hebrew:שמואל יוסף פין,romanized: Shmuel Yosef Fin; 15 October 1818 – 11 January 1891),[note 1] also known asRashi Fuenn (רש״י פין) andRashif (רשי״ף), was aLithuanianHebrew writer, scholar, printer, and editor. He was a leading figure of theeastern EuropeanHaskalah, and an early member ofḤovevei Zion.[7]
Fuenn was born inVilna,Russian Empire, the son ofmerchant andTorah scholar Yitsḥak Aizik Fuenn ofGrodno.[8] Though he received a traditionalreligious education until the age of 17,[4] he also acquired an extensive general knowledge ofGerman literature and other secular subjects, and became proficient inRussian,French,Latin,Polish, andEnglish.[5] He afterwards joined Vilna's circle of youngmaskilim.[9]
In 1848 the government appointed him teacher ofHebrew andJewish history in the newly foundedrabbinical school of Vilna.[10] Fuenn filled this position with great distinction till 1856, when he resigned. The government then appointed him superintendent of the Jewish public schools in the district of Vilna,[11] in which he introduced instruction in secular studies andmodern languages.[1] Since Fuenn (Russian финѣ) was employed in the Russian civil service, there was a special feature for him as a Jew, he had to legally sign in Russian according to the applicable Russian laws. Excerpt from the text of the law § 6 TheJew of the Russian Empire in translation: "The use of the Jewish language is not permitted in legal transactions. However, Hebrew home wills are permissible. If a Jew who does not speak any language other than Jewish, a document written or signed in Hebrew must be accompanied by a translation and the signature duly notarized.[12][13]
He was a prolific writer, devoting his activity mainly to the fields of history and literature.[1] WithEliezer Lipman Hurwitz he edited the short-lived Hebrew periodicalPirḥe tzafon ('Northern Flowers', 1841–43), a review of history, literature, and exegesis.[14] For twenty-one years (1860–81), he directed the paperHa-Karmel ('The Carmel'; at first aweekly, but from 1871 a monthly), devoted toHebrew literature and Jewish life, with supplements in Russian andGerman.[15] The paper contained many academic articles by the leading Jewish scholars of Europe, besides numerous contributions from Fuenn's own pen,[11] including a serialized autobiography entitledDor ve-dorshav.[16] He opened a new Hebrewprinting press in Vilna in 1863.[17]
Besides his scholarly work, Fuenn owned some property in Vilna, including abathhouse on Zarechye Street.[18] He took an active part in the administration of the city and in its charitable institutions, and was for many years analderman.[1] In acknowledgment of his services the government awarded him two medals.[5] He also presided over the thirdḤovevei Zion conference in Vilna, at which he,Samuel Mohilever, andAsher Ginzberg were chosen to direct the affairs of the delegate societies.[19]
Fuenn died in Vilna on 11 January 1891. He bequeathed his entireestate to his son, Dr.Benjamin Fuenn, his daughter having converted toCatholicism some years earlier.[18] After Benjamin's death, Fuenn's extensive library was added to the collection of theStrashun Library [he].[20]
Fuenn wasmarried off by his parents at a young age. His first wife died in 1845 while their daughter was still a baby, and his second wife died in the1848 cholera pandemic, shortly after giving birth to their son Benjamin. He married a third wife in 1851.[7]
His niece was theLabour Zionist politicianManya Shochat.[21]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) A history of the Jews and Jewish literature from thedestruction of theTemple to 1170.[23]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) A history of the Jews of Vilna, with an introduction byMattityahu Strashun.[24]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) A history of the Jews and their literature, in two volumes (the first dealing with the period extending from the banishment ofJehoiachin to the death ofAlexander the Great; the second from Alexander's death to the installation ofSimon Maccabeus as high priest and prince).[23]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Selected letters of Hebrewstylists fromḤasdai ibn Shaprut to modern times.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) A fictional narrative based on people from the time of theGeonim, translated a German work of the same name byLehmann.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Hebrew translation ofMoses Mendelssohn'sDie Sache Gottes.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Hebrew adaptation of Lehmann'sGraf und Jude.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Russian laws relating to conscription.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) A Hebrew translation of a German novel byPhilippson.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) AHungarian village tale by Hurwitz, translated from German into Hebrew.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Essay on the value and significance of the Hebrew language and literature in the development of culture amongRussian Jews.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Hebrew adaptation of Honigmann'sDie Erbschaft.[6]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) AHebrew andAramaic dictionary giving Russian and German equivalents for the words of theBible,Mishnah, andMidrashim.[25]{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Biographical lexicon of notable Jews.[26]Fuenn left in manuscript form a treatise onJewish law entitledDarkhei Hashem ('The Paths of God'), written as a response toAlexander McCaulanti-Jewish workThe Old Paths.[27] Other unpublished works includedHa-moreh ba-emek ('The Teacher in the Valley'), acommentary onMaimonides'Moreh nevukhim;Mishna berurah ('Clarified Teaching') andḤokhmat ḥakhamim ('Wisdom of the Sages'), commentaries on theMishnah;Ha-Torah veha-zeman ('The Torah and Time'), on the evolution of laws and regulations;Sum sekhel,glosses on the Bible;Pirḥe Levanon ('Flowers of Lebanon'), a collection of verses; andBein ha-perakim ('Between the Chapters'), a commentary onPirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer.[20]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Rosenthal, Herman;Broydé, Isaac (1903)."Fuenn, Samuel Joseph". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 526.
Rosenthal, Herman;Broydé, Isaac (1903)."Fuenn, Samuel Joseph". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 526.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)