Menahem Nahum Trebitsch (, ; August 14, 1779,

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 ...

– July 4, 1842, Prague) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

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 ...

Biography

He was a son of Selig Trebitsch, ''

ḥazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term also ...

'' at the

Old New Synagogue The Old New Synagogue (; ), also called the Altneuschul, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Josefov, Prague, in the Czech Republic. The synagogue is Europe's oldest active synagogue. Completed in 1270, it is also the ...

, and he received a thorough

Talmud 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 Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ical training at the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

of Jacob Günsberg. Upon the recommendation of the Landesrabbiner Mordecai Benet, Trebitsch became rabbi of

Prostějov Prostějov (; ) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is historically known for its fashion industry. The historic city centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban monument zo ...

in 1826. On May 13, 1832, the government confirmed the election of Trebitsch as Landesrabbiner of

Moravia Moravia ( ; ) is a historical region in the eastern Czech Republic, roughly encompassing its territory within the Danube River's drainage basin. It is one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early ...

, in succession to Mordecai Benet, and granted him a salary of 600 florins; he was the last Moravian "Landesrabbiner" of the old school. In September 1833, the provincial government issued a decree conferring upon the

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 ...

the power of proposing candidates for the various rabbinates of the province, and of making an appointment when the congregation failed to inform him of a vacancy or rejected the candidate proposed by the ''"Landesrabbiner"''. This decree, for which Trebitsch was declared by his opponents to be responsible, brought him into conflict with the congregations of

Jevíčko Jevíčko (; ) is a town in Svitavy District in the Pardubice Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban m ...

Hranice na Moravě Hranice may refer to places in the Czech Republic: * Hranice (České Budějovice District), a municipality in the South Bohemian Region *Hranice (Cheb District), a town in the Karlovy Vary Region *Hranice (Přerov District), a town in the Olomou ...

, Prostějov, and

Loštice Loštice (; ) is a town in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,100 inhabitants. The town is known for the production of aromatic cheese called ''Olomoucké tvarůžky''. Administrative division Loštice co ...

; and five years later (May 23, 1838) another decree canceled the chief rabbi's privilege of proposing candidates. Abraham Neuda, rabbi of Loštice, whom Trebitsch refused to confirm on account of liberal tendencies, was reinstated after having passed a successful examination before a committee of which Trebitsch was a member. This defeat, and the censure of the government for his opposition to the use of the

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

among the Jews greatly affected Trebitsch, who died while on a journey to

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...

Literary works

* ''Shelom Yerushalayim'', glosses on Seder Mo'ed of the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

, with the text and David Fränkel's commentary (Vienna, 1821); * ''Ḳobeẓ 'al Yad'', notes on Maimonides' ''Yad ha-Ḥazaḳah'', part i., with text (ib. 1835).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trebitsch, Nahum 1779 births 1842 deaths Rabbis from Prague Chief rabbis of Moravia Rabbis from Austria-Hungary Austrian Orthodox rabbis Rabbis from Nikolsburg