Abstract
In early modern Hebrew usage, the verb leha-atik means to translate, to copy, or to transfer. Leon Modena used the verb regularly to describe his activities, which represented the Renaissance ideal of translatio studiorum, i.e., the transfer of culture across both time and space and also among various groups. Through his life and work, Modena used his position at the center of the Venetian Empire to transfer Jewish culture between Jewish centers in Italy, elsewhere in eastern and western Europe, and the Ottoman Empire; from Greek, Latin, Catholic, Protestant, and Muslim culture to Jews; and from Jewish tradition to Christians, including major scholars in Venice and abroad, who in turn incorporated his work into their Latin works. Modena also transformed Jewish culture as he engaged in critiques of tradition and current practice, created new vehicles of Jewish cultural creativity, reclaimed the past and made it accessible, and developed methods of conveying Jewish culture to Christians and to Jews of all levels of education. Modena was neither typical of Renaissance rabbis nor was he unique, but he was talented and prolific.
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Adelman, H.T. (2019). Modena, Leon. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_813-1
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