Levi Herzfeld

Levi Herzfeld (1810-1884)

Levi Herzfeld (born December 28, 1810 in Ellrich ; died March 11, 1884 in Braunschweig ) was a German rabbi and from 1843 to 1884 the state rabbi of the Duchy of Braunschweig .

Life

The son of the businessman Ruben Herzfeld and his wife Friederike, b. Levi, attended the grammar school in Nordhausen from 1826 to 1830 . He began his Talmudic studies in Würzburg with Rabbi Abraham Bing and continued in Braunschweig with State Rabbi Samuel Levi Egers . He matriculated in Berlin on April 27, 1833. There he was a student of Rabbi Öttinger and the Jewish scholar Leopold Zunz . On April 8, 1836 he received his doctorate there.

Brunswick State Rabbi

After completing his studies, Herzfeld became rabbi adjunct in Braunschweig in 1836 under regional rabbi Egers, who ordained him. There he introduced the German language in the synagogue , as Hebrew was not understood by many parishioners. In 1841 he became head of the religious school there. In 1842 he was elected as the successor of Egers' rabbi of the Jewish township of Braunschweig, which was confirmed by the Braunschweig State Ministry. In 1843 Herzfeld became regional rabbi for the entire Duchy of Braunschweig against initial protests by the Wolfenbüttel Jewish Community. With the help of the State Ministry he was able to quickly consolidate his position. An important event of his rabbinate was the (first) general German rabbinical conference held in Braunschweig in 1844 and shaped by reform plans , which he helped initiate. Herzfeld himself was close to Reform Judaism , but cannot be assigned to either the “Reformed” or the “ Orthodox ” direction. The New Synagogue, inaugurated under Herzfeld in 1875 in the Alte Kniehauerstraße in Braunschweig, had an organ in the spirit of Reform Judaism .

His academic work includes works on Jewish synagogue music and poetry. Herzfeld's interest was also directed towards the economic history of the Jews. He is considered to be the first author of a Jewish trade history that appeared in 1879. Together with the Magdeburg rabbi Ludwig Philippson (1811-1889) and A. Meyer-Goldschmidt from Leipzig , he was director of the Institute for the Promotion of Israelite Literature until 1873 .

At the end of his life in 1884, Herzfeld expressed his resignation about the rising anti-Semitism :

"I break off because I see that in spite of everything we Jews are not in a position to take up the fight with the anti-Semites, but do better to wait patiently for the gradual awakening of justice and humanity in them."

Gutmann Rülf , who had stood by his side as an adjunct since 1882, succeeded him in the office of regional rabbi .

Honors

Duke Wilhelm awarded him the title of professor in 1879.

family

Herzfeld married Georgine Salomon (1822–1887) in Winsen an der Luhe in 1844 . The couple had eight children. Herzfeld died on March 11, 1884 in Braunschweig, his wife on August 8, 1887 in Hanover . Both graves of honor are located in the old Jewish cemetery on Hamburger Strasse in Braunschweig.

Works (selection)

• Chronologia Judicum et primorum regum Hebraeorum. Berlin 1838.
• The book of Kohelet translates a. explained. Eduard Leibrock, Braunschweig 1838.
• The German in the liturgy of the Braunschweig synagogue, introduced under the blessed regional rabbi SL Egers. Friedrich Vieweg and son, Braunschweig 1844. ( digitized version )
• Two sermons on the doctrine of the Messiah. Friedrich Vieweg and son, Braunschweig 1844.
• Proposals for a reform of the Jewish Marriage laws. Brunswick 1846.
• Three Treatises on Synagogue History: On Some Biblical Books. The origin of the square script. The Origin of the Bible Canon. Nordhausen 1846.
• History of the people of Israel from the destruction of the first temple to the establishment of the Maccabees Shim'on as high priest and prince. Brunswick 1847.
• Three treatises on the history of the synagogue. Nordhausen 1856.
• Sermon to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the city of Braunschweig. 1861.
• Revised agenda of customs and prayers in the event of death introduced in Braunschweig. 1866.
• Trade history of the Jews of antiquity. Brunswick 1879.

literature

• Reinhard Bein : Eternal House. Jewish cemeteries in the city and country of Braunschweig. Braunschweig 2004, ISBN 3-92-526824-3 .
• Horst-Rüdiger Jarck , Günter Scheel (Ed.): Braunschweigisches Biographisches Lexikon - 19th and 20th centuries . Hahnsche Buchhandlung, Hannover 1996, ISBN 3-7752-5838-8 , p. 269 .
• Entry HERZFELD, Levi, Prof. Dr. In: Michael Brocke and Julius Carlebach (editors), edited by Carsten Wilke : Biographisches Handbuch der Rabbis. Part 1: The rabbis of the emancipation period in the German, Bohemian and Greater Poland countries 1781–1871. K G Saur, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-598-24871-7 , p. 428 ff.
• George Y. Kohler (editor): Jewish Mesianism in the Age of Emancipation. Reinterpretations between Davidic royalty and eschatological socialism. Walter de Gruyter, 2014, ISBN 978-3-11-028429-4 , p. 147 ff.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reinhard Bein: Eternal House Jewish cemeteries in the city and country of Braunschweig. Braunschweig 2004, p. 175.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Peter Schulze: With shield of David and menorah. Pictures of Jewish graves in Braunschweig, Peine, Hornburg, Salzgitter and Schöningen. Exhibition 1997–2002. in: Series of publications regional trade union leaflets published by DGB-Region SüdOstNiedersachsen, Hannover 2003, p. 8.
3. ↑ Horst-Rüdiger Jarck, Gerhard Schildt (ed.): The Braunschweigische Landesgeschichte millennium review of a region. Braunschweig 2000, p. 847.