Akiva Eiger


Akiva Eiger, or Akiva Güns was a Talmudic scholar, halakhic decisor and leader of European Jewry during the early 19th century.
Eiger is considered one of the greatest Talmudic scholars of modern times and among the most prominent. His name has become synonymous with Talmudic genius in Jewish scholarly culture, and his Torah is studied in the Batei Midrash of contemporary yeshivas. His methods of study and the logic he applied remain relevant today, unlike other Aharonim who tended towards Pilpul. In addition to his significant influence on the study of the Talmud and the works of the Rishonim, Akiva Eiger had a decisive impact in the field of halakha. His glosses printed on the margins of the Shulchan Aruch, as well as his responsa in his Shut works, are foundational elements in the world of daily halachic ruling and the realm of Dayanut.
At the beginning of his career, he avoided taking on a rabbinical position involving halachic rulings but did not refrain from serving as a rosh yeshiva. Later, he served for 24 years as the rabbi of the town of Markisch-Friedland. His main public activity began when, after the efforts of his famous son-in-law, the Chatam Sofer, he was elected as the rabbi of the Polish district city of Posen, a position he held for 23 years, until his death.

Biography

His youth

Akiva Eiger was born on 1 Cheshvan 5522. in Eisenstadt. located in western Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary, one of the "Seven Communities." His brit milah is recorded in the circumcision register of the mohel Binyamin Wolf Tevin, a leader of the Pressburg community, and it was performed on 9 Cheshvan, not on time. He was the eldest son of Moshe Ginz and Gittel Eiger.
His mother, Gittel, whom her brother described as "righteous and learned like a man", was the daughter of Akiva Eiger of Halberstadt, author of the book Mishnat DeRabbi Akiva, rabbi of Zülz and Pressburg, considered one of the great rabbis of German Jewry and of the Holy Roman Empire. Eiger of Halberstadt at age 39, and his daughter Gittel chose to name her eldest son after him, Akiva. Akiva Eiger always signed his letters: "Akiva Ginz of AS", like his father, but on official documents, he signed "Yaakov Moshe Eiger," where the name "Yaakov" is an anagram of "Akiva," and "Moshe" represents his father's name. Later, during his lifetime, the family adopted the mother's surname "Eiger" as it was considered genealogically more prestigious. His father, Moshe Ginz, was the son of Shmuel Schlesinger and Sarah, the daughter of Moshe Broda, and the granddaughter of Avraham Broda, rabbi of Prague and Frankfurt.
As a child, he was recognized for his quick comprehension and phenomenal memory, and his parents directed him to study Talmud at a very young age. His name began to spread among scholars in the area when, at just six or seven years old, he solved a difficult Talmudic sugya that had stumped the greatest minds at the Breslau yeshiva for a long time without resolution. The question was sent to his father by his uncle, Rosh Yeshiva Binyamin Wolf Eiger, who later became the rabbi of Zülz and Leipnik. The solution proposed by the young Eiger earned him the reputation of a child prodigy and sparked curiosity. Many sought to meet him and witness his abilities firsthand. At the age of seven, his father sent him to Mattersdorf to study under the local rabbi, Natan Nata Frankfurter. When he turned 12, he returned to Eisenstadt, where he primarily studied with his father and the city's new rabbi, Asher Lemmel from Glogau in Silesia, Prussia.
Over the years, after his uncle recognized his level of Torah knowledge, he persuaded his parents to send him for advanced studies at his yeshiva in Breslau. Due to his age, his parents preferred to keep him close to home, so he was briefly sent to the nearby Hungarian city of Mattersdorf, to the local rabbi's yeshiva, where he strengthened his knowledge and confidence. At age 12, he traveled to Breslau and became the close student of his uncle, Wolf Eiger, who even designated him as his successor should he be absent. In this yeshiva, he met Yeshaya Pick Berlin, who later became the rabbi of Breslau and was known for his glosses on the Babylonian Talmud printed as additions to the Masoret HaShas on the pages of Vilna Shas.

The Lissa period

In the summer of 1781, when he was about 20 years old, he married Glickl, the 18-year-old daughter of the wealthy Yitzchak Margolis of Lissa. The wedding took place in Lissa. According to their prior agreement, Akiva Eiger settled in Lissa. His father-in-law provided him with a large, well-furnished house, including a rich library, and also supported him financially so that he could devote himself to Torah study. During his time in Lissa, he befriended Yehuda Neuburg, the rabbi of Ravicz, son-in-law of Meir Posner, author of the "Beit Meir," who later corresponded with Eiger. David Tevel ben Natan Neta of Lissa also included him in his rabbinical court during his stay in the city.
In Lissa, Akiva Eiger and Glickl had their first three children:
  1. Avraham : Avraham Eiger, Akiva Eiger's eldest son, later married a woman from Ravicz near Posen and settled there. He eventually became the rabbi of Rogozin. He spent much time editing and preparing his father's works for print. He died on 1 Kislev 5614 and was buried in Posen.
  2. Shlomo : Shlomo Eiger, later the rabbi of Kalisz, who succeeded his father as the rabbi of Posen.
  3. Sheindel : She later married Moshe Heinrich Davidson of Bromberg.
While still in Lissa, Akiva Eiger established a yeshiva in the house provided by his father-in-law, and students began gathering around him, some of whom later became rabbis themselves and maintained correspondence with their teacher. This arrangement continued until the winter of 1789–1790. In the middle of Shevat 5550, Akiva Eiger's father died, and he mourned deeply. That summer a fire broke out, destroying most of the Jewish homes in Lissa, including the properties of his father-in-law Itzik Margolis, who was left destitute with his extended family. The yeshiva students dispersed, and Akiva Eiger was forced to move to the nearby city of Ravicz, where he was appointed as a dayan. His economic situation in Ravicz worsened daily, and the small Jewish community could not afford the salaries for its religious leaders.

The Markisch-Friedland period

Initially, Akiva Eiger was reluctant to accept a rabbinical position, preferring to be a rosh yeshiva and teach students, relying on a living stipend provided by local Jewish benefactors. However, financial difficulties eventually forced him to take on a rabbinical position. In 1791, after the great fire in Lissa and the ensuing economic crisis, as well as the loss of his father-in-law's fortune, and following a trial period in the city of Ravicz, Akiva Eiger was appointed, through the intervention of his father-in-law and friends, to serve as the rabbi of Markisch-Friedland in West Prussia, a position he held for 24 years, beginning on 18 Adar I 5551.
Immediately upon his arrival in Markisch-Friedland, he established a yeshiva and began gathering many students, including those from his previous yeshiva in Lissa. As was customary at the time, the local Jewish community funded the rabbi's yeshiva and its students, in addition to his regular salary. The community board's protocol in Markisch-Friedland, detailing the new rabbi's salary terms, dated 8 Adar I 5551, has been preserved. In this agreement, under the title, his monthly salary is detailed in the local currency, including special pay for his sermons on Shabbat Shuva and Shabbat HaGadol, Kimcha D'Pischa, Four Cups, Etrog and Lulav, free accommodation in the rabbi's residence, notary fees for certifying marriages and inheritance agreements. The agreement also specified the occasions on which the rabbi was entitled to be called to the Torah and to read the Haftarah. Additionally, it stipulated that the rabbi would serve as the Sandak at the first brit milah conducted each month in the community. The initial salary was modest, and Akiva Eiger, who saw that it was insufficient to support his family, suspected that the community leaders assumed he had savings from the dowry he received from his wealthy father-in-law. However, as he did not have such funds, he approached the community board to request a raise, emphasizing that he only wished to receive the minimum necessary for his subsistence:
During the early period of his tenure in Markisch-Friedland, his fourth child, Sharl, was born. She was married in her first match to Avraham Moshe Kalischer, the rabbi of Schneidermuhl, the son of Yehuda Leib Kalischer of Lissa, author of the "Yad HaChazakah." His daughter Tzipora, born in Markisch-Friedland, died in her youth.
During the Markisch-Friedland period, Akiva Eiger established his first students. His innovations on the Talmud and his annotations on the Mishnah and Shulchan Aruch were mostly written there. Akiva Eiger began responding to halachic queries from across Europe and became known as one of the greatest halachic respondents of his generation. His responsa from this period are addressed to the rabbis of major communities in Italy, Germany, Moravia, Poland, and Russia. Even the local authorities entrusted him with decisions concerning Jewish life.
In addition to issuing halachic rulings, studying, and spreading Torah, Akiva Eiger was involved in all public needs in his city, especially those of the disadvantaged. He served as a member of the board of directors in all charity organizations in the city and even founded specific charitable organizations for neglected areas until his arrival. At his initiative, the city established the "Holy Society for Wood Distribution," a charitable fund aimed at ensuring a steady supply of firewood to heat the homes of the poor during the harsh winter.

The death of his first wife

On 12 Adar I 5556, two months after they walked their daughter to her wedding canopy, his first wife, Glickl, died. Akiva Eiger mourned her deeply, as he describes in a letter from that time: He attributed the stomach ailment he suffered from at this time, which stayed with him for the rest of his life, to the grief he felt during this period. To his friends who sought to console him and quickly proposed a new match immediately after the mourning period ended, he responded with a bitter letter revealing the depth of their love: Akiva Eiger saw her not only as a wife and mother to his children but also as his partner in all matters of service to God and Yirat Shamayim, with whom he often consulted:
Shortly before his wife's death, Akiva Eiger received an offer to assume the rabbinic position in Leipnik after the previous rabbi, Benjamin Wolf Eiger, Akiva Eiger's uncle and mentor, died, leaving the position vacant. The offer remained open until after his second marriage, but ultimately, it did not materialize.
Following his wife's death, Akiva Eiger contemplated resigning from his rabbinical post: This thought did not come to fruition.