Salis Daiches
(1880?1945) served as rabbi of the
Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation
from 1919 to 1945.
Early life and education
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Salis Daiches was born Bezalel Daiches in 1880 near
Vilna, Lithuania
in the
Russian Empire
to Rabbi Israel Hayyim Daiches and Bella Bielitzki as one of ten children. His early education was conducted by his father and supplemented by instruction at a German grammar school. This joint instruction allowed him to become fluent in
Yiddish
,
Hebrew
, and
German
.
[1]
Daiches went on to complete a transitional qualification at
Kneiphofisches Gymnasium
in
Konigsberg
,
East Prussia
before spending a semester studying
philosophy
at
Alberts University
. He then enrolled in the
Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary
of
Berlin
where he learned about
modern Orthodoxy
and the ideology of
Torah u’maddah
.
During this period, he also matriculated at
Konigliche Friedrich-Wilhelms Universitat
in Berlin. Afterwards, he gained his doctorate in philosophy from the
University of Leipzig
. During his time at
Leipzig
, Daiches also began to learn
English
in order to complete his dissertation on the works of
David Hume
.
Early career
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In 1903, Daiches followed his parents to
Leeds
. After moving, he served as the minister in
Kingston upon Hull
and at the
Sunderland
Hebrew Congregation. He also briefly stood in for another
rabbi
for a year in
Hammersmith
.
During this period, he became a well-known figure, lecturing across the country and regularly contributing to
The Jewish Chronicle
. Daiches also took part in the Conferences of Anglo-Jewish Ministers from 1909 to 1913 as a part of the Standing Committee as well as the Sub-Committee on the District Organisation of Provincial Congregations in 1911.
These committees were meant to address issues caused by the recent
mass migration
of
Eastern European Jews
to the United Kingdom by providing suggestions on how to reorganise regional Jewish communities.
During these conferences, Daiches also advocated for the reform of the
London Beth Din
, which had
halakhic
authority over the
British Empire
.
He wanted the devolution of power so that a Scottish Beth Din with its own halakhic decision-making powers could exist.
The issue was no longer brought up in the conferences after 1914, but Daiches continued to lobby the
Chief Rabbis
.
Edinburgh Hebrew congregation
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In 1918, a delegation from the
Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation
offered him a position and the Chief Rabbi encouraged him to take it. The next year Salis Daiches moved to
Edinburgh
to become their rabbi.
Daiches, his wife, Flora, and his three children,
Lionel
,
David
, and Sylvia first moved to Lonsdale Terrace where they stayed as guests of some of the congregants. Soon after they were able to acquire their own place at 6 Millerfield Place.
Daiches arrived to a congregation and city divided between
anglicised Jews
and recent Eastern European immigrants. He quickly began working on uniting the congregation, striking a balance between encouraging assimilation and respecting immigrant traditions.
The congregation was not only religiously and culturally divided but physically as well. The anglicised part of the community attended Graham Street Synagogue, while the immigrant Jews went to Roxburgh Place.
[13]
Therefore, each
Shabbat
, Daiches preached at both places, using English for the British community and Yiddish for the Eastern European Jews.
Unification gradually occurred over the course of the 1920s. In 1922, Alexander Levinson became leader of the Independent Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation, a splinter group. Daiches investigated him and found his rabbinical credentials had been invented.
[15]
After Levinson refused to produce evidence of his qualifications, Daiches and editor of the
JC
,
Leopold Greenberg
, published warnings about Levinson. Levinson then sued them. The 1924 Levinson Case was ruled in favor of Daiches and the Independent Hebrew Congregation united with the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation.
In 1927, Roxburgh Place Synagogue closed.
[13]
The next year Daiches began a fundraising campaign to build
Salisbury Road Synagogue
which was meant to house the entire community, British and immigrant.
It opened in 1932 and the same year, he and his family moved to Crawfurd Road.
Daiches was heavily involved in both the
Jewish
and broader community. He preached harmony between
Orthodox Jewish life
and
secular
society.
[19]
He had a high public profile, addressing
learned societies
, social gatherings and
interest groups
.
The press reported on his speeches and he also wrote articles for newspapers.
In some of his speeches and articles he argued in favour of the Zionist cause and he became a well-known advocate for
Zionism
.
This was also demonstrated by his 1925 visit to
Palestine
for the opening of the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
.
He also continuously petitioned Chief Rabbi
Joseph Hertz
for the creation of a Scottish Beth Din so that he could better enforce halakhic and
civil law
. Though he was repeatedly denied, he was given enough power that he was sometimes referred to as the “Chief Rabbi of Scotland.”
[24]
He was often consulted by congregations from other cities or would intervene when there were halakhic issues.
Daiches often also was involved with the larger
Presbyterian Christian
community. He publicly denounced
Christian missionaries
that were attempting to convert poor Jewish immigrants. He also challenged the city on
religious education
in
state schools
, lobbying until Edinburgh made free Hebrew classes available four days a week at
Sciennes Primary School
. This also led to more mixing of immigrant and anglicised children. Despite some of these more contentious relations, Daiches also worked for Christian-Jewish harmony, especially as
World War II
approached. In 1938, he founded a Jewish-Christian Fellowship Movement with Reverend Magnus Nicholson of Fountainbridge Church in order to promote dialogue between the two communities.
Publications
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- Aspects of Judaism: Selected Essays.
London: George Routledge & Sons Ltd, 1928
- A Hebrew Grammar for Beginners
. By Rev Duncan Cameron and Rev Salis Daiches. Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd, 1939
- The Hebrew - English edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Baba Mezi'a
. By Salis Daiches & H Freedman. London: Soncino Press, 1962
See also
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References
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