Mendelssohn, Moses 1729-86
German Jewish philosopher and biblical scholar

Born in Dessau, he studied in Berlin and went on to become the partner to a silk manufacturer. He is an important figure in the history of Jewish philosophy and in the Enlightenment. His most important works, which reflect his commitment both to Judaism and rationalism, include Ph�don (1767), an argument for the immortality of the soul, based on Plato's Phaedo; Jerusalem (1783), which advocates Judaism as the religion of reason; and Morgenstunden (1785, 'Morning Hours') which argues for the rationality of belief in the existence of God. He was a friend of Gotthold Lessing and the prototype of his Nathan. He was the grandfather of Felix Mendelssohn.