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emden
it is valid, because a person is favorably disposed toward his
own child and wholeheartedly wishes to transfer ownership
to him (Sh. Ar., ḥM 253:26–27). Some are of the opinion that
this law applies only to a will made by a person on his deathbed
and not to one made by a healthy person (Beit Yosef to
Tur, ḥM 210:3; Sh. Ar., ḥM 210:1).
Contractual Obligations to an Embryo
According to some authorities although transfer of rights
cannot be made to an embryo, a contractual obligation can
be undertaken in his favor (see *Contract). A guardian can
be appointed to protect the rights of an embryo (Sh. Ar., ḥm
290:1).
The State of Israel
In general, Jewish law is followed. With regard to succession,
however, section 3 of the law of succession (1965) provides that
a person born within 300 days after the death of the deceased is
deemed to have been living when the deceased died, unless it is
proved that he was conceived thereafter. In terms of section 33
(b) of the Capacity and Guardianship Law, 5722–1962, the court
may appoint a guardian for a child en ventre de sa mére.
Bibliography: Gulak, Yesodei, 1 (1922), 33; 3 (1922), 82, 116,
147; ET, 7 (1956), 50–53; 8 (1957), 102–20; 11 (1965), 255f.; Miklishanski,
in: Sefer ha-Yovel… Federbush (1960), 251–60; G. Ellinson, in: Sinai,
66 (1969/70), 20–49; Elon, Ha-Mishpat Ha-Ivri (1988), I, 496; idem.
Jewish Law (1994), II, 604.
[Ben-Zion (Benno) Schereschewsky]
EMDEN, city in Germany. The first authentic reference to
Jews in Emden dates from the first half of the 16th century.
David *Gans mentions Jews of Emden in his Ẓemaḥ David.
A Jewish cemetery is mentioned in 1586. In 1590 the citizens
of Emden complained to the representative of the emperor
that the Jews were permitted to follow their religious precepts
openly and were exempted from wearing the Jewish *badge.
Marranos from Portugal passed through Emden on their
way to Amsterdam, and a few settled in Emden and returned
to Judaism. Moses Uri ha-Levy (1594–1620), a former rabbi
of Emden who settled in Amsterdam, officiated there as the
first ḥakham of the Portuguese community. The city council
of Emden discriminated between the local Jews and the Portuguese,
encouraging the latter to settle in the city, while attempting
to expel the former. Their attempts, however, were
unsuccessful, since the duke intervened in their favor. The
judicial rights of the Portuguese Jews were defined in a grant
of privilege issued by the city council in 1649, and renewed
in 1703. In 1744, when Emden was annexed to *Prussia, the
Jews there came under Prussian law. In 1762 there was an outbreak
of anti-Jewish riots in Emden. In 1808, during the rule of
Louis Bonaparte, the Jews in Emden were granted equal civic
rights. There were then 500 Jews living in Emden. The rights
of the Emden Jews were abolished under Hanoverian rule in
1815, and they did not obtain emancipation until 1842. Noted
rabbis of Emden were Jacob *Emden (1728–33), and Samson
Raphael *Hirsch (1841–47).
The community numbered 900 in 1905, and 1,000 in
1930. Nearly half left with the advent of Nazi rule and another
quarter through 1938. The synagogue was burned down on
Kristallnacht and most of those remaining were later deported
and perished, including at least 150 on October 23, 1941. Community
life was not resumed after the Holocaust.
Bibliography: Lewin, in: MGWJ, 2 (1890), 27–32; H. Kellenbenz,
Sephardim an der unteren Elbe (1958), index; M. Markreich, in:
Jahrbuch der juedischen Gemeinden Schleswig-Holsteins, 5 (1933/34),
24–36; PK Germanyah; Germ Jud, 2 (1968), 208–9; A. Cassuto, in:
Juedische Familien-Forschung, 2 (1926), 289. Add. Bibliography:
J. Lokers, Die Juden in Emden 1530–1906 (1990); M. Claudi, Die wir
verloren haben. Lebensgeschichten Emder Juden (1991); M. Studemund-Halévy,
in: Aschkenas, 7 (1997), 389–439.
[Zvi Avneri]
EMDEN, JACOB (pen name Yaveẓ; derived from Ya’akov
Ben Ẓevi; 1697–1776), rabbi, halakhic authority, kabbalist,
and anti-Shabbatean polemicist. Emden was regarded as one
of the outstanding scholars of his generation. Emden’s teacher
was his father Ẓevi Hirsch *Ashkenazi (Ḥakham Ẓevi). He inherited
his father’s interest in secular studies, his dissociation
from the Ashkenazi method of study (pilpul) and customs, his
stormy, independent, and uncompromising character, and his
devotion to the campaign against the Shabbateans and their
sympathizers. In addition, he possessed a fine literary talent,
a critical tendency, and a knowledge unusual for his age of
general non-halakhic Jewish literature. He was also familiar
with sciences and languages (German, Dutch, Latin). Despite
his distinguished descent and his remarkable talmudic attainments,
Emden occupied no official position, with the exception
of a few years as rabbi of Emden (1728–33). This made it
possible for him to be exceptionally critical toward the society
and the tradition of his time. He was more on guard about
anything that he considered ḥillul ha-Shem (bringing the name
of the Jew into disrepute) than for the good name of the rabbinate
and of the community. He made extensive use of the
private printing press he founded in *Altona to disseminate
his views. As a result, because of his views on a number of issues,
both personal and communal, he became a figure of contention.
His important halakhic works are Leḥem Shamayim,
on the Mishnah (pt. 1, 1728; pt. 2, 1768); a letter of criticism
against R. Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen, rabbi of Altona (1736);
responsa, She’elat Yaveẓ (2 pts., 1738–59); Mor u-Keẓi’ah, on the
Shulḥan Arukh, OḤ (2 pts., 1761–68). In addition, he published
an important edition of the prayer book (whose parts had different
names) with a valuable commentary (1745–48). This
prayer book was reprinted several times. His main historical
importance lies in his campaigns against the Shabbateans
to which he dedicated many years. He relentlessly examined
and investigated every suspicious phenomenon pertaining
to the sect. He called upon the contemporary rabbis to publish
excommunications and mercilessly attacked anyone suspected
of supporting or showing sympathy to the Shabbateans.
The Shabbateans were accustomed to introduce hints of
their secret doctrine into their literary works, particularly in
392 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6