David Oppenheimer (rabbi)
David ben Abraham Oppenheimer ( June 1664 in Worms - September 12, 1736 in Prague ) was Chief Rabbi of Prague, Regional Rabbi of Moravia and Bohemia and a Jewish scribe.
Life
David Oppenheimer was born in Worms to a wealthy man. In his youth he was a student of Rabbi Gerson Ulif in Metz , whose literary estate he published. He had been a rabbi since 1686 and was elected Rabbi of Moravia in 1690 at the age of 26. In 1702 he was appointed Chief Rabbi of Prague. With an imperial decree in 1718 he was raised to the rank of rabbi of Moravia and Bohemia.
He was well read and wrote various works, interpretations of the Bible, commentaries on the Talmud, and legal opinions. He was of particular importance as a bibliophile and patron of Jewish literature . He gave almost all of the numerous works of the 18th century in this field recommended printing permits and supported their authors with the printing costs.
With his great wealth he built up a comprehensive library, which soon grew into the largest collection of ancient Hebrew manuscripts and prints in Bohemia . For this purpose he used the business connections maintained by the large Oppenheim office building in Vienna , sent out many buyers, paid the highest prices for books he did not yet own and is even supposed to be with the owners who did not want to sell their books to him spell threatened.
Since he feared the censorship in Austria, which was looking for anything non-Christian, he had the library brought to Hanover, where his father-in-law, the court factor Cohen, lived . After Oppenheimer's death, they wanted to sell the 7,000 books and 1,000 manuscripts for a profit, but the purchase price of 60,000 thalers put off all merchants, so they remained packed in boxes until 1826. It was not until 1829 that they were sold to the Oxford library for 9,000 thalers , where they are still located today as part of the Bodleiana .
His grave is in the old Jewish cemetery in Prague / Josefstadt between the Klaus and the Old New Synagogues . His tombstone was restored in 1978.
swell
- ↑ Jewish Museum in the Czech Republic (Engl.) ( Memento of the original October 24, 2014 Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link is automatically inserted and not yet tested. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
literature
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Oppenheim (also Oppenheimer), David . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 21st part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1870, p. 75 f. ( Digitized version ).
- Adolf Brüll : Oppenheimer, David . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1887, p. 399 f.
- Martha Keil : Oppenheimer, David. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-428-00200-8 , p. 570 f. ( Digitized version ).
Web links
- Literature by and about David Oppenheimer in the Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog
- On the family history of the Oppenheimers
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Oppenheimer, David |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Oppenheimer, David b. Abraham (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chief Rabbi of Prague, Regional Rabbi of Moravia and Bohemia and a Jewish scribe |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 1664 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Worms |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 12, 1736 |
| Place of death | Prague |