Yaakov Ettlinger - "Aruch La-Ner"

Rabbi Yaakov ben Aharon Ettlinger (1798 - 1871) - "Aruch La-Ner" - was a German rabbi, as well as one of the leaders of Orthodox Judaism. Yahrzeit - 25 Kislev Burial place - Altona, Germany Ettlinger was born in Karlsruhe, Baden, and died in Altona, Prussia. He received his early education from his father Aharon, who was a Klausrabbiner (rabbi of a small synagogue) in Karlsruhe. Aharon was also a recognized Talmudic scholar who was devoted to Kabbalah. He then went to study with the rabbi of Karlsruhe, Rabbi Asher Wallerstein, son of the famous Shaagat Aryeh. Wallerstein was also the chief rabbi of the entire duchy of Baden. Ettlinger remained his student until the age of 18. Ettlinger completed his Talmudic education at the yeshiva of Avraham Bing in Würzburg, one of the most significant centers of Torah in Germany. There he also studied at the University of Würzburg, mainly philosophy. Thus, he was one of the first German rabbis to receive an academic education. However, it should be noted that he never received a formal degree. In 1826, he was appointed Kreisrabbiner (district rabbi) of Ladenburg, residing in Mannheim. He held this position until he succeeded Akiva Yisrael Wertheimer as chief rabbi of Altona. A great many students who became leaders of their generation studied in his yeshiva. Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch was his student in Mannheim, and Azriel Hildesheimer in Altona. Five of his sons-in-law became distinguished Orthodox rabbis: Yosef Isaacson of Rotterdam, Salomon Cohn of Schwerin, Yisrael Meir Freimann of Ostrowo, Moshe Leib Bamberger of Kissingen, and Marcus Mordechai Horowitz of Frankfurt. He was the last German rabbi to serve as a civil judge. Against his will, the Danish government, to which Altona then belonged, abolished this right of the Rabbi of Altona in 1863. Ettlinger became one of the most outspoken opponents of the early Reform Judaism movement and led the protest of 173 rabbis against the Brunswick Conference of 1844. A characteristic story is told by Abraham Geiger, who met Ettlinger while a student in 1829. During a school examination, a teacher remarked that Yosef's brothers had not behaved in a brotherly manner, whereupon Ettlinger indignantly rebuked him for speaking ill of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Attitude toward Kabbalah Ettlinger expressed a positive view of Kabbalah, as can be seen from his first work, "Bikkurei Yaakov." In the introduction, Ettlinger explains that he chose this title because its numerical value corresponded to Yaakov and Rachel, who are mystically represented in the laws of the Sukkah discussed in the book. A similar belief in the teachings of Kabbalah is expressed in a sermon in which he called for early burial, since as long as a body remains unburied, evil spirits have power over it. In one responsum, he replied to Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer, who had tried to enlist his support for the movement to build the Third Temple and offer sacrifices there. Ettlinger voiced strong opposition. Among his arguments was that most of the sacrifices would in any case be invalid. Ettlinger maintained that, since the Mishnah states that for a sacrifice to be valid it must be offered with the intention of providing a "pleasing aroma," any sacrifice offered during the period of exile would automatically be invalid, since the Torah clearly states that G-d declared He would no longer "savor" the "aroma" of offerings during the era of exile. In the famous dispute over machine-made matzah, Ettlinger ruled that machine-made matzah could be used on Passover. Nevertheless, he ruled that the edges of the matzah must be trimmed so that it appears round, like traditional matzah. Aruch La-Ner Ettlinger's book "Aruch La-Ner," consisting of novellae on many Talmudic tractates, is studied in yeshivas around the world. This is most likely due to the "rigorous intellectual discipline and detailed analysis of Talmudic sources" that characterize this work. He is widely cited by such rabbis as Elchonon Wasserman, Boruch Ber Leibowitz, and Reuven Grozovsky. In his will, Ettlinger asked that he not be called a "tzadik" (righteous one) and that the inscription on his gravestone contain only the titles of his works and an indication of the number of years he served as rabbi of Altona. He also asked that the four forms of capital punishment (stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation) be symbolically applied to his body. May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael! https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/1242-Rabbi-Jacob-Ettlinger