Rosin, David
ROSIN, DAVID
ROSIN, DAVID (1823–1894), German educator and scholar. Rosin was born in Rosenberg, Silesia. After having attended the yeshivot of Kempen, Myslowitz, and Prague (he was ordained by S.J. *Rapoport), he wished to receive a regular school education. He went to Breslau, where he entered the Gymnasium, and graduated in 1846. Then he studied at the universities of Berlin and Halle (Dr. phil. 1851) and passed his teacher's examination. Returning to Berlin, he taught in various private schools and was, on Michael Sachs' recommendation, appointed head of the newly founded religious school of the Berlin Jewish community in 1854. He also taught at the teachers seminary. In 1867 he succeeded Manuel *Joel as professor of Midrash, Bible exegesis, and homiletics at the Breslau Jewish Theological Seminary.
Rosin's main scholarly work was on *Samuel b. Meir (R. Samuel b. Meir als Schrifterklaerer, 1880), whose Pentateuch commentary he published from a complete manuscript (Perush ha-Torah Asher Katav Rashbam…, 1881, repr. 1949), which is the only scholarly edition of this work. He also published a volume of Abraham *Ibn Ezra's poetry, vocalized, with a German rhymed translation and with commentary (Reime und Gedichte des Abraham Ibn Esra…, 1885–94). Rosin's lectures on Ibn Ezra's philosophy were published by his pupil David *Kaufmann in the Monatsschrift fuer Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judentums, 42–43 (1898–99), to which Rosin occasionally contributed. Among other subjects, Rosin dealt with the Sefer ha-Ḥinnukh ascribed to Aaron ha-Levi of Barcelona (Ein Compendium der juedischen Gesetzeskunde aus dem vierzehnten Jahrhundert, 1871), and the ethics of Maimonides (Die Ethik des Maimonides, 1876). He edited M. Sachs' sermons (Predigten. Aus dessen schriftlichem Nachlass, 2 vols., 1868–69). Rosin's son heinrich became professor of medicine at Berlin University; a nephew, also called heinrich, was a well-known professor of law at Freiburg-im-Breisgau.
bibliography:
M. Brann, Geschichte des juedisch-theologischen Seminars in Breslau (1904), 97–99, 115, 128–9 (incl. bibl.); M. Grunwald, in: Breslau Seminary Memorial Volume (1963), 313–4; B. Drachman, ibid., 322. add. bibliography: D. Kaufmann, in: Monatsschrift, 42 (1898), 17–18.
[Archiv Bibliographia Judaica (2nd ed.)]