Wahrmann, Israel
WAHRMANN, ISRAEL
WAHRMANN, ISRAEL (1755–1826), Hungarian rabbi and grandfather of Moritz *Wahrmann. Wahrmann, who was born in Obuda, Hungary, studied at the yeshivot of *Eisenstadt, Pressburg (*Bratislava), and *Prague. He subsequently served as rabbi in Posen, Bodrogkeresztur, and Pest (from 1799), where he had been living since 1796. As a result of his efforts, the first Jewish elementary school was opened in Pest in 1814. In 1825 Wahrmann obtained an edict ordering that Jewish secondary school students should receive instruction in their own religion even when attending schools maintained by Christian denominations. He introduced regular synagogue services for young people on the Sabbath, preaching the sermons himself. The first constitution of the Jewish congregation of Pest was a result of his efforts, as was the foundation of the Shi'ur Society for the promotion of learning, and other communal institutions (such as Bikkur Ḥolim). Land for the Jewish cemetery of Pest was acquired during Wahrmann's ministry. Two of his sermons were published.
bibliography:
I. Reich, Beth-El, Ehrentempel verdienter ungarischer Israeliten, 1 (1868), 123–7; S. Büchler, A zsidók története Budapesten (1901), 381–98.
[Jeno Zsoldos]