In 1765, Rabbi David Tevele Schiff was appointed the new rabbi of the Great Synagogue in London, only to find that the dust had not yet been settled between the rival Ashkenazi synagogues. Another rabbinic leader refused to acknowledge Rabbi Schiff’s authority, and this communal dispute continued to rage. The eventual triumph of Rabbi Schiff …
As the feud between the two Ashkenazi synagogues, the Great Synagogue and the Hambro Synagogue, subsided, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch was appointed Chief Rabbi of both communities. Yet, he began to grow frustrated with the lack of Jewish learning and he left the UK. Rabbi Zvi Hirsch frequently wrote his name and scholarly notes in the …
Our Anglo-Jewish Story Continues: Zvi Hirsch, the Frustrated Chief Rabbi Read More »
The very first Hebrew books printed in London for Jewish use were produced in 1707 by a non-Jewish publishing house and were neither prayer nor scholarly books, they are thought to be the earliest recorded rabbinic “machlokes” (controversy) within the Ashkenazi community in the U.K
As the Jewish community became established in the U.K there was a demand for locally printed prayer books to replace those imported from elsewhere. The first Hebrew Siddur was accordingly printed in the U.K in 1770. It is exceedingly rare, perhaps because in the same year a more enterprising publisher produced a Hebrew-English version which …
The First Hebrew-Only Siddur Printed in England: An Almost Forgotten Treasure Read More »