Videos by Tzvi Langermann
Slides and Audio, mainly based on an important Judaeo-Arabic manuscript in St Petresburg
36 views
A description of the "Hermes Tree" found in a Judaeo-Arabic alchemical anthology. The Tree of Her... more A description of the "Hermes Tree" found in a Judaeo-Arabic alchemical anthology. The Tree of Hermes is a well-known "image" in alchemical literature; it is the produced by alchemical procedures and yields a tree-like object which is an important step towards achieving the elixir. The tree described in the text I analyze, however, is an identifiable shrub, and the end-product of the alchemical procedure may plausibly have had the capacity to bring out the real gold in ores and objects.
22 views
Philosophy flourished in the important Jewish community in medieval Yemen. Maimonides was the gre... more Philosophy flourished in the important Jewish community in medieval Yemen. Maimonides was the great master, but scholars were open to a variety of other sources.
25 views
Books by Tzvi Langermann
Before Maimonides A New Philosophical Dialogue in Hebrew
Before Maimonides, 2024
My newest book has just been published by Brill!
All can agree that the achievement of Moses Maim... more My newest book has just been published by Brill!
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-Maimonidean thought. It shares as well influences from without, especially from the Islamic kalam. The dialogue thus presents, in an engaging literary form, a clear and detailed snapshot of pre-Maimonidean philosophy and science.
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-Maimonidean thought. It shares as well influences from without, especially from the Islamic kalam. The dialogue thus presents, in an engaging literary form, a clear and detailed snapshot of pre-Maimonidean philosophy and science.
Maimonides' Thirteen Foundations, often referred to as the thirteen principles, certainly constit... more Maimonides' Thirteen Foundations, often referred to as the thirteen principles, certainly constitute one of the Great Eagle's most successful creations. Originally formulated towards the end of one of the introductory essays that accompany the commentary to the Mishnah, the thirteen foundations took on a life of their own, especially in Hebrew summations which found their way into the prayer book. Maimonides articulated them while in his twenties as a set of paragraphs of varying length. Later in life he jotted important additions in the margins to his autograph copy; however, he did not return to them in any of his major writings. Confirmation of these articles is normative in the sense that whoever is uncertain about even one of them no longer belongs to klal Yisrael.
In and Around Maimonides, 2021
A collection of eight new essays on Maimonides.
Yale University Press, 2019
My translation, with introduction and commentary, of Ibn Kammuna's Kalimat wajiza, will be releas... more My translation, with introduction and commentary, of Ibn Kammuna's Kalimat wajiza, will be released by Yale University Press on October 22. The text presents a form of non-denominational philosophical monotheism.
From the publisher:
This collection of essays studies the movement of texts in the Mediterranean... more From the publisher:
This collection of essays studies the movement of texts in the Mediterranean basin in the medieval period from historical and philological perspectives. Rejecting the presumption that texts simply travel without changing, the contributors examine closely the nature of these writings, which are concerned with such topics as science and medicine, and how they changed over the course of their journeys.
Transit and transformation give texts new subtexts and contexts, providing windows through which to study how memory, encryption, oral communication, cultural and religious values, and knowledge traveled and were shared, transformed, and preserved. This volume broadens how we think about texts, communication, and knowledge in the medieval world.
Aside from the editors, the contributors are Mushegh Asatryan, Brian N. Becker, Leonardo Capezzone, Leigh Chipman, Ofer Elior, Zohar Hadromi-Allouche, B. Harun Küçük, Israel M. Sandman, and Tamás Visi.
You can find Texts in Transit in the Medieval Mediterranean on the Penn State University Press web site at this URL: http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-07109-1.html
Be sure to ask for it at your local library and bookstore!
This collection of essays studies the movement of texts in the Mediterranean basin in the medieval period from historical and philological perspectives. Rejecting the presumption that texts simply travel without changing, the contributors examine closely the nature of these writings, which are concerned with such topics as science and medicine, and how they changed over the course of their journeys.
Transit and transformation give texts new subtexts and contexts, providing windows through which to study how memory, encryption, oral communication, cultural and religious values, and knowledge traveled and were shared, transformed, and preserved. This volume broadens how we think about texts, communication, and knowledge in the medieval world.
Aside from the editors, the contributors are Mushegh Asatryan, Brian N. Becker, Leonardo Capezzone, Leigh Chipman, Ofer Elior, Zohar Hadromi-Allouche, B. Harun Küçük, Israel M. Sandman, and Tamás Visi.
You can find Texts in Transit in the Medieval Mediterranean on the Penn State University Press web site at this URL: http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-07109-1.html
Be sure to ask for it at your local library and bookstore!
Co-authored with Paul Kunitzschm appeared in a special volume of Centaurus (vol 45, 2003) in hono... more Co-authored with Paul Kunitzschm appeared in a special volume of Centaurus (vol 45, 2003) in honor of Bernard R. Goldstein
revised and update Englsh version of the classic, still invaluable work of Moritz Steinschneider;... more revised and update Englsh version of the classic, still invaluable work of Moritz Steinschneider; section on Jewish philosophers
The nexus between monotheism and ethics, especially in the forms professed by the three Abrahamic... more The nexus between monotheism and ethics, especially in the forms professed by the three Abrahamic faiths, is the theme that binds together the studies in this volume. Fourteen leading academics from around the world discuss philosophical and theological connections, historical interactions, as well as responses to new and contemporary issues. Most, though not all of the essays, find a meaningful connection between monotheism and ethics; but none shy away from the problems involved.
Contributors include: Lenn Goodman, William Wainwright, Menachem Kellner, Abbas Hamdani, Joseph Boyle, Michael Fagenblatt, Y. Tzvi Langermann, Roxanne Marcotte, Aladdin Yaqub, Aron Mackler, Cynthia Cohen, William Scott Green, Basilius Bawardi and Eugene Garver.
Contributors include: Lenn Goodman, William Wainwright, Menachem Kellner, Abbas Hamdani, Joseph Boyle, Michael Fagenblatt, Y. Tzvi Langermann, Roxanne Marcotte, Aladdin Yaqub, Aron Mackler, Cynthia Cohen, William Scott Green, Basilius Bawardi and Eugene Garver.
Papers by Tzvi Langermann
תעודה לה מחקרים מוגשים לפרופ' רונית מירוז, 2026
The ms, missing foliation, was copied in the fifteenth century in a Byzantine script; in the righ... more The ms, missing foliation, was copied in the fifteenth century in a Byzantine script; in the right and bottom margin of the beginning of Book two it has the Hebrew term: המבשרים (the indicators [of the crisis]). Reproduced with the permission of Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (Italy). Galen. [De diebus decretoriis. Arabic. Selections] The Alexandrian summaries of Galen's On critical days : editions and translations of the two versions of the Jawami' / with an introduction and notes by Gerrit Bos, Y. Tzvi Langermann. pages cm. --(Islamic philosophy, theology and science ; v. 92) Includes bibliographical references and index.
YAMIM NORAIM Insights from the Past, Present, and Future, 2024
Issur ve-Heter is a 12th century halakhic work written in Judaeo-Arabic. Over the course of sever... more Issur ve-Heter is a 12th century halakhic work written in Judaeo-Arabic. Over the course of several years, I have been publishing selected chapters and studies with the hope of eventually publishing the entirety of the surviving text. In this paper I discuss several fascinating novelties relating to practices on Yom Kippur.