Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen ben Abraham (born in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
about 1670; died at
Altona, 9 July 1749) was a Polish-German
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 ...
.
At first rabbi at
Kėdainiai (Keidani), Katzenellenbogen was called to Altona in 1714. This call he owed to the efforts of
Issachar Kohen, an influential member of the Altona congregation; and Katzenellenbogen in return secured the election of Kohen's son-in-law to the rabbinate of Keidani.
Jacob Emden
Jacob Emden, also known as Ya'avetz (June 4, 1697 April 19, 1776), was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed Orthodox Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement. He was acclaimed in all circles for his ...
, who reports this story in his ''Megillat Sefer'' (pp. 121–140), seems, however, to have been prejudiced against Katzenellenbogen, whom he describes as a man of very low moral character, an ignoramus, and a poor preacher.
Ezekiel ben Abraham Katzenellenbogen's descendants for four generations occupied rabbinates in various Polish communities. His
epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
is found in Blogg's ''Sefer ha-Ḥayyim'' (p. 337; Hanover, 1862). He wrote: ''Keneset Yeḥezḳel,'' ''responsa,'' Altona, 1732; ''Tefillot le-Yarẓait,'' prayers and rituals for
Jahrzeit, ib. 1727; ''Ẓawwa'at R. Yeḥezḳel,'' his will, Amsterdam, 1750; ''Mayim
i-Yam?Yeḥezḳel,'' homilies on the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the sa ...
, Porick, 1786; and ''Leḥem Yeḥezḳl,'' Talmudic ''novellæ'' (mentioned in his preface to ''Keneset Yeḥezḳel,'' but never published). According to
Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...
(''Cat. Bodl.''), Katzenellenbogen is probably the author of the ''Me'orer Zikkaron'' (Altona, 1727), an index to
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 cente ...
ic passages with an abstract of the decisions of
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
, the
tosafists
Tosafists were rabbis of France and Germany, who lived from the 12th to the mid-15th centuries, in the period of Rishonim. The Tosafists composed critical and explanatory glosses (questions, notes, interpretations, rulings and sources) on the Tal ...
, etc.
References from the ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
*
Emden
Emden () is an independent city and seaport in Lower Saxony in the northwest of Germany, on the river Ems. It is the main city of the region of East Frisia and, in 2011, had a total population of 51,528.
History
The exact founding date of E ...
, ''
Megillat Sefer'', pp. 121–140, Warsaw, 1897;
*
Julius Fürst
Julius Fürst (; 12 May 1805, Żerków, South Prussia – 9 February 1873, Leipzig), born Joseph Alsari, was a Jewish German orientalist and the son of noted maggid, teacher, and Hebrew grammarian Jacob Alsari. Fürst was a distinguished schola ...
, ''
Bibl. Jud.'' ii.179;
*
Heinrich Grätz
Heinrich Graetz (; 31 October 1817 – 7 September 1891) was amongst the first historians to write a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective.
Born Tzvi Hirsch Graetz to a butcher family in Xions (now Książ Wielkopo ...
, ''
Gesch.'' x.375;
*
David Kohan
David Sanford Kohan (born April 16, 1964) is an American television producer and writer. After writing for ''The Wonder Years'' and ''The Dennis Miller Show'', Kohan co-created and produced ''Will & Grace'', ''Boston Common'', ''Good Morning, M ...
(Kahana), in ''
Ha-Shaḥar
''Ha-Shaḥar'' () was a Hebrew-language monthly periodical, published and edited at Vienna by Peretz Smolenskin from 1868 to 1884.
The journal contained scientific articles, essays, biographies, and literature, as well as general Jewish news. The ...
'', 1874, p. 299;
*
Moritz Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...
, ''
Cat. Bodl.'';
*
Walden
''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...
, ''
Shem ha-Gedolim he-Ḥadash'', p. 29, Warsaw, 1864;
*
Duckesz, ''
lwwah le-Moshab'', Cracow, 1903;
*
Benjacob
Isaac ben Jacob Benjacob (January 10, 1801, Ramygala – July 2, 1863, Vilnius) was a Lithuanian Jewish Maskil, best known as a bibliographer, author, and publisher. His 17-volume Hebrew Bible included Rashi, Mendelssohn, as well as his own ''M ...
, ''
Oẓar ha-Sefarim''
External links
Source
Works
Responsa ''Knesses Yechezkel''Miyam Yechezkel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzenellenbogen, Ezekiel
1670s births
1749 deaths
18th-century Lithuanian rabbis
18th-century German rabbis
Rabbis from Hamburg
Rabbis from Kėdainiai