Joel Müller (1827 – November 6, 1895) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

and

Talmudist 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 center ...

, born in Ungarisch-Ostra,

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

, and dying in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

.
Jewish Encyclopedia Bibliography:
''

Allg. Zeit. des Jud. ''Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums'' (until May 1903: ''Allgemeine Zeitung des Judenthums'') was a Jewish German magazine devoted to Jewish interests, founded in 1837 by Ludwig Philippson (1811–89), published first in Leipzig and later in Berli ...

'' 1895, pp. 542-543, 556-557. He received a thorough Talmudic training and succeeded his father as rabbi of his native town. His next rabbinate was that of Leipa,

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 ...

; some of the sermons which he preached there have been published — "''Die Spenden der Mutterfreude''" (1868) and a collection of sermons on "Bibelbilder" (1869). Later he preached in Berlin. From Leipa Müller went to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, and became teacher of religion in a "''

Realschule ''Realschule'' () is a type of secondary school in Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia (''realna gimnazija''), the Austrian Empire, the German Empire, Denmark and Norway (''realskole''), Sweden (''realskola''), ...

''." This he resigned to become professor of Talmud at the Berlin

Lehranstalt für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

. In 1878 Müller published in Vienna an edition of the "'' Masseket Soferim''," and in the same year "''Ḥilluf Minhagim''"; the latter, which is a work of great value, first appeared in the

Hebrew 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 ...

periodical "''

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 ...

''." Müller's treatment of the early

responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...

literature was especially excellent. His "''Teshubot Ḥakme Ẓarefat we-Lotir''" appeared in Vienna in 1881; in 1886, "''Briefe und Responsen aus der Vorgaonäischen Jüdischen Literatur''"; in 1888, "''Teshubot Geone Mizraḥ u-Ma'arab''"; and in 1893, "''Die Responsen des R. Meschullam, Sohn des R. Kalonymus''." Müller's chief contribution to the responsa literature is his "''Mafteaḥ''" to the responsa of the Geonim — a summary of the contents of the various publications comprising the answers of the Geonim to questions submitted to them (Berlin, 1891). One of his latest works was an edition of the "''Halakot Pesuḳot''." After his death his edition of

Saadia Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...

halakic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

writings appeared as vol. ix of the "''Œuvres Complètes de R. Saadia ben Iosef al-Fayyoûmî''." Müller's "''Jüdische Hochschulen''" (1885) and "''Jüdische Moral im Nachtalmudischen Zeitalter''" contain some of his sermons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Joel 1827 births 1895 deaths 19th-century German rabbis People from Uherský Ostroh Talmudists