Leffmann Behrends
Encyclopedia
Leffmann Behrends was the German financial agent of the dukes and princes of Hanover
.
His honorable position is lauded by Mannasseh ben Israel in his Hope of Israel. Behrends frequently used his influence in favor of his coreligionists. His father, Issachar Bärmann by name (died August 23, 1675), was the son of the Talmud
ic scholar Isaac Cohen of Borkum; and the name "Behrends" was adopted by Liepmann in honor of his father. His first wife, Jente (died 1695), was a daughter of Joseph Hameln, president of the congregation; his second, Feile (died 1727), a daughter of Judah Selkele Dilmann. Liepmann had the following children by his first marriage: Naphtali Hirz (died 1709), who became president of the congregation; Moses Jacob (died 1697), praised as a Talmudic scholar and philanthropist; Gumpert and Isaac, who, in 1721, were accused of an attempt at fraudulent bankruptcy, in consequence of which they were compelled to leave Hanover (1726). Behrend's daughter Genendel became the wife of the chief rabbi
of Prague
, David Oppenheimer
. She died at Hanover June 13, 1712.
Behrend's services as president of the congregation, in his endeavors to preserve the congregational cemetery, and to secure a special rabbinate and other privileges for Hanover, were valuable in the extreme. In 1683 Duke Rudolph August appointed him chief supervisor of the bleacheries of his community in the Harz. He stood in close relation to a number of princes, assisted Talmudic scholars, and established a "bet ha-midrash" in his own house. The library of his son-in-law David Oppenheimer, which he had himself enlarged, and which his son-in-law, owing to the censorship and other reasons, did not wish to keep at Prague, was removed by Behrendsto Hanover, thus enabling the pastor Johann Christian Wolf of Hamburg to avail himself of it in preparing the Bibliotheca Hebræa. Together with his son Naphtali Hirz, Liepmann in 1703 had a new synagogue
erected upon the site of the old one, which, constructed by order of the duke of Hanover in 1609, had been torn down four years after its erection. The fate of Liepmann's two sons Gumbert and Isaac is related in a family "megillah", published by Jost in the second volume of the Jahrbuch für die Geschichte der Juden.
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
.
His honorable position is lauded by Mannasseh ben Israel in his Hope of Israel. Behrends frequently used his influence in favor of his coreligionists. His father, Issachar Bärmann by name (died August 23, 1675), was the son of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic scholar Isaac Cohen of Borkum; and the name "Behrends" was adopted by Liepmann in honor of his father. His first wife, Jente (died 1695), was a daughter of Joseph Hameln, president of the congregation; his second, Feile (died 1727), a daughter of Judah Selkele Dilmann. Liepmann had the following children by his first marriage: Naphtali Hirz (died 1709), who became president of the congregation; Moses Jacob (died 1697), praised as a Talmudic scholar and philanthropist; Gumpert and Isaac, who, in 1721, were accused of an attempt at fraudulent bankruptcy, in consequence of which they were compelled to leave Hanover (1726). Behrend's daughter Genendel became the wife of the chief rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, David Oppenheimer
David Oppenheimer
David Oppenheimer was a successful entrepreneur, the second mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, and a National Historic Person of Canada.-Early life:...
. She died at Hanover June 13, 1712.
Behrend's services as president of the congregation, in his endeavors to preserve the congregational cemetery, and to secure a special rabbinate and other privileges for Hanover, were valuable in the extreme. In 1683 Duke Rudolph August appointed him chief supervisor of the bleacheries of his community in the Harz. He stood in close relation to a number of princes, assisted Talmudic scholars, and established a "bet ha-midrash" in his own house. The library of his son-in-law David Oppenheimer, which he had himself enlarged, and which his son-in-law, owing to the censorship and other reasons, did not wish to keep at Prague, was removed by Behrendsto Hanover, thus enabling the pastor Johann Christian Wolf of Hamburg to avail himself of it in preparing the Bibliotheca Hebræa. Together with his son Naphtali Hirz, Liepmann in 1703 had a new synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
erected upon the site of the old one, which, constructed by order of the duke of Hanover in 1609, had been torn down four years after its erection. The fate of Liepmann's two sons Gumbert and Isaac is related in a family "megillah", published by Jost in the second volume of the Jahrbuch für die Geschichte der Juden.