Akiba Eisenberg Explained

Akiba Eisenberg
Chief Rabbi of Vienna
Birth Place:	Vác, Austria-Hungary
Synagogue:	Seitenstättengasse
Death Place:	Vienna, Austria
Honorific-Prefix:	Dr. Rabbi
Birth Date:	30 September 1908

Dr. Akiba Eisenberg (20 September 1908 – 8 April 1983) was a former Chief Rabbi of Vienna.

Biography

Eisenberg was born in Vác, near Budapest.^{[1] [2] [3]} During World War II, he survived by hiding with his brother in the outlying area with non-Jewish farmers.

In 1948 Eisenberg became the Chief Rabbi of Vienna, after having served as the rabbi of Győr, Hungary.^{[4] [5]} He would establish a Beth Din with the help of the Jewish Agency and advocate as a Zionist while serving this role.^{[6] [7]} He would also be the target of an antisemitic terrorist attack, when a pipe bomb was detonated outside of his home on 4 February 1982.^{[8] [9]}

Eisenberg, working from Seitenstettengasse, the only synagogue in Vienna not destroyed by the Nazis, began Jewish education within the city.^[10] In 1969, he was given the title 'Doctor,' by the President of Austria for his work in education.

Eisenberg died on 8 April 1983, at the age of 74, from heart failure, in Vienna.^[11] After his death, his son Paul Chaim succeeded him as the Chief Rabbi.

References

1. Book: Eisenberg, Paul Chaim. Lachen, Weinen, Hoffnung schenken: Wenn der Rebbe aus seinem Leben erzählt. 2021-09-13. Christian Brandstätter Verlag. 978-3-7106-0559-8. de.
2. Book: Kunstat. Miroslav. Kirche, Religion und Politik in Österreich und in der Tschechoslowakei im 20. Jahrhundert. Sebek. Jaroslav. 2019. LIT Verlag Münster. 978-3-643-50812-6. de.
3. Book: Bolchover, David. Béla Guttmann: De Sobrevivente do Holocausto a Glória do Benfica. 2018-01-15. Leya. 978-989-741-884-6. pt-BR.
4. News: 1983-04-08. Akiba Eisenberg Dead at 74; Austrian Chief Rabbi 35 Years. en-US. The New York Times. 2022-02-01. 0362-4331.
5. Book: Mittelmann. Hanni. Österreich-Konzeptionen und jüdisches Selbstverständnis: Identitäts-Transfigurationen im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert. Wallas. Armin A.. 2015-03-10. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. 978-3-11-096595-7. de.
6. Book: Rabinowicz. Harry M.. Hasidism and the State of Israel. Aleichem. Cholem. Rabinowicz. Harry. Rabinowicz. Tzvi. 1982. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 978-0-8386-3034-1. en.
7. Book: LWF Documentation. 2001. Lutheran University Press. 978-3-906706-85-6. en.
8. Book: Segev, Tom. Simon Wiesenthal: The Life and Legends. 2012. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. 978-0-8052-1208-2. en.
9. Book: Mickolus. Edward F.. International Terrorism in the 1980s: 1980-1983. Sandler. Todd. Murdock. Jean Marie. 1989. Iowa State University Press. 978-0-8138-0024-0. en.
10. Book: Adler. Cyrus. American Jewish Year Book. Szold. Henrietta. 1954. Jewish Publication Society of America. en.
11. Book: Survey of Jewish Affairs. 1983. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. 978-0-8386-3244-4. en.