Menahem Nahum Trebitsch (, ; August 14, 1779,

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

– July 4, 1842, Prague) was a Czech

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 ...

Biography

He was a son of Selig Trebitsch, ''

ḥazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this p ...

'' at the

Old New Synagogue The Old New Synagogue ( cs, Staronová synagoga; german: link=no, Altneu-Synagoge), also called the Altneuschul, situated in Josefov, Prague, is Europe's oldest active synagogue. It is also the oldest surviving medieval synagogue of twin-nave ...

, and he received a thorough

Talmud 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 cen ...

ical training at the

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; 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 stu ...

of Jacob Günsberg. Upon the recommendation of the

Landesrabbiner (; he, רב מדינה, Rav Medinah) are spiritual heads of the Jewish communities of a country, province, or district, particularly in Germany and Austria. The office is a result of the legal condition of the Jews in medieval times when the ...

Mordecai Benet Mordecai ben Abraham Benet ( he, מרדכי בן אברהם בנט, also Marcus Benedict; 1753–1829) was a Talmudist and chief rabbi of Moravia. Biography He was born at Csurgó, a small village in the county of Stuhlweissenburg, Hungary. As B ...

, Trebitsch became rabbi of

Prostějov Prostějov (; german: Proßnitz) is a city in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 43,000 inhabitants. The city is known for its fashion industry. The historical city centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban m ...

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

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. Th ...

, 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 ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') 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 ...

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 (; german: Gewitsch) 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 by law as an urban monument zone. Administrati ...

, Hranice na Moravě, Prostějov, and Loštice; 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 mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

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

Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. It is ...

Literary works

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

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

, with the text and

David Fränkel David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

'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 Austro-Hungarian rabbis Austrian Orthodox rabbis Rabbis from Nikolsburg