Salomon shaped engraver

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Salomon shaped engraver

Salomon Formstecher (born July 26, 1808 in Offenbach am Main ; died April 24, 1889 there ) was a German rabbi , poet and religious philosopher . He is considered to be one of the intellectual fathers of Reform Judaism in 19th century Germany.

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Salomon Formstecher was born as the third son of the Jewish couple Moses and Schönchen Formstecher, née Kahn. The couple from Gehaus near Vacha / Rhön lived in Offenbach since 1790. The father was an artisan and specialized in the manufacture of printing blocks as a form cutter. Father Formstecher began to teach his son Salomon in Hebrew and the Talmud at the age of seven , later these lessons were taken over by a rabbi. At the same time Salomon Formstecher attended a Latin school in his hometown. Influenced by the work of his father, Salomon Formstecher wanted to learn a trade first. However, there was no master craftsman who wanted to train a Jew. Moses Formstecher therefore decided that his son should study teaching. Salomon Formstecher studied in the years to science, theology , philology and philosophy and a doctorate in 1831 at the University of Giessen Dr. phil. After completing his doctorate, he returned to his hometown and preached in the Offenbach synagogue . In 1835 Formstecher became a member of the Association of Jewish Scholars ( Abraham Geiger ).

In 1842 Salomon Formstecher succeeded the rabbi who died in the same year. During that decade he took a leading role in the reforming rabbinical conferences. The religious controversy and standpoints of the reform process are reflected in his novel Buchenstein and Cohnberg . Formstecher was involved in the revolution of 1848 and was a member of the Masonic lodge "Zum Frankfurter Adler". He also helped found the Offenbach Natural History Association. Formstecher was also musically gifted and had an interest in craft and technology throughout his life. He invented a string piano, which he patented in 1858. On the occasion of his 50th anniversary as a rabbi and religion teacher and because of his outstanding achievements for the Jewish reform movement, the city of Offenbach awarded him honorary citizenship on October 1, 1882 as the first Jewish citizen. In the same year, Formstecher was awarded the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Order of Philip the Magnanimous by the Hessian Grand Duke Ludwig IV for his services .

Street sign of the Salomon-Formstecher-Weg

Rabbi Formstecher died in his hometown in 1889 and was buried there in the old cemetery . Since October 1, 2002, a path in Büsing Park in Offenbach has been named after him.

Influence on the Jewish reform movement in Germany

Formstecher's work was recognized by the religious scholar Schalom Ben-Chorin as groundbreaking for the Jewish reform movement of the 19th century. The rabbi Formstecher played a key role in modernizing the spiritual foundations of Judaism in Germany. So he pleaded for an orientation of the services according to the Protestant model and German-language liturgy . During his decades as a rabbi, he modernized Jewish community life in Offenbach and the surrounding area. In 1841 he published the reform movement's first philosophical work, The Religion of Spirit . This book brought Formstecher international recognition and established his reputation as the “first modern historian of Judaism”.

Works (selection)

  • Twelve sermons delivered in the Isr. House of God in Offenbach. Wuerzburg 1833.
  • Israel's lament and consolation. Two sermons. Offenbach 1835.
  • Israelite devotional booklet for expanding and developing the first religious feelings and concepts. Offenbach 1836.
  • Religion of the Spirit: A scientific representation of Judaism according to its character, development and occupations in mankind. Hermann, Frankfurt am Main 1841.
  • Mosaic religion. Giessen 1860.
  • Moses Mendelssohn, a philosopher in the field of Judaism. In: Memorial sheets to Moses Mendelssohn. Leipzig 1863, pp. 5–21.
  • Buchenstein and Cohnberg: A family painting from the present. Frankfurt am Main 1863.

literature

  • Adolf Brüll :  Formstecher, Salomon . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 48, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1904, p. 652.
  • Bettina Kratz-Ritter: Salomon Formstecher - A German reform rabbi. Georg Olms Verlag AG, Hildesheim 1991, ISBN 3-487-09488-6 .
  • Salomon shaped engraver. In: Gabriele von Glasenapp, Hans Otto Horch : Ghettoliteratur. A documentation on the German-Jewish literary history of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Max Niemeyer, Tübingen 2005, pp. 856-858.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Honor for Regina Jonas and Salomon Formstecher: naming the way in the Offenbach city center. On: judentum.net. August 12, 2002, accessed October 17, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Formstecher, Salomon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Formstecher, Solomon; Formstecher, Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German reform rabbi
DATE OF BIRTH July 26, 1808
PLACE OF BIRTH Offenbach am Main
DATE OF DEATH April 24, 1889
Place of death Offenbach am Main