Yehuda Leib Krinsky - Association With The Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment)

Association With The Haskala (Jewish Enlightenment)

Krinsky's annotations in Meḥōqeqē Yehudā make frequent reference to thinkers of the Haskala, such as Heinrich Graetz, S. D. Luzzatto, and especially Moses Mendelssohn. This raises the question of how strong Krinsky's own associations with the Haskala were. The study of Ibn `Ezra's writings was not particularly common among non-haskalic, Haredi Jews of nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, for Ibn `Ezra's commentary focuses on Hebrew grammar, and, to a lesser extent, the sciences. Thus, it would be reasonable to suspect that Krinsky adhered to some form of the Haskala.

The haskama (letter of approbation) of Rabbi Eliezer Rabbinowitz, prefixed to the Genesis volume of Meḥōqeqē Yehudā, refers to Krinsky as "God-fearing", an epithet that makes it clear that Krinsky was observant of Jewish law (halakha). This would place him firmly in the religious branch of the Haskala, rather than its secular branch. (This is clear also from other evidence, such as Krinsky's choice to publish Meḥōqeqē Yehudā in the form of a traditional Pentateuch for liturgical use in the synagogue.) And indeed, the haskamoth that Krinsky managed to obtain for his volume on Exodus were written by key figures of the Religious Haskala, including Abraham Berliner, A. E. Harkavy, and S. A. Poznanski, among others. (Conspicuously absent are the names of A. A. Kohut and D. Z. Hoffmann. One might have expected a haskama from Solomon Schechter, as well.)

There are also haskamoth from major Haredi leaders such as R' Isser Zalman Meltzer who praises Krinsky for his attention to "Dikduk Ha'Lashon" (grammar) implying that the Haredi world was quite comfortable with his work. (Haskamah to Genesis - Note: the 1989 Reinman edition contains only the Haredi Haskamos.)