EGER, SOLOMON BEN AKIVA

EGER, SOLOMON BEN AKIVA (1786–1852), rabbi and rosh yeshivah. Born in Lissa, he was the son of R. Akiva *Eger the Younger, under whom he studied. Eger became a merchant in Warsaw, but after losing his fortune in the Polish rebellion in 1831, he accepted the rabbinate of Kalisz. In 1839 he was appointed to succeed his father in Posen. Active in communal affairs, Eger sought to direct the Jews from commerce to farming, and in 1844 appealed to Frederick William iv, king of Prussia, to assist Jews in founding an agricultural village in the province of Posen. The request was granted, and Eger took active steps to implement the plan. In 1846 he founded an organization for agricultural settlement with the consent and formal support of 21 local communities, with promises of support. The project was, however, brought to an end by the disturbances of 1848. Eger was also active in soliciting contributions for Ereẓ Israel and in assuring their fair disbursement. He also took a prominent part in the campaign for emancipation of the Jews in his country. A strong advocate of traditional Judaism in its strictest interpretation and an outspoken opponent of the Reform movement, he sided with G. *Tiktin of Breslau in his controversy with A. *Geiger and was influential in restoring Tiktin to his position. Many of his responsa are included among those of his father, particularly those which he published together with his older brother, Abraham. His own published works include Gilyon Maharsha, notes on the Talmud and on Alfasi's Code appended to the Vilna Talmud (1859); Gilyon Rasha, notes on Yoreh De'ah (Koenigsberg, 1859) and republished with additions in the Vilna Talmud. His letters were published in Iggerot Soferim (1929), pp. 62–86.

bibliography:

Bloch, in: Jeschurun, ed. by B. Koenigsberger, 1 (1901), 5–8, 75–79, 104–8; Wreschner, in: jjig, 2 (1904), 47–48; L. Lewin, Geschichte der Juden in Lissa (1904), 245–8.

[Akiva Posner]