Israel Meir Freimann


Israel Meir Freimann was a Polish-born German rabbi, philosopher, and orientalist.

Biography

Born as the younger son of Eliakum Freimann and Esther Breiter, Freimann received his education from his father and in various Talmudical schools in Hungary. After attending a Gymnasium in 1850 in Leipzig, Saxony, where he stayed with his elder brother Isak, in 1852 he moved to Breslau, then Prussia. There he attended the Catholic Royal where he took his A-levels. Between 1856 and 1860 he studied philosophy and Oriental languages at the local Silesian Frederick William University. In 1860 Landesrabbiner, the Silesian provincial chief rabbi, ordained Freimann as rabbi.
In the same year Freimann took up the rabbinate of the Jewish congregation in Filehne, later changing to the same position in Ostrowo, both then in the Prussian province of Posen. In 1865 he graduated at the Ducal Pan-Saxon University in Jena upon Saale, then Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. He wrote his doctoral thesis, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Ophiten, supervised by Dean Johann Gustav Stickel.
From 7 September 1871 on he worked as rabbi for the Israelitische Gemeinde Ostrowo, thus ending a vacancy since the death of his predecessor Aron Stössel. Freimann served his office in Ostrowo until his death. In 1875, after Rector Zacharias Frankel's death, Freimann declined to succeed him as rector of the Breslau-based Jewish Theological Seminary of Fraenckel's Foundation. From 1874 to 1884 Freimann gave Jewish religion classes in the Royal Gymnasium of Ostrowo. In 1900 his fellow townspeople named a street, the "Freimannstraße", in his honour. Freimann's successor was Rabbi Dr. Elias Plessner, son of the Preacher Salomon Plessner from Berlin.
Freimann's edition of the midrashic work , to which he added the valuable commentary ענפי יהודה, is indisputable evidence of his learning. The responsa of his father-in-law Jacob Ettlinger contain many of Freimann's essays. With his wife Helene Ettlinger Freimann had eight children, Josef, Nanette, Isak, Esther, Regina, Judith, Aron and Frida.

Works