THE MEMORIAL BOOK OF PÁPA JEWRY - JewishGen

JEWISH COMMUNITY PRESIDENTS
ADOLF LŐWENSTEIN
He was an outstanding president of the Pápa community for decades.
He was a beloved student of R. Lipót Lőw, who served here between 1846-49. When Lőw
was already in Szeged, they continued to correspond to each other in Hebrew for a long time. The
great rabbi called him ba’al dikduk.
When Salamon Breuer, later the rabbi of Frankfurt, was in Pápa, Adolf Lőwenstein, at the
time already holding the post of community president became a most devoted follower of this
intransigent orthodox rabbi.
On one occasion the so-called enlightened members of the community achieved majority
in a coup, so to say, and gave the rabbi notice. They were afraid that his strictly religious ideals
would hinder the realization of their liberal ideas. Adolf Lőwenstein led a deputation to minister
Trefort, who reinstated Rabbi Breuer in office, under the influence of Lőwenstein’s convincing
arguments. It was rightfully stated by Rabbi Breuer about Lőwenstein that the Pápa community
president would measure up to the job in Paris as well!
He was an educated man and a strictly religious Jew. However, he wore boots and
Hungarian attire. (Why not? If Polish chassids were allowed to wear the rabbit-skin headgear of
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