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Manasseh of Ilya
註釋This is not the first biography of Menashe of Ilya, however it claims to be the most embracing and authoritative one, offering new details of Menashe's life and work and the influences that moulded them. The distinctiveness of the book is not only the chapter on the library at Vyasin, but also a thorough analysis of Menashe's attitude to Hasidism, a problem raised by scholars before but never solved satisfactorily. Another contribution to this work is the description of Menashe's indebtedness to the thought and ideals of the European Enlightenment. In terms of rabbinic Judaism, Menashe was no doubt an Illuy (genius), but as had happened to others before him, the use of his talmudic erudition was not in the realm of rabbinic studies, but in support of his reformist ideals, which aimed at cardinal changes in the economic, social and cultural aspects of Jewry. It was, however, the tragedy of his life that he was unable to bridge the abyss between ideal and reality. In other words, his Torah experience was unable to provide him with the tools needed for the articulation and even less so for the implementation of his ideals.