The scope of Gregory Glazov's impressive volume not only extends the principal goal of his book, the translation of Vladimir Solov΄ev's writings on Jews and Judaism, but speaks to the author's perceptive reading of the entire oeuvre of the great Russian religious philosopher, publicist, and poet.
Translation of primary texts occupies Part III of the book and includes among nineteen entries such seminal works as “Jewry and the Christian Question” (1884), “The Israel of the New Covenant” (1885), and “The Talmud and Recent Polemical Literature” (1886). It also contains Solov΄ev's open letters to Russian and European newspapers and his correspondence with Faivel Meir Getz, Baron David Gintsburg, Konstantin Arseniev, Nikolai Grot, and Lev Tolstoi. The penultimate chapter of this part presents six of Vladimir Solov΄ev's poems inspired by Old Testament themes and imagery.
In the words of Hans-Georg Gadamer, “The translator's task of re-creation differs only in degree, not in kind, from the general hermeneutical task that any text presents” (Truth and Method, New York, 2004, 389). Gregory Glazov, as a professor of Biblical Studies, obviously possesses hermeneutical expertise and, in his role of translator, is highly attentive to questions of meaning and interpretation.
In the introduction to the book, Glazov dedicates a special section to the exploration of the key terms used by Solov΄ev and the difficulties in translating them into English. For example, he describes his scrupulous approach to the lexical choice for the rendition of one of the most essential terms in Solov΄ev's philosophy, bogochelovechestvo. Meanwhile, giving the reasons behind his decision to translate it with a compound noun Godmanhood, Glazov produces a brief but compelling essay, which illuminates the philosophical and theological sophistication of Solov΄ev's thinking.
Despite the overall high quality of Glazov's translation, there are a few blemishes here and there. For example, the words ves΄ma trudna are translated as “relatively difficult,” while Solov΄ev's phrase does not imply such ambiguity and describes a task formulated by him as very difficult (277).
In Part II, “Commentary and Portrait of Solov΄ev's encounters with Jews and Judaism,” Glazov provides not only an excellent overview of the subject but offers a deep analysis of its intrinsic connection with Solov΄ev's other ideas of cardinal importance. As he puts it, Solov΄ev's “interests in Judaism were never marginal, never just a phase or a series of phases, but foundational and organically integral to his Christian thought and life” (118).
In his commentaries, which are arranged as twenty chapters, Glazov demonstrates how Solov΄ev steadily advanced his argument about Judaism and Jews throughout his works. The champion of the principle of integral knowledge carried it out on multiple levels, exploring his subject matter in parameters of theology, philosophy, philosophy of history, and contemporary politics. Glazov chronicles Solov΄ev's progress by examining his words and deeds through a carefully designed narrative based on rich content: Solov΄ev's own writings, the testimonies of his friends and family, and essential biographical material. As a result, Glazov makes it clear that there is a profound connection between such seemingly distant realms as Solov΄ev's Sophiology and his passionate advocacy of civil rights for Jews. It is the same kind of connection that, in the philosopher's worldview, brings together all spheres of human knowledge, relates the empirical world to the metaphysical, and transforms an idea of unity into the reality of Total-Unity.
Glazov's study is also enhanced by his summary of Jewish history in Russia, which gives the reader valuable insight into the complex context of his inquiry, as well as by the inclusion in Part I of the book of Fr. Alexander Men΄’s beautiful lecture on Vladimir Solov΄ev.
At the same time, it cannot not be ignored that there are a number of factual errors, surprising in view of Glazov's exhaustive scholarly research. For example, he “merges” three women into one person by mixing up the names of Maria Sergeevna Bezobrazova, Vladimir Solov΄ev's older sister; Poliksena Sergeevna Solov΄eva, his younger sister who wrote under the pseudonym “Allegro”; and Maria Vladimirovna Bezobrazova, Maria Sergeevna's sister-in-law who was the first Russian woman with a degree in philosophy (257–58). Besides, Glazov “enlarges” the Solov΄ev family by adding a “sister Nadya” to the illustrious clan (254). For the sake of accuracy, it also needs to be mentioned that The Trinity by Andrei Rublev is kept in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and not in the Holy Trinity Monastery near Moscow (100).
Notwithstanding these minor criticisms, Gregory Glazov deserves the highest praise for making a major contribution to the many fields associated with Vladimir Solov΄ev's name.
