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{{Short description|Hebrew translator (1820–1883)}}
'''Isaac Edward Salkinsohn''' (1820 - June 5, 1883), ({{lang-he|יצחק סלקינסון}}, '''Yitzhak Salkinsohn'''), was a [[Lithuanian Jews|Lithuanian Jew]] who converted to [[Christianity]], and lived during the [[Jewish Enlightenment]]. He was a famous translator into [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. He was noted for his loyalty to the original text, while preserving the spirit of the Hebrew language, which he characterized as a [[Bible|biblical]] and liturgical language.
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{{Infobox writer
| name=Isaac Edward Salkinson
| image=Isaac_Edward_Salkinson.png
| image_size=
| caption=
| native_name=
| native_name_lang=
| pseudonym=J. E. S. ({{Lang|he|י. ע. ס.}})
| birth_name=
| birth_date=1820
| birth_place=[[Vilnius|Vilna]], [[Vilna Governorate]], [[Russian Empire]]
| death_date={{death date and age|1883|06|05|1820}}
| death_place=[[Vienna]], [[Austria-Hungary]]
| resting_place=
| occupation=
| language=[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]
| alma_mater=
| genre=
| subject=
| movement=[[Haskalah]]
| notableworks=
| spouse=
| children=
| awards=
| years_active=
}}
'''Isaac Edward Salkinson''' ({{langx|yi|יצחק אליעזר סאלקינסאָן}}; 1820 - June 5, 1883) was a [[Lithuanian Jews|Lithuanian]] [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] writer and translator, considered "one of the finest translators of the [[Haskalah]]."{{r|EJ}} He was a convert to [[Christianity]] who became a [[missionary]] for the Church.


==Biography==
Salkinsohn was born as a Jew in the town of [[Shkloŭ]], in [[Belarus]], in 1820. His father was a scholar, well known throughout the area, even though he was not a [[rabbi]]. When Salkinsohn was still a small child, his mother died and his father remarried. Salkinsohn, who was the youngest of his mother’s children, suffered greatly under his new [[stepmother]], but was very close with his father. At the age of 17, he left his father and decided to run away to [[Mahilyow]]. After news of an impending army [[Forced conscription|conscription]] he moved to a nearby village, in the house of the barkeeper. In the village he became friendly with the [[hazzan]] and helped him deal with religious issues. While there, an interest in secular studies and general enlightenment was kindled in Salkinsohn. Meanwhile, the barkeeper planned to marry his granddaughter to Salkinsohn. When Salkinsohn learned of this, he revealed it to the hazzan, who helped him sneak away and get to [[Vilnius]], then called Vilna.
Salkinson was born into an [[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jewish]] family in Vilna in 1820.{{r|dunlop}}{{notetag|According to some accounts, his father was the poet [[Solomon Salkind]].<ref name=gjnb>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Salkind, Schelomo Salman b. Jehoschua|encyclopedia=Große jüdische National-Biographie|last=Wininger|first=Salomon|language=de|location=Cernăuţi|publisher=Arta|date=1931|volume=5|page=322|url=https://sammlungen.ub.uni-frankfurt.de/freimann/content/pageview/6393820}}</ref> However, Salkind died in 1868, conflicting with accounts that Salkinson's father died when he was a child.}} His father died when he was young, as did his mother seven years later.{{r|dunlop}} He then set out for America with the intention of entering a rabbinical seminary there. While in London, however, he was met by agents of the [[London Missionary Society]] and was persuaded to forsake Judaism. Baptized soon afterward, in 1849 he entered the college of that society, where he studied for four years.


His first appointment was as [[Proselytization and counter-proselytization of Jews|missionary to the Jews]] in Edinburgh, where he became a student at Divinity Hall. He was ordained a minister of the [[United Presbyterian Church (Scotland)|Presbyterian Church]] in Glasgow in 1859.{{r|dunlop}} He served his church as a missionary in various towns, including [[Bratislava|Presburg]], and finally settled in Vienna in 1876.
In Vilna Salkinsohn met the Eliashevitz family, and with the father’s influence studied [[Hebrew grammar]] and [[German language|German]], and became a great scholar. While studying in Vilna, he caught the eye of the Eliashevitz daughter, and translated his first [[translation]]. Already in this translation, the first act of [[Friedrich Schiller|Schiller]]’s ''[[Intrigue and Love|Kabale und Liebe]]'' (translated into Hebrew as ‘’Nechelim veAhavim’’), his talent was apparent. However, as the Eliashevitz daughter did not return his courtship, he left her house and began wandering. He was planning to arrive in [[Germany]] and resume his studies, but for unclear reasons changed his course and decided to go to [[London]].


==Work==
In London Salkinsohn met [[Missionary#Christian missions|Christian missionaries]] and converted in 1849. He was appointed a [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian pastor]] in 1856 (some say 1859) and began working as a missionary in 1864. In 1876 he was sent as a missionary to [[Vienna]] and preached in the [[Anglicanism|Anglican]] church there. He also began working in earnest on his translations, and frequented the [[Salon (gathering)|salons]] popular at the time. There he met [[Peretz Smolenskin]], the well known intellectual and editor of the Hebrew periodical ‘’The Dawn’’. Smolenskin, after he realized Salkinsohn’s considerable talent for translation, encouraged him to translate the world’s great literature into Hebrew.
Salkinson was encouraged to translate classical [[Western literature]] into Hebrew by [[Christian David Ginsburg|C. D. Ginsburg]], who "thought that the Jews, who love the Hebrew language, would read [...] classical Christian work[s], though they would refuse to read an ordinary Christian religious book."{{r|dunlop}} Though many of his translations were clearly intended for missionary purposes, others were done for purely artistic reasons,{{r|EJ}} and he maintained a relationship with the [[Haskalah|Maskilic]] writer [[Peretz Smolenskin]].<ref>{{cite web|title=When Romeo and Juliet Became Ram and Yael|first=Melody|last=Barron|date=April 23, 2018|website=The Librarians|publisher=National Library of Israel|url=https://blog.nli.org.il/en/romeo_and_juliet/}}</ref>


Among his early translations was {{ill| James Barr Walker|WD=Q52154702}}'s ''Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation'', published under the title ''Sod ha-yeshuʻah'' (Altona, 1858). He also translated [[John Milton|Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'', under the title ''Va-yegaresh et ha-adam'' (Vienna, 1871); [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Othello]]'' and ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', under the titles ''Iti'el ha-Kushi'' (ib. 1874; preface by Smolenskin) and ''Ram ve-Ya'el'' (ib. 1878); and [[Christoph August Tiedge|Tiedge]]'s ''Urania'', under the title ''Ben Ḳohelet'' (ib. 1876). His translation of the [[New Testament]] was published posthumously under the supervision of Ginsburg in Vienna in 1886.{{r|zeitlin}}
Salkinsohn represented two opposite sides for educated Jewry of [[Jewish Enlightenment|the period]]. On one hand, he was making the great Western novels accessible to most Jews, and was a beautiful translator, but on the other hand, he had converted and was encouraging them to do the same. He had his share of enemies: not only did people warn against him and released slander against him, but there also were many who egged others on against his friend, Peretz Smolenskin. For many Jews of the period, even though they enjoyed his translations, it was hard to praise a Jew who had converted to Christianity, and one who translated not only literary works, but undoubtedly Christian works.


==Selected publications==
Six years after he reached Vienna, on June 5, 1883, Isaac Salkinsohn died, aged 63.
* {{cite book|title=Sod ha-yeshuʻah|trans-title=Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation|location=Altona|publisher=Bonn & Brother|date=1858|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/011546586}}
* {{cite book|title=Va-yegaresh et ha-adam|trans-title=[[Paradise Lost]]|location=Vienna|publisher=s.n.|date=1871|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/101852223}}
* {{cite book|title=Itiʼel ha-Kushi|trans-title=[[Othello]]|location=Vienna|publisher=Spitzer & Holzwarth|date=1874|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/100540662}}
* {{cite book|title=Ben Ḳohelet|trans-title=Urania|location=Vienna|publisher=G. Brög|date=1876|url=https://www.nli.org.il/en/books/NNL_ALEPH990019228390205171/NLI}}
* {{cite book|title=Ram ve-Ya'el|trans-title=[[Romeo and Juliet]]|location=Vienna|publisher=G. Brög|date=1878|url=https://rosetta.nli.org.il/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE20712274&_ga=2.176293541.1429328767.1524384723-1871553783.1505030076}}
* {{cite book|title=Ha-Berit ha-ḥadashah|trans-title=The New Testament|location=Vienna|date=1886|url=https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008902120}}


==Notes==
His most famous translations:
{{notefoot}}
*1871 - [[John Milton]]'s ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' as ''Vaygaresh et ha-adam'' ("And He drove the man out", a phrase from [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 3:24).
* The [[New Testament]], published posthumously in 1886, although his translation is now difficult to find, as the one by [[Franz Delitzsch]] is more prevalent.
* Two works by [[William Shakespeare]]: 1874 - ''[[Othello]]'' as ''Ithi'el ha-Kushi'', and in 1878 - ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' as ''Ram ve-Ya'el''.


== Sources ==
==References==
{{Jewish Encyclopedia|article=Salkinson, Isaac Edward|url=https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13029|first1=Isidore|last1=Singer|first2=M.|last2=Seligsohn|volume=10|page=651}}
* This article uses translated material from the equivalent [[:he:יצחק סלקינסון|Hebrew-language Wikipedia article]] (retrieved March 22, 2005). Both articles are licensed under the [[Wikipedia:Text of the GNU Free Documentation License|GNU Free Documentation License]].
{{Reflist|refs=
* ''[[Encyclopaedia Judaica]]'', 1972, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem, Israel.
<ref name=dunlop>{{cite book|title=Memories of Gospel Triumphs Among the Jews During the Victorian Era|first=John|last=Dunlop|location=London|publisher=S. W. Partridge|date=1894|pages=373–387|url=https://archive.org/details/memoriesgospelt00dunlgoog/page/373/mode/2up}}</ref>

<ref name=EJ>{{cite EJ|title= Salkinson, Isaac Edward|first=Elieser|last=Kagan|volume= |page= |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/salkinson-isaac-edward}}</ref>
== External links ==
<ref name=zeitlin>{{cite encyclopedia|title=Salkinson, Isaak Eduard|last=Zeitlin|first=William|author-link=William Zeitlin|encyclopedia=Bibliotheca hebraica post-Mendelssohniana|location=Leipzig|publisher=K. F. Koehler's Antiquarium|year=1890|language=de|pages=328–329|url=https://archive.org/details/kiryatseferbibl00zeitgoog/page/327/mode/2up}}</ref>
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=80&letter=S Salkinsohn, Isaac Edward] in the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
}}


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[[Category:Converts to Calvinism from Judaism]]
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[[Category:Writers from Vilnius]]

Latest revision as of 11:58, 8 November 2024


Isaac Edward Salkinson
Born1820
Vilna, Vilna Governorate, Russian Empire
DiedJune 5, 1883(1883-06-05) (aged 62–63)
Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Pen nameJ. E. S. (י. ע. ס.)
LanguageHebrew
Literary movementHaskalah

Isaac Edward Salkinson (Yiddish: יצחק אליעזר סאלקינסאָן; 1820 - June 5, 1883) was a Lithuanian Hebrew writer and translator, considered "one of the finest translators of the Haskalah."[1] He was a convert to Christianity who became a missionary for the Church.

Biography

[edit]

Salkinson was born into an Orthodox Jewish family in Vilna in 1820.[2][note 1] His father died when he was young, as did his mother seven years later.[2] He then set out for America with the intention of entering a rabbinical seminary there. While in London, however, he was met by agents of the London Missionary Society and was persuaded to forsake Judaism. Baptized soon afterward, in 1849 he entered the college of that society, where he studied for four years.

His first appointment was as missionary to the Jews in Edinburgh, where he became a student at Divinity Hall. He was ordained a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Glasgow in 1859.[2] He served his church as a missionary in various towns, including Presburg, and finally settled in Vienna in 1876.

Work

[edit]

Salkinson was encouraged to translate classical Western literature into Hebrew by C. D. Ginsburg, who "thought that the Jews, who love the Hebrew language, would read [...] classical Christian work[s], though they would refuse to read an ordinary Christian religious book."[2] Though many of his translations were clearly intended for missionary purposes, others were done for purely artistic reasons,[1] and he maintained a relationship with the Maskilic writer Peretz Smolenskin.[4]

Among his early translations was James Barr Walker [Wikidata]'s Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation, published under the title Sod ha-yeshuʻah (Altona, 1858). He also translated Milton's Paradise Lost, under the title Va-yegaresh et ha-adam (Vienna, 1871); Shakespeare's Othello and Romeo and Juliet, under the titles Iti'el ha-Kushi (ib. 1874; preface by Smolenskin) and Ram ve-Ya'el (ib. 1878); and Tiedge's Urania, under the title Ben Ḳohelet (ib. 1876). His translation of the New Testament was published posthumously under the supervision of Ginsburg in Vienna in 1886.[5]

Selected publications

[edit]
  • Sod ha-yeshuʻah [Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation]. Altona: Bonn & Brother. 1858.
  • Va-yegaresh et ha-adam [Paradise Lost]. Vienna: s.n. 1871.
  • Itiʼel ha-Kushi [Othello]. Vienna: Spitzer & Holzwarth. 1874.
  • Ben Ḳohelet [Urania]. Vienna: G. Brög. 1876.
  • Ram ve-Ya'el [Romeo and Juliet]. Vienna: G. Brög. 1878.
  • Ha-Berit ha-ḥadashah [The New Testament]. Vienna. 1886.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ According to some accounts, his father was the poet Solomon Salkind.[3] However, Salkind died in 1868, conflicting with accounts that Salkinson's father died when he was a child.

References

[edit]

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; Seligsohn, M. (1905). "Salkinson, Isaac Edward". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 651.

  1. ^ a b Kagan, Elieser (2007). "Salkinson, Isaac Edward". In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
  2. ^ a b c d Dunlop, John (1894). Memories of Gospel Triumphs Among the Jews During the Victorian Era. London: S. W. Partridge. pp. 373–387.
  3. ^ Wininger, Salomon (1931). "Salkind, Schelomo Salman b. Jehoschua". Große jüdische National-Biographie (in German). Vol. 5. Cernăuţi: Arta. p. 322.
  4. ^ Barron, Melody (April 23, 2018). "When Romeo and Juliet Became Ram and Yael". The Librarians. National Library of Israel.
  5. ^ Zeitlin, William (1890). "Salkinson, Isaak Eduard". Bibliotheca hebraica post-Mendelssohniana (in German). Leipzig: K. F. Koehler's Antiquarium. pp. 328–329.
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