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A prominent place in Hirsch's activity was his translation of, and commentary on: the Pentateuch (Der Pentateuch uebersetzt und erklaert, 5 vols., 1867–78; English translation of the commentary, 1956–62); the Book of Psalms (Psalmen uebersetzt und erklaert, 1883; 1924) and prayers (Israels Gebete, uebersetzt und erlaeutert, 1895). Hirsch's translation of the Bible into German is a literal rendition; in its faithfulness to the details of the original it goes so far as to employ forms that are alien to the spirit of the German language. R. Hirsch rejected the aesthetic approach adopted by his teacher Isaac Bernays, a disciple of Herder. In the opinion of Hirsch, the Bible addresses itself to the heart and intellect and leaves no room for the workings of the imagination. As one who denied the validity of the historical approach of the Reform wing, he also rejected the methods of biblical interpretation based on the context in time and space.

R. Samson b. Raphael Hirsch (1808–1888) was the leader and foremost exponent of Orthodoxy in Germany in the 19th century. Born in Hamburg, Hirsch studied Talmud there with his grandfather R. Mendel Frankfurter. His education was also influenced by rabbis Jacob Ettlinger and Isaac Bernays, and by his father, R. Raphael (who had changed his surname from Frankfurter to Hirsch). R. Hirsch's importance as a religious spiritual leader, his wide influence as a preacher and teacher, organizer and writer, made him a dedicated champion of Orthodoxy in its controversy with the Reform-liberal Judaism. While advocating strict adherence to halakhah, R. Hirsch tried to find a solution to the political and cultural challenges presented in modern life to Judaism. He considered his view of Judaism not as a system of philosophical speculation but as an explication of the Sinaitic revelation. Despite widespread opposition to his ideas from many circles in German Jewry his personal qualities won their respect and admiration.

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