Although the role of ethics in modern Jewish thought has been widely explored, major works by foundational philosophers remain largely absent from such discussions. This essay contributes to the recovery of these voices, focusing on the Hebrew writings of Moses Mendelssohn (1729–1786) and Nachman Krochmal (1785–1840). I argue that these texts reveal the existence of a shared ethical project animating these founding philosophical voices of Jewish modernity, and that reconstructing their claims contributes to broader conversations about the relationship between ethics and law. Mendelssohn and Krochmal present Jewish law as addressing needs emerging from the history of moral philosophy—from the modern histories of Platonic and Aristotelian ethics. Moreover, my reading highlights these thinkers’ ongoing relevance, suggesting that their work illuminates the role of law in ethical cultivation.

中文翻译：

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法律、伦理和历史的需要：门德尔松、克罗哈本和道德哲学

尽管伦理学在现代犹太思想中的作用已被广泛探讨，但基本哲学家的主要著作在此类讨论中仍然基本缺席。这篇文章有助于这些声音的恢复，重点是摩西·门德尔松（1729-1786）和纳赫曼·克罗哈本（1785-1840）的希伯来语著作。我认为这些文本揭示了一个共同的伦理项目的存在，这些项目激发了犹太现代性的这些奠基哲学声音，重建他们的主张有助于更广泛地讨论伦理与法律之间的关系。Mendelssohn 和 Krohaben 将犹太法律描述为解决道德哲学史——柏拉图和亚里士多德伦理学的现代史——中出现的需求。此外，我的阅读突出了这些思想家的持续相关性，