Dow (Dov, Dob) Ber (Beer, Berisz, Berush) Meisels (1798 – 17 March 1870) was a
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...
of
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
(Cracow) from 1832 and later, Chief Rabbi of
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
(from 1856). He was active in the Polish nationalist movement, and was a politician in the Austrian partition of Poland and (later) in the
Russian partition
The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...
. A vocal supporter of Polish-Jewish cooperation, he supported the cause of Polish independence, for which he was persecuted by the Russian government.
Biography
Dow Ber Meisels was the son of Isaac from the
Silesia
Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
n town of
Szczekociny
Szczekociny () () is a town on the Pilica (river), Pilica river, in Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland, with 3,612 inhabitants (2019).
Even though Szczekociny administratively belongs to the Silesian Voivodeship, it is part of the historic r ...
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
's Jewish community; he also lived as a youth in
Kamianets-Podilskyi
Kamianets-Podilskyi (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...
, where his father was a
rabbi
A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
.Jewish Encyclopedia After marrying the daughter of the wealthy Solomon Bornstein of
Wieliczka
Wieliczka (German: ''Groß Salze'', Latin: ''Magnum Sal'') is a historic town in southern Poland, situated within the Kraków metropolitan area in Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The town was initially founded in 1290 by Premislaus II of P ...
, he settled as a banker and rabbi in Kraków. He supported the cause of Polish independence, providing weapons for the insurgents in the
November Uprising
The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution,
was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...
; some sources even describe him as a Polish patriot or nationalist. In 1832 he would become Kraków's Chief Rabbi, though he was not recognized by the entire community, a considerable part of which adhered to his opponent,
Saul Landau
Saul Landau (January 15, 1936 – September 9, 2013) was an American journalist, filmmaker and commentator. He was also a professor emeritus at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, where he taught history and digital media.
Educa ...
. He occupied the Kraków rabbinate for nearly a quarter of a century.
Meisels always took a conspicuous part in the civic life of his place of residence; and in the stormy times of 1846 (see
Kraków Uprising
The Kraków Uprising ( Polish: ''powstanie krakowskie'', ''rewolucja krakowska''; German: ''Krakauer Aufstand''; Russian: ''краковское восстание'') of 1846 was an attempt, led by Polish insurgents such as Jan Tyssowski and ...
) he was chosen one of the twelve senators of the Kraków
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
. In 1848 he was elected, with the aid of
Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
votes, to represent the city in the provisional Austrian Reichsrath (Austrian parliament), meeting at Kremsier,
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. He took his seat among the radicals, and when the president expressed his surprise at seeing a rabbi seated on the "left," Meisels replied, "''Juden haben keine Rechte''" ("Jews have no right").
In 1856 Meisels became rabbi of Warsaw (in the Russian-ruled sector of Poland), where he soon won the respect and confidence of the entire population. In 1861, during the riots and excesses that preceded the January 1863 Uprising, he did all in his power to induce the Jews to sympathize with the Polish cause. He accompanied the
Archbishop of Warsaw
The following is a list of the bishops and archbishops of Warsaw. On 30 June 1818, the see was elevated to the rank of an archdiocese.
Also included are the auxiliary bishops.
Bishops of Warsaw:
* Józef Miaskowski, 1798–1804
* Ignacy Raczyń ...
at the funeral of victims of the first disturbances and marched with Father Wyszyński at the head of a delegation to city hall. Later he was appointed by the Russian vice-regent a member of Warsaw's provisional municipal council; but he remained loyal to the Polish patriotic cause, which likely protected Warsaw's Jewish population by improving their relations with the Polish community.
For his support of Polish demonstrators, in 1861 he was arrested by the Russians and expelled from the city. Meisels was invited to settle in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
; but in 1862 he was permitted to return to Warsaw, where he remained until his death. Meisels actively aided the Polish January 1863 Uprising, supporting it in his speeches and organizing financial aid for the insurgents. For this he was again expelled by the Russian authorities, this time for several years. After his return, he would be under constant supervision by the Russians.
He died in Warsaw on 17 March 1870. After his funeral, which turned into a large Polish-Jewish anti-Russian demonstration, the Russian government forbade obituaries of him to be printed.1798 - 1870 DOV BERESH MEISELS (Poland) jewishhistory.org
Meisels was the author of ''