David Friesenhausen
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David ben Meir Cohen Friesenhausen (1756–1828) was a German-Hungarian astronomer, ''
maskil The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Eur ...
'', mathematician, and rabbi. Friesenhausen was one of the first proponents of ''
Torah im Derech Eretz ''Torah im Derech Eretz'' ( he, תורה עם דרך ארץ – Torah with "the way of the land"Rabbi Y. Goldson, Aish HaTorah"The Way of the World", Ethics of the Fathers, 3:21/ref>) is a phrase common in Rabbinic literature referring to variou ...
'', a philosophy 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 on M ...
that formalizes a relationship between traditionally observant Judaism and the modern world. He proposed a dual curriculum of Jewish and secular studies for all rabbinic candidates, a radically innovative idea at that time. Friesenhausen wrote ''Mosedot Tebel'' and ''Kelil Heshbon''. In the former, Friesenhausen writes in support of the
Copernican heliocentrism Copernican heliocentrism is the astronomical model developed by Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543. This model positioned the Sun at the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in circular pa ...
, one of the first Jews to do so.


Early life

In 1756, David Friesenhausen was born in Friesenhausen, a small community in southern Germany, northeast of Frankfurt. In 1783, Friesenhausen married, but was divorced four years later. For the first 30 years of his life, Friesenhausen dedicated himself exclusively
Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the s ...
study. His teachers included Joseph Steinhardt at Fürth and
Moses Sofer Moses Schreiber (1762–1839), known to his own community and Jewish posterity in the Hebrew translation as Moshe Sofer, also known by his main work ''Chatam Sofer'', ''Chasam Sofer'', or ''Hatam Sofer'' ( trans. ''Seal of the Scribe'', and acron ...
of Pressburg. The latter attested that Friesenhausen was one of the outstanding students in his yeshiva. In 1786, Friesenhausen began immersing himself in various secular subjects, including math, astronomy, and philosophy.


Berlin

In 1788, Friesenhausen moved to Berlin where he lived for the next eight years and was supported by Benjamin Halberstat. Berlin at that time was the center of the ''
haskala The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...
'' movement (Jewish Enlightenment). Despite his involvement in secular subjects, Friesenhausen continued to study Torah intensively. In 1796, Friesenhausen published his first book, ''Kelil Heshbon'' a Hebrew language manual on algebra and trigonometry. Thereafter, Friesenhausen left Berlin to travel throughout Europe for the dual purpose of selling his newly published book and to attain advance subscriptions for planned book, ''Mosodot Tevel''.


Huncovce

Around 1800, Friesenhausen moved to Huncovce (then Hungary, now Slovakia) in the Carpathian Mountains. He was appointed '' dayyan'' (judge) and also worked as a merchant. According to Meir Gilon in ''R. David Friesenhausen: Between the Poles of Haskalah and Hasidut'', Friesenhausen moved from Berlin to its polar opposite Huncovce because he grew disenchanted with the haskala movement in Berlin who in general rejected the divine authorship of the Torah and belief in God. Friesenhausen married again in Huncovce. In 1806, having become unhappy with the isolation of Huncovce, Friesenhausen moved to Pest. In Pest, Friesenhausen began to advocate for government oversighted rabbinical seminaries in Hungary, Galicia, and the Czech lands. Under Friesenhausen's proposal only graduates of these seminaries would be appointed to the rabbinate. The seminaries would mandate a curriculum of primarily Talmud, but also of Bible, humanities, and sciences, and gym. Friesenhausen was the first to make such a proposal and submitted his plan to the
Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary Archduke Joseph Anton Johann of Austria (, , 9 March 1776 – 13 January 1847) was the 103rd and penultimate palatine of Hungary who served for more than 50 years from 1796 to 1847, after he had been appointed governor in 1795. The latter half ...
. On 26 July 1806 Friesenhausen met with Archduke Joseph, who promised to bring the matter to his brother
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...
. The Hungarian rabbinate were unhappy with Friesenhausen's unilateral activities. They accused of him being a dangerous reformer and of undermining their position. Friesenhausen was unable to attain a rabbinic position in Pest so he moved back to Huncovce. In 1813, after some deliberation, the government declined the proposal. The stated reasons were that: (1) The Jews did not have enough funds for the schools especially since the
tolerance tax Tolerance tax or toleration tax (; german: Toleranzgebührer; ) was a tax that was levied against Jews of the Kingdom of Hungary, then part of the Austrian Empire, between 1747 and 1797.JewishGen. Hungary: Assorted Census Records, 1781-1850 atab ...
was increased; (2) the policy of the government was to assimilate the Jews; and (3) Jews were able to attend Christian schools.


Sátoraljaújhely

Friesenhausen had difficulties making a reasonable income in Huncovce. In 1808, Friesenhausen moved to
Sátoraljaújhely Sátoraljaújhely (; archaic german: Neustadt am Zeltberg ; sk, Nové Mesto pod Šiatrom; yi, איהעל, Ihel, or ) is a town located in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county in northern Hungary along the Slovak border. It is east from the county ...
(Ujhely), Hungary, where he served as ''dayyan'' in the rabbinic court of
Moses Teitelbaum Moshe (Moses) Teitelbaum (Yiddish: משה טײטלבױם; November 1, 1914 – April 24, 2006) was a Hasidic rebbe and the world leader of the Satmar Hasidim. Early life Moshe Teitelbaum was born on November 17, 1914, in Újfehértó, Hun ...
. Friesenhausen was unhappy in Sátoraljaújhely, mainly due to his dislike of Moses Teitelbaum. Friesenhausen wrote ''Mosedot Tebel'', a treatise on astronomy, in which he explains the
Copernican heliocentrism Copernican heliocentrism is the astronomical model developed by Nicolaus Copernicus and published in 1543. This model positioned the Sun at the center of the Universe, motionless, with Earth and the other planets orbiting around it in circular pa ...
. ''Mosedot Tebel'' also contains a proof for the eleventh axiom of
Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Wikt:Εὐκλείδης, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the ''Euclid's Elements, Elements'' trea ...
, and a 74-page ethical Will & Testament to his children. In 1816, Friesenhausen left Sátoraljaújhely in order to secure financing for the publication of his book, eventually getting it published in Vienna in 1820.


Later life

After publishing ''Mosedot Tebel'', Friesenhausen retired and spent his remaining years in
Alba Iulia Alba Iulia (; german: Karlsburg or ''Carlsburg'', formerly ''Weißenburg''; hu, Gyulafehérvár; la, Apulum) is a city that serves as the seat of Alba County in the west-central part of Romania. Located on the Mureș River in the historical ...
with his son Meir, a physician. David died on 23 March 1828.


Further reading

*
Levi Cooper Levi Cooper (also known as The Maggid of Melbourne) is an Orthodox Jewish teacher, author, and community leader who lives in Tzur Hadassah, Israel. He is a faculty member of the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where he teache ...
, 'The last will and testament of Rabbi David Friesenhausen,' ''Jewish Educational Leadership'' 8,3 (2010), 55-62.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Friesenhausen, David 1756 births 1828 deaths 19th-century German astronomers 18th-century German mathematicians 19th-century German mathematicians 18th-century German writers 18th-century German male writers 19th-century German non-fiction writers 18th-century Hungarian male writers 19th-century Hungarian male writers 19th-century Hungarian mathematicians Copernican Revolution 18th-century German astronomers German Orthodox rabbis 19th-century Hungarian astronomers Hungarian non-fiction writers Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Writers from Berlin 19th-century German male writers German male non-fiction writers People of the Haskalah 18th-century Hungarian astronomers