Altona Altruism
THE JEW ISII ENCYCLOPEDIA
The first ijromisiiii^ sign of the previous (leeades. was the reappoinltuent to the vacant nibliimite, of the young Slarcus Ilirsch. of Tisza-IJii. wlio in addition to profound Talnuidio schohirship possessed wide secular knowledge, aeipiired at the university Soon tliereafler the management of the of Prague. business affairs of the eonimunily was entrusted to the hands of Michael Stern and Samuel Ehrlich: two men of noble character and enthusiastic love for Judaism. They restored matters to something like order, and to their experienced administration it was owing that the sums which had been diverted from At this time the legacy-fund were soon replaced. too, the first Hungarian Jews were raised to the ranks of the nobility (.S. W. S<hossberger as '"De Tornya" and Samuel F. Goldberger as " De
(18t>3-ti">).
Buda"): these were descended from Alt-Ofen families. In 1880, Dr. Hirsch was elected chief rabbi of Prague, and left Alt-Ofen, which remained without a nibbi another .seven years
till J)r. Julius Klein, of Szigetviir, became his successor. After his death in 189B. Dr. Elias Adler became rabbi.
The following
are
stjitistics
of the present condi-
community. It possesses The Pres- a synagogue of clas-sic architecture, ent Com- built in 1820; owns thirty -eight Torahtion of the
munity.
rolls, silver synagogal parapliernalia weighing 23.000 grams; curtains for the Ark some of which are masteriiieces of the gold-embroiderer's art all of which represent a
—
—
value of 20.000 tlorins (SS.OI)O). In its legaev-fund are nearly 100,000 tlorins (§40.000), the income from which is devoted to benevolent purposes. It has eighteen charitable societies, which are a veritable blessing for the numerous poor of the congregation. There are 8 10 families on its register, of whom nearly half are artisans, the ma.iority of them being employed in the calico-print works of Samuel F. Goldberger & Sons, founded in 1780. Another important calico-factory is that of Gerson Spilzer, whose products find exteu.sive sale in all parts of the world it was founded in 1826. Other contributors to Hungarian industries arc AVillielm von Leipziger, knight of the order of the Iron frown, who took a prominent part in securing the distillery law of 1889. which contributed so much to the rehabilitation of Hungarian finances.
BiBi.iOGR.4PHT Kotin. Th'hrr Khtf'ik (Hebrew sources). 18R4 idem, M'lmi'fr Zxiilnturt. iHistnry of the Hunparlan Jews), 18*^; Lnw. y<uhi' liissmi Siliriften, li. Mctffyar Ztfitln Szt'mh: 1891 ; Itelch, Bct-Et, 111.: also synagogal aud nntloual
arclilves.
j
g
474
the Altona comnuinity has since then been oflicially known as Ilochdeutsche Israeliteu-Gemeinde zu Altona ( High-Girman Jewish Community of Altonai. From the beginning of the eighteenth century until 1885, there existed also a Portngui'se-Jewish eommunity. known as Bet Jacob ha Katan, and later as Neweh Shalom, which was, however, but a branch of the Portuguese congregation of Hamburg. The economic conditions of Alttma were much improved by the settlement of Jews, on whom King Christian IV. bestowed the privilege of engaging
The Hamburg Jews, who had no in slii|)building. such privilege, turned their activities to Altona; and the growth of the Altona whale fishery in the eighteenth century was due largely to their efforts. The Three Communities hail the following chief Solomon Jlirels of Xeumark. 1678-1706; Zebi Ashkenazi (Hakam Zebi). and Moses ben Sllsskind of Rothenburg (died 1712): Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen. known by his responsa" Keneset Yisrael." 1712—19; Jonathan Eibeiisclii'itz. born 1()90. formerly rabbiat PragneaudSIctz.well known forhiskecn intellectand vastknowh'dge.authorof " Kreti u-Pleli."' "Urim we-Tummim." and other works (died 1764); Jacob Emden (174.')). who had for a short time been rabbi of Emden. but who afterward lived privately in Altona: it was lie who accused K. Jonathan of being a secret follower of Shabbetliai Zebi, and attacked him in various pamphlets: Isaac Horowitz, 1767; David ben Loeb, Berlin (died 1771); and Raphael ha-Kohen (grandfather of Gat)riel Riesser). 1776-99, who was particularly learned in Jewish civil law, and resigned his office on account ol a contliet with the Danish government, which disputed his right of excommunication. Raphael intended to go to Palestine, but was prevented by the Xaiioleonic wars. He died in 1803. His successors were Havvim Zebi, Berlin (1799-1802), and Zebi Hirsch Zaiiiosz (1803-7), author of "Tiferet Zebi." Among the chief rabbis who held office after the dissolution of the union were: Akiba Wertheimer, (1815-35): Jacob Ettlingcr (183.5-71), who, by his halakic writings and his activity as a teacher," greatly promoted the study of the Talmud, and upheld the rabbinical reputation of Altona: Dr. Loeb( 1873-92), a scholar and eloquent preacher; and, finally, Dr. M. Lerner. who was elected in 1894. Besides the chief rabbi there were two rabbinical assistants (dayyanim. whose special fiuiction it was to render ritual decisions), Jacoti Cohen and Elijah Munk (died 1890). Subject to the jurisdiction of the chief rabbi are several communitiesof Holstein Kiel.R( ndsburg.and Frieilriclistadt; also the neighboring community, Wandsbeck, which, however, has its own rablM. The community of Altona possesses a.synagogue, erected after the fire of 1713; a lecture-hail. found<'d by Hakam Zebi; an orphan asylum: a home for the aged; a school for boys and girls: and a society for the promotion of Jew ish knowledge. The present cemetery is situated in the suburb of Bahrenfeld. In Altona itself there are, side by side, the old German-Jewish cemetery, in which Chief Rabbi Ettlinger was the last person interred, and the verj' interesting cemetery of the Portuguese Jews of Hamburg, which was purchased in 1611 and closed in 1871 rabbis:
AliTONA
City and port, situated on the Elbe, adjoining Ilnmburg, in Holstein, which was formerly a Danish dueliy. but is now a part of the province of Sleswick-llolstein. Prussia. The Jewish community of this city was founded, under the jurisdiction of the counts of Schaumburg. at the beginning of tlie seventeenth century. The earliest tombstone in the old cemetery bears the date 1021. On August 1, 1641, the comnumity received its charter from King Christian IV. of Denmark (see page preceding); and in 1671 it united with the congregation of Hamburg then unimportant and afterward with that of Wandsbeck. making one congregation known as the Three Conununities Their I'riN (N Altona. n Haml)urg. 1 Wandsbeck). joint chief rabbi had his seat at Altona; and he exercised jurisdiction over the whole Gennan-Jewisli population of those communities as well as over that of the duchy of Holstein. These conditions continued until 1811, when, under the French occupation, Hamburg was ordered to form a Jewish
—
community by
itself.
The union was
—
dissolved: and
(see illustration).
The Jewish population in 1900 numbered about 2,000, in a total of 1.50,000; whereas soon after the end of the Danish rule, in 1867, it numbered 2,350, in a total population of 50,000. BinLiOGRAPHT:
Zeit. f.d. Grxch. il.Jmlrn in DeutKrhlnnii,
1.281, ii.."ttcfs^q.. 282; Baa-tch. liritriliir ziir Genchichtc de^ p. 30, Hamburg. 1899.
Deutschen SeescM^auc^,
A, F.
