Meir Auerbach

Meir Aurbach (1815 - 1877) was the Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Jerusalem.

Born in Kowel, Poland, into the Auerbach family of rabbis, he was appointed rabbi of his home town at the age of 25.

In 1846, Aurbach was appointed president of the Jewish court in the city Kolo, where he served for nine years.

Later, he moved to Kalisz, where he served as a rabbi, and engaged in commerce. In his sermons, he encouraged members of his congregation to immigrate to Israel, "the beginning of redemption".

In 1858, Aurbach traveled to the Holy Land and settled in Jerusalem. Chaim Elozor Wax was appointed his successor.

In Jerusalem, the separation of the kollelim, each working for itself and managed by its own committee, caused anxiety to those who had no kollel to care for them. It also gave the community much concern regarding general expenses, such as the salaries of the rabbis, the Turkish military taxes, and the usual bakshish to the Turkish officials. For these purposes the Rabbi Meir Auerbach organized the central committee, or "Va'ad ha-Klali", in 1866. This committee represented the general interests of all the Ashkenazim in Palestine, while the Sephardim continued the management of their affairs under the guidance of the Hakam bashi of Jerusalem.

Meir Aurbach and his successor, Rabbi Shmuel Salant, were supporters of the Balady citron, which was cultivated in the Arab village of Umm el-Fahm, since it was considered by them the most kosher.