Leopold Stein (; 3 November 1810 – 2 December 1882) was a German rabbi, theologian, and writer. He was a prominent leader of the

Reform movement A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...

Biography

Leopold Stein was born in

Burgpreppach Burgpreppach is a municipality in the district of Haßberge in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, ...

, Bavaria, on 3 November 1810. At the age of five he came to Adelsdorf, where his father was appointed rabbi. After finishing his earlier education at Erlangen and

Bayreuth Bayreuth (, ; bar, Bareid) is a town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtelgebirge Mountains. The town's roots date back to 1194. In the 21st century, it is the capital of U ...

, he began attending the University of Würzburg in 1830. He received his rabbinic ordination from the Talmudic College in Fürth, and in 1833 he delivered his first sermon in Frankfurt, in which he advocated for the introduction of reforms. Two years later, Stein became rabbi of Burg- and Altenkunstadt in Franconia. He was rabbi at Frankfurt from 1844 to 1872, when he withdrew from public life. He presided over the rabbinical convention in Frankfurt in 1845.

Work

Stein translated

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

and medieval poetry into German and added German texts to traditional melodies of the Hebrew liturgy, which were often included in public services. He also published a number of secular poems and theatrical works. With S. Süsskind, Stein was editor of ''Der Israelitische Volkslehrer'' ('The Israelite Folk Teacher', 1860–69), and edited the year-book ''Achawa'', published by the teacher's association. He was a friend of Friedrich Rückert, to whose year-book he contributed several essays. One of Stein's most popular writings was ''Die Schrift des Lebens'' ('The Scripture of Life'), an exposition of the dogmatics and ethics of Judaism.

Publications

* Poems. * * * * * * A drama in five acts. * * * A drama in five acts (performed in Mannheim). * A drama in four acts. * A didactic poem. * * On

Jewish religious law ''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 com ...

. * * ''Tag des Herrs''. Song composed for the Reform ritual to be sung to the music of '' Kol Nidre'' on the eve of the Yom Kippur.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Leopold 1810 births 1882 deaths 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German poets 19th-century German rabbis 19th-century German theologians 19th-century German translators German Jewish theologians German male dramatists and playwrights German male poets German Reform rabbis Hebrew–German translators Jewish dramatists and playwrights Jewish poets Jewish religious writers Jewish translators University of Würzburg alumni