Creator Bio
Godchaux Baruch Weil (Ben-Lévi)
1806–1878
Godchaux Baruch Weil (Ben-Lévi) was among the first generation of Jews to have grown up as French citizens, and his writing reflects a loyalty to French ideals of pluralism and universalism. The son of a prominent Parisian businessman, Weil received a traditional Jewish education and was something of a prodigy, publishing a refutation of a reformist article at age fifteen. After his father died, he became dedicated to modernizing Jewish institutions and traditions in France. To this end, Weil (under the pseudonym Ben-Lévi) wrote dozens of short stories and social commentaries in Les archives israélites.
Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator
Primary Source
The Rise and Fall of a Polish Tallis
Sixty years ago, Jacob, who was known in his quarter as Old Jacob, was living in the rue de la Mortellerie. He ran a successful business selling old clothes, scrap metal and even, on occasion, old…
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The March 17th Decree
Laws are always tainted by the passions and the prejudices of the legislator.
—Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws
In 1807, Mordecai Blum, his wife Rebecca, and his son David were living in a…