Solomon Tsvi Schick (Rashban)

Born into a rabbinic family, Solomon Tsvi ben Natan Schick (Schück, Shik) served as the communal leader of Karcag, in central west Hungary, from 1869 until his death. Schick, also known as the Rashban, lived through the emancipation of Hungarian Jewry in 1849, as well as through the traditionalist revolt against the reformist Neolog movement staged at the Jewish Congress of 1868–1869. In his sermons, he voiced support for the withdrawal, but cautioned his compatriots not to embrace insularity, but instead to “bring closer those who have strayed.” Schick endorsed the incorporation of secular education into religious schools and even wrote a code of Jewish law in Yiddish (Shulkhn orekh, 1896–1897). As a moderate figure in an increasingly extremist camp, Schick faced opposition from ultra-Orthodox communal leaders, some of whom threatened to ban his published works.