Abraham Geiger

Abraham Geiger , 1810-74, German rabbi, Semitic scholar and Orientalist, theologian, and foremost exponent of the Reform movement in Judaism. When he received his doctorate (1833) from the Univ. of Bonn, he was already a rabbi in Wiesbaden. He sought to remove all nationalistic elements from Judaism (particularly the "Chosen People" doctrine) and to emphasize the Jewish "mission" to spread monotheism and moral law. He shortened the prayerbook, permitted instrumental music in the synagogue, abolished the second days of holidays, and advocated prayer in the vernacular. However, he opposed Sunday worship and refused to serve any congregation that broke with the established Jewish community. In 1870 he became chief rabbi of the Berlin congregations and director of the newly established seminary for the scientific study of Judaism. He was a prolific writer. His great work is Urschrift und übersetzungen der Bibel [text and translations of the Bible] (1857).

Bibliography: See J. L. Blau, Modern Varieties of Judaism (1966).

Geiger, Abraham (1810–74). Leader of Reform Judaism. In 1837 Geiger convened the first meeting of Reform rabbis and as rabbi of the Berlin Reform congregation, he was director of the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judenturms from 1872 until his death. He perceived Judaism to be solely a religion and was thus anxious to encourage assimilation into the national life, as well as freedom of thought and enquiry. He summarized his view of Judaism in a popular series of lectures Das Judenthum und seine Geschichte (3 vols., 1865–7: Judaism and its History).