[Avodah] hirsch and wessely

[Shlomo Pick]

R. Naphtali Herz Weisel (Wessely) was the first to author a commentary that
explained the connection between Torah shebeKtav and and Torah sheba’alPeh.
He did this in the Biur on Vayikra, and was the first to have done so,
blazing the trail for R. Mecklenburg to do so in his Ktav veKabbalah
(1839).  The latter quoted Wessely extensively with the abbreviation RN”U =
R. Naphtali Weisel.  [Dayan Grunfeld in his introduction to the Hirsch
Chummash, vol. breishis, 2nd ed. 1971, p. x, discussed the development of
this type of commentary but unfortunately omitted Wessely’s primary
commentary of this genre.]

Hirsch quoes him in his commentary to Avot, I,1, i.e. right at the beginning
of his peirush (Hirsch siddur, [feldheim 1972], p. 416.

And for all the doubters out there, in hirsch’s commentary to lev. 13, 3,
(p, 332 of the judaica press, 1971, 2nd ed., vol 1 of lev. ) Hirsch quotes
Wessely and I assume there are more places also.

I have a report from an émigré from FFaM, who recounted that Hirsch would
quote Mendelsohn, as he did in his 19 letters, and his chummash was studied.
When hirsch’s son-in-law took over, with a strong Hungarian influence, the
mendelsohn commentary became prohibited. I would presume that the same
happened to Wessely. Concerning Wessely’s activities in the haskalah, see M.
Eliav’s volume (his phd actually) Hachinuch haYehudi beGermania (Jerusalem,
1961) [Hebrew] which gives an extensive account including the bans upon him,
the removal the approbations to his Avot commentary, quoted by Hirsch as
noted above.

Hope this adds to your understanding.

Shlomo Pick

 

 

            

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