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The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary (Rabbiner Seminar für das Orthodoxe Judenthum) was founded in Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
 on 22 October 1873 by Rabbi Dr. Azriel Hildesheimer
Azriel Hildesheimer

Dr. Esriel Hildesheimer was a German rabbi and leader of Orthodox Judaism. He is regarded as a pioneering modernizer of Orthodox Judaism in Germany and as a founder of Modern Orthodox Judaism....
 for the training of rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
s in the tradition of Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish denominations of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict constructionist and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim....
.

ccepting 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 had done at his former rabbinical office in Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt

Eisenstadt is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It has a population of about 12,000 .In the Habsburg monarchy, Eisenstadt/Kismarton was the seat of the House of Esterh?zy Hungarian nobility....
, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
.






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The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary (Rabbiner Seminar für das Orthodoxe Judenthum) was founded in Berlin
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
 on 22 October 1873 by Rabbi Dr. Azriel Hildesheimer
Azriel Hildesheimer

Dr. Esriel Hildesheimer was a German rabbi and leader of Orthodox Judaism. He is regarded as a pioneering modernizer of Orthodox Judaism in Germany and as a founder of Modern Orthodox Judaism....
 for the training of rabbi
Rabbi

Rabbi , in Judaism, means a religious ?teacher?, or more literally, ?my great one?, when addressing any master. The word rabbi derives from the Hebrew root word , rav, which in biblical Hebrew means ?great?, used in many senses, including the sense of a ?master? and apprentice, whence someone who is a distinguished ?teacher?....
s in the tradition of Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism

Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish denominations of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict constructionist and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim....
.

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 had done at his former rabbinical office in Eisenstadt
Eisenstadt

Eisenstadt is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It has a population of about 12,000 .In the Habsburg monarchy, Eisenstadt/Kismarton was the seat of the House of Esterh?zy Hungarian nobility....
, Hungary
Hungary

Hungary , officially in English the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia....
. After delivering lectures which attracted a great many pupils, he addressed ten prominent persons in different parts of Germany
Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
 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
Karlsruhe

Karlsruhe is a city in the south west of Germany, in the States of Germany Baden-W?rttemberg, located near the France-German border.Founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, the surrounding town became the seat of two of the highest courts in Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany whose decisions have the force of a law, and the...
, Rabbi Dr. Auerbach of Halberstadt
Halberstadt

Halberstadt is a city in the Germany state of Saxony-Anhalt and the capital of the Harz .The city was severely damaged in World War II, but retains many important historic buildings and much of its ancient townscape....
, Chief Rabbi
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....
 Dr. Solomon Cohn of Schwerin
Schwerin

Schwerin is a city in northern Germany and the capital of the state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The population as of end of 2007 was 95,855....
, A. H. Heymann (a banker) of Berlin, Gustav Hirsch of Berlin, Sally Lewisohn of Hamburg
Hamburg

Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
, 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
Talmud

The Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Halakha, Jewish ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
, ritual codices, and Pentateuch exegesis
Exegesis

Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text.Biblical exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of the Bible....
) and Dr. A. Berliner
Abraham Berliner

Abraham Berliner was a German theologian and historian, born in Obersitzko, province of Posen, Prussia. He received his first education under his father, who was teacher in Obersitzko....
 (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
Hebrew language

Hebrew is a Semitic languages of the Afro-Asiatic languages. Modern Hebrew is spoken by more than seven million people in Israel and Classical Hebrew is used for prayer or study in Jews communities around the world....
, exegesis of the Bible
Bible

The Bible is the central religious text of Judaism and Christianity. The exact Books of the Bible is dependent on the religious traditions of specific denominations....
 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
Palestine

Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is derived from a name used already much earlier for a narrower geographical region, mainly along the coastal region....
. When Dr. Solomon Cohn removed to Berlin from Schwerin in 1876 he took charge of the courses in theoretic and practical homiletics
Homiletics

Homiletics , in theology the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching. The one who practices or studies homiletics is called a homilist....
, 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
Avrohom Eliyahu Kaplan

Rabbi Avrohom Eliyahu [Avraham Elya] Kaplan was a prominent Orthodox rabbi. He was born around the year 1890 in Kedainiai, a town in the Kaunas County in Lithuania....
, a graduate of the Slabodka Yeshiva
Slabodka yeshiva

Slabodka yeshiva, also known as Knesses Yisroel, and later as Hebron Yeshiva or Yeshivas Hevron, was known colloquially as the "mother of yeshivas" and was devoted to high level study of the Talmud....
 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
Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, , better known by the acronym Rashi , , was a rabbi from France, famed as the author of the first comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, and Jewish commentaries on the Bible....
 and the Tosafot
Tosafot

The Tosafot or Tosafos are medi?val commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes....
; (2) as regards the secular sciences he had either to have a certificate of graduation from a classical Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)

A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English Grammar schools in the United Kingdoms or sixth form colleges and U.S....
 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

  • 1873-1899 - Dr. Azriel Hildesheimer
    Azriel Hildesheimer

    Dr. Esriel Hildesheimer was a German rabbi and leader of Orthodox Judaism. He is regarded as a pioneering modernizer of Orthodox Judaism in Germany and as a founder of Modern Orthodox Judaism....
     (1820-1899)
  • 1899-1920 - Dr. David Zvi Hoffmann (1843-1921)
  • 1920-1934 - Rabbi Avrohom Eliyahu Kaplan
    Avrohom Eliyahu Kaplan

    Rabbi Avrohom Eliyahu [Avraham Elya] Kaplan was a prominent Orthodox rabbi. He was born around the year 1890 in Kedainiai, a town in the Kaunas County in Lithuania....
     (1890-1934)
  • 1934-1938 - Dr. Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg
    Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg

    Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg was a noted European Orthodox Judaism rabbi, posek and rosh yeshiva. He is best known as author of the work of History of Responsa Seridei Eish....
     (1878-1966)


Teachers

  • Dr. Jacob Barth, lecturer for Hebrew language
  • Dr. Abraham Berliner
    Abraham Berliner

    Abraham Berliner was a German theologian and historian, born in Obersitzko, province of Posen, Prussia. He received his first education under his father, who was teacher in Obersitzko....
     (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
    Alexander Altmann

    Alexander Altmann was an Orthodox Judaism scholar and rabbi born in Kaschau, Austria-Hungary, today Ko?ice, Slovakia. He emigrated to England in 1938 and later settled in the United States, working productively for a decade and a half as a professor within the Philosophy Department at Brandeis University....
     (1906-1987), Chief Rabbi of Trier
    Trier

    Trier is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle River. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC. Trier is not the only city claiming to be Germany's oldest, but it is the only one that bases this assertion on having the longest history as a city, as opposed to a mere settlement or army camp....
    , founder of the Institute of Jewish Studies at University College London
    Institute of Jewish Studies at University College London

    The Institute of Jewish Studies at University College London, originally simply the Institute of Jewish Studies, is an academic institution founded by Alexander Altmann in 1954 in Manchester, England....
    , and longtime professor at Brandeis University
    Brandeis University

    Brandeis University is a Private university research university with a liberal arts focus, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, nine miles west of Boston, Massachusetts....
  • 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
    Eliezer Berkovits

    Eliezer Berkovits , was a rabbi, theologian, and educator in the tradition of Modern Orthodox Judaism....
     (1908-1992), rabbi, theologian and author
  • Pinchas Biberfeld
    Pinchas Biberfeld

    Pinchas Paul Biberfeld was a Rabbi in Germany and Israel.ChildhoodRabbi Pinchas Paul Biberfeld was born on October 31, 1915 in Berlin....
    , (1915-1999), Chief Rabbi of Munich
    Munich

    Munich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. Munich is located on the River Isar north of the Northern Limestone Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg....
     and Rosh Kollel of Zlatipol-Chortkov
    Chortkov (Hasidic dynasty)

    Chortkov is a Hasidic Judaism List of Hasidic dynasties that originated in Chortkiv, present-day Ukraine. It had a large following before the Second World War, but most of its adherents perished in the Holocaust....
  • Dr. Yosef Burg
    Yosef Burg

    Dr Yosef Shlomo Burg was a long-serving Israeli politician and Rabbi....
    , Rabbi, Israeli politician, among others Israeli Minister of Health, Minister of Postal Services, Minister of Welfare, Minister of Internal Affairs, Minister without Portfolio and Minister of Religious Affairs.
  • Dr. Joseph Zvi Carlebach
    Joseph Carlebach

    Dr. Joseph Hirsch Carlebach Carlebach was the eighth child of Esther Adler , the daughter of the former rabbi of L?beck, Rabbi Alexander Sussmann Adler , and L?beck's then Rabbi Salomon Carlebach ....
     (1883-1942), Chief Rabbi of Luebeck, Altona
    Altona

    Altona may refer to:* Altona, Hamburg, Germany** Altona-Nord, Hamburg, Germany*Altona, Illinois, United States*Altona, Indiana, United States...
     and Hamburg
    Hamburg

    Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany , and is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits. The city is home to approximately 1.8 million people, while the Hamburg metropolitan area has more than 4.3 million inhabitants....
  • Josef Hirsch Dunner
    Josef Hirsch Dunner

    Rabbi Josef Hirsch Dunner , aka Harav Yosef Tzvi Haleivi Dunner, was a distinguished Haredi rabbi from Germany, who spent most of his life in London, England....
     (1913-2007), Chief Rabbi of East Prussia
    East Prussia

    East Prussia refers to the main part of the Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Sea from the 13th century to 1945. From 1772?1829 and 1878?1945, the Province of East Prussia was a province of the Germany state of Prussia....
    , head of the Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations
    Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations

    The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations of England was founded in 1926 to protect traditional Judaism. It acts as an umbrella organisation for the Haredi Jewish community in London and comprises over a hundred synagogues and educational institutions....
    , European President of Agudath Israel
    Agudath Israel

    Agudath Israel can refer to any of several related organizations, including:*World Agudath Israel, an international movement*Agudath Israel of America, an American organization...
  • Prof. Dr. Israel Friedländer, professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
    Jewish Theological Seminary of America

    The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, known in the Jewish community simply as JTS, is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism....
     in New York
    New York

    The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
  • Dr. David Herzog, lecturer at the University of Prague
    University of Prague

    University of Prague may refer to:*Charles University in Prague**German Charles-Ferdinand University *Czech Technical University in 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
    Kuzari

    The Kuzari is one of most famous works of the medieval Spain Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi. Divided into five essays , it takes the form of a dialogue between the Paganism monarch of the Khazars and a Jew who was invited to instruct him in the tenets of the Judaism....
     into English
  • Dr. David Zvi Hoffmann (1843-1921) Rector
    Rector

    The word rector has a number of different meanings, but all of them indicate an academic, religious or political administrator.The word "rector" also appears in many modern languages, such as Albanian, Dutch language, Spanish language, Catalan language and Romanian language....
     of the Seminary (successor of Hildesheimer)
  • Dr. Jacob Horowitz, lecturer at the University of Berlin
  • Dr. Leo Jung
    Leo Jung

    Rabbi Leo Jung was one of the major architects of American Orthodox Judaism....
     (1892-1987), rabbi and influential figure of American Orthodox Judaism
  • Prof. Jacob Zallel Lauterbach
    Jacob Zallel Lauterbach

    Jacob Zallel Lauterbach was an American Judaica scholar and author who served on the faculty of Hebrew Union College and composed responsa for the Reform Judaism movement in America....
     Talmudic scholar and Reform rabbi.
  • Prof. Dr. Alexander Marx
    Alexander Marx

    Alexander Marx was an United States historian, bibliographer and librarian....
     (1878-1953), professor at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
    Jewish Theological Seminary of America

    The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, known in the Jewish community simply as JTS, is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism....
     in New York
    New York

    The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
  • Shlomo Wolbe
    Shlomo Wolbe

    Rabbi Shlomo Wolbe was a Haredi Judaism rabbi born in Berlin and died in Jerusalem. He is best known as the author of Alei Shur , a mussar book discussing personal growth as it pertains to students of the Talmud....
     (1914-2005), rabbi and Mashgiach
    Mashgiach

    In Judaism, a Mashgiach is a person who supervises the kashrut status of a kosher establishment.A mashgiah may supervise any type of food service establishment, including slaughterhouses, Food industry, hotels, Catering, nursing homes, restaurants, butchers, groceries, or cooperatives....
     of Yeshivas Be'er and Lakewood Yeshiva in Israel