Jacob Hamburger (November 10, 1826 – October 23, 1911) was a German
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 ...
and author.
Biography
Hamburger was born at
Loslau,
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, ...
, on November 10, 1826. He received his early education in
Ratibor, and then attended the
yeshivot of
Hotzenplotz,
Presburg
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
, and
Nikolsburg
Mikulov (; ) is a town in Břeclav District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,600 inhabitants. From the 16th to the 19th century, it was the cultural centre of the Jewish community of Moravia. The historic centr ...
, and the
University of Breslau
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
. In 1852, he was called as rabbi to
Neustadt bei Pinne, and in 1859 went to
Mecklenburg-Strelitz
The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in Northern Germany consisting of the eastern fifth of the historic Mecklenburg region, roughly corresponding with the present-day Mecklenburg-Strelitz district (the former Lordship of Stargard) ...
as "Landesrabbiner". In addition to various articles and sermons, he published "''Geist der Hagada, Sammlung Hagadischer Aussprüche aus den Talmudim und Midraschim'',"
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
, 1859. This work, published by the Institut zur Förderung der Israelitischen Literatur, was intended as the first of a series, but was never continued. It may be regarded as the forerunner of the Jewish encyclopedia which he began to publish in 1862, under the title "''Realencyclopädie des Judenthums''," of which three volumes appeared. The first part contains Biblical articles, the second
Talmudic
The Talmud (; ) 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 centerpiece of Jewi ...
articles, and the third being supplementary. A second edition appeared in Leipzig in 1896.
Hamburger died at
Strelitz-Alt on October 23, 1911.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamburger, Jacob
1826 births
1911 deaths
19th-century German rabbis
German male non-fiction writers
German-language writers
Jewish encyclopedists
People from Wodzisław Śląski
Silesian Jews
University of Breslau alumni