Everything about The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary totally explained
The
Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary (
Rabbiner Seminar für das Orthodoxe Judenthum) was founded in
Berlin on
22 October 1873 by Rabbi Dr.
Azriel Hildesheimer for the training of
rabbis in the tradition of
Orthodox Judaism.
History
In accepting the call as rabbi of the Berlin Orthodox party in 1869
A. Hildesheimer stipulated that he should be allowed to continue his activities as rabbinical teacher just as he'd done at his former rabbinical office in
Eisenstadt,
Hungary. After delivering lectures which attracted a great many pupils, he addressed ten prominent persons in different parts of
Germany in 1872, and explained to them the necessity of organizing an Orthodox rabbinical seminary at Berlin. These men at once took up the subject, and a central committee was formed, which included Oberrath J. Altmann of
Karlsruhe, Rabbi Dr. Auerbach of
Halberstadt,
Chief Rabbi Dr. Solomon Cohn of
Schwerin, A. H. Heymann (a banker) of Berlin, Gustav Hirsch of Berlin, Sally Lewisohn of
Hamburg, and Emanuel Schwarzschild of
Frankfurt-am-Main.
The seminary was dedicated on
22 October 1873. At the opening of the institution the faculty included the rector, Dr. Israel Hildesheimer, and two lecturers, Dr.
David Hoffmann (for the
Talmud, ritual codices, and
Pentateuch exegesis) and Dr.
A. Berliner (for post-Talmudic history, history of literature, and auxiliary sciences). In 1874 Dr. Jacob Barth, subsequently son-in-law of Hildesheimer, was added to the faculty as lecturer in
Hebrew, exegesis of the
Bible with the exception of the Pentateuch, and religious philosophy. Dr. Hirsch Hildesheimer, son of the founder and a graduate of the seminary, was appointed in 1882 lecturer in Jewish history and the geography of
Palestine. When Dr. Solomon Cohn removed to Berlin from Schwerin in 1876 he took charge of the courses in theoretic and practical
homiletics, continuing them until he went to
Breslau in 1894.
By this time the attendance had greatly increased, and owing to the large number of pupils at the institution it became necessary to employ a new teacher; accordingly in 1895 Dr. J. Wohlgemuth, a former pupil, was appointed. After the death of the founder, Dr. Hildesheimer, on
12 June 1899, Rabbi
David Z. Hoffmann was elected rector of the institution. Hoffmann was succeeded by Rabbi
Avrohom Eliyahu Kaplan, a graduate of the
Slabodka Yeshiva and a brilliant talmudist. Kaplan died young however after only four years as rector. He was succeeded by Rabbi
Jechiel Jakob Weinberg, the last rector of the Seminary. The Seminary was closed by the
Nazis in 1938.
Description
The seminary was divided into an upper and a lower division. Pupils in the lower division followed a two year course, being promoted to the upper division on passing an examination; but pupils who had qualified in the principal branches were immediately admitted to the upper division. The course in this division lasted four years. The conditions for admission to the seminary included the following: (1) the candidate had to prove by examination that he was able to understand a moderately difficult Talmudic text,
Rashi and the
Tosafot; (2) as regards the secular sciences he'd either to have a certificate of graduation from a classical
Gymnasium or to be able to show that he was fitted for the graduating class of such a
Gymnasium. At the end of the course, pupils who left the institution as qualified rabbis had pass special examinations showing that aside from their attainments in the various branches of Jewish science they were sufficiently familiar with the ritual codices to decide correctly on ritual and religio-legal questions.
Rectors
Teachers
Dr. Jacob Barth, lecturer for Hebrew language
Dr. Abraham Berliner (1833-1915), lecturer for Jewish history and literature
Dr. Solomon Cohn, lecturer for theoretic and practical homiletics
Dr. Hirsch Hildesheimer, lecturer in Jewish history and geography of Palestine
Dr. J. Wohlgemuth
Famous alumni
Among the Seminary's graduates were:
Prof. Dr. Alexander Altmann (1906-1987), Chief Rabbi of Trier, founder of the Institute of Jewish Studies at University College London, and longtime professor at Brandeis University
Dr. Eduard Baneth (1855-1930), lecturer at the Lehranstalt für die Wissenschaft des Judentums ("Institute for the Study of Judaism") in Berlin
Dr. Eliezer Berkovits (1908-1992), rabbi, theologian and author
Pinchas Biberfeld, (1915-1999), Chief Rabbi of Munich and Rosh Kollel of Zlatipol-Chortkov
Dr. Joseph Zvi Carlebach (1883-1942), Chief Rabbi of Luebeck, Altona and Hamburg
Josef Hirsch Dunner (1913-2007), Chief Rabbi of East Prussia, head of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations, European President of Agudath Israel
Prof. Dr. Israel Friedländer, professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York
Dr. David Herzog, lecturer at the University of Prague
Dr. Hirsch Hildesheimer, lecturer in Jewish history of the Seminary
Prof. Dr. Hartwig Hirschfeld (1854-1934), lecturer for Judaeo-Arabic studies at the Jews' College, London, translator of the Kuzari into English
Dr. David Zvi Hoffmann (1843-1921) Rector of the Seminary (successor of Hildesheimer)
Dr. Jacob Horowitz, lecturer at the University of Berlin
Dr. Leo Jung (1892-1987), rabbi and influential figure of American Orthodox Judaism
Prof. Dr. Alexander Marx (1878-1953), professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in New York
Shlomo Wolbe (1914-2005), rabbi and Mashgiach of Yeshivas Be'er and Lakewood Yeshiva in IsraelFurther Information
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