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R. Samson (Ben) Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) was a rabbi and writer; leader and foremost exponent of Orthodoxy in Germany in the 19th century. Born in Hamburg, Hirsch studied Talmud with his grandfather Mendel Frankfurter there. His education was influenced by the enlightened Orthodox rabbis Jacob Ettlinger and Isaac Bernays, and by his father, R. Raphael (who had changed his surname from Frankfurter to Hirsch), an opponent of the Reform congregation at the temple in Hamburg but also a supporter of hakham Bernays who included secular studies in the curriculum of the talmud torah of that city. Bernays had a great influence on Hirsch's philosophy of Judaism. Hirsch attended the University of Bonn for a year (1829), where he studied classical languages, history, and philosophy. He there formed a friendship with Abraham Geiger, and with him organized a society of Jewish students, obstensibly to study homiletics but with the deeper purpose of drawing them closer to Jewish values.
In 1830 Hirsch became Landrabbiner of the principality of Oldenburg. During his 11 years in office he wrote his most significant works, Neunzehn Briefe ueber Judentum (Iggerot Zafon; "Nineteen Letters on Judaism": first published under the pseudonym "Ben Uzziel," Altona, 1836; it appeared in many editions, translated into English by B. Drachman 1899; revised 1960), and Choreb, oder Versuche ueber Jissroels Pflichten in der Zerstreuung (1837, 19215; Horeb—Essays on Israel's "Duties" in the Diaspora, ed. and tr. by I. Grunfeld, 1962). In these two works, which together form a complete unit, and were designed for young men and women with a consciousness of Judaism, Hirsch laid down his basic views on Judaism which were elaborated and explained in his subsequent writings. The first made a profound impression in German Jewish circles for its brilliant intellectual presentation, in classic German, of Orthodox Judaism. It is written in the form of an exchange of letters between two youths: Benjamin, the spokesman for the "perplexed," who expresses the doubts of a young Jewish intellectual, and Naphtali, the representative of traditional Judaism, who formulates his answers in 18 letters discussing questions concerning the relationship of Judaism to world culture. H. Graetz, who was deeply impressed by the "Nineteen Letters," visited Oldenburg in 1837 and remained there for three years in order to complete his Jewish education under the guidance of Hirsch. Graetz later dedicated his Gnosticismus und Judentum ("Gnosis and Judaism," 1846) to Hirsch "with sentiments of love and gratitude, to the inspiring defender of historic Judaism, to the unforgettable teacher and loved friend."
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