Samuel Adler (rabbi)
| Samuel Adler | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | December 3, 1809 Worms, Germany |
| Died |
June 9, 1891 (aged 81) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater |
University of Bonn University of Giessen |
| Occupation | Rabbi |
| Children | Felix Adler |
| Parent(s) | Isaac Adler |
Samuel Adler (December 3, 1809 in Worms, Germany – June 9, 1891 in New York City) was a leading German-American Reform rabbi, Talmudist, and author.
Samuel Adler was born on December 3, 1809 in Worms, Germany. He received his early religious education from his father Isaac, who was one of the associate rabbis in Worms and instructed him in Hebrew and the Biblical and Rabbinic literature of the Jews. When Rabbi Isaac Adler died on December 23, 1822, thirteen-year-old Samuel, his four young siblings, and their mother were left in straitened circumstances. In spite of innumerable difficulties and extreme privation, Samuel continued his studies at the yeshivot in Worms and Frankfurt-am-Main, while concurrently pursuing a regular course of classical and general studies at the high schools of those two cities.
After graduating from the Frankfurt Gymnasium, Adler entered, in 1831, the University of Bonn and later that of Gießen, where he was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy in 1836.
Adler assumed his first official appointment as a preacher and assistant rabbi in Worms. In 1842, he was elected rabbi of the Jewish congregations in Alzey and remained in this position until 1857.
At the beginning of 1857, Adler received an offer from Temple Emanu-El, New York to succeed Leo Merzbacher, recently deceased, as the head rabbi of the leading Reform congregation in the US. Adler accepted the call and moved to New York in March 1857. He remained active as the spiritual head of Emanu-El until 1874, when he was made rabbi emeritus and relieved from active work for the rest of his life. He was succeeded by Gustav Gottheil. During his tenure, Adler continued the practice of conducting Temple services in German, in preference to the traditional Hebrew, for the congregation that consisted mostly of prosperous German immigrant families. Adler also revised the German prayer book introduced by Merzbacher.
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