David Zvi Hoffmann’s (1843–1921) commentary on the Pentateuch in the context of German-Jewish Orthodoxy’s struggle over the dogmatic principles of Torah

• Published in: Journal of Jewish studies Vol. 72; no. 2; pp. 397 - 417
• Main Authors: Dubrau, Alexander A., Seidler, Meir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Liverpool University Press 01-10-2021; Oxford Centre for Hebrew and
• Subjects: Dogmatism; Exegesis & hermeneutics; Judaic studies; Judaism; Torah; Modern period; Berlin; Rabbinical Seminary; Hoffmann, David Zvi; German; orthodoxy; Pentateuch; Bible criticism; commentary
• ISSN: 0022-2097; 2056-6689
• DOI: 10.18647/3509/jjs-2021

The present article explores Rabbi David Zvi Hoffmann’s (1843–1921) exegetical writings – especially his approach to biblical criticism – in the hitherto unexplored context of German-Jewish Orthodoxy’s struggle over the dogmatic principles of Torah. It highlights the parallels and the differences between Hoffmann and other important exegetical protagonists of German Judaism, especially German-Jewish Orthodoxy, as well as the outstanding significance of his enterprise for the latter. Though Hoffmann’s exegetical conclusions conform to a large extent with traditional Jewish exegesis, his methodological principles, his language and the problems he deals with are closely related to contemporary Wissenschaft. So far as the crisis of German-Jewish Orthodoxy at the beginning of the twentieth century is concerned, the question of how much Hoffmann’s exegesis succeeded in bridging the dichotomy between the dogmatic principles of Torah and Wissenschaft remains open.