- Áron Chorin
Áron Chorin (
August 3 1766 –August 24 1844 ) was a Hungarianrabbi and pioneer of religious reform. He favored the use of the organ and of prayers in the vernacular, and was instrumental in founding schools along modern lines. Chorin was thus regarded as a leader of the newerJudaism . He also interested himself in public affairs — he took an active part in the efforts for Jewish emancipation, and was very influential with the state authorities.Early years
Chorin was born in Hranice (in that time also known as Weisskirchen),
Moravia , now in theCzech Republic , in 1766. At the age of fourteen he studied in the "yeshivah " of Rabbi Jeremias inMattersburg , Hungary, and two years later atPrague in the higherTalmud ical school ofEzekiel Landau . Here he also learned German. Chorin married onDecember 26 1783 , and enteredcommerce ; but his business career being unsuccessful, he accepted the post of rabbi at Arad in the spring of 1789, which he occupied till his death.His First Work
In 1798, Chorin published his first pamphlet, "Imre No'am" (אמרי נועם "Words of Pleasantness"), in which he argued that as the
sturgeon had scales it was permitted as food according toScripture . His opinion, although following that of Landau and other authorities, was strongly opposed byMordecai Benet and his partisans. RabbiIsaac Krieshaber ofPáks wrote a refutation, "Maḳḳel No'am" (מקל נועם "Staff of Pleasantness"), which called forth a second pamphlet by Chorin, "Shiryon Ḳasḳassim" (שריון קשקשים "Armour of Quills"), (Prague, 1799).By his determined opposition to the traditional usages in Hungary, Chorin incurred the hostility of most of his colleagues. In the spring of 1802 he journeyed to the
Somogy district. The favorable impression which hissermon s made upon his Jewish hearers there induced him to consider himself as the future rabbi of this district, and on the title page of a pamphlet he published he assumed this title. The rich and prominentMoses Lakenbacher , president of the congregation ofGross-Kanizsa , promised Chorin his influence with his brethren of the district; but when Lakenbacher became aware of the strong opposition of the conservative party against the reformer he soon turned against him.Opposition by the Orthodox
At Prague in 1803, Chorin published "
' Emeḳ ha-Shaweh" ("Vale of the Plain"), a work divided into three parts. The first and most important part, "Rosh Amanah" ("Head of the Perennial Stream"), in which he granted to the spiritual guides of the people authority to modify the traditional laws and adapt them to the requirements of the time, led to much opposition to him. Chorin treats ofMaimonides ' thirteen articles of faith, and gives evidence of knowledge rare among his Hungarian contemporaries. Next to the "Halakha ", Chorin also interpreted the "Aggadah " in a philosophical way. This method he applied in like manner to the "Zohar ", which he, far from allmysticism , considered as a rich source of speculative knowledge. This view referred only to the theoretic or intuitive, and not the practical, "Kabbalah ", the belief in which he considered as contradictory to sound reason. At the beginning of this book are printed the approbation of RabbiMoses Münz and a eulogistic Hebrew poem of RabbiMoses Kunitz . This work gave great offense to the Orthodox party, which thwarted the publication of a second edition, for which Chorin had prepared many corrections and additions. Benet wrote to the Arad congregation that the book contained heresies and must be burned. The congregation, however, stood by their rabbi; but some of its members sided with Benet, and their leader, a rich man, publicly insulted Chorin while he was preaching. The Arad board now applied to Münz to certify that the book contained no heresies. Having given his approbation to the author, Münz was in a great dilemma, since he was urged by the Orthodox party to condemn Chorin and to inflict upon him an exemplary punishment. He concluded to yield to the insinuations, and onSeptember 1 1805 , he invited two rabbis to come toAlt-Ofen to form with him a tribunal before which Chorin was summoned. The session of the court was prolonged to the next day, but then Münz failed to appear.entence Pronounced
Samuel Butschowitz , rabbi ofAssod , now pronounced sentence that "Chorin must retract the contents of his book. Should he refuse to do so, his beard will be cut off as a penalty for his heretical transgressions." Thereupon Chorin, whom the populace had stoned in the courtyard of the synagogue, declared that he subordinated his views to those of the theologians of his time, and desired that his book be suppressed. The court also decreed a reduction of Chorin's salary, but the board of his congregation indignantly rejected this decree. Chorin appealed to the imperial government which, onJune 24 1806 , annulled the judgment and condemned the leader of his adversaries at Arad to pay the expenses of thelawsuit ; the same was also to be punished for his scandalous conduct onShabbat Shuvah , 1804. Chorin declared that he forgave his adversary, and declined his claims for compensation of the expenses. To avoid further trouble, he determined to give up writing.Attitude Toward Reform
The Reform movement among the Jews of
Hamburg met his hearty approval. In "Ḳin'at ha-Emet" ("Zeal for Truth"), a paper written onApril 7 1818 , and published in the collection "Nogah ha-Ẓedeḳ" ("Light of Righteousness"), he declared himself in favor of reforms, such as German prayers, the use of the organ, and other liturgical modifications. The principal prayers, the "Shema' ", and theeighteen benedictions , however, should be said in Hebrew, he declared, as this language keeps alive the belief in the restoration ofIsrael . He also pleaded for opening the temple for daily service. Influenced by Münz, Chorin recalled this writing onFebruary 19 1819 ; but a year later he published "Dabar be-'Itto" ("A Word in Its Time"), in which he reaffirmed the views expressed in "Ḳin'at ha-Emet", and pleaded strongly for the right of Reform. A German translation byLöb Herzfeld appeared atVienna . This directed upon him the attention of the progressive party inAustria and inGermany .Michael Lazar Biedermann , a prominent man, proposed the appointment of Chorin at the new temple to be erected at Vienna; but the government being opposed to it,Isaac Noah Mannheimer was elected instead.Consulted by Baden
The government of the grand duchy of
Baden asked Chorin (onFebruary 3 1821 ), through thebanker S. Haber , for his opinion about the duties of a rabbi, and about the reforms in the Austrian states. Chorin answered by writing "Iggeret Elasaf", or "Letter of an African Rabbi to His Colleagues in Europe", which was published by M. I. Landau (Prague, 1826). In it he stated that the "Torah " comprised religious truths and religious laws, the latter partly applicable only inPalestine , partly obligatory everywhere. These may be temporarily suspended, but not entirely abolished, by a competent authority, such as asynod . Only ordinances and precautionary laws which are of human origin may be abrogated in conformity with the circumstances of the time. As for mere customs and usages ("minhagim "), the government, after having consulted Jewish men of knowledge, may modify or abolish them; but in no other way may it interfere with religious affairs. Chorin also pleaded for the establishment ofconsistories ,school s, a theologicalseminary , and for the promotion ofagriculture and professions among the Jews. Some of these ideas he carried out in his own congregation, which included a great number ofmechanic s. He succeeded in founding a school, and introducing liturgical reforms into thesynagogue ; even an organ was installed at his instance. He permitted the eating ofrice and pulse during the days ofPassover .To his theory of a synod regulating and modifying Jewish laws and customs, Chorin always adhered. In his "Treue Bote" (Prague, 1831) he declared himself against the transfer of the Sabbath to Sunday, but expressed the opinion that, considering the requirements of our time, synods might mitigate the severity of the Sabbatical laws, especially in regard to traveling and writing.
In another treatise, "Hillel", which appeared at
Ofen in 1835, he interpreted the prophetic promises about the reuniting of Israel to signify the establishing of a supreme religious authority atJerusalem . "Hillel", in the form of a dialogue, and other contributions of his pen were published in the fourth volume of "Bikkure ha-'Ittim". In 1819 he wrote "Abaḳ Sofer" ("The Dust of a Writer"), published by Landau (Prague, 1828), containing glosses about "Yoreh De'ah", "Eben ha-'Ezer", thephylacteries , an exposition of "Proverbs" I.10, "et seq.", and two riddles.In his "Yeled Zeḳunim" ("Child of Old Age"), (Vienna, 1839), partly in Hebrew, partly in German, he again strongly advocated practical reforms in regard to
railroad traveling on the Sabbath and on holidays, the abridgment of the seven days of mourning, the use of the organ, etc., and gave a short sketch of his life. His biographer,Leopold Löw , wrote an introduction to this work.In consequence of the
Damascus affair in 1840, Chorin republished the apology written in 1753 bySonnenfels , in which the author proves the falsity of the blood accusation. Chorin added an introduction and Löw a biographical notice.On
July 26 1844 , during the last weeks of his life, he wrote from his sick-bed a declaration expressing his full accord with the rabbinical conference at Brunswick, and onAugust 11 he sent an address to the conference of Hungarian rabbis at Páks. he died at Arad,Hungary .He took an active part in the efforts for Jewish emancipation, and was very influential with the state authorities. His grandson,
Franz Chorin , was a Hungarian deputy.Bibliography
*
Leopold Löw . "Gesammelte Schriften", Szegedin, 1889-90, ii. 251-420
*Jost , "Culturgeschichte", Berlin, 1847, iii. 24-25, 73-75, 175-176
*Moritz Steinschneider , "Cat. Bodl." No. 4751, pp. 845-846
*Julius Fürst , "Bibl. Jud." i. 176
*Joseph Zedner , "Cat. Hebr. Books Brit. Mus." pp. 186-187
*William Zeitlin , "Bibl. Hebr. Post-Mendelssohniana", pp. 56-57
* "Allg. Zeit. des Jud."1844, pp. 547-551
* Jost's "Annalen", 1840, pp. 205-208
* "Literaturblatt des Orients", ii., No. 33.References
*JewishEncyclopedia
*1911
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