Dr. Isak Unna

Isak Unna was born in Würzburg on February 29, 1872. His father Moses Unna (1824-1888) was a preacher and religious teacher in Würzburg, his mother Zerla, née Bamberger (1834-1896) was the daughter of Seligmann Bär Bamberger, the rabbi known as "Würzburg Raw". He had eight siblings. The family lived at Kettengasse 9 not far from the main synagogue at Domerschulstr. 21, which had been consecrated in 1841 by Isak's grandfather, the "Würzburg Raw."

The latter was the most influential scholar in the pious family, which was rich in rabbis. Seligmann-Bär Bamberger (1807-1878) was district rabbi in Würzburg, head of a Talmudic college and leader of the South German Orthodoxy. As such, he spoke out against the secession of Orthodox secessionist congregations and professed the retention of the law-abiding in the overall congregation, which was called  congregational Orthodoxy. In 1864 he founded the Israelitische Lehrerbildungs-Anstalt Würzburg, where he worked as a seminary teacher. Isak Unna's work later showed clear parallels to the work of his grandfather.

In 1889, Isak Unna began his studies in classical philology at the University of Würzburg

In 1890-1895 Isaak Unna continued his philology studies at the University of Berlin. At the same time he studied there at the Orthodox rabbinical seminary. This seminary had been founded in 1873 by Dr. Esriel Hildesheimer (1820-1899) within the Israelite synagogue community Adass Yisroel in order to distinguish itself from similar institutions of the liberal Jews. Hildesheimer took positions against Reform Judaism and fought against rising anti-Semitism. He helped the victims of the Russian pogroms and supported their settlement in Palestine. Hildesheimer's Rabbinical Seminary originally existed in Berlin's Gipsstraße, later in Artilleriestraße and from 1924 in Siegmundshof 11.
In 1895, Isak Unna submitted his dissertation "On the Use of the Intentional Sentences in Philo of Alexandria" to the University of Berlin and earned his rabbinical diploma a year later at the Orthodox rabbinical seminary.

The secular-theological double study was an expression of Unna's attitude and strengthened him in his later role as a mediator between Orthodoxy and secular education. This attitude is also reflected in the figure of his doctoral thesis Philon of Alexandria (c. 10 BCE-40 CE), who exemplifies the symbiosis of Judaism and Hellenism in 1st century Diaspora Judaism.

After an interim period as rabbinical administrator at the Israelite Religious School in Frankfurt am Main (1896-1897), Dr. Isak Unna was appointed to the Orthodox Mannheim Klaussynagoge on January 1, 1898. Here he taught and lived in the building of the Lehrhaus founded in 1708 by the court Jew Lemle Moses Reinganum in F 1, 11. The "Klaus" had become the center of the Orthodox congregation members as the Lemle Moses-Klaussynagoge after the 1855 dedication of the liberal main synagogue with organ in F 2, 13. Until his Alliah in 1935, Dr. Unna officiated as rabbi at the Klaus. Through his convincing work, he succeeded in raising the profile of Orthodoxy in the majority religiously liberal community. In 1920 he was appointed city rabbi and legally equal to the two liberal city rabbis. He was given all rabbinical powers. Now every member of the community had the possibility to choose the rabbi of his trust.

The 1888 "Moorish-style" buildings of the Klaus were by now felt to be outdated and it had become too small, not least because of Dr. Unna's convincing advocacy of Orthodoxy. A 1930 reconstruction at his instigation created a much more spacious synagogue room in the New Objectivity style. The requirements of an Orthodox service were met by symbolically separating the women's gallery with a lattice.

Dr. Unna was a very prolific author. His book, magazine and newspaper publications or printed speeches span a period of 58 years and include more than 250 publications dealing with Jewish issues from an Orthodox perspective. He did not always take a personal stand, but presented the various positions with the pedagogical intention of showing the multifaceted diversity of Judaism.

One focus is on portraits of people from ancient times to the present. Included are historical authorities such as the physician and philosopher Maimonides (c. 1135-1204), Judah Löw, the "high" Rabbi Löw (c. 1520-1609), Rabbi Elia, the Gaon of Vilna (1720-1797), and Rabbi Schne'ur Salman of Ladi (1745-1812), the founder of the chassidic Chabad Lubavitcher movement, are represented as well as contemporary Jewish figures. For the 200th anniversary of the Klaussynagoge in 1908, he wrote the chronicle of the institution at which he would continue to officiate for nearly three decades.

He took a stand on current issues from the perspective of Orthodoxy. Thus, on the occasion of the construction of the Mannheim crematorium, he wrote about the Jewish point of view towards the "burning of corpses". Dr. Unna took up questions about slaughtering and animal protection as well as historical and religious topics of many kinds. His extensive writing activity and his much-noticed responses made him a trend-setting advisor in Orthodox circles, not only in Mannheim.

In 1908, Rabbi Dr. Unna was awarded the "Knight's Cross, Second Class, of the Order of the Lion of Zähringen" by Grand Duke Friedrich of Baden. He wore it only once, when he was presented with it by the Grand Duke in Karlsruhe.

In 1921, the Baden state synod appointed him a member. In 1923, co-founder and later leader of the organization "Achduth" (Unity), one of the associations of law-abiding Jews in Germany.
In 1925 he became a conference rabbi in the Upper Council of the Israelites of Baden. Rabbi Dr. Unna held the view that Orthodox Jews should remain within a majority liberal community if it provided them with the facilities for observant life. Following in the tradition of his ancestor Seligmann Bär Bamberger, Dr. Unna disagreed with the advocates of the Orthodox "leaving community" as once called for by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888) of Frankfurt.

At the age of 60, Dr. Unna was appointed chairman of the "Association of Traditional-Law-abiding Rabbis of Germany" in 1932. His staunch advocacy of Orthodox causes made him the spiritual leader of congregational Orthodoxy in Germany.

Rabbi Dr. Unna did not advocate political Zionism, but the view that a Jew could follow the commandments anywhere in the world. However, in 1935, under the impact of the events in Nazi Germany, he followed his children who had already emigrated to Palestine. In Jerusalem, Rabbi Dr. Unna founded the Binjan Zion Synagogue in 1937, which was known as the "Unna Synagogue" in the city. His grandson Issachar recalls, "A large part of my Jewish education and life was experienced at the services and in the wonderful atmosphere of this house. Many religious poems of our great medieval poets, Yehuda Halevi, Ibn-Gvirol, etc., were learned there, much more than in most other synagogues in Israel, and often recited with enchanting melodies. Services were held every morning on weekdays, and in the afternoons and evenings on Saturdays and holidays. Attendance varied from 15-20 on weekdays to 70-80 on High Holidays. I remember Grandpa's impressive sermons and public teaching lectures."

After Dr. Unna's death in 1948, services continued until 2004. The synagogue was maintained by the family of son Viktor, and daughter Suse lived in the apartment. However, after their death, the synagogue had to be abandoned despite all efforts to preserve it.

During his years in Jerusalem, Rabbi Dr. Unna provided religious orientation and a home for numerous Orthodox German Jews. He maintained contact with his former congregation in Mannheim. Thus, from a distance, he oversaw the forced reburial of the dead of the old Jewish cemetery in F 7. Today's inscriptions on the two memorial plaques at the collective grave of the new cemetery are his words.

In Jerusalem he founded a Chewra Kadisha, a funeral brotherhood, and he made his mark by reorganizing the funeral system in the holy city. He died on May 19, 1948, in the midst of siege fighting, a few days after the  establishment of the State of Israel.

Dr. Unna's grandson Issachar: "His burial was a big problem. The cemeteries were under heavy fire, the morticians were afraid to leave their homes. My father took over everything. He dug the grave in the garden of their house and built a coffin, all with our and good neighbors' help. Despite the danger, many people came to the funeral in honor of Grandpa, including the head of the Chevra Kadisha, who had been one of the founders of the funeral brotherhood. I remember his beautiful chanting of the prayers. Three years later the deceased was laid to rest in Sanhedria Cemetery.

When I think of Grandpa today, I am fascinated by how quickly and wonderfully he adapted to the new circumstances and situations in Palestine at that time. At well over 60 years of age, he succeeded in founding a new and vibrant synagogue, and he became a highly respected member of the Israeli rabbinate and Orthodox society of Israel.