Editing Jacob Ettlinger (section)

==Biography==
Ettlinger was born in [[Karlsruhe]], [[Margraviate of Baden|Baden]], and died in [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]. He received his early education from his father Aaron, who was ''Klausrabbiner'' ([[rabbi]] of a small [[synagogue]]) in Karlsruhe. Aaron was also a recognized Talmudical scholar who was steeped in [[Kabbalah]].<ref name=JB/>

He then went to study under the Rabbi of Karlsruhe, Rabbi Asher Wallerstein, the son of the famed [[Aryeh Leib ben Asher Gunzberg|Shaagas Aryeh]]. Wallerstein was also the Chief Rabbi of the entire [[Grand Duchy of Baden]]. Ettlinger remained his student until the age of 18.<ref name=JB>{{cite book |first=Judith |last=Bleich |author-link=Judith Bleich |title=Jacob Ettlinger, his Life and Works: The Emergence of Modern Orthodoxy in Germany |work=Phil. Diss. |location=New York |year=1974 |oclc=6739470 }}</ref>

Ettlinger rounded off his Talmudical education in the [[yeshiva]] of [[Abraham Bing]] in [[Würzburg]], one of the most significant Torah centers in Germany. While there, he attended the [[University of Würzburg]], mainly studying philosophy. He was thus among the earliest German rabbis who possessed academic training. It should be pointed out, however, that he never received any formal degree.<ref name=JB/>

The fact that Ettlinger stayed fervently Orthodox, even though he attended university, was considered by most to be an anomaly. [[Kaufmann Kohler]] reports that the saying was current that "Satan made him go through the university and come forth so immune and loyal, as to lure all the rest of [the] modern Rabbis to pursue those studies which caused their disloyalty to Modern Judaism".<ref name=JB/>

In 1826 he was appointed ''Kreisrabbiner'' (district rabbi) of [[Ladenburg]], with his seat in [[Mannheim]], where he was at the same time chief prebendary (''Klausprimator''). This position he held until he succeeded [[Akiba Israel Wertheimer]] as [[Chief Rabbi]] of Altona,  where he officiated from 1836 until his death. His ambit as Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi comprised [[Duchy of Holstein|Holstein]] and [[Duchy of Schleswig|Schleswig]] and until 1864 also [[Denmark]]. In this position he became one of the most prominent representatives of German Orthodoxy.

His ''[[yeshiva]]'' was attended by a great many students preparing for the ministry, and many of them became leaders of Orthodoxy. [[Samson Raphael Hirsch]] was his disciple in Mannheim, and [[Azriel Hildesheimer]] in Altona. Five of his sons-in-law became prominent Orthodox rabbis: [[Joseph Isaacsohn]] of Rotterdam, {{Interlanguage link multi|Salomon Cohn|de}} of Schwerin, [[Israel Meir Freimann]] of Ostrowo, {{Interlanguage link multi|Moses Löb Bamberger|de}} of [[Bad Kissingen|Kissingen]] and [[Markus Mordechai Horovitz]] of Frankfurt. He was the last German rabbi who acted as civil judge. Much against his will, the [[Denmark|Danish]] government, to which Altona then belonged, abolished this right of the Altona [[Rabbi]] in 1863. The purity of his character and the sincerity of his religious views were acknowledged even by his opponents.

===Death===
[[File:Ettlinger.jpeg|thumb|Tombstone (Matzevah) of Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger, in Hamburg, Germany]]

In his will, Ettlinger requested that he not be described as having been a "Tzaddik" (righteous individual), and that the inscription on his tombstone should contain merely the titles of his works and a statement of the number of years during which he was rabbi of Altona. He further asked that the four capital punishments ([[stoning]], [[execution by burning|burning]], [[decapitation]] and [[asphyxiation]]) be performed symbolically on his body.