Gotthard Deutsch

“ This position he held until he was called as chief rabbi to Altona, where he officiated from 1836 until his death. In this position he became one of the most prominent representatives of German Orthodoxy, which stood for the union of secular learning with strict adherence to the tenets and practises of traditional Judaism. ”

“ His school was attended by a great many students preparing for the ministry, and many of them became leaders of Orthodoxy. Samson Raphael Hirsch was his disciple in Mannheim, and Israel Hildesheimer in Altona. Four of his sons-in-law became prominent Orthodox rabbis-Isaacsohn of Rotterdam, Solomon Cohn of Schwerin, Freymann of Ostrowo, and M. L. Bamberger of Kissingen. He was the last German rabbi who acted as civil judge. Much against his will the Danish government, to which Altona then belonged, abolished this right of the Altona rabbi in 1863. ”

“ A similar belief in the doctrines of the Cabala is expressed in a sermon in which he urged early burial, because as long as the body remains unburied the evil spirits ("ḥiẓonim") have power over it ("Allg. Zeit. des Jud." 1845, p. 193) . ”