Jacob Ettlinger

1798–1871

One of the first German rabbis with academic training, Jacob Ettlinger was born in Karlsruhe and educated at the university in Würzburg. In 1826, he served as a rabbi in the Mannheim area. Ten years later, he was appointed chief rabbi of Altona; in this capacity, he was a prominent spokesman for German neo-Ortho-doxy, a combination of adaptations to modernity, secular learning, and strict halakhic observance. He was a strong opponent of Reform Judaism; in 1844, he led a protest against the Brunswick Conference of Reform rabbis. He is known best for his work of Talmudic scholarship, Arukh la-ner. His disciples included other major German rabbis such as Samson Raphael Hirsch and Esriel Hildesheimer. (Excerpts of Ettlinger’s major works appear in this volume.)

Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator

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Rabbinic Reports on Circumcision

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Altona, 24 Ab 5603 Chief Rabbi! Messrs. Adler and Fuld, members of your congregation, asked for my opinion, from the Jewish-religious perspective…

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Arukh la-ner

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In this way, in addition, the statement in the Talmudic chapter Ha-ro’eh (Berakhot 56) can be explicated: “There are three types of peace—a river, a bird and a cooking…

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Responsa binyan tsiyon (Responsa: Building Zion)

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The Holy Community of Altona, Friday, 29 Marheshvan 5621[14 November 1860] To my dear friend, father of my son-in-law, the distinguished rabbi, our Teacher, R. Shemaryahu Zuckerman, may his…