Rabbi Solomon Hirschell (12 February 1762,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

– 31 October 1842, London) was the Chief Rabbi of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, 1802–42. He is best remembered for his unsuccessful attempt to stop the spread of

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous sear ...

in Britain by excommunicating its leaders. His name is also spelt Hirschel and Herschell. His father was a

Polish Jew The history of the Jews in Poland dates back at least 1,000 years. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Ashkenazi Jewish community in the world. Poland was a principal center of Jewish culture, because of the lon ...

from Galicia,

Hirschel Levin Rabbi Hirschel Ben Arye Löb Levin (also known as Hart Lyon and Hirshel Löbel; 1721 – 26 August 1800) was Chief Rabbi of Great Britain and of Berlin, and Rabbi of Halberstadt and Mannheim, known as a scholarly Talmudist. Life He was born in ...

, Chief Rabbi of London and Berlin and a friend of

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or ' ...

. His older brother was the Talmudist Saul Berlin. He died on 31 October 1842 (27th of Cheshvan 5603), and was buried in the Brady Street Cemetery near Whitechapel in London's East End.

References

"Solomon Hirschel – High Priest of the Jews"
(Susser archive) * * ttp://www.oztorah.com/2009/02/the-british-chief-rabbinate/ The British Chief Rabbinate ;Specific 1762 births 1842 deaths English people of Polish-Jewish descent Chief rabbis of the United Kingdom English Orthodox rabbis 19th-century English rabbis Rabbis from London Date of birth unknown English people of German-Jewish descent Burials at Brady Street Cemetery 18th-century English rabbis {{UK-rabbi-stub