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David Oppenheim (rabbi)

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Rabbi in Prague (1664–1736)
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David Oppenheim
BornJune 1664
Worms, Holy Roman Empire
Died12 September 1736(1736-09-12) (aged 72)
Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia
Resting placeOld Jewish Cemetery, Prague
Occupation(s)Rabbi, Posek, Book collector
Years active1691-1736
EraNikolsburg, Prague
Known forBook collector
Spouse(s)First wife: Gnendel (daughter of Leffmann Behrends)
Second wife: Shifra
FatherAbraham Oppenheim

David Oppenheim (1664 – 12 September 1736) was the chief rabbi of Nikolsburg in 1691 and later of Prague. His book collection constitutes an important part of the Hebrew section of the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Personal background

Oppenheim was born in 1664 in Worms, where his father, Abraham, was a communal leader. David Oppenheim's teachers included: Yair Bacharach, Gershon Ashkenazi, Ya'akov Sack (father of Tzvi Ashkenazi, the Chacham Tzvi),Benjamin Wolf Epstein and Isaac Benjamin Wolff. In 1681, he married Gnendel, daughter of the "court Jew" Leffmann Behrends (Lipmann Cohen) of Hanover. His rabbinical responsibilities grew over the years: In 1691 he become the chief rabbi of Nikolsburg; In 1703 he become the chief rabbi of Prague; In 1713 he was declared rabbi of half of Moravia and in 1718 the other half also became under him.

His extraordinary collection of manuscripts and prints was bought by the Bodleian Library in Oxford in 1829 for 9,000 thalers.

References

  1. Alexander Marx, "Jewish Book Collectors", in Id., Studies in Jewish History and Booklore, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York 1944, p. 214.
  2. ^ Teplitsky, Joshua (2019). Prince of the Press. New Haven & London: Yale University Press. pp. 3–4.
  3. "YIVO | Oppenheim, David". Yivoencyclopedia.org. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
  4. "Oppenheim, David Ben Abraham". JewishEncyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2012-08-19.
  5. Marx 1944, p. 254.

Bibliography

Alexander Marx, "The History of David Oppenheimer's Library", in Studies in Jewish History and Booklore, The Jewish Theological Seminary of America, New York 1944, pp. 238–255.

Teplitsky, Joshua, Prince of the Press. How One Collector Built History's Most Enduring and Remarkable Jewish Library, Yale University Press, New Haven & London 2019.

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