Zadoc Kahn (; 18 February 1839 in
Mommenheim,
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...
– 8 December 1905 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
) was an
Alsatian-
French 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
chief rabbi of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
Life
In 1856 he entered the
rabbinical school of
Metz
Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...
, finishing his
theological studies at the same institution after it had been established at
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
as the Séminaire Israélite; and on graduation he was appointed director of the
Talmud Torah
Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, H ...
, the preparatory school of the seminary. In 1867 he was appointed assistant to Chief Rabbi Lazare Isidor of Paris, whom he succeeded in the following year, when Isidor became chief rabbi of France. As Kahn had not yet reached the prescribed age of 30, he had to obtain a dispensation before he could accept the office, his election to which had been largely due to his thesis ''L'Esclavage Selon la
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
et le
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 ...
'' (1867; later translated into
German and
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
). The community of Paris attained to a high degree of prosperity and enlightenment under Kahn's administration.
On Chief Rabbi Isidor's death in 1889 Kahn was unanimously elected chief rabbi of France, and was inducted on 25 March 1890. He then entered upon a period of many-sided philanthropic activity. He organized the relief movement in behalf of the
Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
expelled from
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
subsequent to enactment of
May Laws under minister
Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev and czar
Alexander III, and gave much of his time to the work of the
Alliance Israélite Universelle, which elected him honorary president in recognition of his services. Against
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...
, he initiated to the German Jewish philanthropist Baron
Maurice de Hirsch the project of setting up a Jewish colony in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
, before he created the
Jewish Colonisation Association (I.C.A.) in 1891.
Kahn helped obtain financial assistance via auspices of the
Rothschild family
The Rothschild family ( , ) is a wealthy Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish noble banking family originally from Frankfurt. The family's documented history starts in 16th-century Frankfurt; its name is derived from the family house, Rothschild, ...
for
Ferdinand Walsin Esterhazy, in June 1894; whom later would be deeply implicated in the
Dreyfus affair. He aided in establishing many private charitable institutions, including the Refuge du Plessis-Piquet, near Paris, an agricultural school for abandoned children, and the Maison de Retraite at
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine (; 'Neuilly-on-Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is an urban Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department just west of Paris in France. Immediately adjacent to the city, north of the ...
, for young girls. He was appointed Chevalier of the
Legion of Honor in 1879 and Officer in 1901. He was also Officer of Public Instruction.
Zadoc Kahn was one of the founders, the first vice-president, and, soon after, president, of the ''Société des Études Juives'' (1879). He was considered a brilliant orator, and one of his most noteworthy addresses was delivered on the centenary (11 May 1889) of the
French Revolution — "La Révolution Française et le Judaïsme".
Literary works
Kahn has published the following works:
* ''Sermons et Allocutions'' (1875, 1886, 1894)
* ''Sermons et Allocutions Addressés à la Jeunesse Israélite'' (1878)
* ''Études sur le Livre de Joseph le Zélateur'', a collection of religious controversies of the Middle Ages (1887)
* ''Biographie de M.
Isidore Loeb''
* "Discours d'Installation" (25 March 1890)
* ''Religion et Patrie'', addresses
* ''Souvenirs et Regrets'', funeral orations
References
*
Chantavoine, "L'Éloquence Sacrée dans la Religion Juive", in ''
Journal des Débats'', 1898
* E.E. Curinier, ''Dictionnaire National des Contemporains''
*
External links
*
Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Zadoc
Chief rabbis of France
19th-century French rabbis
20th-century French rabbis
Alsatian Jews
Translators from Hebrew
Officers of the Legion of Honour
Clergy from Bas-Rhin
1839 births
1905 deaths
Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery
19th-century French translators
Translators of the Bible into French
Jewish translators of the Bible