Joseph Hirsch Dünner

Chief Rabbi Dr.
Joseph Hirsch Dünner
Chief Rabbi Dr. Joseph Hirsch Dünner
Personal
Born	11 January 1833; Cracow, Congress Poland
Died	13 October 1911 (aged 78); Amsterdam, Kingdom of the Netherlands
Religion	Judaism
Alma mater	University of Heidelberg

Joseph Hirsch Dünner (Hebrew: יוסף צבי הלוי דינר (also known as (הריצ״ד)); 11 January 1833 – 13 October 1911) was a Dutch Jewish leader and scholar, who served as Chief Rabbi of North Holland (including Amsterdam).

Biography

Dünner was born in Cracow, Poland, in 1833. He received his rabbinical education in his native city, and studied philosophy and Oriental philology at Bonn and Heidelberg. He received a PhD from the latter institution with a thesis on Abraham ibn Ezra.^[1]

In 1862 he was called from Bonn to the rectorate of the Nederlands Israëlietisch Seminarium [nl] in Amsterdam. His ability soon made it famous as a school of Jewish theology, ancient languages, and religious philosophy. In 1874 he was made Chief Rabbi of the Amsterdam community and of the province of North Holland, and though was strictly Orthodox, no dissension has marred his administration. The government recognized his ability and activity by decorating him with the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands.

Dünner is known for his studies on the Halakha of the Tannaic period, and by his disquisitions on the Tosefta. Dünner argued that the Tosefta was "a post-Talmudic compilation of Talmudic baraitot and authentic Tannaitic material" and was an important precursor to Hanoch Albeck's thesis concerning the Tosefta. ^[2] Additionally, Dünner's commentary to the Babylonian Talmud, republished as Ḥidushei ha-riṣad by Mossad HaRav Kook, was one of the first modern academic studies of Talmud. ^[3] Together with Meijer Roest, he founded the Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad (1865) and the Israëlietische Nieuwsbode (1875).^[4] He also acquired a reputation as an orator, and contributed to the Joodsch Letterkundige Bijdragen, Monatsschrift, Weekblad voor Israeliten, and Israelitische Letterbode.

Publications

Die Zionisten: Rede gehalten am 2. Neujahrstage 5658 bei dem Morgengottesdienst der grossen Synagoge (in German). 1898.
Die Theorien über Wesen und Ursprung der Tosephtha, Kritisch Dargestellt (in German). Amsterdam: Seyffardt'sche Buchhandlung. 1874. hdl:2027/osu.32435031599657.
Glossen (Haggahot) zum Babylonischen und Palästinensischen Talmud (in Hebrew). Vol. 1–4. Frankfurt. 1896–1903.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)(Republished as Ḥidushei ha-riṣad) (Volumes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, available via Hebrewbooks.org
Kritische und Erläuternde Anmerkungen zu Bedarschi's Chotham Tochnit. Amsterdam. 1865.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Leerredenen. Vol. 1–5. Amsterdam. 1897–1901.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Het Zionisme: leerrede gehouden op Sabbath Nachamoe 5665, ter nieuwe synagoge te Amsterdam (in Dutch). The Hague: Drukkerij Levisson. 1905.
Hagahot al Mishne Torah, hu ha-yad ha-ḥazakah leha-Rambam (in Hebrew). Amsterdam: Hotsa'at Menaḥem Hertsberger. 1929.

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; Seeligmann, Sigmund (1903). "Dünner, Joseph Hirsch". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 5. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. p. 14.

^ Gans, Evelien (2017). "Image(s) of 'The Rav' through the Lens of an Involved Historian: Jaap Meijer's Depiction of Rabbi Jozeph Hirsch Dünner". In Kaplan, Yosef; Michman, Dan (eds.). The Religious Cultures of Dutch Jewry. pp. 316–326. doi:10.1163/9789004343160_015. ISBN 978-90-04-34316-0.
^ H.L. Strack & G. Stemberger, Introduction to The Talmud and Midrash (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992),153
^ Stephen G. Wald, "Talmud, Babylonian," Encyclopaedia Judaica2nd ed., eds. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), 19:481.
^ Zwiep, Irene (2006). "No Friend of Humbug: Meijer Roest Mz., First Custodian of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana (1881–1889)". Omnia in Eo: Studies on Jewish Books and Libraries. Studia Rosenthaliana. Peeters Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 978-90-429-1908-2.

[gans-1] Gans, Evelien (2017). "Image(s) of 'The Rav' through the Lens of an Involved Historian: Jaap Meijer's Depiction of Rabbi Jozeph Hirsch Dünner". In Kaplan, Yosef; Michman, Dan (eds.). The Religious Cultures of Dutch Jewry. pp. 316–326. doi:10.1163/9789004343160_015. ISBN 978-90-04-34316-0.

[2] H.L. Strack & G. Stemberger, Introduction to The Talmud and Midrash (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992),153

[3] Stephen G. Wald, "Talmud, Babylonian," Encyclopaedia Judaica2nd ed., eds. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik (Macmillan Reference USA, 2007), 19:481.

[zwiep-4] Zwiep, Irene (2006). "No Friend of Humbug: Meijer Roest Mz., First Custodian of the Bibliotheca Rosenthaliana (1881–1889)". Omnia in Eo: Studies on Jewish Books and Libraries. Studia Rosenthaliana. Peeters Publishers. p. 39. ISBN 978-90-429-1908-2.

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