The Mendelssohn Myth and Its Method

Between Judaism and German Enlightenment: Recent Work on Moses Mendelssohn in English

“…77 The novelty of Sorkin's approach (even on his own understanding) is evidenced by the fact that while in the preface to Moses Mendelssohn and the Religious Enlightenment Sorkin presents his work as a précis of Altmann's, in a later piece Sorkin includes Altmann among those who perpetuated the 'Mendelssohn Myth.' 78 For Sorkin, the key to understanding Mendelssohn's traditionalism is to situate him at the crossroads between a stream of Enlightenment thought, which he calls the 'Religious Enlightenment' and a medieval tradition of Judaism, which he calls 'Andalusian.' 79 Members of the Religious Enlightenment hold that reason can establish the truths of natural religion including God's existence, divine providence, and the immortality of the soul.…”

Moses Mendelssohn and Formation of Jewish Culture in the Time of Enlightenment: Political and Language Aspects

“…О Фридлендере см:[Sorkin 1991]. Основные элементы «мифа о Мендельсоне» и их соответствующие авторы рассматриваются им в[Sorkin 1999]. …”

Moses Mendelssohn, Germany's First Migrant

“…Most important in the present context, as someone whose status in Germany was frequently questioned, he explored the issue of belonging, specifically of belonging in and to German culture. Although it would be false to turn Mendelssohn into a primarily German thinker (Sorkin ), much of what he wrote about Judaism began with the question of that religion's place in Germany. His arguments for inclusion sought to redefine what membership in any cultural or political community meant.…”