A Polish Jewish Artist Who Embraced Democracy and Explained Scripture to Englishmen

Born in Polotsk in what is now Belarus in 1761, the artist, translator, and author Solomon Yom Tov Bennett traveled to Denmark and then Berlin before settling in London. For much of his life he made a living as an engraver, but later devoted himself to religious writings. David Ruderman, in conversation with Nachi Weinstein, explains how Bennett’s intellectual encounters with non-Jews reinvigorated his own pride in Judaism, led him to believe Jews had a mission to share their knowledge of Scripture with Christians, and left him committed to democracy. (Audio, 67 minutes.)