Aruch LaNer

Rabbi Yaakov Ettlinger (1798-1871), commonly called the Aruch LaNer after his best-known work, was a German rabbinic authority born in Karlsruhe. He pursued advanced Talmudic study in Würzburg at the yeshiva of Rabbi Avraham Bing, and in 1826 was appointed district rabbi with his seat in Mannheim. In 1836 he became chief rabbi of Altona, a position he held until his death, its jurisdiction extending over Schleswig and Holstein. His writings include Aruch LaNer, a widely studied commentary on several Talmudic tractates; Binyan Tzion, a collection of responsa; and Bikurei Yaakov, a halachic work on the laws of Sukkot and the Four Species. In 1845 he founded Der treue Zionswächter, an early German-language periodical for traditional Judaism, paired with a Hebrew supplement. Among his students were Samson Raphael Hirsch and Azriel Hildesheimer.