Grünebaum, Elias

German rabbi; born in the Palatinate Sept. 10, 1807; died in Landau Sept. 25, 1893. In 1823 he went to Mayence, where he became a pupil of the Talmudist Löb Ellinger, and in 1826 continued his Talmudic studies at Mannheim; in 1827 he went to Frankfort-on-the-Main, where he attended the rabbinical lectures of Solomon Trier, Aaron Fuld, and Bär Adler, and prepared himself for the university. In 1831 he entered the University of Bonn, where he became intimately acquainted with Abraham Geiger. In 1832 he went to Munich to continue his studies. In 1835 he was appointed to the rabbinate of Birkenfeld, and the next year became rabbi of the Landau district, a position which he held till his death. Grünebaum was one of the most zealous and determined representatives of Reform Judaism. It is due to his efforts that the so-called "Jews' oath" was abolished in Bavaria (1862). In appreciation of his work for the improvement of the Jewish school-system, Ludwig II. of Bavaria bestowed upon him the Order of St. Michael. Besides contributing to Geiger's various magazines and to the "Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums," Jost's "Annalen," and Stein's "Volkslehrer," Grünebaum published: "Die Sittenlehre des Judenthums Anderen Bekenntnissen Gegenüber Nebst dem Geschichtlichen Nachweise über Entstehung des Pharisäismus und Dessen Verhältnis zum Stifter der Christlichen Religion," Mannheim, 1867; "Zustände und Kämpfe der Juden, mit Besonderer Beziehung auf die Rheinpfalz," ib. 1843; "Gottesdienstliche Vorträge," Carlsruhe, 1844; "Israelitische Gemeinde, Synagoge und Schule," Landau, 1861;"Reden" (delivered on various occasions). Many of his sermons were published in Kayserling's "Bibliothek Jüd. Kanzelredner."

S. M. K.