Księga światów Tobiasza Kohna. Między wiedzą naukową a religijną mądrością [Tobias Cohn’s Book of the Worlds. Between Scientific Knowledge and Religious Wisdom]

"Tobias Cohn’s Book of the Worlds. Between Scientific Knowledge and Religious Wisdom". Studies on Jewish engagement in early modern European scientific research – from the second half of the 16th century through the 18th century – emphasize their belonging to two distinct worlds: (1) the sphere of culture and science, which developed new concepts through a novel methodology, and (2) the environment of Jewish tradition and religion. The resulting difficulties mirrored those faced by believing Christians (particularly regarding the relationship between scientific knowledge and religious claims), though in the case of the Jewish community, an additional element appeared: the danger of an identity crisis. Traditional beliefs and religious practices were essential factors in building the life and specificity of the Jewish community, justifying its characteristic distinctness. Therefore, for representatives of Judaism, any crisis in this sphere could lead to a crisis of national Jewish identity. While it is true that during this period, philosophy of nature and the emerging modern science rarely provoked attitudes of extreme rationalism that could severely threaten Jewish beliefs, one can speak of a gradual escalation of worldview – and consequently social – conflict. This occurred between the traditionally-oriented Jewish community and the progressive non-Jewish community, serving as another manifestation of the earlier political-cultural conflict expressed through the ostracism and persecution of Jews in the 15th century in countries such as Spain, Portugal, and France. Thus, the encounter between Jews and Christians often led to conflict, and the meeting of Jewish tradition with modern philosophy and science fuelled it even further. For many Jewish thinkers, this was a situation they sought to change by attempting to overcome mutual estrangement and hostility through dialogue and a search for common ground. It was precisely in natural philosophy, and later in the burgeoning natural sciences, that they saw the possibility of overcoming this state of conflict – by meeting on the neutral ground of science with scholars from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. In practice, this was not easy, not only because of mutual prejudices and past wounds but also due to the ambivalent attitude of contemporary Judaism toward the scientific study of the world. The attitude of Jewish thinkers toward emerging modern science and the scientific method is well characterized by the following triad: tension – aspirations – identity. Tension refers to the political and social situation involving the difficult relations between the Jewish community and the non-Jewish (predominantly Christian) inhabitants of 16th-, 17th-, and 18th-century Europe. Aspirations point to the desire and striving of a significant group of Jews to break out of isolation and achieve a social status that would allow them to join the intellectual elites of the time and gain the respect accorded to educated people. Finally, identity signifies the growing problem of self-definition – both toward “one’s own” and toward “outsiders” – within the context of their own religious-cultural tradition and the degree of its obligatoriness in their lives. It was within this historical, social, religious, and cultural context that Tobias Cohn (Tuviya ben Moshe Cohen, 1652-1729) found himself, becoming a successor to those members of the Jewish intelligentsia who sought to join the current of these transformations while simultaneously guarding their own distinctness and religious-cultural identity. Many scholars of Tobias Cohn’s life and work believe that his world was shaped by his Judaism and unwavering faith in the words of the Sages. It was a world teeming with giants, monsters, and mermaids, where a person’s future could be predicted through palmistry. Indeed, after reading certain passages of his 'Ma’ase Tuviya' ('The Work of Tobias,' Venice 1708), one might conclude that he was not