Editing Jacob Ettlinger

{{Short description|German rabbi and author (1798-1871)}}
{{expand Hebrew|topic=bio|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Jacob Ettlinger
| image         = Portrait of Rabbi Jakob Ettlinger.jpg
| alt           = 
| caption       = Rabbi Jacob Ettlinger
| birth_name    = 
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1798|3|17|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Karlsruhe]], [[Margraviate of Baden|Baden]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1871|12|7|1798|3|17|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]]
| nationality   = Ashkenazi
| spouse  = Nanette Wormser
| occupation    = 
| years_active  = 
| known_for     = 
| notable_works = 
}}

'''Jacob Ettlinger''' (17 March 1798 – 7 December 1871) ({{langx|he|יעקב עטטלינגער}}) was an Ashkenazi [[rabbi]] and author, and one of the leaders of [[Orthodox Judaism]].  He is sometimes referred to as the '''''Aruch la-Ner''''' ('''ערוך לנר'''), after his best-known publication.

==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.

==Views==
===Clashes with the Reform movement===
Ettlinger became one of the strongest opponents of the early [[Reform Judaism]] movement, and headed a protest of 173 rabbis against the [[Rabbinical Conference of Brunswick|Brunswick Conference]] of 1844. In the following year he established the first organ of [[Orthodox Judaism]], ''Der treue Zionswächter, Organ zur Wahrung der Interessen des gesetzestreuen Judenthums'' with a [[Hebrew language]] supplement, ''Shomer Tziyon ha-Ne'eman'', edited by [[S. J. Enoch]].

He was a firm defender of Orthodox tradition. A typical story is reported by [[Abraham Geiger]], who formed Ettlinger's acquaintance as a student in 1829. At a school examination a teacher said that Joseph's brothers had acted in an unbrotherly fashion, whereupon Ettlinger rebuked him indignantly for speaking ill of the Twelve [[Tribes of Israel]].

===Attitude towards Kabbalah===
Ettlinger expressed a positive view towards [[Kabbalah]], as can be judged from his first work, ''Bikkurei Yaakov''. In the preface, Etllinger explains that he chose the title because it had the numerical value of Jacob and Rachel, who are mystically represented in the law of the [[Sukkah]], with which the book deals. A similar belief in the doctrines of the Kabbalah is expressed in a sermon in which he urged early burial, because as long as the body remains unburied evil spirits have power over it.

==Notable rulings==
In his legal responsa, Ettlinger dealt with many complex [[halachic]] dilemmas, often presenting novel theories to resolve them.

In one ''teshuvah'', he responded to Rabbi [[Zvi Hirsch Kalischer]], who was attempting to attract support for his movement to build the [[Third Temple]] and offer sacrifices there. Ettlinger expressed strong opposition. Among his arguments was that most sacrifices would not be valid in any case. Ettlinger posited that since the [[Mishna]] states that for a sacrifice to be valid it must be offered with intent to generate ''reiach'' (literally meaning "scent"),<ref>{{cite book |title=משניות זבחים |trans-title=Mishna Zevachim |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Zevachim.4?lang=en }}</ref> any sacrifice offered during the period of exile will be automatically invalidated, since the Torah clearly states that God declared he would no longer "inhale" the "scent" of the offerings in the epoch of exile,<ref>{{cite book |title=חומש ויקרא פרק כו פסוק לא |trans-title=Leviticus 26,31|url=https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.26?lang=bi}}</ref> thus rendering any intent of generating ''reiach'' void and farcical.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ettlinger |first=Jacob |title= בנין ציון החדשות|trans-title= Binyan Tzionis H'chadoshos, vol. one, ''siman'' one |language= he}}</ref>

In the famed [[Shlomo Kluger|Machine Matzo Controversy]], Ettlinger ruled that machine-made [[Matzah|Matzo]] could be used on [[Passover]]. He writes, <blockquote>"If they are disgusted with it because it is a new thing; we, the rabbis of Germany who are upright in their hearts... also distance [ourselves from] innovations regarding Torah and [[mitzvos]] as far as a bowshot away. However, what the experts and natural scholars innovate in regards to nature, why should we not accept the good from them, to strengthen the holes in our knowledge, to keep the mitzvos... as any understanding man could judge for himself."</blockquote>Nevertheless, he instituted that the matzos' edges be cut off, so that they would appear round, like traditional matzos.<ref name=Modaah>{{cite book |title= מודעה לבית ישראל וביטול מודעה|trans-title= Modaah Lebais Yisroel Ubitul Modaah|url= http://hebrewbooks.org/7146|language= he}}</ref>

In 1859, Ettlinger was consulted about an incident where a man, claiming to be the prophet  [[Elijah]] and acting on the word of God, defiled a married woman. Ettlinger was asked to determine whether the woman had acquired the status of an unfaithful wife, rendering her forbidden to her husband. Ettlinger began his response by stating: "I have reviewed all of the aspects, and it is very difficult to find a cure and a remedy for this plague of stupidity that would permit this woman to her husband." However, his final conclusion was that since the woman had believed she was acting under the express orders of God, she was to be looked at as if she had been physically compelled and had no choice in the matter.<ref>{{cite book |last= Ettlinger|first=Jacob |title= בנין ציון קנד|trans-title= Binyan Tziyon, 154 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Binyan_Tziyon.154?lang=en}}</ref>

==Aruch la-Ner==
Ettlinger's work ''Aruch la-Ner'', consisting of [[Chidush#In rabbinic literature|novellae]] on  many Talmudical tractates, is one of the standard texts in [[Yeshivas]] around the world. This is most probably due to "the rigid intellectual discipline, and detailed analysis of Talmudic sources" that are the hallmark of this work. It is quoted extensively by scholars such as [[Elchonon Wasserman]], [[Adin Steinsaltz]], [[Boruch Ber Leibowitz]], and [[Reuven Grozovsky]].<ref name=JB/>

==Works==
His published works are:
* ''Bikkurei Yaakov'' (ביכורי יעקב), on the laws of [[Sukkot]], Altona, 1836 (2d ed. with the addition of ''Tosefot Bikkurim'', including glosses of [[Akiba Eiger]] and [[Seligman Baer Bamberger]], Altona, 1858)
* ''Aruch la-Ner'' (ערוך לנר), glosses on various Talmudic treatises (on [[Yevamot]], Altona, 1850; on [[Makkot]] and [[Keritot]], Altona, 1855; on [[Sukkah (Talmud)|Sukkah]], Altona, 1858; on [[Niddah]], Altona, 1864; on [[Rosh ha-Shanah]] and [[Sanhedrin]], Warsaw, 1873)
* ''Binyan Tziyon'' (בנין ציון), [[responsa]], Altona, 1868; ''She'elot u-Teshuvot Binyan Tziyon ha-Chadashot'', Wilna, 1874 (a continuation of the preceding) An edition with a new additional part from manuscripts and other sources with introductions, references, notes, indexes and biographies was published by [[Rabbi Yehuda Aharon Horovitz]], Jerusalem, 1989 and 2002
* ''Minchat Ani'' (מנחת עני), homilies, Altona, 1874
* ''Mincha Arucha'' (מנחה ערוכה) sermons, articles and brochures translated into Hebrew by [[Aviezri Wolf]]. Edited and published by [[Rabbi Yehuda Aharon Horovitz]], Jerusalem 2008.

He published various sermons in German, among them ''Antrittsrede, Gehalten in der Grossen Synagoge zu Altona'', Altona, 1836; ''Rede beim Trauergottesdienst beim Ableben Friedrich III'', Altona, 1840; and numerous articles in the ''Treue Zionswächter'', a collection of which was published by L. M. Bamberger, ''Abhandlungen und Reden'', Schildberg, 1899

==Bibliography==
* {{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 }}
* Horovitz, Rabbi Yehuda Aharon: Mevo Mitoldotav "Ketzot Darkei Rabeni Yaakov Yokev Ettlinger .."  Binyan Zion, Jerusalem 2002, Vol. 1 P. 8 - 52.

==References==
<references/>
*{{Jewish Encyclopedia |last=Singer |first=Isidore |authorlink=Isidore Singer |last2=Deutsch  |first2=Gotthard  |authorlink2=Gotthard Deutsch |wstitle=Ettlinger, Jacob}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ettlinger, Jacob}}
[[Category:19th-century German rabbis]]
[[Category:German Orthodox rabbis]]
[[Category:Clergy from Karlsruhe]]
[[Category:People from Altona, Hamburg]]
[[Category:1798 births]]
[[Category:1871 deaths]]
[[Category:Rabbis from Hamburg]]
[[Category:University of Würzburg alumni]]