Rabbi Akiva Eger

Rabbi Akiva Eger, (born: Akiva Güns), (1761-1837), was an outstanding Talmudic scholar, influential halakhic decisor and foremost leader of European Jewry during the early 19th century.

Wikipedia: Akiva Eger and רבי עקיבא איגר

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The Austrian Jewish Museum is delighted to announce: Sensational discovery! The Torah wimpel for the famous Rabbi Akiba Eger - we can ultimately prove that he was born on 1 Cheshvan 522 = 29 October 1761 (and NOT as most sources claim on 8 November). http://www.ojm.at/blog/2018/09/20/akiba-eger-der-geburtstag/

Eger Family Tree.

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in Hebrew: Revealed the date and place of birth of the late Rabbi Akiva Eiger, one of the greatest Israelites of recent generations.

Two notebooks in the handwriting of the mohel Rabbi Binyamin Wolf Tebin, a leader of the Pressburg Jewish community, in Bratislava, the capital of present-day Slovakia, recently (2021) arrived at the Kedem auction house in Jerusalem from Rabbi Yitzchak Weiss, Av Beit Din of Verboi.

One of the surprising baby names discovered on the list is that of the late Rabbi Akiva Eiger. Thus it is written in one of the notebooks:

According to the record, the rabbi was circumcised in Pressburg, where his maternal's parents lived, and not in Eisenstadt, the city where his parents lived. So it turns out that his birth was in Pressburg.

Beyond that, the registry seals a long-standing debate about his date of birth. In the decoration for the cover of a Torah scroll made by Rabbi Akiva Eiger's mother in honor of his circumcision, the date of his birth applies "on Thursday, R.H. Cheshvan 1902". According to this, the eighth day of birth falls on the eighth day of Cheshvan and not on the ninth, as recorded in the notebook, and it must be said that it was an untimely circumcision, or that it was born on a Thursday evening.

Rabbi Wolf had the privilege to circumcise many other babies who later became famous as Torah scholars, such as Rabbi Avraham Segal Rosenbaum, a student of the Maharam Benet and the Chatam Sofer, author of the Ben Yehuda Responsa, Rabbi Mordechai Leib Lashbrin, a student of the Maharam Benet, Av Beit Din of Zhambarkaret And others. Rabbi Akiva Eger's brother, Shmuel, was also circumcised by Rabbi Wolf about a year after his brother.

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Born 29 October, 1761 (1 Cheshvan 5522 Anno Mundi) in Pressburg/Bratislava,Died October 12, 1837 (aged 75) (13 Tishrei 5598 Anno Mundi) Poznań Poland.

Other names Akiba ben Moses Guens

Akiva Eger was a child prodigy and was educated first at the Mattersdorf yeshiva and later by his uncle, Rabbi Wolf Eger, (1756-1795) (b. 5516, d. 6 Tishrei 5556), at the Breslau (Wrocław) yeshiva, who later became Rabbi of Tziltz and Leipnik.

Out of respect for his uncle he changed his surname to Eger. He therefore shared the full name Akiva Eger with his maternal grandfather, the first Rabbi Akiva Eger. (1722-1758) (b. 5482, d. 15 Elul 5518). the Mishnas De'Rebbi Akiva who was Rabbi of Zülz, Silesia from 1749 and Pressburg from 1756.

He was the rabbi of Märkisch Friedland, West Prussia, from 1791 until 1815; then for the last twenty two years of his life, he was the rabbi of the city of Posen (Poznań). He was a rigorous casuist of the old school, and his chief works were legal notes and responsa on the Talmud and the Shulkhan Arukh. He believed that religious education was enough, and thus opposed the party which favored secular schools. He was a determined foe of the Reform movement, which began to make itself felt in his time.

Among his children were his two sons, Abraham (1781-1853) and Solomon (1785-1852), a rabbi in Kalisz, Poland and chief rabbi of Posen from 1837 to 1852. His daughter Sarel (1790-1832) (b. 5550, d. 18 Adar II 5592), was the second wife of the Chasam Sofer (1762-1839) Rabbi of Pressburg.

References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Jacob H. Sinason. Gaon of Posen: A Portrait of Rabbi Akiva Guens-Eger. Feldheim, 1990. ISBN 0-87306-548-4.

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112047/jewish/Rabbi-A...

http://genewiki.golan-law.co.il/index.php?title=עקיבא_איגר

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http://seforim.traditiononline.org/index.cfm/Tombstones

R. Akiva Eger (d. 1837).

Sadly, R' Akiva Eger's grave in Poznan (formerly: Posen), which was still standing before World War II was destroyed by the Nazis.

Tombstones from the Jewish cemetery were used to pave roads, and the nineteenth century Jewish cemetery itself – it opened in 1804 – was incorporated into Poznan's Trade Fair grounds after the war.

Ultimately, a housing project and shopping centre were built on the grounds of the Jewish cemetery, today at ul. Glogowska corner ul. Sniadeckich.

Fortunately, the rabbinic section of the cemetery served as a parking lot (rather than as the foundation of an apartment house), and it was possible to transform the lot into a grassy knoll and to set new tombstones over the old graves . At best, the tombstones are approximately over the gravesites they describe. Even so, it is a great kiddush ha-Shem that this sacred site has been restored.

The graves restored include R. Akiva Eger his second wife Breindel (d. 1836), his son and successor R. Shlomo Eger (d. 1852; see figure 7), and his son R. Avraham Eger (d. 1854).

We would be remiss if we didn't mention that R. Akiva Eger's likeness is on permanent display in Poznan's Town Hall. The excerpt is part of a larger mural painted by Julius Knorr (1810-1860) and entitled Marktplatz in Posen. The painting was done during the lifetime of R. Akiva Eger and was first displayed in 1838. R. Akiva Eger can be seen at the bottom right, walking with cane in hand and accompanied by the two other members of his rabbinic court.

http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=21478&st=&pgnum=5&hilite=

"Die Grabschriften des Alten Judenfriedhofes in Wien"

Band II- by Dr. Bernhard Wachstein-pg. 168

1913-1996- Eger Family Association- pg. 3,8

1913-1990- Eger Family Association-אילן אא, אילן ג

Read on-line

Read morehttp://books.google.com/books?id=9ywuAAAAYAAJ&pg=PR1&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false: ‪Vollständige Biographie des Rabbi Akiba Eger: frühern Rabbiners zu Märkisch ...‬ By Salomon Lewyson

http://wiki.geni.com/index.php/Jewish_Dynasties

Rabbi Akiba Eger

(5521-5598; 1761-1838)

Rabbi Akiba Eger was one of the greatest scholars of his time, who had a great influence on Jewish life. He was born in Eisenstadt, Hungary, in the year 5521 (1761), nearly two hundred years ago. The city of his birth was a seat of learning for centuries, and his family was a family of scholars and Rabbis. His family name was Gins, but he was called after his grandfather, the father of his mother, Rabbi Akiba Eger, who was Rabbi in the famous community of Pressburg (also Hungary, but since 1913 it belonged to Czechoslovakia and was called Bratislava).

Rabbi Akiba Eger, of whom we are speaking, attended the Yeshiva of his uncle, Rabbi Benjamin Wolf Eger in Breslau. Later be became the dean of the Yeshiva in Polish Lissa and of other Yeshivoth, and became known as a brilliant scholar.

After his marriage to the daughter of a prominent and wealthy Jew, he was elected Rabbi of Markish Friedland, in Prussia. He was not very happy about this appointment, for he was a modest man, devoted to study, and did not want to use his knowledge of the Torah as a source of income. However, after much persuasion by his father-in-law and family he accepted the position when he was thirty years old, and served there for about a quarter of a century (until 1815).

He was then invited to become Rabbi of the famous city of Posen, and in fact became the chief rabbi of the entire Posen province, though he did not carry that title.

Many stories are told of Rabbi Akiba's great modesty and humility, one of them' in connection with his new appointment. Rabbi Akiba Eger was approaching the outskirts of Posen in a coach, accompanied by his famous son-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Sofer (known as the 'Chassam Sofer'), Rabbi of Pressburg, who had married Rabbi Akiba Eger's daughter two years earlier. The whole community turned out to welcome the two great scholars. The Chassam Sofer naturally thought that all the honors were meant for his illustrious father-in-law, taking up his new post. So he descended from the coach and walked beside it, to join the congregation paying -tribute to the new Rabbi. Some time later he looked to the other side of the coach, and to his great astonishment saw that his father in-law was also walking alongside the coach, on the other side, for he was certain that the honor was not meant for -him, but for his great son-in-law.

Rabbi Akiba Eger's greatness of heart and selfless devotion to his community can be seen from the following event. In. the year 1831 a terrible cholera epidemic swept central and eastern Europe. Posen was among the cities stricken With this fatal sickness, and entire sections of the city were quarantined and forbidden to be entered. Rabbi Akiba Eger disregarded the danger and went into the stricken sections of the city to care for the sick. King Frederick III of Prussia heard of this heroism of the famous rabbi and honored him with a special medal.

Rabbi Akiba Eger was recognized as a great authority on Jewish law, and many well known rabbis and Jewish leaders turned to him for advice and decisions on points of law. His legal decisions (Tesbuvoth) are of great value even today. They were published, in part, in his lifetime.

Rabbi Akiba Eger's writings are many, mostly on the Talmud, in which he analyzed and explained the most difficult and complicated problems of the Talmud and Jewish law in his own way (Chiddushim). His brief remarks and notes on the Talmud are part of every standard edition of the Talmud, and his writings are ardently studied by most students of the Talmud, because difficult passages are so closely explained and simplified.

taken from

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112047/jewish/Rabbi-A...

נחשף: תאריך ומקום הלידה של הגאון רבי עקיבא איגר זצ"ל, מגדולי ישראל של הדורות האחרונים. לפי הרישומים שהתגלו לאחרונה, נולד הגרע"א בפרשבורג, עיר רבנותו של חתנו לעתיד, החתם סופר.

שני פנקסי מילה בכתב ידו של המוהל רבי בנימין וואלף טעבין, מפרנסי קהילת פרשבורג, ברטיסלאבה, בירת סלובקיה של ימינו, הגיעו לאחרונה לבית המכירות הפומביות 'קדם' בירושלים מידי רבי יצחק וויס אב"ד ווערבוי.

אחד משמות התינוקות המפתיעים שהתגלו ברשימה הוא של הגאון רבי עקיבא איגר זצ"ל. וכך נכתב באחד הפנקסים: "יום ו' ערב שבת קודש, ט' מרחשוון הייתי מוהל לבד אצל הילד עקיבא בן ש"ב התו' ר' משה גינז".

לפי הרישום נימול הרב בפרשבורג, בה התגוררו הורי אמו, ולא באייזנשטט, העיר בה התגוררו הוריו. כך שמסתבר שלידתו הייתה בפרשבורג. מעבר לכך, הרישום חותם ויכוח ארוך שנים לגבי תאריך הולדתו. בעיטור לעטיפת ספר תורה שעשתה אמו של רבי עקיבא איגר לכבוד ברית המילה שלו, תאריך לידתו חל "ביום ה' ר"ח חשון תקכ"ב". לפי זה, שמיני ללידה חל ביום ח' בחשוון ולא בט', כפי שנרשם בפנקס, וצריך לומר שהייתה זו מילה שלא בזמנה, או שנולד ביום ה' בין השמשות.

רבי וואלף זכה למול תינוקות רבים נוספים שנתפרסמו לימים כגדולי תורה, כגון רבי אברהם סג"ל רוזנבוים, תלמיד המהר"ם בנעט והחתם סופר, בעל שו"ת בן יהודה, רבי מרדכי ליב לאשברין, תלמיד המהר"ם בנעט, אב"ד זשאמבארקרעט ואחרים. גם אחיו של רבי עקיבא איגר, שמואל, נימול על ידי רבי וואלף כשנה לאחר אחיו.

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עקיבא איגר נולד בעיירה פרשבורג וככל הנראה לא באייזנשטט בשנת 1761. הוא למד אצל דודו, הרב וולף איגר בורוצלב (ברסלאו}. התחתן בשנת 1780 עם גליקכן, בתו של הסוחר יצחק מרגלית מלשנו (ליסא). חמיו נתן לו בית עם ספריה וגינה בלשנו, והחזיק את משק ביתו, כך שעקיבא איגר יכול היה להקדיש את עצמו ללימודיו ולניהול הישיבה שלו ללא הפרעה.

לאחר פטירת אשתו גליקכן, הוא נישא בשנית (1796) לאחייניתה ברנדל לוי, בתם של יהושע פייבלמן הלוי ומצה מרגלית, ואחותו של שמעון לוי (הרב מפורדון).

בשנת תק"ן (1790) התחוללה שריפה בליסא, רוב בתי העיר עלו באש, ויצחק מרגלית איבד את כל רכושו. עקיבא איגר מצא מחסה לו ולמשפחתו בעיר רביץ, ולאחר מכן התמנה לרב במרקיש פרידלאנד, והקים שם ישיבה בשנת תקנ"א. בשנת תקע"ד (1814) הוא הוכתר כרבה של העיר פוזנן תוך התנגדות קשה של אנשי הרפורמה, אשר ראו בו אישיות אורתודוקסית מדי. הוא נפטר בשנת תקצ"ז (1837), ונקבר בפוזנן.

על מצבתו נכתב: "פ"נ הרב רבינו עקיבא איגר, עבד לעבדי ה' בק"ק מ' פרידלאנד ובק"ק פוזנא. נאסף אל עמיו ביום ה' י"ג תשרי שנת תקצ"ח לפ"ק" (ראו תמונה).

נוסח זה תואם את הנוסח עליו ציווה בצוואתו, למעט שינוי אחד: בצוואה נכתב "הרב ר' עקיבא איגר", ואילו אנשי פוזנן כתבו "הרב רבינו עקיבא איגר".

יצירתו

רבי עקיבא איגר התפרסם בגלל למדנותו בתלמוד, ויצירתו מהווה חלק מהלימוד הקלאסי בישיבות. חשיבותו כפוסק ניכרת בתשובותיו בהלכה, אשר משמשות כמקור חשוב לפוסקים בדורות שאחריו (כדוגמת כתבי החת"ם סופר). רוב יצירתו התפרסמה לאחר מותו, על-ידי צאצאיו.

הערה: ספרים רבים כוללים "איגרת התעוררות" אשר מיוחסת לרב עקיבא איגר. אך מחקרים אחרונים מראים שאיגרת זו כלל לא נכתבה על ידו.[2

[ספריו :תשובות רבי עקיבא איגר - שו"ת

הגהות על הש"ס גליון הש"ס

הגהות רע"א על השו"ע

דרוש וחידוש על הש"ס

תוספות רע"א על המשנה

כתב וחותם על הש"ס

קושיות עצומות על הש"ס

פסקים ותקנות, ירושלים תשל"א

ועוד ספרים רבים.

לרע״א היו לו שש עשרה בנים ובנות. בתו הרבנית הצדקת מרת שדל ע״ה, היתה אשת מרן בעל חת״ס זצי׳ל, ונפטרה בחיי אביה ביום ח״י אדר בשנת תקב״ץ; שמות יתר צאצאיו המה : הג״מ אברהם בראוויטש, הג״מ שלמה בפוזנא, הג״מ משה בווארשא, הג״ר וזאלף ביהאניעבערג, הג״מ יצחק ליב בלזמזא, הג״מ שמואל במינסק, הג״מ בונם (בן ט״ז היה בעת פטירת רע״א), הג״מ דוד (בן י״ג בעת פטירת רע", מרת שיינדל בבראמבערג, מרת ראדיש

אשת ר׳ וואלף שיף בוואלשטיין, מרת פריידכה אשת ר׳ פישל בלובלין, מרת גיטל אשת ר׳ שמואל קארנפלד בפוזנא, מרת רבקה אשת ר׳ חיים שמואל בירנבוים פוזנא, מרת בילא. ומרת יוטא או יטל.

ראה ״אגרות סופרים״, כתבי רע״א, מכתב נ"ד