Geiger, Abraham

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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).

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