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Introduction by the Oberrath of Baden (inserted in pen is the name Loewenstein), a state of the German empire, bounded on the north by Bavaria and Hesse; on the east by Bavaria, Württemberg, and Hohenzollern; on the south by Switzerland, and on the west by Alsace-Lorraine and Rhenish Bavaria. Owing to the absence of any large or ancient cities in Baden, few Jews lived there in olden times. The administration of each congregation is conducted by the "Synagogenrath," which consists of from three to seven members. Several local synagogues constitute a synagogal district with its rabbi and elders. The district synagogues again are responsible to a so-called "Israelitischen Oberrath" (Jewish council); and this is directly responsible to the ministry of the interior, its expenses being defrayed out of the national treasury. Since 1860 the Jews of Baden have enjoyed equal rights with the other inhabitants. In 1901 they numbered 25,903 souls, distributed among fifteen rabbinical districts ("Rabbinatsbezirke").
The volume is divided into two abtheilung (parts). The first is entitled: Das Wandeln in Lichte des Ewigen, oder die wahre Aufklärung des Israeliten, dargestellt in einer Predigt. A sermon on changing in the light of the Eternal One. The second part is entitled Beleuchtung des von Dr. M . Creizenach herausgegenen "Thariag"… Dr. Michale Creizenach was a German educator and theologian; born in Mayence May 16, 1789; died in Frankfort-on-the-Main Aug. 5, 1842. Creizenach is one of the most typical representatives of the era of transition, following the epoch of Mendelssohn, whose chief aim was the regeneration of Judaism by the methods of Talmudic dialecticism, which, as they imagined, would win over the Orthodox and yet achieve the necessary progress. Creizenach was educated in the traditional way, devoting his whole time to Talmudic studies; and he was sixteen years old when he began to acquire the elements of secular knowledge. This was during the French occupation, when a liberal spirit, greeted enthusiastically by both Jews and Christians, permeated the society of the ancient center of Catholic Germany. He studied mathematics with great zeal, and wrote text-books of the science. Through his influence a Jewish school was founded in Mayence, whose principal he was, at the same time giving private instruction. He was a very popular teacher, and counted many Christians among his pupils. |
