Solomon Zalman ben Judah Loeb ha-Kohen Hanau (later known by the acronym Raza"h or Zalman Hanau or Zalman Henna (1687–1746), was a German Jewish expert in

Hebrew grammar 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 preserved th ...

and critical textual critic of Jewish liturgy and prayer nussach.

Birthplace

Shlomo (Zalman) ben Yehuda Leib Katz was born in Hanau (also known as ''Henna''),

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, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and lived in part in

Frankfurt 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 it ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

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 ...

. At the age of 21 he composed his first

dikduk 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 preserved th ...

work, "Binyan Shlomo". He was fiercely criticized by

Jacob Emden Jacob Emden, also known as Ya'avetz (June 4, 1697 April 19, 1776), was a leading German rabbi and talmudist who championed Orthodox Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the Sabbatean movement. He was acclaimed in all circles for his ...

, though Emden's father,

Tzvi Ashkenazi Tzvi Hirsch ben Yaakov Ashkenazi ( he, צבי אשכנזי; 1656 – May 2, 1718), known as the Chacham Tzvi after his responsa by the same title, served for some time as rabbi of Amsterdam. He was a resolute opponent of the followers of the fal ...

, authored an approval letter to Hanau for his textual work. Recent study suggests that

Shneur Zalman of Liadi Shneur Zalman of Liadi ( he, שניאור זלמן מליאדי, September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812 O.S. / 18 Elul 5505 – 24 Tevet 5573) was an influential Lithuanian Jewish rabbi and the founder and first Rebbe of Chabad, a branch of ...

followed many of Solomon's variations when composing his

Chabad Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic grou ...

Nusach Nusach can refer to: * Nusach (Jewish custom) In Judaism, Nusach ( he, נוסח ''nusaħ'', modern pronunciation ''nusakh'' or ''núsakh''), plural nuschaot () or Modern Hebrew nusachim (), refers to the exact text of a prayer service; sometimes ...

of Jewish prayer (

Nusach Ari ''Nusach Ari'' means, in a general sense, any prayer rite following the usages of Rabbi Isaac Luria, the ''AriZal'', in the 16th century. History of the Siddur The Ari and his immediate disciples did not themselves publish any prayer book, thoug ...

Family

He had a son Simson b. Salomo who worked as a printer in Homburg vor der Höhe until 1730. He printed an edition of the Ma'assebuch in 1727.Jakob Meitlis: ''Das Ma'assebuch. Seine Entstehung und Quellengeschichte. Zugleich eine Einführung in die altjiddische Agada. Mit einem Geleitwort von Moses Gaster, PH. D., London'' Buchhandlung Rubin Mass, Berlin 1933. p. 43 (reprint Georg Olms Verlag, Hildesheim u. a. 1987, )

Hebrew works

Binyan Shlomo
(Frankfurt)
HateivahSha'arei Tefillah, (The gates of prayer)
(Isnitz)
Baith TfilahNikkud basics
(Amsterdam)
Exchange Torah
(Hamburg)

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanau, Solomon 1687 births 1746 deaths People from Hanau Grammarians of Hebrew Kohanim writers of Rabbinic literature 17th-century German Jews