Israel ben Solomon Wahrmann was the first officially recognized
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
Pest, Hungary
Pest () is the eastern, mostly flat part of Budapest, Hungary, comprising about two-thirds of the city's territory. It is separated from Buda and Óbuda, the western parts of Budapest, by the Danube River. Among its most notable sights are the ...
.
Biography
Wahrmann was born at
Óbuda
Óbuda was a town in Hungary that was merged with Buda and Pest on 17 November 1873; it now forms part of District III-Óbuda-Békásmegyer of Budapest. The name means ''Old Buda'' in Hungarian (in German, ''Alt-Ofen''). The name in Bosnian, ...
(year unknown). In 1799 he was called to the rabbinate of Pest, and was the first officially recognized rabbi of the community, which developed rapidly under his leadership. His insistence in the matter prompted the drafting of the community's first statutes. The most important institution connected with his name is the Nationalschule, an elementary school dedicated on 8 September 1814, which was an important factor in raising the intellectual status of the community, its curriculum including
Hungarian, modern science, and Hebrew. Wahrmann published only one
sermon
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. El ...
, in German and entitled ''Andachtsübung der Israeliten der Königlichen Freistadt Pesth.''
Wahrman died in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
on 24 June, 1824. The sorrow at his death found expression in
Philip Weil's Hebrew and German poem ''Evel Yisrael, oder Totenfeier.''
References
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Rabbis from Budapest
18th-century Hungarian rabbis
19th-century Hungarian rabbis
People from Óbuda
1755 births
1824 deaths
{{Hungary-rabbi-stub