Abraham Mendel Theben (before 1738 – 1768) was the head of the Jewish community in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. Abraham Mendel Theben was the son of Menahem Mendel Theben (died in 1738), leader of the Jewish community in

Pressburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

. In Jewish sources, Theben is referred to as ' (English: "leader and chief of the country"), which means that the Jews of the entire kingdom recognised him as their leader. He maintained a close relationship with the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

court and Austrian aristocracy. He used his influence to promote the interests of his people, personally travelling to Vienna to intervene with

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

, Queen of Hungary, on behalf of Jews who had been imprisoned for a

blood libel Blood libel or ritual murder libel (also blood accusation) is an antisemitic canardTurvey, Brent E. ''Criminal Profiling: An Introduction to Behavioral Evidence Analysis'', Academic Press, 2008, p. 3. "Blood libel: An accusation of ritual mur ...

in the village of Orkuta. Mendel Theben was a special favourite of the Empress-Queen despite her strong

Judeophobia Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

and she listened to him with sympathy. He was the father of Jacob Mendel Theben. His daughter was married to the son of Jonathan Eybeshutz.Patai, 34.

References

Bibliography

* Patai, Raphael: ''The Jews of Hungary: history, culture, psychology'' Wayne State University Press 1996 {{DEFAULTSORT:Theben, Abraham Mendel Year of birth unknown 1768 deaths Politicians from Bratislava Hungarian Jews Year of birth uncertain