Y Tzvi Langermann
Biographic Data
| ID | 460167 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Y Tzvi Langermann |
| GIVEN NAMES | Y Tzvi |
| FAMILY NAME | Langermann |
| SIGNATURE | LANGERMANN Y T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Bar-Ilan University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 71 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 5 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 65 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 4 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1984 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Naskh (“Abrogation”) in Muslim Anti-Jewish Polemic
A strong case can be made that the concept of naskh, “abrogation” or “annulment”, was the most potent weapon in the arsenal of Muslim polemicists seeking to convert Jews (Burton‘s Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān is highly informative but deals almost exclusively with naskh in its internal Islamic contexts, e.g., hermeneutics and legal theory). Naskh did not necessarily involve any rejection of Jewish scripture or tradition as fraudulent or corrupt. I…
Before Maimonides
All can agree that the achievement of Moses Maimonides (d. 1204) set the standard for subsequent works of "Jewish philosophy". But just what were the contours of philosophical-scientific inquiry that Maimonides replaced? A fairly large array of diverse texts have been studied, but no comprehensive picture has yet emerged. The newly discovered Hebrew dialogue published here has points of contact of various depth with most of the major works of pre…
Choosing Truth over Facts
Proofs for Eternity, Creation and the Existence of God in Medieval Islamic and Jewish Philosophy By Herbert A. Davidson
This is a most welcome reissue of Davidson’s highly praised book, first published in 1987. The combination in a single book of arguments for the existence of God with arguments for or against the eternity of the universe is neither arbitrary nor a matter of convenience. As Davidson lucidly explains in his introduction, there was no ‘public atheism’ in the medieval period. All Jewish and Islamic thinkers accepted the existence of a deity. However,…
Gersonides on Jacob's Pathognomic Dream
Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides, 1288–1344), scientist and philosopher, authored an extensive commentary on the Pentateuch, where he applies his scientific expertise and inquisitiveness much as he does in his other writings. Following Maimonides, he interprets the narrative of Genesis 32.25–30, which describes the patriarch Jacob's mysterious wrestling match with an unnamed opponent, leaving Jacob with a sensible limp, as a prophetic dream. Going be…
The Qurʾān Commentaries of Šams al-Dīn al-Ḫuwayyī (583/1193-637/1247)
Did Faḫr al-Dīn al-Rāzī complete his great Koranic commentary? Scholars have suggested that al-Rāzī’s disciple Šams al-Dīn al-Ḫuwayyī may have contributed to the final tafsīr , but were unable to come to any definitive conclusions, partly because they had no tafsīr by al-Ḫuwayyī that could be used for comparison. In fact, we know of two commentaries of al-Ḫuwayyī: a section of his encyclopedia which displays explorations into seven selected suwar…
Moses Maimonides and Judah Halevi on order and law in the world of nature, and beyond
Subtle Insights Concerning Knowledge and Practice
Written in the mid-thirteenth century for the newly appointed governor of Isfahan, this compact treatise and philosophical guidebook includes a wide-ranging and accessible set of essays on ethics, psychology, political philosophy, and the unity of God. Ibn Kammūna, a Jewish scholar writing in Baghdad during a time of Mongol occupation, was a controversial figure whose writings sometimes incited riots. He argued, among other things, the commonalit…
Subtle Insights Concerning Knowledge and Practice
Babylonian and Indian Wisdoms in Islamicate Culture
The interaction of Islamicate civilization with those civilizations that preceded it or were contemporaneous with it has focused for the most part on Hellenistic civilization, and the huge body of scientific and philosophical literature which was translated and absorbed in the first centuries after the appearance of Islam. This paper aims to present two small but much needed correctives to this understanding. In the first section I argue that the…
Capturing the "Spirit" of Stoic Physics
Previous articleNext article FreeSecond Look: Samuel Sambursky, Physics of the StoicsCapturing the “Spirit” of Stoic PhysicsY. Tzvi LangermannY. Tzvi Langermann Search for more articles by this author Full TextPDF Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmailQR Code SectionsMoreSamuel Sambursky’s Physics of the Stoics made a cameo appearance in J. T. Vallance’s “second look” at Mar…
From My Notebooks
In his Book on Fevers , Isaac Israeli, the “Neoplatonic Philosopher of the Early Tenth Century”—as he has been known since the landmark monograph by Alexander Altmann and Samuel M. Stern—makes some remarks that are of interest for the history of philosophy. Though these have not gone entirely unnoticed, they have not been discussed in any detail; the present communication seeks to do just that. The remarks consist of interpretations in a Pythagor…
Dreams and Visions in the World of Islam
Are dreams real? If one chooses not to take a stance on this question, the discussion of dreams and visions in Islam runs the risk of becoming a learned, informed, but ultimately unsatisfying account. Carl Jung famously helped a young woman overcome her psychosis by relating to her vision of living on the moon—it was real to her, and he was able to have a productive exchange with her only by treating it as such. In somewhat analogous fashion, the…
Transcription, Translation, and Annotation
Manuscript Studies: A Journal of the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies - Volume 1, Issue 1, Spring 2016
Texts in Transit in the Medieval Mediterranean
"A collection of essays using historical and philological approaches to study the transit of texts in the Mediterranean basin in the medieval period. Examines the nature of texts themselves and how they travel, and reveals the details behind the transit of texts across cultures, languages, and epochs"--Provided by publisher.
Texts in Transit in the Medieval Mediterranean
Ibn al-Haytham's On the Configuration of the World
The chief argument of this book, first published in 1990, is that Ibn al-Haytham's On the Configuration of the World is a non-technical expose of basic astronomical teachings: it was written in particular for those whose main interests were in the areas of philosophy and natural science and who, accordingly, had an interest in relating the mathematical devices employed by professional astronomers to the heavenly bodies mentioned in the philosophi…
Avicenna in Medieval Hebrew Translation
Avicenna made a late entry into medieval Hebrew philosophy; the Andalusian roots and Averroan orientation of most Jewish thinkers did not make for a sympathetic audience. Small portions of the Avicennan corpus were rendered into Hebrew by Samuel Ibn Tibbon and Shem Tov Falaquera. A good deal of Avicennan thought was accessible by way of citations in Averroes. In the beginning of the fourteenth century, Todros Todrosi decided to produce Hebrew tra…
An Epitome of Galen's on the Elements Ascribed to Ḥunayn Ibn Isḥāq
Galen's On the Elements according to Hippocrates is an important source for physical doctrines circulating in late antiquity. The variety of atomistic doctrines that Galen brings into the discussion, as well as his arguments aimed at refuting them, were closely studied by the early kalām atomists. Of particular interest are the summaries of this text, which seem to have been written many centuries after Galen; some of them are products of early I…
The Alexandrian Summaries of Galen’s On Critical Days
Galen most important books were mediated through which not only shortened, but also revised Galenic teachings. This book presents the first editions, translations, and studies of the remaining summaries to On Critical Days
Abdelhamid Ibrahim Sabra 1924–2013
December 18 in Lexington, Massachusetts after a long illness. Born in 1924 to a family of modest means in the Egyptian city of Tanta, Sabra was able to receive an education because he was his parents' only child to survive infancy
Moritz Steinschneider. The Hebrew Translations of the Middle Ages and the Jews as Transmitters
The “Hebrew Ajwiba ” Ascribed to al‐Ghazālī
The Qurʾan
The Qurʾan: Its Biblical Subtext, by Gabriel Said Reynolds, (Routledge Studies in the Qurʾan: 10), (London & New York: Routledge, 2010), xi + 304 pp., ISBN: 978-0-415-77893-0, £80 (hardback) Gabriel Said Reynolds ́ painstaking study is a welcome addition to the swelling corpus of Qurʾān studies. The central arguments are neither complex nor entirely new. The Qurʾān is best understood as a homily upon Jewish and Christian traditions. More specific…
An Important Collection of New Studies on the Shīʿa
An Essay Review of Fortresses of the Intellect: Ismaili and Other Islamic Studies in Honour of Farhad Daftary, edited by Omar Alí-de-Unzaga, (London & New York: I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2011), xvii + 600 pp, ISBN: 978-1-84885-626-4; EUR17.50 (hb) (First paragraph) This huge volume of nearly six-hundred pages, published by I. B. Tauris in collaboration with The Institute of Ismaili Studies (New York & Lond…
Science and theKuzari
The ArgumentYehuda Halevi'sKuzariwas written in response to the challenge posed to Judaism by a highly spiritual, nondenominational philosophy. Science, especially that embodied in the Hellenistic heritage, was a major component of philosophy; thus, if for no other reason than to make Judaism a serious competitor, Halevi had to show that the Jewish tradition as well possessed a body of scientific knowledge. The superiority of the Jewish teachings…
A Judaeo-Arabic Candle-Lighting Prayer
The Jewish Quarterly Review, XCII, Nos. 1-2 (July-October, 2001) 133-135 A JUDAEO-ARABIC CANDLE-LIGHTING PRAYER Y. Tzvi Langermann, Bar Ilan University MS St. Petersburg, Russian National Library, Hebrew-Arabic II 2499, part of the rich assortment of Jewish manuscripts formerly known as the Firkowitch Collection, contains the unique but unfortunately incomplete copy of a work of ethical and religious exhortation. Broadly speaking, it bears some r…
Arabic Cosmology
Representations of the heavens in various levels of detail can be found in a number of branches of Arabic literature. One particular genre, the hay'a texts, has as its purpose a full though non-mathematical discussion of the arrangement of the celestial orbs; hay'a writers are particularly sensitive to the philosophical requirements which all systems must meet. The pivotal work in this genre, On the Configuration, was written by Ibn al-Haytham. L…
The Mathematical Writings of Maimonides
The Mathematical Writings of Maimonides
Brain Damage due to Head Trauma in a Patient with Compensated Hydrocephalus
The Hebrew Astronomical Codex MS. Sassoon 823
Jewish Thought and the Scientific Revolution of the Sixteenth Century
Three singular treatises from Yemeni manuscripts
I should like to discuss briefly three Arabic treatises that are quite different from one another with regard to content, authorship, and provenance. They do, however, share one interesting feature. Each one survives in just two manuscript copies, both in a Yemeni hand, the one in Arabic script, the other also in the Arabic language but written in Hebrew characters. The circumstances of their survival are instructive concerning the intellectual h…
Acceptance and devaluation
Levi ben Gerson's Prognostication for the Conjunction of 1345 . Bernard R. Goldstein , David Pingree
Averroes' "Questions in Physics" from the Unpublished "Sêfer ha-Derûšîm ha-tib-ʿîyîm" . Averroes, Helen Tunik Goldstein
Manuscript Moscow Guenzburg 1020
The Institute of Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts, Jewish National and University Library, Jerusalem, is in the midst of an immense project whose aim is to film the thousands of manuscripts in the former Soviet Union that are at long last accessible. Among the surprises yielded by this undertaking is MS Moscow Guenzburg 1020, a rich codex of philosophical materials, most of which are completely unknown. The manuscript is of Yemeni provenance, and i…
Arabic Writings in Hebrew Manuscripts
For many centuries Jews in Arabic-speaking lands have transcribed books written by non-Jews into the Hebrew alphabet; the language remains Arabic, but the writing is Hebrew. This was done mainly for the benefit of those who knew the Arabic language but not the script. The majority of these transcriptions are scientific or philosophical texts. Transcriptions are of value to scholars for two reasons. Some entire texts, or more complete or accurate …
Names, Natures, and Things
Medical and Para-Medical Manuscripts in the Cambridge Genizah Collections
Introduction Bibliography and short title index Descriptions of manuscripts Index of names Index of titles with translations Index of words Index of materia medica Index of subjects Plates
The Jewish Alchemists
Arabic Cosmology
Representations of the heavens in various levels of detail can be found in a number of branches of Arabic literature. One particular genre, the hay'a texts, has as its purpose a full though non-mathematical discussion of the arrangement of the celestial orbs; hay'a writers are particularly sensitive to the philosophical requirements which all systems must meet. The pivotal work in this genre, On the Configuration, was written by Ibn al-Haytham. L…
Ibn al-Jazzār on Forgetfulness and Its Treatment
Otot ha-Shamayim
Science and theKuzari
The ArgumentYehuda Halevi'sKuzariwas written in response to the challenge posed to Judaism by a highly spiritual, nondenominational philosophy. Science, especially that embodied in the Hellenistic heritage, was a major component of philosophy; thus, if for no other reason than to make Judaism a serious competitor, Halevi had to show that the Jewish tradition as well possessed a body of scientific knowledge. The superiority of the Jewish teachings…
Aristotle's 'De Anima' Translated into Hebrew by Zeraḥyah ben Isaac ben Shealtiel Ḥen
Alchemie, Ketzerei, Apokryphen in frühen Islam
A New Hebrew Passage from the Theology of Aristotle and its Significance
On some of the end-leaves of a Bible manuscript someone has copied out a passage from the Theology of Aristotle in Hebrew translation. The passage deals with the immunity of person of intellect from magical manipulation. No other copies of this passage in Hebrew are known to exist. The dependence of the translator upon the so-called “long version” of the Theology , specifically the copy in St Petersburg, is demonstrated, and it is suggested that …
From my Notebooks
“Mori Yusuf”
A Judaeo-Arabic Candle-Lighting Prayer
The Jewish Quarterly Review, XCII, Nos. 1-2 (July-October, 2001) 133-135 A JUDAEO-ARABIC CANDLE-LIGHTING PRAYER Y. Tzvi Langermann, Bar Ilan University MS St. Petersburg, Russian National Library, Hebrew-Arabic II 2499, part of the rich assortment of Jewish manuscripts formerly known as the Firkowitch Collection, contains the unique but unfortunately incomplete copy of a work of ethical and religious exhortation. Broadly speaking, it bears some r…
On the Beginnings of Hebrew Scientific Literature and on Studying History Through "Maqbilot" (Parallels)
My own investigations have led me to include Sefer yesirah among a group of texts that together constitute the first chapter in the history of Hebrew scientific literature. I must emphasize right away that I am not asking when Jews first began to evince an interest in science. The question I want to answer is when Jews first wrote Hebrew texts whose primary purpose was the exposition of scientific knowledge. I have found that a group of Hebrew te…
From my Notebooks
Y. Tzvi Langermann From my Notebooks An Early Modern Cosmography from Northern Italy MS Moscow Guenzburg 337 (IMHM F 47706), ff. 114a-146b, contains the unique copy of an early modern treatise on cosmography. The author refers to his work several times as kadur colam (the sphere of the world). However, this appears to be the name of the genre to which the treatise belongs, i.e., sphaera mundi, rather than a title given specifically to this work. …
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