Ephraim Carlebach

Ephraim Carlebach was Leipzig’s most famous rabbi, and his lifework emanates far beyond the borders of the city till this day. His Neoorthodox upbringing had instilled in him an urge to bend boundaries and break new ground, and so Carlebach founded the first Jewish school in Saxony, achieved lesson-free Shabbat and implemented progressive educational methods in his school. Carlebach was the heart and soul of the school, and his tireless efforts for understanding and collaboration set him apart as a person. This book introduces Ephraim Carlebach and embeds him in a contemporary context. His life and work are exemplary of a generation of rabbis who combined religious and secular education. As a proponent of Neoorthodoxy Carlebach’s life story serves as an illustration of the surmountable and the insurmountable barriers he faced.