29 Tevet · Yahrzeit

Rabbi Nathan Marcus HaKohen Adler

Rabbi Nathan Marcus ben Mordechai HaKohen Adler (January 13, 1803 - January 21, 1890) was the Chief Orthodox Rabbi of the British Empire. Yahrzeit - 29 Tevet Burial place - A Kohen by descent, Adler was born in Hanover, in what is now Germany. His father, Mordechai (Marcus) Baer Adler, was the chief rabbi of the city. He was named after the kabbalist Nathan Adler. He studied classics and modern languages, including English and French, at the University of Würzburg; he received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Erlangen in 1828. He studied Torah under his father and also received semicha (rabbinic ordination) in 1828 from Rabbi Abraham Bing, chief rabbi and Rosh Yeshiva of Würzburg. While serving as rabbi in Hanover, he became acquainted with Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge, viceroy of the Kingdom of Hanover (which until 1837 was in personal union with Great Britain), who is believed to have recommended him for the position of chief rabbi in Britain. (One of the reasons he was chosen for the post of chief rabbi: the Duke's wife was in Germany and about to give birth. The couple faced a difficult problem: if the child were born on German soil, it would not be eligible to ascend the British throne as sovereign. After consulting with Rabbi Adler, he advised that the mother be taken by ship out into the open sea, well beyond German territorial waters, and years later the Duke recalled his far-sighted advice.) Out of 13 candidates, mostly from Germany, he made the shortlist of four for the position of chief rabbi of the British Empire. The other three were: Shimshon Raphael Hirsch, Benjamin Hirsch Auerbach, and Hirsch Hirschfeld. In a vote of 135 congregations, each with one vote, held on December 1, 1844, Adler received 121 votes, Hirschfeld 12, and Hirsch 2. His distant relative Jacob Adler, who met him in the winter of 1883–1884, described him as the religious authority not only of London's Jews, but of all Orthodox Jews of the United Kingdom and the Empire. The first Chief Rabbi of Britain with a university education, and the first to make regular tours of the United Kingdom, he was also a founder of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and for the better protection of children. During his tenure as chief rabbi, the emancipation of Jews in the United Kingdom was completed: the election (1847) and seating (1858) of Lionel de Rothschild as the first Jewish Member of Parliament; the elevation of Nathan Mayer Rothschild as the first Jewish member of the House of Lords (1885); and the term of Sir David Salomons as the first Jewish Lord Mayor of London (1855). Adler played a key role in establishing the United Synagogue, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1870. As of 2006, it remains the largest religious body in the British Jewish community and derives its religious authority from the Chief Rabbi. Adler is buried in the United Synagogue cemetery in Willesden. Legacy Adler Street in London was named in his honor; a Jewish institute and two synagogues once stood there, until the area was destroyed during the Blitz. His eldest son, Marcus Nathan Adler (Elkan, 1837–1911), was engaged in scholarly work such as writing, editing, and translating. For example, in 1907 his critical text, translation, and commentary on the important medieval manuscript of Benjamin of Tudela, "The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela," was published. Adler's younger son, Hermann Adler (1839–1911), was also a distinguished rabbi: head of the Bayswater congregation during his father's lifetime, his father's assistant from the time Adler's health began to decline in 1879, and his successor as Chief Rabbi. He was the author of several responsa and a number of other works. His "monumental work" is the commentary Netina LaGer on Targum Onkelos, the Aramaic version of the Torah; he also wrote Ahavat Yonatan on Targum Yonatan. He published a German translation of part of Judah Halevi's philosophical work, the Kuzari. May the merit of this tzadik protect Am Yisrael! (https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/1248-Rabbi-Nathan-Marcus-HaKohen-Adler)

Pilgrimage site: Grave: Nathan ben Shimon HaCohen Adler