R' Isaac Aaron Ettinger, A.B.D. Przemysl and then Lvov

Isaac Aaron Ettinger (also called Reb Itzsche): Galician rabbi and scholar; son of Mordecai Ze'eb Ettinger; born at Lemberg 1827; died there Jan. 16, 1891. Distinguished for his intellectual activity and industry, he was invited by several communities of Galicia to assume a rabbinate, but, being wealthy, he declined until, in 1868, he was persuaded to accept the rabbinate of Przemysl. He had occupied this position less than two years, when the pressure of his private affairs compelled him to relinquish it and retire to Lemberg. His responsa exerted considerable influence; Mitnaggedim and Ḥasidim submitted to him questions of ritual; the thaumaturgic rabbis of Sadagora referred questions of inheritance to his decision; and he was regarded even by the government as the leader of the Galician Jews. He was officially recognized by the Austrian minister of the interior as Nasi of Palestine, and as such he sent annually to Palestine about 50,000 gulden. When Ẓebi Hirsch Ornstein died in 1888, Ettinger was chosen rabbi of Lemberg, an office which he filled until his death. A highly cultured man, his influence was felt also by the Reform party. He oftenappeared in the Polish city council to uphold his opinions. Some of his responsa were posthumously published by his children under the title (Lemberg, 1892).

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