Moadei HaShachar, Mendelsohn's First Hebrew Translation. Königsberg, 1845

Moadei HaShachar, Mendelsohn's First Hebrew Translation. Königsberg, 1845
Moadei HaShachar - Inquiry into the existence of G-d by the maskil Moses Mendelsohn. Dedication to Sir Moshe Montefiore at the beginning of the book.
Rabbi Pinchas Horowotz, author of Hafla'ah, came out against it because of the elucidation of the verse, "You shall surely rebuke your fellow," which Mendelsohn elucidated: "if he insulted you previously" (meaning, that a man acts according to the dictates of his heart, and he is not to be rebuked).
Moadei HaShachar opened the "Panthiest Controversy" which took place over the subsequent years among the thinkers of Berlin about Spinoza's doctrine. However, Mendelsohn did not remain alive to take part in this, because the hassle of publishing the book caused him to come down with a very bad cold, from which he eventually died, on 5 Shevat/January 4, 1786, at the age of 56. He was buried in a honorable funeral attended by many at the old Jewish cemetery in Berlin.
Moses Mendelsohn, also known as Moses of Dessau [1729-1786] was a Jewish-German philosopher and thinker, patriarch of the Jewish "enlightenment" movement. He published a German translation and elucidation of chamishah chumshei Torah, and gathered around him a circle of disciples and successors, who founded the Jewish enlightenment ("haskalah") movement.
18, [2], 188 pp. 22 cm. Bilingual double title page. Fine condition. Owners' notations. Aging stains. Simple binding.