Sefer Elim

Sefer Elim

1629

Delmedigo, Joseph Solomon (1591-1655)

Sefer Elim was published in 1629 by Manasseh ben Israel, a masterful printer of Sephardic [Iberian] origin who in 1626 established the first Hebrew press Amsterdam, a city that would become one of the great centers of European Jewish life. The book, written by Joseph Solomon Delmedigo (1591-1655), a rabbi and student of Galileo Galilei, discussed a range of topics in the natural sciences, including astronomy, physics, mathematics, medicine, and music theory. Pictured is a diagram of an eclipse from the section "Ge'vurot Adonai" ["The feats of the divine"].
Delmedigo's impact reverberated down through the centuries, influencing figures from Baruch Spinoza to 18th- and 19th-century Jewish Enlightenment thinkers such as Menachem Mendel Lefin (1749-1826), who argued for the compatibility of Judaism and the sciences. "The Talmud," Lefin wrote, "recommends the study of astronomy as a pious act."

qb52_d47

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This resource has no known copyright under the laws of the United States. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact Special Collections, Archives and Special Collections Division, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534 heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the As Far As Their Books Reach: Jewish Printing and the Global Jewish Diaspora, Special Collections, Archives and Special Collections Division, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Digital object made available by the Special Collections, Archives and Special Collections Division, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Amsterdam, 1629

still image

Hebrew