Akiba Israel Wertheimer (1778–1835) was the first Chief Rabbi of Altona and

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

Life

Akiba (or Ekiva or Akiva) Wertheimer was born in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

in about 1778. His father was

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 ...

scholar Avigdor Wertheimer (died 1826). Akiba went to the

Talmudic The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

academy of Akiba Eger in

Mirosławiec Mirosławiec (german: Märkisch Friedland; csb, Frédlądk) is a town in Wałcz County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4,837 inhabitants (2007). The 12th Air Base of the Polish Air Force is located north of the town. Mirosławiec ...

, which was one of the most important in the region. He came with his parents to Altona, now a suburb of

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

but which was then an independent city under the administration of the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

monarchy, where in 1805 he was a

Melamed Melamed, ''Melammed'' ( he, מלמד, Teacher) in Biblical times denoted a religious teacher or instructor in general (e.g., in Psalm 119:99 and Proverbs 5:13), but which in the Talmudic period was applied especially to a teacher of children, and ...

(teacher of Torah and Talmud school). In 1806 he was appointed Rabbi in Moisling and

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

. Due to the expulsion of the

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

in Lübeck and poverty in the Moisling Jewish community, in 1816 he moved to Altona where he remained until his death. In 1819 he opposed the Hamburg-based reformers of Judaism and banned the use of the Jewish prayer book in the German language. In 1823 he was appointed the first Chief Rabbi of Altona and Schleswig-Holstein. For the Altona rabbinate, he was successor to Rabbi Mendel Hirsch Frankfurter,''Encyclopedia of Modern Jewish Culture'' Edited by Glenda Abramson, Routledge, 2005
/ref> the grandfather of

Samson Raphael Hirsch Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the '' Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', hi ...

. Akiba Wertheimer died in Altona in 1835, and was succeeded as Chief Rabbi by

Jacob Ettlinger Jacob Ettlinger (17 March 1798 – 7 December 1871) ( he, יעקב עטלינגר) was a German rabbi and author, and one of the leaders of Orthodox Judaism. He is sometimes referred to as the ''Aruch la-Ner'' (ערוך לנר), after his best- ...

Family

Wertheimer had four daughters and four sons: *Betty Wertheimer *Miriam Wertheimer *Hanna Wertheimer *Jakob Wertheimer (1799–??) ∞ Renette Levy *Abraham Hirsch Wertheimer *Meir (Meyer) Wertheimer who emigrated to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, England, where he changed his name to Martin Wertheimer and became a jeweller *Moses Wertheimer (1807–1887) – Torah scholar and father of German philosopher Constantin Brunner (born Aryeh Yehuda Wertheimer) ∞ Rachel (Rieke) Levy *Jette Wertheimer (1801–1890) ∞ Isaac Joseph Michael (born 1795)

Literature

*Abraham Suhl: ''Zu Constantin Brunners Biographie''. In: ''Der Constantin Brunner Gedanke''. (To ''Constantin Brunner's biography''. In ''The Constantin Brunner thought''.) Edited by Dr. R. Pinner u. Dr. A. Suhl, Year 1, Issue 3/4, August 1955 pp 21–33

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wertheimer, Akiba Israel 1778 births 1835 deaths Chief rabbis of Poland Danish rabbis German Orthodox rabbis