Judah Mehler Reutlinger

Born and educated in Fulda, Germany, Judah Mehler Reutlinger moved in 1629 to Wenings (Hanau), where he was married. Not long after, his family was uprooted by the violence of the Thirty Years’ War. In the introduction to his collection of sermons, Shevut Yehudah (The Captivity of Judah)—prepared for publication but left in manuscript before the author’s death—Reutlinger described the hardships he endured during this period, along with additional autobiographical details. In 1644, he became chief rabbi in Bingen, and settled there permanently, turning down several offers to serve larger communities. His grandson, also named Judah Mehler (1661–1751), served as rabbi in Cleves, Cologne, and Bonn.