Solomon Buber
Encyclopedia
Solomon Buber (1827–1906) was a Jewish Galician scholar and editor of Hebrew
works. He is especially remembered for his editions of Midrash
and other medieval Jewish manuscripts, and for the pioneering research surrounding those texts.
, Austria
, now Lviv
, Ukraine
) on February 2, 1827. His father, Isaiah Abraham Buber, was versed in Talmud
ic literature and Jewish philosophy
, and was Solomon's teacher in the latter subject; but for his son's Biblical and Talmudic studies he carefully selected competent professional teachers. Buber soon desired to conduct independent research and put the results in literary form—a disposition that proved valuable to Jewish literature.
At twenty years of age, Buber married and entered commercial pursuits. He rose rapidly to become Handelskammerrath, and auditor of the Austro-Hungarian bank, the national bank, and the Galician savings-bank. Buber was also president of the Geschäftshalle, vice-president of the free kitchen, and honorary member of a working men's union. For more than a quarter of a century was one of the directors of the Lemberg congregation; he was on the committee of the Bernstein foundation, and took a leading part in various philanthropic associations. He died in 1906.
literature had special attractions for him; and his activity in this field has been remarkable in extent. Its first result was an edition of the so-called Pesikhta de-Rab Kahana, with an elaborate commentary and introduction that exhaustively discuss all questions pertaining to the history of this old Aggadah
collection. The book appeared as a publication of the society known under the name of Mekitze Nirdamim (Lyck, 1868). Buber's method of dealing with the difficult undertaking was new to scientific literature; and both introduction and commentary received the unstinted praise of the scholarly world. The introduction was translated into German by August Wünsche
, and published by him with his translation of the Midrash, Leipzig
, 1884.
Other midrashic works edited on a similar method and scale by Buber are: collectanea from Midrash Abkir
, Vienna
, 1883; Tobiah ben Eliezer
's Midrash Lekhach Tob, Wilna, 1884; the original Midrash Tanchuma, Wilna, 1885; collectanea from Midrash Eleh ha-Debarim Zutta, Vienna, 1885; Sifre d'Agadta, short midrashim on the Book of Esther
, Wilna, 1886; Midrash Tehillim
, Wilna, 1891; Midrash Mishle, Wilna, 1893; Midrash Shmuel, Cracow, 1893; Midrash Agada, an anonymous haggadic commentary on the Pentateuch, Vienna, 1894; Midrash Zuṭṭa, on the Song of Solomon, the Book of Ruth, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes, Berlin
, 1894; Aggadat Esther, haggadic treatises on the Book of Esther, anonymous, Cracow, 1897; Midrash Ekah Rabbati, Wilna, 1899; Yalkut Makiri, on the Psalms
, Berdychev, 1899; Menahem ben Solomon
's Midrash Sekel Tob, on the books of Genesis and Exodus, ii. vol. 2, Berlin, 1900-02.
and the Latin. In the introductions, which almost assume the proportions of independent works (the introduction to the Tanchuma embraces 212 pages octavo
), everything that bears upon the history of the work under consideration is discussed, and a compilation is given of the authors or works cited by the Midrash or serving as sources for it, and those that in turn have drawn upon the Midrash. His work is distinguished by thoroughness, and reveals his synthetic ability as well as the vast extent of his reading. The only serious opposition to the views encountered by Buber has been in regard to his theory concerning the Tanchuma.
Buber distinguished himself in other departments of literature. His first work was a biography of the grammarian Elias Levita, published at Leipzig in 1856. After this he edited the following: De Lates' Gelehrtengeschichte Sha'are Zion, Jarosław, 1885; Zedekiah ben Abraham's liturgic work, Shibbole ha-Leket, Wilna, 1886; Pesher Dabar, Saadia Gaon
's treatise on the Hapax Legomena
of the Bible
, Przemyśl
, 1888; Samuel ben Jacob Jam'a's Agur, introduction and additions to the Aruk, Breslau, 1888 (in Grätz Jubelschrift); Samuel ben Nissim's commentary on the Book of Job
, Ma'yan Gannim, Berlin, 1889; Biurim: Jedaiah Penini's explanations of Midrash Tehillim, Cracow, 1891, and a commentary on Lamentations
by Joseph Caro, Breslau, 1901 (in the Kaufmann Gedenkbuch); Anshe Shem, biographies and epitaphs of the rabbis and heads of academies who lived and worked at Lemberg, covering a period of nearly four hundred years (1500-1890), Cracow, 1895. In these works Buber appears as a philologist and as a careful writer of biographies of scholars, especially of the Jewish scholars of Poland
.
Buber's extensive knowledge of Jewish history and literature is also displayed in additions to the works of others and in numerous contributions to Hebrew magazines, such as: Meged Yerachin, Kobak's Jeschurun, Ha-Lebanon
, Ha-Maggid, Maggid Mishneh, Ha-'Ibri, Ha-Melitz, Ha Chabatzelet, Ha-Karmel, Joseph Kohn's Otzar Chokmah, Bet Talmud, Ha-Shachar, Ha-Asif, Keneset Yisrael, Zion
, Oẓar ha-Sifrut, Ha-Eshkol.
Among the works of his later years the following may be mentioned: Yeri'ot Shelomoh, a supplement to Abraham ben Elijah of Wilna Rab Po'alim, Warsaw
, 1894; a criticism of Yalḳuṭ Makhiri, on Isaiah, ed. Schapira, Cracow, 1895; a criticism of the Pesiḳta
, with an introduction by David Luria (ed. Warsaw, 1893), Cracow, 1895; Ḳiryah Nisgabah, on the rabbis in Zółkiew up to the letter ך, published in Ha-Eshkol, i-iii, 1898–1900; and his contribution to the Steinschneider Festschrift, wherein he propounds a new theory concerning the Petichtot (Introductions) in Midrash Ekah Rabbati.
Buber corresponded on learned subjects with many well-known Jewish scholars. He proved himself a veritable Maecenas of learning. The cost involved in the publication of his works was usually borne by him, and he presented gratuitous copies to libraries and indigent scholars.
Hebrew literature
Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews...
works. He is especially remembered for his editions of Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
and other medieval Jewish manuscripts, and for the pioneering research surrounding those texts.
Biographical data
Solomon Buber was born at Lemberg (then Kingdom of Galicia and LodomeriaKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria was a crownland of the Habsburg Monarchy, the Austrian Empire, and Austria–Hungary from 1772 to 1918 .This historical region in eastern Central Europe is currently divided between Poland and Ukraine...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, now Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
) on February 2, 1827. His father, Isaiah Abraham Buber, was versed in Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic literature and Jewish philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, and was Solomon's teacher in the latter subject; but for his son's Biblical and Talmudic studies he carefully selected competent professional teachers. Buber soon desired to conduct independent research and put the results in literary form—a disposition that proved valuable to Jewish literature.
At twenty years of age, Buber married and entered commercial pursuits. He rose rapidly to become Handelskammerrath, and auditor of the Austro-Hungarian bank, the national bank, and the Galician savings-bank. Buber was also president of the Geschäftshalle, vice-president of the free kitchen, and honorary member of a working men's union. For more than a quarter of a century was one of the directors of the Lemberg congregation; he was on the committee of the Bernstein foundation, and took a leading part in various philanthropic associations. He died in 1906.
Midrash editions
While active in public life, Buber also devoted himself to learned research. The midrashMidrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
literature had special attractions for him; and his activity in this field has been remarkable in extent. Its first result was an edition of the so-called Pesikhta de-Rab Kahana, with an elaborate commentary and introduction that exhaustively discuss all questions pertaining to the history of this old Aggadah
Aggadah
Aggadah refers to the homiletic and non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash...
collection. The book appeared as a publication of the society known under the name of Mekitze Nirdamim (Lyck, 1868). Buber's method of dealing with the difficult undertaking was new to scientific literature; and both introduction and commentary received the unstinted praise of the scholarly world. The introduction was translated into German by August Wünsche
August Wünsche
Karl August Wünsche was a German Christian Hebraist.He devoted his attention almost exclusively to rabbinic literature...
, and published by him with his translation of the Midrash, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, 1884.
Other midrashic works edited on a similar method and scale by Buber are: collectanea from Midrash Abkir
Midrash Abkir
Midrash Abkir is one of the smaller midrashim, the extant remains of which consist of more than 50 excerpts contained in the Yalḳuṭ and a number of citations in other works...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 1883; Tobiah ben Eliezer
Tobiah ben Eliezer
Tobiah ben Eliezer was a Talmudist and poet of the 11th century, author of the Leḳaḥ Ṭob or Pesiḳta Zuṭarta, a midrashic commentary on the Pentateuch and the Five Megillot. Zunz Tobiah ben Eliezer (Hebrew: טוביה בר אליעזר) was a Talmudist and poet of the 11th century, author of the Leḳaḥ Ṭob or...
's Midrash Lekhach Tob, Wilna, 1884; the original Midrash Tanchuma, Wilna, 1885; collectanea from Midrash Eleh ha-Debarim Zutta, Vienna, 1885; Sifre d'Agadta, short midrashim on the Book of Esther
Book of Esther
The Book of Esther is a book in the Ketuvim , the third section of the Jewish Tanakh and is part of the Christian Old Testament. The Book of Esther or the Megillah is the basis for the Jewish celebration of Purim...
, Wilna, 1886; Midrash Tehillim
Midrash Tehillim
Midrash Tehillim or Midrash to Psalms is a haggadic midrash known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome in his Aruk , by R. Isaac ben Judah ibn Ghayyat in his Halakot , and by Rashi in his commentary on I Sam. xvii. 49, and on many other passages. This midrash is called also...
, Wilna, 1891; Midrash Mishle, Wilna, 1893; Midrash Shmuel, Cracow, 1893; Midrash Agada, an anonymous haggadic commentary on the Pentateuch, Vienna, 1894; Midrash Zuṭṭa, on the Song of Solomon, the Book of Ruth, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, 1894; Aggadat Esther, haggadic treatises on the Book of Esther, anonymous, Cracow, 1897; Midrash Ekah Rabbati, Wilna, 1899; Yalkut Makiri, on the Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, Berdychev, 1899; Menahem ben Solomon
Menahem ben Solomon
Menahem ben Solomon ben Isaac was a rabbi and author of the Sekel Ṭob and the Eben Boḥan.The presence of twenty-five Italian glosses in his works indicates that he lived in Italy...
's Midrash Sekel Tob, on the books of Genesis and Exodus, ii. vol. 2, Berlin, 1900-02.
Method as Editor
As this array of publications shows, Buber was a prolific writer; yet the scientific quality of his work does not suffer on this account, at least in the opinion of his contemporaries. (See below for current assessments.) At the outset he adopted a certain system to which he consistently adhered. For a determination of the reading of the text he availed himself of all accessible manuscripts and printed works—and everything is accessible to him, as he spared no expense in obtaining copies of manuscripts and the rarest printed editions; he conscientiously recorded the various readings in footnotes, and he bestowed special care, chiefly in the older midrashim, on the correction and explanation of words in the text borrowed from the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and the Latin. In the introductions, which almost assume the proportions of independent works (the introduction to the Tanchuma embraces 212 pages octavo
Octavo
Octavo to is a technical term describing the format of a book.Octavo may also refer to:* Octavo is a grimoire in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett...
), everything that bears upon the history of the work under consideration is discussed, and a compilation is given of the authors or works cited by the Midrash or serving as sources for it, and those that in turn have drawn upon the Midrash. His work is distinguished by thoroughness, and reveals his synthetic ability as well as the vast extent of his reading. The only serious opposition to the views encountered by Buber has been in regard to his theory concerning the Tanchuma.
Buber distinguished himself in other departments of literature. His first work was a biography of the grammarian Elias Levita, published at Leipzig in 1856. After this he edited the following: De Lates' Gelehrtengeschichte Sha'are Zion, Jarosław, 1885; Zedekiah ben Abraham's liturgic work, Shibbole ha-Leket, Wilna, 1886; Pesher Dabar, Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
's treatise on the Hapax Legomena
Hapax legomenon
A hapax legomenon is a word which occurs only once within a context, either in the written record of an entire language, in the works of an author, or just in a single text. The term is sometimes used incorrectly to describe a word that occurs in just one of an author's works, even though it...
of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, Przemyśl
Przemysl
Przemyśl is a city in south-eastern Poland with 66,756 inhabitants, as of June 2009. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship; it was previously the capital of Przemyśl Voivodeship....
, 1888; Samuel ben Jacob Jam'a's Agur, introduction and additions to the Aruk, Breslau, 1888 (in Grätz Jubelschrift); Samuel ben Nissim's commentary on the Book of Job
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
, Ma'yan Gannim, Berlin, 1889; Biurim: Jedaiah Penini's explanations of Midrash Tehillim, Cracow, 1891, and a commentary on Lamentations
Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations ) is a poetic book of the Hebrew Bible composed by the Jewish prophet Jeremiah. It mourns the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temple in the 6th Century BCE....
by Joseph Caro, Breslau, 1901 (in the Kaufmann Gedenkbuch); Anshe Shem, biographies and epitaphs of the rabbis and heads of academies who lived and worked at Lemberg, covering a period of nearly four hundred years (1500-1890), Cracow, 1895. In these works Buber appears as a philologist and as a careful writer of biographies of scholars, especially of the Jewish scholars of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Buber's extensive knowledge of Jewish history and literature is also displayed in additions to the works of others and in numerous contributions to Hebrew magazines, such as: Meged Yerachin, Kobak's Jeschurun, Ha-Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, Ha-Maggid, Maggid Mishneh, Ha-'Ibri, Ha-Melitz, Ha Chabatzelet, Ha-Karmel, Joseph Kohn's Otzar Chokmah, Bet Talmud, Ha-Shachar, Ha-Asif, Keneset Yisrael, Zion
Zion
Zion is a place name often used as a synonym for Jerusalem. The word is first found in Samuel II, 5:7 dating to c.630-540 BCE...
, Oẓar ha-Sifrut, Ha-Eshkol.
Among the works of his later years the following may be mentioned: Yeri'ot Shelomoh, a supplement to Abraham ben Elijah of Wilna Rab Po'alim, Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, 1894; a criticism of Yalḳuṭ Makhiri, on Isaiah, ed. Schapira, Cracow, 1895; a criticism of the Pesiḳta
Pesikta
Pesikta refers to two collections of rabbinic literature:* Pesikta de-Rav Kahana* Pesikta Rabbati...
, with an introduction by David Luria (ed. Warsaw, 1893), Cracow, 1895; Ḳiryah Nisgabah, on the rabbis in Zółkiew up to the letter ך, published in Ha-Eshkol, i-iii, 1898–1900; and his contribution to the Steinschneider Festschrift, wherein he propounds a new theory concerning the Petichtot (Introductions) in Midrash Ekah Rabbati.
Buber corresponded on learned subjects with many well-known Jewish scholars. He proved himself a veritable Maecenas of learning. The cost involved in the publication of his works was usually borne by him, and he presented gratuitous copies to libraries and indigent scholars.