Ellis, Samuel H., Report of the Committee Appointed for the Selection of Candidates for the Office of Chief Rabbi. * WITH: Copy of Correspondence Relating to the Office of Chief Rabbi.

AUCTION 55 | Thursday, June 21st, 2012 at 1:00
Fine Judaica: Printed Books, Manuscripts Autograph Letters, Graphic & Ceremonial Art

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Lot 48
(ANGLO-JUDAICA).

Ellis, Samuel H., Report of the Committee Appointed for the Selection of Candidates for the Office of Chief Rabbi. * WITH: Copy of Correspondence Relating to the Office of Chief Rabbi.

pp. 8 (excluding blanks). Heavily creased, frayed and with central tears but no loss of text. Unbound. Tall folio.

London: August & October 1844

Est: $1,200 - $1,800
PRICE REALIZED $1,200
Rare documents relating to the election of the new Chief Rabbi of England. With the resume of each candidate, including that of Rabbiner Samson Raphael Hirsch. Chief Rabbi Solomon Hirschel (1762-1842) was the last British chief rabbi appointed by London’s Great Synagogue without the participation of any other London or provincial congregations. In tune with the parliamentary reforms of the age, a democratic process was developed, in which all synagogues wishing to participate, and subsequently to contribute towards the expenses of the office, would be entitled to vote in proportion to their membership. The vacancy was announced and after the organizing committee eliminated nine of the thirteen applicants on technicalities, four finalists we left: Nathan Marcus Adler of Hannover, Benjamin Auerbach of Darmstadt, Hirsch Hirschfeld of Wollstein and Samson Raphael Hirsch of Emden. Understandably, therefore, the committee could, report to the electors, “feel pleasure in observing that so highly satisfactory are the testimonials of the selected candidates and so high a reputation do these gentlemen respectively enjoy for religion, morality and learning, that on whomsoever the election may fall, there can be no doubt as to the competency of the successful applicant adequately to fulfill his sacral and important functions.” The first document, dated 5th August, 1844, summarizes the rules for the election in October and provides voters with a resume for each candidate, from which it seems that the committee thought Hirschfeld best qualified. However from the outset, the Anglo-Jewish Establishment had decided upon Adler, partly because of his connection as chief rabbi of Hannover to Britain and its royal family. An unseemly conflict arose between the supporters of Hirschfeld, the learned son-in-law of R. Solomon Eger of Posen and Adler’s partisans. Things got to the point that the organizing committee decided to postpone the elections until December. The second document, particularly rare, prints the resulting contentious correspondence for the benefit of the electors. Ultimately, the final result of the vote was Adler 121, Hirschfeld 12 and Hirsch, mentioned at one point as a compromise candidate, received but two votes - his destiny was clearly elsewhere. Meanwhile Auerbach had withdrawn before the vote and despite all his early promise, faded entirely from the public eye.