"... moved from Wiesenbronn to Würzburg with 9 heads ..."
The "Würzburg Raw" Seligmann Bär Bamberger
One of the most prominent rabbis of the 19th century was born in Wiesenbronn. Born in 1807, Seligmann Bär Bamberger made a name for himself above all as an advocate of orthodox Judaism faithful to the Talmud and was given the honorary title of "Würzburger Raw".
He was born on November 6, 1807 as the son of the merchant Simon Veitel. Simon Simcha Veitel, Bär Bamberger's father, was a "merchant Jew" and mainly sold cut and elbow goods, i.e. all kinds of fabrics, braids and ribbons that were cut from a bale according to the customer's needs.
Seligmann Bär attended the Jewish "Winkelschule" in the synagogue from 1813. There he was introduced to the teachings of the Talmud and the Torah by the local rabbi Gerson Levi. At that time, Jewish children did not yet attend the general village school on Kirchberg. This was not the case until 1821.
Soon after his bar mitzvah (religious maturity) at the age of 13, his parents sent their son to the famous Talmud College in Fürth from 1822. From there he returned to Wiesenbronn at the beginning of 1827 with a rabbinical diploma. Shortly afterwards, his father died and Bär Bamberger initially supported his mother in her trading business. In view of his impending marriage to Kela Wormser, daughter of Rabbi Seckl Wormser in Fulda, his mother handed over the estate to him in 1829 and retired to her retirement home. As was customary at the time, Bär Bamberger also had to present a certificate of good character to the local authority before his marriage. This had the following wording:
"To Seligmann Bär Bamberger, only son of the royal Baier. Unterthans u. Schnittwarenhändler Simon Veitel Bamberger (these words are crossed out: who is currently in Fürth), it is testified according to the truth that during his stay here and his youth, which he spent here, he has been committed to an irreproachable and blameless way of life and has generally behaved quite well, that he cannot be blamed for the slightest offense, rather all praise can be given.
Wiesenbronn, January 14, 1827
The municipal committee"
Not least thanks to his bride's dowry, Bamberger was able to set up a general store in his house. Like his father, it was out of the question for him to move around the country as a merchant Jew, often for several days at a time. His focus was on the lifelong study of the Torah and the Talmud, and with the long marches and tedious trading transactions, intensive study would hardly have been possible.
Bär Bamberger therefore converted his parents' peddling and merchandise business into a store and set up a general store, which was mainly run by his capable wife. This gave him time for his beloved Torah studies.
His knowledge and erudition led to Bamberger being elected District Rabbi of Würzburg in 1840 and taking up residence there.
Rabbi Bamberger was particularly interested in educating children and young people in the Jewish faith. Having previously established a Talmud school, in 1856 he founded the private "Israelitische Erziehungs- und Unterrichtsanstalt", a six-grade elementary school for boys and girls, which met the requirements of the authorities for public schools. And because qualified teachers were naturally needed for teaching, the elementary school was followed in 1864 by the founding of the first teacher training college, the "Israelitische Lehrerbildungsanstalt in Würzburg".
However, Rabbi Bamberger's passion did not only extend to the education of young people. He wanted every Jew to live according to the laws and commandments of the religion. To do this, however, they had to know them. Rabbi Bamberger therefore gave lectures every Shabbath on religion in everyday life and wrote three books in easy-to-understand language in which he explained the Jewish laws and commandments. His work even reached as far as the Holy Land. He regularly sent money there and encouraged the construction of the first Jewish hospital long before Theodor Herzl entertained the idea of a Jewish state.
On the second day of the Feast of Tabernacles in 1878, the Würzburg Raw died during the service and was buried a day later in Höchberg in the Jewish cemetery there.
What distinguishes this great rabbi from other orthodox rabbis of the 19th century, so that he is still vividly remembered today? It is not only his great erudition, his piety, his commitment to children and young people and his community, as well as his charity work for the sick in the Holy Land.
It is the openness to the world that characterizes his piety. Deeply rooted in faith and enthusiasm, he saw the changes of his time in the society around him and embraced them. He was orthodox and open-minded, an attitude that may have been rather rare among orthodox rabbis of his time.
The time when Jews were forced to live in ghettos was over in all German states. A gentle breeze of emancipation was already blowing, even if it would be many years before the Jews enjoyed complete legal equality - in Bavaria only with the founding of the German Reich in 1871.
The Jewish community of Würzburg still follows the great "Würzburg Raw" in its orientation today: orthodox and cosmopolitan. The synagogue, which has been at the heart of the community since 1970, was considerably expanded in 2006, as was the community center, and now meets the needs of the increased number of community members. The resulting community center was given the name "Schalom Europa".
