Daniel Itzig
Encyclopedia
Daniel Itzig was a Court Jew
of Kings Frederick II the Great
and Frederick William II
of Prussia
.
Itzig was born in Berlin
. His family
was mercantile; His wife Miriam's ancestors were the famous Rabbi Moses Isserles
of Cracow and Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon
. Itzig was a banker in partnership with Feitel (Efraim) Heine. Together they owned factories for oil and lead. During the Seven Years War he assisted Frederick the Great. Following the war he was appointed Master of the Mint
, and the Prussian court banker by Frederik's successor, Frederick William II in 1797. Itzig was one of the very few Jews in Prussia to receive full citizenship privileges, as a "Useful Jew". He became extraordinarily wealthy as a consequence.
Together with his son in law David Friedlander
, Itzig was appointed to lead a committee which was to discuss ways to improve the Jewish civil and social standing in Prussia. He funded early members of the Haskalah
secular movement, including Rabbi Israel of Zamosch (Moses Mendelsohn's teacher), Samuel Rominow (a colorful Italian Jewish artist) and Isaac Satanow
.
In 1761 he began planning a school for poor Jewish boys in Berlin, and in 1778 his son together with Daniel Friedlander opened the first "free school" (Freischule) called "Hinuch Neorim", Hebrew for 'Teaching the Young Ones'. The school and adjacent printing house later became one of the main institutions of the Haskalah movement. At the same time he founded and funded a Yeshiva
and brought Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Levine and Rabbi Yozef Teomim
to Berlin to teach there.
In 1782 during the Words of Peace and Truth
controversy, he sided with Hirz Wiesel
, but at the same time convinced Rabbi Levine to stay.
Itzig was official head of the Jewish community in Berlin, all of Prussia from 1764 till his death in 1799.
Nearly all of the thirteen of his children
who lived to adulthood became influential in German Jewish history. Two of his granddaughters married two of Moses Mendelshohn's sons. One of them was Lea (née Solomon) mother of Felix Mendelssohn
the composer and Fanny Hansel
pianist and grandmother of mathematician Kurt Hensel
.
Court Jew
Court Jew is a term, typically applied to the Early Modern period, for historical Jewish bankers who handled the finances of, or lent money to, European royalty and nobility....
of Kings Frederick II the Great
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
and Frederick William II
Frederick William II of Prussia
Frederick William II was the King of Prussia, reigning from 1786 until his death. He was in personal union the Prince-Elector of Brandenburg and the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel.-Early life:...
of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
.
Itzig was born in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. His family
Itzig family
Many of the thirteen children of Daniel Itzig and Miriam Wulff, and their descendants and spouses, had significant impact on both Jewish and German social and cultural history...
was mercantile; His wife Miriam's ancestors were the famous Rabbi Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles
Moses Isserles, also spelled Moshe Isserlis, , was an eminent Ashkenazic rabbi, talmudist, and posek, renowned for his fundamental work of Halakha , entitled ha-Mapah , an inline commentary on the Shulkhan Aruch...
of Cracow and Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon
Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon
Joseph ben Mordechai Gershon Ha-Kohen was a Polish Talmudist. He began his studies in the Talmud at an early age, and became the head of a yeshivah founded for him by his father-in-law. The many pupils who attended this school soon made him famous for his scholarship; and his views on religious...
. Itzig was a banker in partnership with Feitel (Efraim) Heine. Together they owned factories for oil and lead. During the Seven Years War he assisted Frederick the Great. Following the war he was appointed Master of the Mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
, and the Prussian court banker by Frederik's successor, Frederick William II in 1797. Itzig was one of the very few Jews in Prussia to receive full citizenship privileges, as a "Useful Jew". He became extraordinarily wealthy as a consequence.
Together with his son in law David Friedlander
David Friedländer
David Friedländer, sometimes spelled Friedlander was a German Jewish banker, writer and communal leader.- Life :Friedländer settled in Berlin in 1771...
, Itzig was appointed to lead a committee which was to discuss ways to improve the Jewish civil and social standing in Prussia. He funded early members of the Haskalah
Haskalah
Haskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the 18th–19th centuries that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
secular movement, including Rabbi Israel of Zamosch (Moses Mendelsohn's teacher), Samuel Rominow (a colorful Italian Jewish artist) and Isaac Satanow
Isaac Satanow
Isaac Satanow was a Polish Jewish scholar and poet.-Life:In early manhood he left his native country and went to Berlin in search of learning. There he became the protégé of Isaac Daniel and David Friedländer, who found him employment as a teacher in some prominent families.Satanow represents a...
.
In 1761 he began planning a school for poor Jewish boys in Berlin, and in 1778 his son together with Daniel Friedlander opened the first "free school" (Freischule) called "Hinuch Neorim", Hebrew for 'Teaching the Young Ones'. The school and adjacent printing house later became one of the main institutions of the Haskalah movement. At the same time he founded and funded a Yeshiva
Yeshiva
Yeshiva is a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primarily the Talmud and Torah study. Study is usually done through daily shiurim and in study pairs called chavrutas...
and brought Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Levine and Rabbi Yozef Teomim
Joseph ben Meir Teomim
Joseph ben Meir Teomim was a Galician rabbi born at Lemberg. While still young he succeeded his father in the position of preacher and rabbinical instructor in the yeshivah of Lemberg. Later he went to Berlin, where he stayed several years in the bet ha-midrash of Daniel Jafe...
to Berlin to teach there.
In 1782 during the Words of Peace and Truth
Words of Peace and Truth
Words of Peace and Truth was a Hebrew work produced by the Jewish scholar Naphtali Herz Wessely, a disciple of Moses Mendelssohn and a prominent figure of the Haskalah....
controversy, he sided with Hirz Wiesel
Naphtali Hirz Wessely
NaphtaliHerz Wessely, aka NaphtaliHirz Wessely, also Wesel was a 18th-century German Jewish Hebraist and educationist born at Hamburg.-Family History:...
, but at the same time convinced Rabbi Levine to stay.
Itzig was official head of the Jewish community in Berlin, all of Prussia from 1764 till his death in 1799.
Nearly all of the thirteen of his children
Itzig family
Many of the thirteen children of Daniel Itzig and Miriam Wulff, and their descendants and spouses, had significant impact on both Jewish and German social and cultural history...
who lived to adulthood became influential in German Jewish history. Two of his granddaughters married two of Moses Mendelshohn's sons. One of them was Lea (née Solomon) mother of Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
the composer and Fanny Hansel
Fanny Mendelssohn
Fanny Cäcilie Mendelssohn , later Fanny Hensel, was a German pianist and composer, the sister of the composer Felix Mendelssohn and granddaughter of the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn...
pianist and grandmother of mathematician Kurt Hensel
Kurt Hensel
Kurt Wilhelm Sebastian Hensel was a German mathematician born in Königsberg, Prussia.He was the son of the landowner and entrepreneur Sebastian Hensel, brother of the philosopher Paul Hensel, grandson of the composer Fanny Mendelssohn and the painter Wilhelm Hensel, and a descendant of the...
.