Azriel Hildesheimer (also Esriel and Israel, yi, עזריאל הילדעסהיימער; 11 May 1820 – 12 July 1899) 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 o ...

and leader 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 o ...

. He is regarded as a pioneering moderniser of Orthodox Judaism in Germany and as a founder of

Modern Orthodox Judaism Modern Orthodox Judaism (also Modern Orthodox or Modern Orthodoxy) is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world. Modern Orthodoxy draws on sever ...

Biography

Hildesheimer was born in

Halberstadt Halberstadt ( Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt, the capital of Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town center that was greatly destroyed by Allied bomb ...

Province of Saxony The Province of Saxony (german: link=no, Provinz Sachsen), also known as Prussian Saxony () was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and later the Free State of Prussia from 1816 until 1944. Its capital was Magdeburg. It was formed by the merg ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

, the son of Rabbi Löb Glee Hildesheimer, a native of

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the ...

Electorate of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

, a city near

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

. He attended the ''Hasharat Zvi'' school in Halberstadt, and, from age seventeen, the

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

of Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger in Altona; '' Chacham'' Isaac Bernays was one of his teachers and his model as a

preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

. While studying in yeshiva Hildesheimer also studied classical languages. In 1840 he returned to Halberstadt, took his

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

at the public Königliches Dom- Gymnasium, and entered the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

; he became a disciple of the dominant

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

ian school. He studied

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 immigrant ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

, and continued his study in

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 ce ...

. In 1842 he went to

Halle upon Saale Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the German state of Saxony-An ...

where he earned his doctorate from the

University of Halle-Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university ...

in 1844 under

Wilhelm Gesenius Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Gesenius (3 February 178623 October 1842) was a German orientalist, lexicographer, Christian Hebraist, Lutheran theologian, Biblical scholar and critic. Biography Gesenius was born at Nordhausen. In 1803 he became ...

and

Emil Rödiger Emil Rödiger (13 October 1801, in Sangerhausen – 15 June 1874) was a German orientalist. He studied philosophy and theology at the University of Halle, where in 1830, he became an associate professor of Oriental languages, followed by a full p ...

(', English: ''On the Right Kind of Bible Interpretation''). He then returned to Halberstadt, where he married Henrietta Hirsch, whose dowry made them financially independent. In 1851 he became

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 o ...

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, Austro-Bavarian: ''Eisnstod'') is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a recorded population on 29 April 2021 of 15,074. In the Habsburg Empire's Kingdom ...

(Kis Marton),

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

(now located in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

); the principal city of the Siebengemeinden or ''Sheva kehillot''. His first notable act there was to found a

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wo ...

, where correct

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 **Ge ...

was used, and modern principles of

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

were adopted in teaching

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

, as well as Jewish, subjects. Hildesheimer initially introduced limited secular studies in the elementary school; the older students received a secular education as well, but with a focus on

and other subjects that would enhance their understanding of

gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah ...

. Next, Hildesheimer established a

. The Yeshiva was unusual in that it was the only Orthodox institution where students were required to have a significant secular education before they were admitted. Also, the curriculum devoted time to studying

Tanach The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Hebrew language 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 preserve ...

. Despite this approach, within a few years the Yeshiva attracted a large number of pupils. After beginning with six students in 1851, the seminary had 128 students in 1868, including one from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. His son, Hirsch Hildesheimer, was a professor there. In 1869 the Orthodox minority 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 constitu ...

was granted government permission to found a separate Orthodox synagogal congregation, the Israelitische Synagogen-Gemeinde Adass Jisroel zu BerlinAdass Jisroel (= adas yissro'el) renders the Yiddish articulation of the Hebrew name in Latin letters according to their German pronunciation. (Israelite Synagogal Congregation of Adass Yisroel �דת ישראלin Berlin; extant from 1869 to 1939, and again since 1989), then comprising about 200 families. They were dissatisfied with Rabbi Joseph Aub, appointed in 1867 by the ''Jüdische Gemeinde zu Berlin'' (till 1869 the only Jewish congregation in Berlin). Adass Jisroel chose Hildesheimer to represent them as an "Orthodox rabbi of standing". Here, he similarly established a religious school and a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

(''Rabbinerseminar für das orthodoxe Judenthum in Berlin'' 1873–1880, then the name was shortened to ''Rabbiner-Seminar zu Berlin'', known as the

Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary (officially in german: Rabbinerseminar für das orthodoxe Judenthum in Berlin until 1880, thereafter ''Rabbiner-Seminar zu Berlin''; in , ''Bet ha-midrash le-Rabanim be-Berlin'') was founded in Berlin on 22 Octo ...

), which immediately attracted thirty former pupils. Hildesheimer was thus the real intellectual founder and leader of the ''Adass Jisroel'' congregation. Aided by Mayer Lehmann, the editor of ''Israelit'' in

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 joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

(Mayence), Hildesheimer "exerted his whole energy" in the fight against

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 1861 he took his stand against

Abraham Geiger Abraham Geiger (Hebrew: ''ʼAvrāhām Gayger''; 24 May 181023 October 1874) was a German rabbi and scholar, considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Emphasizing Judaism's constant development along history and universalist traits, Gei ...

by criticising Geiger, ''Die Geiger'sche Broschüre Notwendigkeit und Maass einer Reform des jüdischen Gottesdienstes'' (under the name variant Israel Hildesheimer, Mayence: Verlag der Le Roux'schen Hofbuchhandlung, 1861). (In fact, as early as 1847—as the representative of the communities in the

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebu ...

district—he had energetically opposed the Reform attempts of Ludwig Philippson.) Hildesheimer was "simple in his habits and fearless"; he had an unusual capacity for work; and his great Talmudic learning "was joined to practical administrative ability". He was financially independent, and never accepted remuneration for his rabbinical activity. He was frequently engaged in philanthropic activities connected with his own congregation, but additionally, "no labor was too great and no journey too long for him" in the service of the Jews of Germany, Austria, Russia, and even

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

and

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, so that he came to be known as the "international

schnorrer ''Schnorrer'' ( שנאָרער; also spelled ''shnorrer'') is a Yiddish term meaning "beggar" or "sponger". English language usage The English language usage of the word denotes a sly chiseler who will get money out of his acquaintances any ...

". Hildesheimer also took a special interest in the welfare of the Jews of Palestine. In 1860, when the

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

society of Palestine provided seventy free dwellings for homeless Jews, Hildesheimer himself built houses in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

for the free use of Jewish pilgrims and for the poor. Hildesheimer died in

on 12 July 1899. His grave is preserved in the Cemetery of the Synagogal Congregation of Adass Jisroel on Wittlicher Straße, Berlin-Weißensee. In

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

the

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 ...

Azri'el is named after him, as well as streets in Jerusalem and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

Writings

Hildesheimer contributed articles to various journals and newspapers: the ''Jüdische Presse'', ''Ha-Lebanon'', ''He-Chalutz'' and ''Archives Israélites''. During his lifetime he wrote his name in his books usually as Israel Hildesheimer. His son, Hirsch was editor of the ''Jüdische Presse''. Other writings include: *"Materialien zur Beurtheilung der Septuaginta", in: ''Literaturblatt des Orients'', 1848, Nos. 30 et seq.; *''Die Epitaphien der Grabsteine auf dem Hiesigen f HalberstadtJüdischen Friedhofe'', 1846; *''Verwaltung der Jüdischen Gemeinde Halberstadt'', Halberstadt: Dölle, 1849. *''Offener Brief an den Redacteur der Monatsschrift "Ben-Chananja", Leopold Löv'', Vienna, 1858; *''ספר מנחה טהורה: כולל דינים מהלכות מליחה נדה חלה והדלקה / Minchah Tehorah'', Solomon ben Moses Bonhard, Hildesheimer (ed.) Pressburg: 1860; *''Halachoth gedoloth: nach dem Texte der Handschrift der Vaticana /הלכות גדולות : על פי כתב יד רומי'', with Simeon Ḳayara, Berlin: Itzkowski, 1888. *''Hukkat HaPesach'' On the celebration of his seventieth birthday, in 1890, his friends and pupils published a literary '' Jubelschrift zum siebzigsten Geburtstag des Dr. Israel Hildesheimer, Rabbiner und Rector des Rabbiner-Seminars zu Berlin: Gewidmet von Freunden und Schülern / he, link=no, שי למורה: מאמרי תורה ודעת מחוברים לאות תודה ואהבה מובלים להרב עזריאל הילדעסהיימער... ביום מלאת לו שבעים שנה לימי חייו, יום כ״ז אייר שנת תר״ן'' (Berlin: H. Engel, 1890).

Modernisation within Orthodoxy

Hildesheimer is regarded as a pioneering "Moderniser" of

in Germany. He was insistent that for Orthodox Jews living in the

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, there was no possibility to segregate oneself behind ghetto walls. On the contrary, he felt that modern Jewish education must teach Jews how best to confront and deal with modernity in all of its aspect

His firm conviction that traditional Judaism need have no fear of the light of

European culture The culture of Europe is rooted in its art, architecture, film, different types of music, economics, literature, and philosophy. European culture is largely rooted in what is often referred to as its "common cultural heritage". Definit ...

determined his attitude and his activity in Hungary and Germany from the start, and gave him a definite aim. In an address delivered at his rabbinical seminary and defining his position he said: He thus undertook a variety of actions which render him a "modern" activist and institution-builder. The most important of these, as discussed above, are: # Jewish education for males and females which included both religious and secular studies. # The

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

which incorporated not only secular studies but academic scholarship. # Maintaining traditional Jewish attachments to the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...

and working with the non-Orthodox on its behalf. # Working with communal leaders, even non-Orthodox ones, on issues that affected the community, such as anti-Semitism and ritual slaughtering.

Orthodox opposition

The introduction into the Eisenstadt School of modern methods of education and of secular learning was resented by the Orthodox. Hildesheimer's "liberal tendencies and sympathy with modern culture" soon changed this resentment "to positive antipathy". Eventually his Yeshiva was denounced before the representatives of the government at Oedenburg, the result being that the Hungarian government ordered the school closed within twenty-four hours and the pupils removed from the city. Soon afterward (in 1858), however, Hildesheimer succeeded in obtaining state recognition for the Yeshiva. Interestingly, the Yeshiva also had opponents on the left: Reform saw it as a threat because its graduates would be equipped to defend Orthodoxy against Reform's inroads. In 1860, the “zealot”

Akiva Yosef Schlesinger Akiva Yosef Schlesinger (1838-1922) (Hebrew: עקיבא יוסף שלזינגר) was a noted Orthodox Jewish rabbi who served as the rabbinical leader of what was then Pressburg, Hungary but what is now Bratislava, Slovakia. Early years Schlesinger ...

placed Hildesheimer under a ban as "not truly a sincere Jew" ("''emessdiger Jüd''"). Hildesheimer, however, seems to have cared little for the ban. At the Hungarian Jewish Congress of 14 December 1868, Hildesheimer at first endeavored to associate himself with the existing Orthodox party. When the impossibility of this union became evident, he formed a separate group, with thirty-five followers, which has been described as "Cultured Orthodox". In the Hungarian Jewish Congress held at Budapest in 1869 he defined this party as representing a "faithful adherence to traditional teachings combined with an effective effort to keep in touch with the spirit of progress".

References

External links

* *
Hildesheimer, Israel (Azriel)
jewishencyclopedia.com

hamaayan

jewishhistory.org.il
Rabbi Esriel Hildesheimer's Program of Torah u-Madda
Marc B. Shapiro
Dilemmas of modern orthodoxy: sociological and philosophical
Prof. Chaim I. Waxman
Guide to the Esriel Hildesheimer Collection
at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York
''Die Jüdische Presse'', (B219)
a digitized periodical founded by Hildesheimer, at the Leo Baeck Institute, New York * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hildesheimer, Esriel 1820 births 1899 deaths People from Halberstadt Modern Orthodox rabbis German Orthodox rabbis People from the Province of Saxony