Thesis Chapters by Yossi Schweig
Paul Levertoff was born in 1878 in the town of Orsha, Belarus to a family of Chabad Hasidim. Afte... more Paul Levertoff was born in 1878 in the town of Orsha, Belarus to a family of Chabad Hasidim. After a traditional upbringing, he was sent to learn at the Volozhin Yeshiva in Lithuania, headed by Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin. Upon completing his studies there, he decided to broaden his secular education, at the University of Konigsberg in city of Konigsberg, then renowned as a center of German culture. It was there, in 1895, that he embraced Christianity, without relinquishing the Jewish faith. Much like the long line of converts before him, he immediately found himself working for various missionary societies in London. However, his missionary approach proved to be innovative, consisting of more intellectual work with the educated Jews of his generation, while abandoning the old method of dispensing help to the needy members of the poor, weaker strata of the Jewish population. As part of this intellectual activity, he translated masterpieces, published books and research studies in Modern Hebrew, German, and English, and engaged in dialogue with writers such as Martin Buber, Sholem Asch, Yosef Haim Brenner, and Hillel Zeitlin. Alongside all this activity, he established a new kind of Christian-Jewish church in London, which allowed Jews adhering to the Christian faith to meet other people with shared beliefs, and to even participate in an adapted liturgy.
Books by Yossi Schweig
Zvi Meroni’s book was first published in 1938 and contains sketches inspired by his forays throug... more Zvi Meroni’s book was first published in 1938 and contains sketches inspired by his forays throughout Jerusalem. The book presents a wondrous patchwork of mystical seekers, Zionist pioneers, pedagogues, doctors, and nurses, alongside scholars, Hasidim, Kabbalists, and regular people who chanced upon his path, all of whom are enveloped in a nationalistic spirit laden with romantic expressions. Together, they form a lyrical utopian tract, a song in praise of the Jerusalem of above and below, a vision of Jerusalem of the days to come. At first glance the work appears to be nothing more than unrefined Zionist propaganda that seeks to paper over contradictions and present a national Hebrew vision devoid of fissures. Yet it is not for this reason that we are reissuing the book; its pages contain further qualities that renders it unique. Throughout, Meroni inadvertently documents many important facets of the city, offering a living portrait of Jerusalem’s Kabbalists and Hasidim, even if they appear in a romantic light. orders: https://blimabooks.com/products/jerusalemofdreamers
https://blimabooks.com/products/contradiction-and-construction
https://blimabooks.com/products/breakdown
Blima Books
Blima Books is a small press dedicated to Radical Jewish Literature. We resurrect forgotten writi... more Blima Books is a small press dedicated to Radical Jewish Literature. We resurrect forgotten writings and publish contemporary literary experiments (in Hebrew). Our aspiration is to spread works which, in fine literary style, draw creatively on the cultural resources of the Jewish past. Blima Books was founded in Jerusalem in 2019 by Yosef Schweig and Avinoam Stillman.
The Confessions of Saint Augustine, here translated into Hebrew from Latin by Paul Philip Leverto... more The Confessions of Saint Augustine, here translated into Hebrew from Latin by Paul Philip Levertoff, is considered one of the most influential masterpieces of European literature, modern philosophy, and Western culture in general. Before us lies the spiritual autobiography of Augustine, the hedonist in pursuit of pleasure who became a visionary saint. It is an expression of the man in search of God who did not find what he sought in the world of philosophy or the academy. The estranged and wandering Augustine, yearning after tranquility and rest, finally finds his place of repose in God – not through critical contemplation but through an existential-mystical experience. The first Hebrew translation, by the convert Paul Philip Levertoff (1878-1954), was composed under the influence of the early writings of Martin Buber. Levertoff, a quintessential Hebrew author, could be seen as one of the younger members of the circle of Yosef Hayyim Brenner, Uri Nissan Gnessin, and Gershon Shoffman. However, after he converted to Christianity, he was rejected and forgotten. Nevertheless, his influence on Jewish thinkers like Hillel Zeitlin, Brenner, and Rabbi Binyamin was significant. In his translation, Levertoff wanted to present the modern Jew with a way to search after God in places which were invisible to philosophers, as well as to influence the formation of a new Jew; a Jew who, alongside the Hasidic tsaddik, could receive religious inspiration even from a Christian saint. The introduction to the book locates the translation in its historical and literary contexts, and views it as an expression of contemporary intellectual trends related to Orientalism and mysticism. The tension in the text between the Christian original and the Jewish translation give it a unique literary potential and opens a fascinating window onto the world of Jewish thought at the beginning of the 20th century.
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Conference Presentations by Yossi Schweig
Papers by Yossi Schweig
A story for Lag B’Omer written by S. Yizhar years before he became a master of Hebrew literature—... more A story for Lag B’Omer written by S. Yizhar years before he became a master of Hebrew literature—here, in English for the first time
Daat: A Journal of Jewish Philosophy & Kabbalah, 90 (2021) pp. VII-XXIX.
Cherub Press, 2021
דרכו של ישעיה תשבי משירה למחקר הקבלה /
Isaiah Tishby's path from poetry to the study of Kabbalah
׳החוויה המירונית-גלילית של ס׳ יזהר׳, הארץ, תרבות וספרות, (8.5.2020), עמ' 1. כולל סיפור של ס׳ יזהר... more ׳החוויה המירונית-גלילית של ס׳ יזהר׳, הארץ, תרבות וספרות, (8.5.2020), עמ' 1. כולל סיפור של ס׳ יזהר מכתב יד, תחת הכותר: 'לילה במירון: ציור'
Talks by Yossi Schweig
נישתית, אבל לא אליטיסטית: הוצאת הספרים שמחיה טקסטים ישנים // בין ירושלים לברלין, יוסי שוויג ואבינ... more נישתית, אבל לא אליטיסטית: הוצאת הספרים שמחיה טקסטים ישנים // בין ירושלים לברלין, יוסי שוויג ואבינעם סטילמן בריאיון משותף על הוצאת ספרי בלימה
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Thesis Chapters by Yossi Schweig
Books by Yossi Schweig
Order The BOOK
https://goo.gl/7XiSTh
Conference Presentations by Yossi Schweig
Papers by Yossi Schweig
Talks by Yossi Schweig
Order The BOOK
https://goo.gl/7XiSTh