Samson Raphael Hirsch was a German scholar, rabbi, activist, and pioneer of the Torah Im Derekh Eretz school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. He received both a general and religious education as a youth, the latter taking place under the mentorship of Chakham Isaac Bernays and Rabbi Jacob Ettinger. He began studies at the University of Bonn but did not obtain a degree. At the age of 22, he became the chief rabbi of Oldenburg. Within eight years, he had published both his Nineteen Letters of Ben Uziel and Horeb, together presenting compelling intellectual explications of Orthodoxy and a defense of its precepts and institutions. He also served as rabbi in Emden, Nikolsburg (Moravia), and Frankfurt am Main. In each post, he used his considerable skills as an orator and writer to promote an Orthodoxy that could withstand the relentless challenge of the Reform movement. As chief rabbi of Moravia, he was politically active in the ultimately successful struggle for Jewish emancipation. Later, he was largely responsible for convincing the Prussian parliament to permit Jews to secede from the official state-recognized Jewish religious community, allowing break-off congregations to preserve their traditional, Orthodox character. His greatest legacy, however, is his philosophy of Torah Im Derekh Eretz, synthesizing Torah learning with secular learning, particularly of the sciences. His influence reached far beyond Germany, and his Torah commentary, which has been translated from the original German into Hebrew and English, is widely studied and often quoted.
Works on Sefaria
A
Rav Hirsch on Torah
Horeb
Nineteen Letters
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