Pinchas Kohn
Encyclopedia
Rb Dr Pinchas Kohn was the last rabbi
of Ansbach
, Germany
. He was also the executive director
of the World Agudath Israel
organisation.
He studied under the tutelage of his maternal grandfather, Rabbi David Weisskopf at a young age. Rabbi Wiesskopf ordinated him as a rabbi when he became bar-mitzva. Later he studied in the Yeshiva
of Rabbi Selig Auerbach.
He became the rabbi of Mannheim
, and later in 1893 was appointed rabbi of Ansbach by the prince regent.
He came from a rabbinical family that had been established for hundreds of years in southern Germany. He was a student and an admirer of Hildesheimer and S.R. Hirsch, nevertheless he remained throughout his life an "old" German Jew. He judged critically the neo-orthodoxy, with all due respect for Hirsch. His primary contention was that whereas Hirsch based Judaism on an ideology, old German Jewry was based simply on living life as a Jew. Their world outlook was formed by their inner experience of observing the Torah and through the external experiences that they encountered as Jews.
In 1916 Rabbi Dr Kohn became the rabbinical advisor to the German occupying forces of Poland together with Rabbi Dr Binyamin Carlebach. He was also the editor of the Judische Monatshefte which he published together with Rb Dr. Salomon Breuer.
At this time, Zionists and Jewish socialists, who were still a small minority of Polish Jewry, had hoped that the Hasidic masses would continue to behave as in the past, to be politically passive and to play no role in public life. Even when the Hasidic community sought to enter politics, Jabotinsky, the future leader of the Zionist Revisionist Party, claimed that the Orthodox in Poland should be denied the right to vote because they lacked any civil experience (Morgenstern 65).
Kohn was one of the main factors in creating a completely new situation. He gave the Hasidim a political organization, a Rabbinical Association and a daily newspaper (Doss Yiddische Vort).
In contrast to the national autonomy of the Zionists, he founded the concept of a politically active religious society, regarding which he drafted the "Ordinance; The organization of the Jewish religious community in the Government of Warsaw", which was adopted in late 1916 by the German administration.
In his memoirs (chap 10), Dr Kohn writes:
"The government of the occupying forces told me that the law [defining the status of the Jews in Poland] had to be such that the Polish Government would agree to it... From these discussions I understood that that it would be entirely impossible to organise the matters of the Jews and Judaism on a nationalistic basis, but only on a religious basis."
In the eyes of the Zionists, Kohn was a traitor (Bar Ilan 24 25. p. 140). Even his Orthodox associates were not in agreement with his policies (ibid 143-145).
Dr Kohn was instrumental in forming the Union of Orthodox (Jews). This was renamed to Shlomei Emunei Yisroel (wholly faithful of the Jews) two years later. At the third national congress of the party, in October 1928, the name of the party was changed to Agudat Israel
.
Dr Kohn was the executive president
of the world aguda movement and travelled throughout Europe persuading communities to open local branches of the organisation.
In 1939 he was rescued from Germany by his son-in-law, Ephraim Stefansky. He travelled to Palestine
via London
, where he died on the 2nd of July 1941.
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 Ansbach
Ansbach
Ansbach, originally Onolzbach, is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is situated southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the Fränkische Rezat, a tributary of the Main river. As of 2004, its population was 40,723.Ansbach...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He was also the executive director
Executive director
Executive director is a term sometimes applied to the chief executive officer or managing director of an organization, company, or corporation. It is widely used in North American non-profit organizations, though in recent decades many U.S. nonprofits have adopted the title "President/CEO"...
of the World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...
organisation.
Biography
Rb Dr Kohn was born in Kleinerdlingen, Germany, on the 27th of February 1867.He studied under the tutelage of his maternal grandfather, Rabbi David Weisskopf at a young age. Rabbi Wiesskopf ordinated him as a rabbi when he became bar-mitzva. Later he studied in the Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
of Rabbi Selig Auerbach.
He became the rabbi of Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
, and later in 1893 was appointed rabbi of Ansbach by the prince regent.
He came from a rabbinical family that had been established for hundreds of years in southern Germany. He was a student and an admirer of Hildesheimer and S.R. Hirsch, nevertheless he remained throughout his life an "old" German Jew. He judged critically the neo-orthodoxy, with all due respect for Hirsch. His primary contention was that whereas Hirsch based Judaism on an ideology, old German Jewry was based simply on living life as a Jew. Their world outlook was formed by their inner experience of observing the Torah and through the external experiences that they encountered as Jews.
In 1916 Rabbi Dr Kohn became the rabbinical advisor to the German occupying forces of Poland together with Rabbi Dr Binyamin Carlebach. He was also the editor of the Judische Monatshefte which he published together with Rb Dr. Salomon Breuer.
At this time, Zionists and Jewish socialists, who were still a small minority of Polish Jewry, had hoped that the Hasidic masses would continue to behave as in the past, to be politically passive and to play no role in public life. Even when the Hasidic community sought to enter politics, Jabotinsky, the future leader of the Zionist Revisionist Party, claimed that the Orthodox in Poland should be denied the right to vote because they lacked any civil experience (Morgenstern 65).
Kohn was one of the main factors in creating a completely new situation. He gave the Hasidim a political organization, a Rabbinical Association and a daily newspaper (Doss Yiddische Vort).
In contrast to the national autonomy of the Zionists, he founded the concept of a politically active religious society, regarding which he drafted the "Ordinance; The organization of the Jewish religious community in the Government of Warsaw", which was adopted in late 1916 by the German administration.
In his memoirs (chap 10), Dr Kohn writes:
"The government of the occupying forces told me that the law [defining the status of the Jews in Poland] had to be such that the Polish Government would agree to it... From these discussions I understood that that it would be entirely impossible to organise the matters of the Jews and Judaism on a nationalistic basis, but only on a religious basis."
In the eyes of the Zionists, Kohn was a traitor (Bar Ilan 24 25. p. 140). Even his Orthodox associates were not in agreement with his policies (ibid 143-145).
Dr Kohn was instrumental in forming the Union of Orthodox (Jews). This was renamed to Shlomei Emunei Yisroel (wholly faithful of the Jews) two years later. At the third national congress of the party, in October 1928, the name of the party was changed to Agudat Israel
World Agudath Israel
World Agudath Israel , usually known as the Aguda, was established in the early twentieth century as the political arm of Ashkenazi Torah Judaism, in succession to Agudas Shlumei Emunei Yisroel...
.
Dr Kohn was the executive president
Executive president
An executive president is a president who exercises active executive power in a certain systems of government. Executive presidents are active in day-to-day governance of a nation, and are usually popularly elected....
of the world aguda movement and travelled throughout Europe persuading communities to open local branches of the organisation.
In 1939 he was rescued from Germany by his son-in-law, Ephraim Stefansky. He travelled to Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
via London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he died on the 2nd of July 1941.
External links
- http://books.google.com/books?id=82ncGA4GuN4C&pg=PA284&lpg=PA284&dq=carlebach+kohn+1916&source=bl&ots=wmO7hKOzS0&sig=C4GnM8I3AnOcqfPi527YpzVY9s0&hl=en&ei=2Lr8SevHMoWG6AP4hYG9Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1, Social and Political History of the Jews in Poland
- http://www.alemannia-judaica.de/images/Images%20Bayern/WEISSKOPF.pdf, Weisskop Family of Guenzenhausen Family Tree
- http://www.scribd.com/doc/22345800/Rb-Pinchas-Kohn-Biography-Formative-Years, Brief biography - Pinchas Kohn
- http://www.scribd.com/doc/15595218/Rb-Dr-Pinchas-Kohn-Memoirs, Pinchas Kohn Memoirs - First World War (Hebrew)
- http://books.google.com.au/books?id=mg5vkwNR2fcC&lpg=PP1&dq=from%20frankfurt%20to%20jerusalem&pg=PA65#v=onepage&q=kohn&f=false, Founding the Aguda - Warsaw 1914 - 1918
- http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=48%C2%B050'+N,+10%C2%B029'+E&sll=-25.335448,135.745076&sspn=39.197892,56.337891&ie=UTF8&ll=48.8356,10.47585&spn=0.006652,0.013754&t=h&z=16, Kleinerdlingen - Google maps
- http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/agudat-israel-interwar-poland, Agudat Israel: Interwar Poland (Gershon Bacon)