Moses Kann was a German

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 ...

; born at

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

; died there Dec. 1, 1762; son of Löb Kann. He was chief rabbi of

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

and head of 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 ...

ical school at Frankfurt, which had been founded and richly endowed by his father-in-law, Samson Wertheimer, of Vienna. For over half a century this school flourished under Kann's guidance, and maintained the high reputation of Frankfurt as a seat of Talmudic study. By his energy and activity in behalf of the Jews, Moses Kann's name became celebrated throughout German Jewry. He and his father-in-law furnished the means for the publication of a new edition of the Talmud (the Frankfurt-Amsterdam edition); but through the denunciations of a baptized Jew, Paul Christian, this edition and a number of prayer-books were confiscated. By the testimony of the

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 ...

court preacher Jablonski and the consistorial councillor Scharden of Halle, supported by the opinion of twenty-four Christian professors and preachers who, in 1728, had declared that "neither the Jewish prayer-book nor the Talmud contained anything derogatory to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

," Moses Kann proved before the

Elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

the bad character of the apostate. On August 1, 1753, the Imperial Court rescinded the order of confiscation of these books. Moses Kann's name is perpetuated in the memoir-book of the Frankfurt congregation; Meïr ben Eliakim Götz, in "Eben ha-Shoham," responsa, praises him as his benefactor, and Eleazar Kallir, in his preface to "Or Hadash," mentions him in terms of admiration.

Jacob Joshua Jacob Joshua Falk ( he, יעקב יהושע פלק) (also Yaakov Yehoshua ben Tzvi Hirsch, or Yaakov Yehoshua Falk — see Note on the name "Joshua Falk") 1680 – January 16, 1756) was a Polish and German rabbi and Talmudist, known as the Pnei ...

was called from Metz to the rabbinate of Frankfurt (1741) chiefly through Kann's influence. The latter's sons Moses Kann and Bär Kann administered the charitable foundations which he had established during his life, in addition to his bequest of $10,000, from the interest of which students of the Torah were to be supported. In 1763 the sons turned over this fund in trust to the congregation, the semiannual interest, $275, to be distributed among beneficiaries proposed by the brothers Kann and approved by the board of the congregation.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kann, Moses Year of birth missing 1762 deaths 18th-century German rabbis Rabbis from Frankfurt