Isaac Breuer (; 1883–1946) 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 ...

in the German Neo-Orthodoxy movement of his maternal grandfather

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 ...

, and was the first president of Poalei Agudat Yisrael.

Biography

Isaac Breuer was born in Pápa,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

to Salomon Breuer, and lived most of his years in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. His brother was Rabbi Joseph Breuer. He attended Hirsch's ''Realschule'' school, and received rabbinical ordination at age 20 from his father's yeshivah. He studied law, jurisprudence, and philosophy at Marburg University, and until 1936 practiced law in

. In 1936 Breuer immigrated to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, where he led Poalei Agudat Yisrael and represented it before the Peel and Anglo American Commissions. He married Jenny Eisenmann, a granddaughter of Eliezer Liepman Philip Prins. His five children were Jacob (Bub), a lawyer who played a role in the

Eichmann trial The Eichmann trial was the 1961 trial of major Holocaust perpetrator Adolf Eichmann who was Operation Eichmann, captured in Argentina by Israeli agents and brought to Israel to stand trial. Eichmann was a senior Nazi party member and served at t ...

(1915–2008), Mordechai (1918–2007), Ursula (1919–2006, married Hermann Merkin), Tzipora (Tzip) Breuer Schneller Meir (1926–2020) and Simeon Breuer (1922–1943). His son-in-law Hermann Merkin helped to establish the Isaac Breuer College of Hebraic Studies ( IBC program) at

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

in his memory. Breuer died in

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

in 1946. Michal Lupolianski, the wife of former mayor of Jerusalem Uri Lupolianski, is one of his grandchildren.

Views on Zionism

Although Hirsch's neo-Orthodoxy movement had defined itself from the start largely as an opposition to the German

Reform movement Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social system, social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more Radicalism (politics), radical social movements such as re ...

, Isaac Breuer already regarded the Reform movement of his day as essentially the impotent and dying remnant of the

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Wester ...

. Breuer saw the real enemy of Orthodoxy in both political

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

and

Religious Zionism Religious Zionism () is a religious denomination that views Zionism as a fundamental component of Orthodox Judaism. Its adherents are also referred to as ''Dati Leumi'' (), and in Israel, they are most commonly known by the plural form of the fi ...

, which he considered especially dangerous because it possessed an authentic Jewish instinct and impulse. The goals of the Zionists paralleled the goals of his own Agudah organization in many areas ("reunification of land and nation"), but without the stress which Agudah laid on adherence to halachah and tradition . Indeed, Breuer envisioned a Messianic Torah state in the land of Israel, and could not abide the idea of "reunification of land and nation" coming to pass through the agency of secular Zionist forces in the form of a secular state.

Published works

* ''Judenproblem'' (1918), a polemic against the perceived opponents of Orthodoxy, Zionists and Reform Jews. * ''Messiasspuren'' (1918) * ''Concepts of Judaism'' Levinger, Jacob S. (ed.) * ''Der Neue Kusari'' (Translated into Hebrew by his son Professor Mordechai Breur as Hakuzari Hachadash * ''Moriah'' * ''Nachliel'' * ''Das Judische Nationalheim von Isaac Breuer, (1925) Frankfurt AM,Verlag J kauffmann * ''Jerusalem: eine historische Erzählung'', a metaphor in novella form of what negative consequences might follow from the agenda of Zionists * ''Mein Weg'' (1927) * Isaac Breuer Werkausgabe, Vol. I, Frühe religionsphilosophische Schriften, Münster-Berlin 2017 * Isaac Breuer Werkausgabe, Vol. II. Schriften zum Zionismus und Agudismus, Münster-Berlin 2018 * Isaac Breuer Werkausgabe, Vol. III. Frühe literarische Texte, Munster-Berlin 2018 * Isaac Breuer Werkausgabe Vol. IV. Der Neue Kusari. Ein Weg zum Judentum, LIT, Münster 2020, 486 S.

References

External links

Isaac Breuer's political philosophy (English)

Eulogy by his granddaughter for his daughter Ursula Merkin- contains comments on Breuer's lifeIsaac Breuer College of Hebraic Studies (IBC)Yeshiva University

Von Jehuda Halevi zu Isaac Breuer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breuer, Isaac 1883 births 1946 deaths German Orthodox rabbis Hungarian Orthodox rabbis Philosophers of Judaism People from Pápa Orthodox rabbis in Mandatory Palestine Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Anti-Zionist Orthodox rabbis

Biography

Views on Zionism

Published works

References

Further reading

External links