Isak Elbogen (23 November 1812, Smíchov – 29 August 1883, Vienna), was a

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 o ...

from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

(now in the Czech Republic). He worked in the synagogue in Smíchov and for almost his entire professional career as a regional rabbi of the Jewish community in Jungbunzlau (now Mladá Boleslav), then one of the most important in Bohemia.

Early life and education

He was born into the family of Rabbi Josef Elbogen and his wife Ludmilla in Smíchov. He had two brothers – Jakob and Lazar, and four sisters – Anna, Rosalia, Amalie and Johanna. He first studied at the local grammar school, and between 1834 and 1836 completed a three-year degree course at

Charles-Ferdinand University Charles University ( cs, Univerzita Karlova, UK; la, Universitas Carolina; german: Karls-Universität), also known as Charles University in Prague or historically as the University of Prague ( la, Universitas Pragensis, links=no), is the oldest an ...

in Prague, graduating in 1841 as Doctor of Philosophy. Around this time he also received '' semicha'' (rabbinic ordination) from the '' beth din'' in Prague, which was led by Rabbi Samuel Lobe Kauder.

Career

Elbogen first worked in his native Smíchov (now part of Prague but, until 1922, an independent town with its own Jewish community), In 1843 he left Smíchov to become regional rabbi in Mladá Boleslav where he worked for 37 years, retiring in 1880. He died three years later in Vienna and is buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery.

Works

Elbogen was known an expert on the Talmud and the Mishnah. His book שעשועים בחדרי המשנה מענה חדות ששה סדרי משנה (''Šauším behadrej hamišná meanná hidot šišá sidrej mišná'') was published in Prague in 1865. He also wrote a selicha commemorating the great fire of the Mladá Boleslav Jewish Quarter and the synagogue on

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

, 28 May 1859 entitled סליחות לזכרון האש אשר יצאה בעיר יונגבונצלויא בים שבת קודש ("Penitential prayers to the memory of the terrible fire that engulfed the city of Mladá Boleslav on the holy Sabbath day twenty-fourth Iyar of the year 1859"), which, until its destruction just before the Second World War, was read aloud annually in Mladá Boleslav synagogue.

Personal and family life

He married Friederike Pokorny (1825; Jičín, Bohemia – 1906; Schloss Thalheim,

Kapelln Kapelln is a market municipality in the Sankt Pölten-Land district, Lower Austria, Austria. 10.29% of the municipality are forested. Kapelln is subdivided into the Katastralgemeinde A cadastral community or cadastral municipality, is a Cadastre ...

, Austria). They had a son,

Guido Elbogen Guido Elbogen (1845–1918) was an Austrian banker and mathematician who became President of the Anglo-Austrian Bank. Early life He was born into a Jewish family on 27 December 1845 in Jungbunzlau (now Mladá Boleslav) in Bohemia. Jungbunzlau, ...

, who went into banking and became President of the

Anglo-Austrian Bank The Anglo-Österreichische Bank (), in shorthand Anglobank, was a bank founded in Vienna in 1863 with an extensive branch network in the Habsburg Monarchy and later in its successor states, primarily Austria and Czechoslovakia. Following the c ...

in Vienna. Guido's son

Heinrich Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

was a sports shooter who represented Austria in the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, be ...

. Guido's daughter Jenny Weleminsky was an Esperantist and translator, whose work was published in the Budapest Esperanto-language magazine, ''

Literatura Mondo ''Literatura Mondo'' (''Literary World'') was a literary Esperanto periodical and publishing house in Budapest, Hungary between 1922 and 1949. It became the focal point of the so-called Budapest School of Esperanto literature. It was founded by T ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elbogen, Isak 1812 births 1883 deaths 19th-century Czech rabbis Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Charles University alumni People from Mladá Boleslav People from Smíchov Rabbis from Prague Elbogen family