Creator Bio

Samson Raphael Hirsch

1808–1888

The neo-Orthodox rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch was born and raised in Hamburg. He pursued Jewish studies under rabbis Jacob Ettlinger and Isaac Bernays, and he studied as well at the University of Bonn. From 1830 to 1846, Hirsch was the chief rabbi of several communities in Lower Saxony, and for five years after that in Moravia. From 1851 until his death, he led the Orthodox community of Frankfurt-am-Main, expounding the philosophy of Torah im derekherets, combining strict religious values and traditions while respecting Western values; he nonetheless strongly dissociated himself from the Reform movement. In Frankfurt, Hirsch set up many neo-Orthodox institutions and founded the monthly magazine Jeschurun.

Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator

Primary Source

Nineteen Letters on Judaism

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You ask me for my opinion on the question which at present agitates so greatly the minds of men, emancipation; whether I consider it feasible and desirable, according to the spirit of Judaism, our…
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Painting of travelers surrounding tomb.
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