author
M. (Michael) Friedländer
1833–1910
Best known for bringing Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed to English readers, this scholar and teacher helped shape Jewish learning in London for decades. His work joined deep knowledge of Hebrew and Arabic sources with a gift for clear explanation.
1 Audiobook
The Jewish religion
by M. (Michael) Friedländer
About the author
Born on April 29, 1833, in Jutroschin, Prussia, Michael Friedländer became a respected Orientalist, educator, and writer. He studied in Berlin and Halle, earning a Ph.D. in 1862, while also pursuing traditional Jewish learning alongside university study.
After serving in Berlin, he moved to London in 1865 to become principal of Jews' College, a post he held for the rest of his life. Under his leadership, the college grew in stature as a center of rabbinical and Jewish scholarship, and he became an important figure in Anglo-Jewish intellectual life.
Friedländer is remembered above all for his English translation of Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed, a work that introduced many readers to one of medieval Judaism's great philosophical texts. He also wrote and edited other scholarly works on Jewish history, Bible commentary, and medieval Jewish thought. He died on December 10, 1910.