Stern, SD;
(2016)
David Gans on the Gregorian reform, modern astronomy, and the Jewish calendar.
Judaica Bohemiae
, LI
(1)
pp. 127-147.
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Abstract
If we are to identify a uniting thread, or a common denominator, in David Gans' diverse works, this must be an interest in the measurement of time. David Gans (1541–1613) was a leading Jewish historiographer and astronomer of the early modern period. Born in Lippstadt, he received a rabbinic education in Cracow under R. Moses Isserles, and in Prague, where he spent most of his life, under R. Loew ben Betzalel (the Maharal); but he also immersed himself in the study of history, mathematics, and astronomy. Both his major works, Tzemah David (a Jewish and world chronography) and Nehmad ve-naim (a handbook of astronomy), assume in very different ways a range of notions about chronology, calendars, and the flow of time. Gans also wrote a specific treatise on the Jewish calendar, entitled Maor ha-katon ('the smaller luminary', i.e. the moon – Gen. 1:16); but unfortunately this work is lost. Nevertheless, a sufficient number of references are made to calendar and chronology in the works that are extant to convey his views on the Jewish calendar and, in particular, the Jewish calendar's significance for the study of astronomy and its relationship with its Christian counterpart.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | David Gans on the Gregorian reform, modern astronomy, and the Jewish calendar |
| Location: | Czech Republic |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Publisher version: | https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=411... |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © Jewish Museum in Prague 2016. The studies in this volume owe their origin to a conference at the Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Arts, in 2013, which was co-organized by the Prague Centre for Jewish Studies at the Charles University and the Kurt and Ursula Schubert Center for Jewish Studies at Palacký University, Olomouc. |
| Keywords: | David Gans; Gregorian Reform; Jewish Calendar |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Hebrew and Jewish Studies |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1477129 |
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