Halden, Robert, 1942-

Israel (also spelled Azriel, Esriel, or Ezriel) Hildesheimer was one of the founders and leaders of modern Orthodoxy in Germany. He was born in Halberstadt in 1820, the son of Rabbi Lieb Hildesheimer (formerly Glei) and Golda Goslar. He attended the Jewish school in his hometown until he was seventeen, when he went to study in Altona with the Orthodox rabbi Jakob Ettlinger. He also attended lectures given by the Hamburg rabbi Isaac Bernays. After returning to Halberstadt, Hildesheimer finished his studies at the Dom Gymnasium . Unlike most Orthodox Jews of the time, he decided to continue his studies at the university level. When he was twenty, he attended the University of Berlin, where he studied philosophy, literature, languages, and mathematics. In 1842 Hildesheimer went to Halle, where he completed his university studies in 1844 with a dissertation on biblical interpretation ("Über die Rechte Art der Bibelinterpretation"). After the conclusion of his education, Hildesheimer returned to Halberstadt, where he married Henriette Hirsch, sister of Joseph Hirsch, Kommerzienrat and owner of Aron Hirsch & Sohn.

In 1851 Israel Hildesheimer was called to be the rabbi of Eisenstadt (then Kis Marton, Hungary, presently located in Austria). He stayed in Eisenstadt for nineteen years, where he and Henriette had ten children: Levi, Esther, Aron, Hirsch, Moses, Lea, Röschen, Gustav, Mayer, and Jenny. At that time, Orthodoxy frowned upon secular education, but Hildesheimer established a school for the Jewish community where both religion and other subjects were taught. He also founded a seminary for educating rabbis, where history, literature, mathematics, Latin, and Greek were taught in addition to religious courses and Hebrew. His attempts to give secular learning a firm place in rabbinical studies brought him into conflict with more traditional Orthodox Jews.

In 1869 the Orthodox community of Adass Jisroel in Berlin was searching for a new rabbi, and found it in Israel Hildesheimer. By 1873 he had established a religious school and rabbinical seminary there. As in Eisenstadt, he hoped that these institutions would help to strengthen Orthodox Judaism.

In addition to his work as rabbi, Hildesheimer was also involved in numerous efforts to assist the needy. In 1868 he assisted in organizing the construction of buildings for the poor and pilgrims near Jerusalem. During the Franco-Prussian war he founded a lazarette for Jewish soldiers, which was led by his wife. He was also active in making religious services for the high holidays available to the soldiers in the war. In 1883 he worked to establish a home in Berlin for Jewish refugees from Russia. In addition, he was a member of the central committee of the Alliance Israelite Universelle and president of the Mietelhilfsverein in Berlin. Israel Hildesheimer wrote many scholarly works, especially articles, but also a commentary on the Halachoth Gedoloth .

Israel Hildesheimer died in 1899, soon after the death of his wife.

Aron Hildesheimer was the second son of Israel and Henriette Hildesheimer, born in 1851. A businessman, he married his neighbor Mirjam Hirsch, the daughter of Salmon Hirsch and Fanny Ettlinger, in 1878. Aron and Mirjam Hildesheimer had two children: Fritz (later Fred) and Gerda. Aron Hildesheimer lived for many years in Halberstadt before immigrating to the United States in 1939, where he lived with his family in New York City. He died in 1940.

Henriette Hildesheimer was the daughter of Aron Hildesheimer and Mirjam Hirsch. In 1908 she married Nathan Halberstadt in Halberstadt. Nathan Halberstadt was a banker and bookkeeper who worked for the Aron Hirsch & Sohn firm for a time.

The son of Nathan Halberstadt and Henriette Hildesheimer, Hans Halberstadt was born in 1910 and married Margot Koppe in 1934. Hans Halberstadt studied law at universities in Berlin and Heidelberg. Margot Koppe studied dentistry in Breslau, Würzburg, and Berlin. In 1936 they immigrated to the United States, where they settled in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. In 1944 they both became citizens of the United States. Upon receiving citizenship Hans Halberstadt changed his name to John Halden, and Halden became thereafter the family name. John Halden died in 1976; Margot Halden died in 1981. They had a son, Robert Halden, in 1942.

From the guide to the Robert Halden Family Collection, 1821-1940, bulk 1850-1935, (Leo Baeck Institute)