JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

Bibliography: J. Meisl (ed.), Pinkas Kehillat Berlin 1723–
1854 – Protokollbuch der juedischen Gemeinde Berlin (Heb. and Ger.,
1962); idem, in: Arim ve-Immahot be-Yisrael, 1 (1946), 80–140; H.G.
Sellenthin, Geschichte der Juden in Berlin (1959); Germ Jud, 2 (1968),
68–73; E.L. Landshuth, Toledot Anshei Shem (1884); P. von Gebhardt
(ed.), Das aelteste Buergerbuch 1453–1700 (1927); L. Geiger, Geschichte
der Juden in Berlin (1871); D. Kaufmann, Die letzte Vertreibung der
Juden aus Wien (1889), 206–21; L. Davidsohn, Beitraege zur Sozialund
Wirtschaftsgeschichte der Berliner Juden vor der Emanzipation
(1920); M. Stern, Beitraege zur Geschichte der juedischen Gemeinde
zu Berlin, 6 vols. (1926–34); Gemeindeblatt der juedischen Gemeinde
zu Berlin (1911–38); Juedisches Jahrbuch fuer Gross-Berlin (1926–28)
and Juedisches Jahrbuch (1929–33); D. Friedlaender, Akten-Stuecke,
die Reform der juedischen Kolonien in den Preussischen Staaten betreffend
(1793); I. Freund, Die Emanzipation der Juden in Preussen,
2 vols. (1912); S. Stern, Der preussische Staat und die Juden, 2 vols.
(1925, repr. 1962); W. Heise, Die Juden in der Mark Brandenburg bis
zum Jahre 1571 (1932); H. Rachel, Das Berliner Wirtschaftsleben im
Zeitalter des Fruehkapitalismus (1931); H. Rachel et al., Berliner Grosskaufleute
und Kapitalisten, 3 vols. (1934–39); J. Jacobsohn (ed.), Die
Judenbuergerbuecher der Stadt Berlin, 1809–1851 (1962); M. Sinasohn
(ed.), Adas Jisroel, Berlin (1966); H. Seeliger, in: YLBI, 3 (1958), 159–68;
I. Eisenstein-Barzilay, in: PAAJR, 25 (1956), 1–37; 29 (1960–61), 17–54;
idem, in: Essays on Jewish Life and Thought (1959), 183–97; Barzilay,
in: PAAJR, 29 (1960–61), 17–54; idem, in: JSOS, 21 (1959), 165–92; E.
Hurwicz, in: YLBI, 12 (1967), 85–102. HOLOCAUST PERIOD: P. Littauer,
My Experiences During the Persecution of the Jews in Berlin and
Brussels, 1939–44 (1945); Irgun Olej Merkas Europa, Die letzten Tage
des deutschen, Judentums (1943); Ball-Kaduri, in: Yad Vashem Studies,
3 (1959), 261–81; 5 (1963), 271–316; H. Gaertner, in: YLBI, 1 (1956),
123–42; F. Friedlaender, ibid., 3 (1958), 187–201; S. Shiratzki, ibid., 5
(1960), 299–307. Add. Bibliography: Nachtrichtenblatt der juedischen
Gemeinde von Gross-Berlin D.D.R. (1961); A. Brass, Aufbau
(March 12, 1971); idem, Geschehnisse auf dem Friedhof Berlin-Weissensee
in den Jahren 1936–45; B. Scheiger, in: S. Jersch-Wenzel (ed.),
Von Zuwanderern zu Einheimischen (1990), 153–488; W. Gruner,
Judenverfolgung in Berlin (1992); B. Meyer, in: H. Simon (ed.), Juden
in Berlin 1938–1945 (2000); A. Nachama (ed.), Juden in Berlin (2001).
HEBREW PRINTING: H.D. Friedberg, Toledot ha-Defus ha-Ivri be-
Arim Augsburg… (1935), 87ff.; R.N. Rabinowitz, Ma’amar al Hadpasat
ha-Talmud (1952), 108f., 152f.; Steinschneider, in: ZGJD, 1 (1887),
377ff.; 2 (1888), 200ff.; 3 (1889), 84ff., 262ff.; A.M. Habermann, Ha-
Sefer ha-Ivri be-Hitpatteḥuto (1968), index.
BERLIN, ARYEH LOEB BEN ABRAHAM MEIR (1738–
1814), German rabbi. Berlin, the younger brother of Noah
Ḥayyim Ẓevi Hirsch *Berlin, was born in Fuerth where his
father, a well-to-do merchant, was communal leader of Franconian
Jewry. Like his brother, he was appointed dayyan in
Fuerth but Aryeh Loeb was at the same time rabbi of Baiersdorf
in Bavaria. From 1789 he was rabbi of Bamberg, where
his duties included that of civil judge. While there he was involved
in an unpleasant lawsuit when the heirs of a large estate
of which he was appointed executor accused him of abusing
his office, exacting illegal fees, and not accounting for certain
expenditure. He was acquitted of dishonesty, but made
to pay a fine. The publication of the relevant documents by
Eckstein (see bibl.) shows that the charges were groundless.
In 1794 Berlin was appointed chief rabbi of Hesse-Kassel, but
berlin, congress of
owing to the opposition of his detractors in Bamberg he was
unable to leave and did not assume his post until the following
year. When the kingdom of Westphalia, with Kassel as its
capital, was created by Napoleon in 1807 and given to Jerome
Bonaparte, Berlin delivered a sermon in Hebrew welcoming
the new king and composed a hymn of praise in Hebrew (published
under the title Davar be-Itto Mah Tov, with a German
translation, Kassel, 1807). In 1808, when the Jewish *consistory
was organized on the basis of the French consistories he
was appointed chief rabbi of the kingdom. The president of
the consistory was Israel *Jacobsohn, and Berlin, despite the
protests of the more extreme rabbis, agreed to certain relaxations
of the strict laws of Passover, in particular permitting
the eating of peas and beans on Passover.
Berlin’s annotations to the Talmud appear in the three
volumes of the Fuerth edition (1829–32) which were published,
and his annotations to the tractate Shevu’ot are in the Romm-
Vilna edition. Some of his novellae appear as an appendix to
his brother’s Aẓei Almuggim (Sulzbach, 1779).
Bibliography: A. Eckstein, Geschichte des Juden im ehemaligen
Fuerstbistum Bamberg (1898), 176–9, and Nachtraege (1899),
3–44; E. Kohn, Kinat Soferim (1892), 896f.
BERLIN, CONGRESS OF, gathering of the great European
powers in 1878 to settle problems concerning the Balkans and
Near East arising after the war between Russia and Turkey in
1877. Held between June 13 and July 13, 1878, it was attended by
representatives of Austria-Hungary, France, Great Britain, Italy,
Russia, and Turkey, with some participation of representatives
of the Balkan states (Greece, Montenegro, Romania, and
Serbia). Among its most influential members was the head of
the British delegation, Benjamin *Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield).
The position of the Jews in the Balkan countries (Romania,
Serbia, and Bulgaria) was also placed on the agenda on the initiative
of the “Zion” society in Bucharest, led by Adolf Weinberg
and Adolf *Stern; these joined with the *Alliance Israélite
Universelle in Paris and the Council for the Defense of Romanian
Jews in Berlin, led by Moritz *Lazarus. The Jewish community
of Berlin petitioned the chairman of the congress and
head of the German delegation, Count *Bismarck, on Feb. 28,
1878, to raise the question of equal rights for Romanian Jews
at the congress. As a result, the German representatives were
instructed to demand equal civil rights for the members of all
religions in the Balkan countries and the inclusion in the peace
treaty of special paragraphs to this effect explicitly providing
for their implementation. The question of equal rights for the
Jews in these countries was also discussed in the parliaments
of France, Italy, Austria, and Hungary, and the representatives
of these countries at the congress were requested by special
resolutions to ensure an appropriate settlement.
To deal with the Jewish questions a special council was
established in Berlin consisting of the representatives of the
Committee for Jewish Affairs in Berlin (Gerson von *Bleichroeder,
M. Lazarus, Jacob *Bernays, and Berthold *Auerbach),
representatives of the Alliance (Sacki Kann, Charles *Netter,
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