Rabbi Akiva Eiger (, also spelled Eger; , yi, עקיבא אייגער), or Akiva Güns (17611837) was an outstanding

Talmudic The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

scholar, influential halakhic decisor and foremost leader of European Jewry during the early 19th century. He was also a

mohel A ( he, מוֹהֵל , Ashkenazi pronunciation , plural: , arc, מוֹהֲלָא , "circumciser") is a Jew trained in the practice of , the "covenant of circumcision". Etymology The noun ( in Aramaic), meaning "circumciser", is derived f ...

Life

Eiger was born in Pressburg - Bratislava, Royal Hungary (modern-day

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

). He was a child prodigy and was educated first at the

Mattersburg Mattersburg (; formerly ''Mattersdorf'', hu, Nagymarton, Croatian: ''Matrštof'') is a town in Burgenland, Austria. It is the administrative center of the District of Mattersburg and was home to former Bundesliga football team, SV Mattersburg. ...

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are st ...

and later by his uncle, Rabbi Wolf Eiger, (1756–1795) (b. ''5516'', d. ''6 Tishrei 5556''), at the Breslau (

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

) yeshiva, who later became rabbi of Biała and Leipnik. Out of respect for his uncle he changed his surname to Eiger. He therefore shared the full name Akiva Eiger with his maternal grandfather, the first Rabbi Akiva Eiger (17221758) (b. ''5482'', d. ''15 Elul 5518''), the author of ''Mishnas De'Rebbi Akiva'' who was rabbi of Zülz,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

from 1749 and Pressburg from 1756. He was the

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

of Märkisch Friedland,

West Prussia The Province of West Prussia (german: Provinz Westpreußen; csb, Zôpadné Prësë; pl, Prusy Zachodnie) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and 1878 to 1920. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 177 ...

, from 1791 until 1815; then for the last twenty two years of his life, he was the rabbi of the city of Posen (Poznań). He was a rigorous

casuist In ethics, casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending theoretical rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and ju ...

of the old school, and his chief works were legal notes and responsa on the ''

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

'' and the ''

Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulchan Aruch'' ( he, שֻׁלְחָן עָרוּך , literally: "Set Table"), sometimes dubbed in English as the Code of Jewish Law, is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Judaism. It was authored in Safed (today in I ...

''. He believed that religious education was enough, and thus opposed the party which favored secular schools. He was a determined foe of the Reform movement, which had begun to make itself felt in his time.

Progeny

Among his children were his two sons, Avraham (1781–1853) and Solomon (1785–1852), a rabbi in

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

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 populou ...

and chief rabbi of Posen from 1837 to 1852. His daughter Sorel (Sarah) Eiger Sofer (1790–1832) (b. ''5550'', d. ''18 Adar II 5592''), was the second wife of the ''

Chasam Sofer Moses Schreiber (1762–1839), known to his own community and Jewish posterity in the Hebrew translation as Moshe Sofer, also known by his main work ''Chatam Sofer'', ''Chasam Sofer'', or ''Hatam Sofer'' ( trans. ''Seal of the Scribe'', and acron ...

'' (1762–1839) rabbi of Pressburg.

Works

* Gilyon HaShas, his notes on the margin of the

(not intended originally for publication) * Tosafot Rabbi Akiva Eiger, his supercommentary on the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

's commentators, Bartenura and

Tosafot Yom Tov Rabbi Gershon Shaul Yom-Tov Lipmann ben Nathan ha-Levi Heller (c. 157919 August 1654), was a Bohemian rabbi and Talmudist, best known for writing a commentary on the Mishnah called the ''Tosefet Yom-Tov'' (1614–1617). Heller was one of the major ...

* Shu"t Rabbi Akiva Eiger, a collection of responsa * Hagahot Rabbi Akiva Eiger, a supercommentary to the

's commentators,

Magen Avraham Abraham Abele Gombiner () (c. 1635 – 5 October 1682), known as the Magen Avraham, born in Gąbin (Gombin), Poland, was a rabbi, Talmudist and a leading religious authority in the Jewish community of Kalisz, Poland during the seventeenth centur ...

and

Turei Zahav David ha-Levi Segal (c. 1586 – 20 February 1667), also known as the Turei Zahav (abbreviated Taz ()) after the title of his significant ''halakha, halakhic'' commentary on the ''Shulchan Aruch'', was one of the greatest Jews of Poland, Polish ...

*Drush veChidush His commentaries on the Talmud have also been published as Chidushei (''novellae of'') Rabbi Akiva Eiger on Shas

References

Attribution: * * Jacob H. Sinason. ''Gaon of Posen: A Portrait of Rabbi Akiva Guens-Eiger''. Feldheim, 1990. .

External links

Short biography of Rabbi Akiva Eiger

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eger, Akiva 1761 births 1837 deaths People from Eisenstadt 19th-century German rabbis Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Polish Haredi rabbis German people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Polish people of Hungarian descent People from the Grand Duchy of Posen Articles which contain graphical timelines People from Mirosławiec Mohels Oberlander Jews

Rabbis A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

Authors of books on Jewish law