Israel Meir Freimann (Yiddish: ישראל מאיר פריַימאן, also Israel Meier Freimann; 27 September 1830 – 21 August 1884) was a Polish-born German rabbi, philosopher and orientalist.
Freimann was born on 27 September 1830 in Kraków. Born as the younger son of Eliakum Freimann and Esther Breiter,[1] Freimann received his education from his father and in various Talmudical schools (yeshivot) in Hungary.[2] After attending a Gymnasium (grammar school) in 1850 in Leipzig, Saxony, where he stayed with his elder brother Isak (Eisik), in 1852 he moved to Breslau, then Prussia.[2] There he attended the Catholic Royal where he took his A-levels (Abitur).[1] [2] Between 1856 and 1860 he studied philosophy and Oriental languages at the local Silesian Frederick William University (now Wrocław University).[3] In 1860 Landesrabbiner, the Silesian provincial chief rabbi, ordained Freimann as rabbi.[1]
In the same year Freimann took up the rabbinate of the Jewish congregation in Filehne, later changing to the same position in Ostrowo, both then in the Prussian province of Posen.[3] In 1865 he graduated (Ph. D.) at the Ducal Pan-Saxon University (Salana) (now Friedrich Schiller University) in Jena upon Saale, then Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.[3] He wrote his doctoral thesis, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Ophiten (A contribution to the history of the Ophites), supervised by Dean Johann Gustav Stickel.[1]
From 7 September 1871 on he worked as rabbi for the Israelitische Gemeinde Ostrowo,[2] thus ending a vacancy since the death of his predecessor Aron Stössel (d. 31 May 1861).[2] Freimann served his office in Ostrowo until his death.[3] In 1875, after Rector Zacharias Frankel's death, Freimann declined to succeed him as rector of the Breslau-based Jewish Theological Seminary of Fraenckel's Foundation.[3] From 1874 to 1884 Freimann gave Jewish religion classes in the Royal Gymnasium of Ostrowo. He died on 21 August 1884 in Ostrowo.[4] In 1900 his fellow townspeople named a street, the "Freimannstraße", in his honour.[3] Freimann's successor was Rabbi Dr. Elias Plessner, son of the Preacher Salomon Plessner from Berlin.[2]
Freimann's edition of the midrashic work (We-Hizhir; 2 parts), to which he added the valuable commentary ענפי יהודה (ʿAnpēi Yehûdāh), is indisputable evidence of his learning.[3] The responsa (בנין ציון [''Binyan Ẓiyyon'']) of his father-in-law Jacob Ettlinger contain many of Freimann's essays.[3] With his wife Helene Ettlinger (1834–1902; mar. 1860) Freimann had eight children, Josef, Nanette (mar. Simonsohn), Isak, Esther (not mar.), Regina (wife of rabbi Jakob Freimann, her cousin), Judith (mar. Pinczower), Aron and Frida (mar. Czapski).