Abraham Gedalia (1752–1827; he, אברהם גדליה) was the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a ...

of Denmark in the late 18th and early 19th century.

Biography

Gedalia was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, where his father, was a rabbi. Gedalia followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a rabbi in

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

, Poland. In 1782, Gedalia moved to Copenhagen to join his father who had been appointed chief rabbi of Denmark in 1779. After serving as Levin's assistant for several years, Gedalia was named deputy rabbi in 1787. After his father's death in 1793, Gedalia was named chief rabbi. His 34 years as the leader of Jews in Denmark were marked by the

Copenhagen Fire of 1795 The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 (''Københavns brandes 1795'') started on Friday, 5 June 1795, at or around 3 pm by the Navy's old base south east of Kongens Nytorv on Gammelholm, in the Navy's magazine for coal and timber, the so-called Dellehave. A ...

, which destroyed the congregation's Læderstræde Synagogue, leaving the city's Jews to worship in homes and private synagogues. Gedalia was known for his Talmudic learning and honorable conduct, but he was regarded as "old fashioned" by reform-oriented Danish Jews. As late as 1796, Gedalia had opposed Jews learning Danish. When Gedalia died in 1827, an attempt was made to install his son, Salomon, as his successor, but

Abraham Wolff Abraham Alexander Wolff ( he, אברהם אלכסנדר וולף; 29 April 1801 – 3 December 1891) was the chief rabbi of Denmark and translator of the Torah into Danish. Wolff was born in Darmstadt, Hesse-Darmstadt, to the merchant Alexande ...

was appointed instead.

References

18th-century Danish Jews 19th-century Danish Jews 18th-century Polish Jews 19th-century Polish Jews 1753 births 1827 deaths 18th-century Danish clergy 19th-century Danish clergy Chief rabbis of Denmark Place of birth missing Danish people of Polish-Jewish descent Polish emigrants to Denmark {{Europe-rabbi-stub