Hochzeits-Hagada

(BREUER, RAPHAEL).

(Aschaffenburg)

1909

Handwritten lithograph in German

Composed in the style of the Passover Hagadah, this is an adroit parody whose theme revolves around the marital union of Raphael Breuer and his bride, Minna Goldberger. Supplies humorous references to members of the respective families - for example, "Bedikath Chomez" comments upon Dr. Breuer's's prediliction for "the dust of cigar-ash and antiquarian books." Rabbi Dr. Raphael Breuer (1881-1932), the oldest son of Rabbi Solomon Breuer of Frankfurt, served as the District Rabbi of Aschaffenburg, Bavaria. His candidacy to succeed his father in the Rabbinate following the latter's death in 1926 was blocked by Jacob Rosenheim who sought to prevent a Breuer hegemony in Frankfurt and furthermore, was opposed to the philosophical tenor of Raphael Breuer' writings. Raphael Breuer's commentaries to the Five Scrolls has recently been published in Hebrew translation prepared under the editorship of Dr. Elliot Bondi