Pinchas Horowitz
PolandRabbi Akiba Eger: A Staunch Defender of Orthodoxy
Rabbi Akiba Eger was a prominent rabbi, Talmudic commentator, and staunch opponent of the Haskalah (Jewish Enlightenment) movement.
Opposition to Reform
Rabbi Eger vehemently resisted cultural and societal changes within the German Jewish community. He fiercely opposed the inclusion of secular subjects in Jewish school curricula in 1794. He condemned the writings of Moses Mendelssohn and even sanctioned their burning in 1782. Eger vehemently objected to even minor innovations in Jewish worship, such as choral singing.
Later Years and Legacy
In his later years, Rabbi Eger's views softened somewhat. In 1803, he approved a German translation of the festival prayer book (Mahzor). During the final years of his life, Eger became blind, and his son, Zvi Hirsch Horowitz, continued his work. Ironically, the Frankfurt community under the leadership of Rabbi S. R. Hirsch later became a bastion of Neo-Orthodoxy, which allowed for choral singing in the synagogue.
