The Israelite Seminary of France ( French: Le séminaire israélite de France (SIF)) also known as the Central Rabbinical School of France (L'école centrale rabbinique de France), is a Rabbinical school that trains Orthodox rabbis in France. Founded in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

in 1829 as the Central Rabbinical School of Metz, it moved to Paris in 1859, where it is based in the city's 5th arrondissement. The school is connected with the

Israelite Central Consistory of France The Israelite Central Consistory of France (french: link=no, Consistoire central israélite de France) is an institution set up by Napoleon I by the Imperial Decree of 17 March 1808 to administer Jewish worship and congregations in France. He also d ...

, one of the major bodies of

Orthodox Judaism Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on M ...

in France.

History

In 1820, discussions began over the creation of a rabbinical school in France. On August 21, 1829, a seminary was requested by the Central Consistory and granted by ministerial order. The buildings were inaugurated on June 1, 1830 at 47 Rue d'Arsenal in Metz. Metz was at that point an important center of the Jewish community. On March 22, 1831, an order of King

Louis Philippe I Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

allowed for state financing for the school. On July 1, 1859, the school moved to Paris after a royal decree by

Empress Eugenie An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

. It took the name ''Séminaire israélite.'' It was temporarily set up at the Derenbourg-Springer Institution at 10 Rue de Parc-Royal in the 3e arrondissement of Paris, and later at 57

Boulevard Richard-Lenoir Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, running from the Bastille to the Avenue de la République, is one of the wide tree-lined boulevards driven through Paris by Baron Haussmann during the Second French Empire of Napoleon III. The Boulevard is named after F ...

in the 11e arrondissement. The Consistory bought 1500 square meters of land at 9 Rue Vauquelin in the

Latin Quarter The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne. Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...

of the 5e arrondissement, the center of French intellectual life. David Bloqué, an Alsatian living in Paris, gave a generous donation to the school. The student-rabbis moved to the Latin Quarter location on April 11, 1881. An oratory was inaugurated during

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...

1883. The 1905 law on the separation of Church and State ended the state's financial contribution to the school. The school kept the name Séminaire israélite de France (SIF), while the rabbinical school also became known as the l’École rabbinique de France. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the seminary moved to

Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...

for a few months in 1940. From 1941 to July 1942, it was located in

Chamalières Chamalières (; Auvergnat: ) is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, central France. With 17,276 inhabitants (2019), Chamalières is the fourth-largest town in the department. It lies adjacent to the west of Clermont ...

, near

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

. In October 1942, it moved to

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

. The school was dissolved in 1943 and functioned underground until 1945. After the

Liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers of World War II, Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French R ...

, it resumed its activities.

Mission

Since its founding in 1830, the seminary has had over 400 students, with over 300 graduating with a diploma. Its primary goal is to produce rabbis, though for many years some graduates have become chanters or

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this pr ...

im. Of the nineteen Chief Rabbis of France (including interim) since the creation of the role, the last nine Chief Rabbis were ordained by the Seminary. The Seminary library specializes in the Bible, 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 cente ...

, ''Halacha'',

Rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writ ...

Talmudic law Talmudic law is the law that is derived from the Talmud based on the teachings of the Talmudic Sages. * See Talmud or Talmudical Hermeneutics Talmudical hermeneutics (Hebrew: מידות שהתורה נדרשת בהן) defines the rules and metho ...

homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered ex ...

, and in the history and sociology of Judaism. It is a part of the European Network of Libraries of Judaica and

Hebraica Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved th ...

, which they founded in July 2004 with the library of the

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance Israélite Universelle (AIU; he, כל ישראל חברים; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jew ...

and the Medem Library, House of Yiddish Culture. The network is associated with the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

Directors

* 1830–1837 : Lion Mayer (Judah Meir) Lambert, * 1837–1856 : Mayer Lazard * 1856–1890 : Isaac Léon Trenel * 1890–1917 : Joseph Lehmann,Erin Corber. Men of thought, men of action: the Great War, masculinity, and the modernization of the French rabbinate. Jewish Culture and History, 14:1, 2013, 33–51.
/ref> * 1919–1931 : Jules Bauer * 1932–1949 : Maurice Liber * 1949–1951 : Ernest Gugenheim, directeur par interim * 1951–1977 : Henri Schilli * 1977-1977 : Ernest Gugenheim (quelques jours avant son décès) * 1977–1991 : Emmanuel Chouchena * 1992–2012 :

Michel Gugenheim Michel Gugenheim is the Chief Rabbi of Paris. He also assumed the position of interim Chief Rabbi of France in 2013 after the resignation of Gilles Bernheim, the previous Chief Rabbi of France and remained in that position until the election of Rab ...

* 2013– : Olivier Kaufmann

Notable alumni, professors and administrators

Gilles Bernheim Gilles Uriel Bernheim (; born 30 May 1952) is a French-Israeli rabbi who was formerly the Chief Rabbi of France. Born in Aix-les-Bains, Savoie, in 1952, he was elected by the general assembly of the Central Consistory chief rabbi of France o ...

(1952–), Chief Rabbi of France (2009–2013) *

Arsène Darmesteter Arsène Darmesteter (5 January 1846, Château-Salins, Moselle16 November 1888, Paris) was a distinguished French philologist and man of letters. Biography He studied under Gaston Paris at the École pratique des hautes études, and became profess ...

(1846–1888), student for a short period, later a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Hartwig Derenbourg Hartwig Derenbourg (17 June 1844 – 12 April 1908) was a French Orientalist. Biography Hartwig Derenbourg was born in Paris, where he studied Hebrew, Arabic, and other Semitic languages as a pupil of Joseph Toussaint Reinaud, Salomon Ulmann a ...

(1844–1908),

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

and

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...

Joseph Derenbourg Joseph Derenbourg, or Joseph Naftali Derenburg (21 August 1811 – 29 July 1895) was a Franco-German orientalist. He was born in Mainz (then French-controlled), as a youngest son of the lawyer Jacob Derenburg. According to the 1911 ''Ency ...

(1811–1895), arabisant, étudiant et/ou enseignant *

Josy Eisenberg Josy (Yossef) Eisenberg (12 December 1933 – 8 December 2017) was a French television producer and rabbi. A Hasidic Jew of Polish origin (his father Oscar (Ovadia) was a Polish-born rabbi), he produced an animated TV show, ''À bible ouverte' ...

(1933–2017), pas de poste de rabbin, responsable de l'émission de télévision ''La Source de vie'' *

David Feuerwerker David Feuerwerker (October 2, 1912 – June 20, 1980) was a French Jewish rabbi and professor of Jewish history who was effective in the resistance to German occupation the Second World War. He was completely unsuspected until six months before ...

(1912–1980), rabbin de

Brive-la-Gaillarde Brive-la-Gaillarde (; Limousin dialect of oc, Briva la Galharda) is a commune of France. It is a sub-prefecture and the largest city of the Corrèze department. It has around 46,000 inhabitants, while the population of the agglomeration was 7 ...

, grand-rabbin de

, rue des Tournelles (Paris), rue Chasseloup-Laubat (Paris),

Beth din A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...

(cour rabbinique) et Vaad Haïr de

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

(

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, Canada) *

(1950–), rabbin la synagogue Michkenot Israël (Paris), grand-rabbin de Paris, co-grand-rabbin de France par intérim (2013–2014) (avec Olivier Kaufmann) *

René Gutman René Gutman (born in Rouen in 1950) was Chief Rabbi of Strasbourg from 1987 to 2017. Biography René Gutman grew up in Rouen, where his father Alexandre Gutman was the local rabbi. He spent several years in Israel, dedicating himself to religi ...

(1950–), rabbin de

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

, grand-rabbin de Bruxelles ( Belgique), grand-rabbin de

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

et du

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

Paul Janet Paul Alexandre René Janet (30 April 1823 – 4 October 1899) was a French philosopher and writer. Biography Born in Paris, he became professor of moral philosophy at Bourges (1845–1848) and Strasbourg (1848–1857), and of logic at the ''lyc ...

(1823–1899), professeur de philosophie *

Zadoc Kahn Zadoc Kahn (18 February 1839 in Mommenheim, Alsace – 8 December 1905 in Paris) was an Alsatian- French rabbi and chief rabbi of France. Life In 1856 he entered the rabbinical school of Metz, finishing his theological studies at the same ...

(1839–1905), grand-rabbin de France (1889–1905) * Haïm Korsia (1963–), rabbin

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

(pour les fêtes),

, grand-rabbin de France (2014–) * Mayer Lambert (1863–1930), orientalist *

Emmanuel Lévinas Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the relationship of ethics to ...

(1906–1995),

philosophe The ''philosophes'' () were the intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosophe ...

, étudiant et/ou enseignant * Alfred Lévy (1840–1919), grand-rabbin de France (1907–1919) *

Sylvain Lévi Sylvain Lévi (March 28, 1863 – October 30, 1935) was an influential French orientalist and indologist who taught Sanskrit and Indian religion at the École pratique des hautes études. Lévi's book ''Théâtre Indien'' is an important w ...

(1863–1935), indianiste, étudiant et/ou enseignant *

Isidore Loeb Isidore Loeb (1 November 1839 – 3 June 1892) was a French scholar born at Soultzmatt, Haut-Rhin. The son of Rabbi Seligmann Loeb of Sulzmatt, he was educated in Bible and Talmud by his father. After having followed the usual course in the publ ...

(1839–1892), professeur d'histoire du judaïsme (1878–1890) *

Georges Loinger Georges Loinger (29 August 1910 – 28 December 2018) was a French soldier during World War II. During his time in the French Resistance, he helped hundreds of Jewish children escape from German military administration in occupied France during W ...

, (1910–2018), surveillant général en 1935 * Samuel Naumbourg (1817–1880), professeur de

musique Musique is the French word for music. Musique may also refer to: Music *Musique (disco band), a 1970s studio band produced by Patrick Adams *Musique, a British dance act consisting of Moussa Clarke and Nick Hanson best known for their 2001 song ...

liturgique * Isaïe Schwartz (1876–1952), rabbin intérimaire à

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, rabbin de

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

, grand-rabbin de

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, grand-rabbin de

et du

, grand-rabbin de France (1939–1952) * Joseph Haïm Sitruk (1944–2016), rabbin de

, grand-rabbin de

, grand-rabbin de France (1987–2008) *

Georges Vajda Georges Vajda (18 November 1908 - 7 October 1981) was a French Arabist and Hebraist, scholar of Islam, and historian of medieval Jewish thought. Biography Georges Vajda was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary and studied at the rabbinic seminary an ...

(1908–1981) historien de la pensée juive médiévale, professeur de Bible et de théologie juive * Roger Winsbacher (1928–2012), rabbin de Saint-Louis (

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (, ; Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...

Obernai Obernai ( Alsatian: ''Owernah''; german: Oberehnheim) commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. It lies on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. Obernai is a rapidly growing city, its number of inhabitants havin ...

(

), synagogue de rite polonais de

(Adath Israel)

Bibliography

* Jules Bauer, ''L'École rabbinique de France 1830–1930'',

PUF PUF may refer to: *Physical unclonable function, in computer security, a physically-implemented secure identifier * The University Presses of France *Permanent University Fund, for Texas public universities *Pau Pyrénées Airport in France (IATA ...

, Paris, 1930. * Roger Berg, ''Histoire du rabbinat français (XVIe-XXe siècle)'', collection Patrimoines-Judaïsme,

Éditions du Cerf ''Éditions du Cerf'' ( French: "Editions of the Deer") is a French publishing house specializing in religious books. It was founded in 1929, and operated by the Dominican Order. The name is a reference to Psalm 42 (41): As the hart pantet ...

, Paris, 1992, . * Robert K. Wittman et David Kinney. ''The Devil's Diary. Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich''. Harper & Collins, New York, 2016.

References

External links

Séminaire israélite de France. Historique : de 1830 à nos jours.

Archives du Séminaire israélite de France.

{{Authority control 5th arrondissement of Paris Jews and Judaism in Paris Orthodox Judaism in France