בית המדרש לרבנים בברלין | |
 Berlin Rabbinical Seminary, 25 years anniversary of work, 1898. | |
| Established | October 22, 1873 (1873-10-22) |
|---|---|
| Founder | Israel Hildesheimer |
| Affiliation | Orthodox Judaism |
| Location | , 52°31′36.9″N13°23′36.8″E / 52.526917°N 13.393556°E /52.526917; 13.393556 |
| Website | rabbinerseminar.de |
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TheHildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary (officially inGerman:Rabbinerseminar für das orthodoxe Judenthum in Berlin until 1880, thereafterRabbiner-Seminar zu Berlin; inHebrew:בית המדרש לרבנים בברלין,Bet ha-midrash le-Rabanim be-Berlin) was founded inBerlin on 22 October 1873 by Rabbi Dr.Israel Hildesheimer for the training ofrabbis in the tradition ofOrthodox Judaism.
In accepting the call as the first rabbi of the new Berlin Orthodox congregation, the Israelite Synagogal Congregation of Adass Yisroel (Hebrew:עדת ישראל,German:Israelitische Synagogen-Gemeinde Adass Jisroel zu Berlin) in 1869,Israel Hildesheimer stipulated that he should be allowed to continue his activities as rabbinical teacher just as he had done at his former rabbinical office inEisenstadt,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 Rabbi Joseph Altmann (1818–1874) ofKarlsruhe (since 1860 member of theOberrat der Israeliten Badens, i.e. supreme council of the Israelites of Baden), Rabbi Dr. Auerbach ofHalberstadt,Chief Rabbi Dr. Solomon Cohn ofSchwerin, Aron Hirsch Heymann (a banker) of Berlin, Gustav Hirsch of Berlin, Sally Lewisohn ofHamburg, and Emanuel Schwarzschild ofFrankfurt am Main.[1]
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 theTalmud, ritual codices, andPentateuchexegesis) and Dr.Abraham 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 inHebrew, exegesis of theBible 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 ofPalestine. When Dr. Solomon Cohn removed to Berlin from Schwerin in 1876 he took charge of the courses in theoretic and practicalhomiletics, continuing them until he went toBreslau in 1894.[1]
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, RabbiDavid Z. Hoffmann was elected rector of the institution.[1] During his rectorate the seminary, originally located on Gipsstraße 12a, moved into Adass Jisroel's new edifice on then Artilleriestraße 31–32 in 1904 (renamed and renumbered as Tucholskystraße 40 on 31 May 1951).[2]
Hoffmann was succeeded by RabbiAvrohom Eliyahu Kaplan, a graduate of theSlabodka yeshiva and a brilliant talmudist. Kaplan died young however after only four years as rector. He was succeeded by RabbiJechiel Jakob Weinberg, the last rector of the Seminary. The Seminary was closed by theNazis in 1938.
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 theTosafot; (2) as regards the secular sciences he had either to have a certificate of graduation from aclassical Gymnasium or to be able to show that he was fitted for the graduating class of such aGymnasium.
At the end of the course, pupils who left the institution as qualified rabbis had passed special examinations showing that aside from their attainments in the various branches of Jewish learning they were sufficiently familiar withthe ritual codices to decide correctly on ritual and religio-legal questions.[1] SeeYeshiva § Jewish law,Rabbi § Orthodox and Modern Orthodox Judaism andHalakha § Codes of Jewish law.
In 2009, the Seminary was reestablished with the blessing of Professor Dr. Meir Hildesheimer and Rabbi Azaria Hildesheimer, great grandsons of the founder, under the nameRabbinerseminar zu Berlin. The contemporary Seminary is funded by theCentral Council of Jews in Germany and theRonald S. Lauder Foundation, and occupies premises at the Skoblo Synagogue and Education Center inBerlin Mitte. Rector of the reestablished institution wasDayanChanoch Ehrentreu, formerly theRosh Beth Din of theLondon Beth Din. From 2020, Rav Moshe Mordechai Farbstein served as co-Rektor, and with the passing of Dayan Ehrentreu in 2022, became the only Rektor of the institution.
The Seminary firstordained Rabbis in 2009. Graduates serve ascommunity rabbis and aseducators in Freiburg im Breisgau, Köln, Leipzig, Osnabrück, Potsdam, Frankfurt am Main and Berlin.
The course of study is four years, and is divided into two major and one minor areas of study. The major areas areclassical Talmud and Halacha, and a state accredited degree insocial work offered by theUniversity of Applied Sciences - Erfurt. The minor area includes professional qualifications such as pastoral care, bereavement counseling, and public speaking, as well as intellectual history and constitutional law.
In 2013, the Seminary established an affiliate institution in partnership with theIsraelitische Religionsgemeinde zu Leipzig, the Institute for Traditional Liturgy, to train both rabbinical students and communal lay leaders to lead prayer services in accordance with halachic practice and normative ritual tradition; seeJewish liturgy andNusach.
Among the Seminary's graduates were:
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Lauterbach, Jacob Zallel; Singer, Isidore (1905)."Rabbiner Seminar für das orthodoxe Judenthum". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 297–298. Retrieved2017-01-10.
