View source for Jacob Emden

{{short description|German rabbi and talmudist (1697–1776)}}
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{{distinguish|text = [[Joseph ben Hayyim Jabez]] who is also known as Yaavetz}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
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| name = Jacob Emden
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| image = Rabbi_Jacob_Emden.jpg
| caption = Rabbi Jacob Emden
| synagogue = 
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| other_post = <!---------- Personal details ---------->
| birth_name = 
| birth_date = {{birth date |1697|6|4}}
| birth_place = [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]], [[Duchy of Holstein|Holstein]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
| death_date = {{death date and age |1776|4|19|1697|6|4}}
| death_place = Altona, Holstein, Holy Roman Empire
| yahrtzeit = 

| nationality = 
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| father = [[Tzvi Ashkenazi]]
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| children = [[Meshullam Solomon]]
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| signature = Emden, Rabbi Jacob signature.jpg
| burial_place = Jewish Cemetery, [[Altona, Hamburg]]
}}
'''Jacob Emden''', also known as '''the Yaʿavetz''' (June 4, 1697 – April 19, 1776), was a leading German [[rabbi]] and [[talmudist]] who championed traditional Judaism in the face of the growing influence of the [[Sabbateans|Sabbatean movement]]. He was widely acclaimed for his extensive knowledge.<ref>Communicated with [[Moses Mendelssohn]], founder of the breakaway [[Haskalah]] movement: {{cite web
   |url=https://www.kestenbaum.net/auction/lot/Auction-88/088-178
   |title=A 19th‑century copy of a 1773 letter from Moses Mendelssohn to Rabbi Jacob Emden}}</ref><ref name="JES19"/>

[[File:Jacob Emden.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Tombstone of Jacob Emden in [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]]]]

Emden was the son of the [[hakham]] [[Tzvi Ashkenazi]] and a descendant of [[Elijah Ba'al Shem of Chełm]]. He spent most of his life in [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]] (now part of [[Hamburg]], Germany).<ref name="Jacobs1995">{{cite book|author=Louis Jacobs|title=The Jewish Religion: A Companion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l1u-_VMDM80C&pg=PA146|year=1995|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-826463-7|page=146}}</ref> His son, [[Meshullam Solomon]], served as rabbi of the Hambro Synagogue in London and claimed authority as Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom from 1765 to 1780.<ref name="Emden2011">{{cite book|author=Jacob Emden|title=Megilat Sefer: The Autobiography of Rabbi Jacob Emden (1697–1776)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dOfOc56BFdkC&pg=PA353|date=May 4, 2011|publisher=PublishYourSefer.com|isbn=978-1-61259-001-1|page=353}}</ref>

The [[Hebrew acronym|acronym]] Yaʿavetz ({{lang|he|יעב״ץ}}, also rendered ''Yaavetz'') is formed from his [[Hebrew name]], Yaʿkov ben Tzvi ({{lang|he|יעקב בן צבי}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.myheritage.com/person-1502933_58227011_58227011/yaakov-israel-%25D7%2599%25D7%25A2%25D7%25A7%25D7%2591-%25D7%25A2%25D7%259E%25D7%2593%25D7%259Fyaavetz%25D7%2599%25D7%25A2%25D7%2591%25D7%25A5-emden-ashkenazi|title=Yaakov Israel (Yaakov Emden, Ya'avetz) Emden (Ashkenazi) Sidur}}</ref>

Seven of his 31 works were published posthumously.

== Biography ==
{{Jewish philosophy|expanded=Medieval}}

=== Early life and education ===
Jacob Emden (born Ashkenazi)<ref>{{cite web 
   |url=https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/112038/jewish/Rabbi-Jacob-Emden.htm
   |title=Rabbi Jacob Emden}}</ref> was the fifth of his father's 15 children.<ref>{{cite web
   |url=https://www.myheritage.com/person-6006615_111173772_111173772/rabbi-tzvi-hirsch-chacham-tzvi-ashkenazi-chacham-zvi
   |title=Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch "Chacham Tzvi" Ashkenazi, Chacham Zvi}}</ref> Until the age of seventeen, he studied Talmud under his father, [[Tzvi Ashkenazi]], a foremost rabbinic authority, first in [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]] and later in [[Amsterdam]] (1710–1714). In 1715, he married Rachel, daughter of Mordecai ben [[Naphtali Cohen]], rabbi of Ungarisch-Brod in [[Moravia]] (now [[Uherský Brod]] in the [[Czech Republic]]) and continued his studies in his father-in-law's [[yeshiva]]. <ref name="JE1906">Solomon Schechter, M. Seligsohn. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=341&letter=E Emden, Jacob Israel ben Zebi], ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' (1906).</ref>

Emden mastered all branches of Talmudic literature and later expanded his studies to philosophy, [[kabbalah]], and grammar—even attempting to learn [[Latin]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]] despite his view that secular studies should be limited to periods when Torah study was not feasible.<ref name="JE1906"/>

=== Career ===
Emden initially spent three years in Ungarisch-Brod as a private Talmudic lecturer before taking up work as a dealer in jewelry and other goods—a trade that required extensive travel.<ref name="JE1906"/> Although he generally declined formal rabbinic positions, in 1728 he accepted the rabbinate of [[Emden]], from which he later derived his name.<ref name="JE1906"/> He eventually returned to Altona, where he secured permission from the Jewish community to establish a private synagogue. Early on, he enjoyed cordial relations with [[Moses Hagiz]], head of the [[Spanish and Portuguese Jews|Portuguese Jewish community]] in Altona, though these later deteriorated due to calumnies. Similarly, his initially positive relations with the chief rabbi of the German community, [[Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen]], later soured.<ref name=JEJJ>{{cite book|title=Rabbi Jacob Emden: Life and Major Works|author=Jacob J. Shachter|year=1988|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|page=107}}</ref>

A few years later, Emden obtained permission from the King of Denmark to establish a printing press in Altona. He soon encountered controversy over his publication of a [[siddur]] he wrote in 1747 with commentary<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schacter |first1=Jacob J |author1-link=Jacob J. Schacter |editor1-last=Link-Salinger |editor1-first=Ruth |editor1-link=Ruth Link-Salinger Hyman |title=Torah and Wisdom, Torah ve-Hokhmah: Studies in Jewish Philosophy, Kabbalah, and Halacha – Essays in Honor of Arthur Hyman |date=1992 |publisher=Shengold |location=New York |page=175 |url=https://repository.yu.edu/bitstreams/ccf1c702-d988-40bb-bf1a-8879cb5084fd/download |chapter=The Siddur of Rabbi Jacob Emden: From Commentary to Code}}</ref> according to the [[minhag Polin]], ''ʿAmmude Shamayim'' ({{lang|he|עמדי שמים}}),<ref>{{cite web |title=SIDDUR (DAILY PRAYER BOOK) ACCORDING TO THE POLISH RITE WITH AN EXTENSIVE COMMENTARY AND ESSAYS BY RABBI JACOB EMDEN, ALTONA: [RABBI JACOB EMDEN], 1744-1748 |url=https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2019/sacred-splendor-judaica-from-the-arthur-and-gitel-marx-collection/siddur-daily-prayer-book-according-to-the-polish-5 |website=www.sothebys.com |publisher=Sotheby's}}</ref> harshly criticizing influential local [[moneychanger]]s. Despite receiving the approbation of the [[Landesrabbiner]], his opponents continued to denounce him.<ref name="JE1906"/>

=== Ya'avetz Pen Name ===
{{main|Hebrew abbreviations}}
In the preface to his work ''Responsa of Yaavetz'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Sheilat Yaavetz |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Sheilat_Yaavetz?tab=contents |website=www.sefaria.org |publisher=Sefaria.org}}</ref> Emden recounts how, as a child, he questioned why his father signed only as "Tzvi" ({{lang|he|צבי}}) rather than also including his father's name as was the norm. His father explained that this was a homonym, '''Tzv״i''' ({{lang|he|צב״י}}): an acronym for his full name, '''Tz'''vi '''b'''en '''Y'''aʿakov ({{lang|he|צבי בן יעקב}}). He advised that Emden should take the pen name Ya'avetz ({{lang|he|יעב״ץ}}) under the same principles. The Hebrew name ''Yaʿavetz'' appears both as a place name in [[1 Chronicles 2]]:55 and a personal name in [[1 Chronicles 4|4::9-10]]..<ref>{{cite book
   |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nk_RFL9LYg0C&pg=PA79  
   |title=Dictionary of Jewish Usage: A Guide to the Use of Jewish Terms
   |author=Sol Steinmetz  |year=2005 |page=79|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield
 |isbn=9780742543874
 }}</ref>

== Sabbatean controversy ==
<!-- This section is linked from [[Sabbateans]] and [[Jonathan Eybeschutz]] -->
{{Kabbalah}}
Emden accused [[Jonathan Eybeschutz]] of being a secret [[Sabbatean]], a [[Heresy in Judaism|heretical belief]]. The controversy lasted several years, continuing even after Eybeschutz' death. Emden's assertion of Eybeschutz' heresy was chiefly based on the interpretation of [[Practical Kabbalah|kabbalistic amulet]]s prepared by Eybeschutz, in which Emden saw Sabbatean allusions. Hostilities began before Eybeschutz left [[Prague]]. In 1751, when Eybeschutz was named chief rabbi of the three communities of Altona, [[Hamburg]], and [[Wandsbek]], the controversy reached the stage of intense and bitter antagonism. Emden maintained that threats initially prevented him from publishing anything against Eybeschutz. He solemnly declared in his synagogue the writer of the amulets to be a Sabbatean heretic and deserving of [[herem (censure)|ḥerem]], [[shunning]] by the Jewish community.<ref name= "JE1906"/> Emden's "Megillat Sefer" accused Eybeschutz of having an incestuous relationship with his daughter and of fathering a child with her. However, allegedly the "Megillat Sefer" was tampered with and had deliberately ridiculous accusations and narratives added to mock Emden.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Gestetner|first1=Avraham Shmuel Yehuda|title=מגילת פלסתר|trans-title=Megilas Plaster|url=http://hebrewbooks.org/53887|language=he|location=Monsey, NY}}</ref>

Clashes between opposing supporters occurred in the streets, drawing the secular authorities' attention according to the "[[Kuryer Polski]]" of June 16, 1751. The majority of the community, including [[Aryeh Leib Epstein]] of [[Königsberg]], favored Eybeschutz. The council, therefore, condemned Emden as a slanderer. Under pain of ḥerem, people were ordered not to attend Emden's [[synagogue]], and he was forbidden to issue anything from his press. Since Emden continued his [[philippic]]s against Eybeschutz, he was ordered by the council of the three communities to leave Altona. He refused to, relying on the strength of the King's charter, and he maintained he had been relentlessly persecuted. In May 1751, he finally took refuge in [[Amsterdam]] when it seemed his life was in danger. He had many friends there and joined the household of his brother-in-law, [[Aryeh Leib ben Saul]], rabbi of the [[Ashkenazi Jews]] there.

The controversy was heard by both the Senate of Hamburg and the Royal Court of Denmark. The Hamburg Senate quickly found in favour of Eybeschutz.<ref>Grunwald Hamburgs deutsche Juden 103-105</ref> King [[Frederick V of Denmark]] asked Eybeschutz to answer questions about the amulets. Conflicting testimony was put forward, and the matter remained officially unresolved, according to Grunwald, in the 
''[[Hamburgs deutsche Juden]]'' 107. However, the court sentenced the council of the three communities to pay a fine of one hundred [[thaler]] for civil unrest and ordered Emden to return to Altona.<ref>Emden Edut be Ya'akov 10r 63r</ref>

Emden then returned to Altona and took possession of his synagogue and printing establishment, though he was forbidden to continue his agitation against Eybeschutz. The latter's partisans, however, did not desist from their warfare against Emden. They accused him before the authorities of continuing to publish denunciations against his opponent. One Friday evening (July 8, 1755), his house was broken into and his papers seized and turned over to the "Ober-Präsident" (royally imposed mayor), {{ill|Henning von Qualen|de|Henning von Qualen|lt=Henning von Qualen (1703–1785)}}. Six months later, Qualen appointed a commission of three scholars, who, after a close examination, found nothing which could incriminate Emden. Eybeschutz was reelected as [[Chief Rabbi]]. In December that year, the Hamburg Senate rejected the King's decision and the election result. The [[Senate of Hamburg]] started an intricate process to determine the powers of Eybeschutz as Chief Rabbi.
The truth or falsity of his denunciations against Eybeschutz cannot be proved; [[Gershom Scholem]] wrote much on this subject, and his student Perlmutter devoted a book to proving it. According to historian David Sorkin, Eybeschutz was probably a Sabbatean,<ref>David Sorkin, "The Transformation of German Jewry, 1780–1840", [[Wayne State University Press]], 1999, p. 52.</ref> and Eybeschutz's son openly declared himself to be a Sabbatean after his father's death. Further background suggests that Eybeschutz may have been a Sabbatean. In July 1725, the Ashkenazi beth din of Amsterdam issued a ḥerem on the entire Sabbatean sect ({{lang|he|כת המאמין}} ''kaṯ hammaʾamin'') based partially on the discovery of Sabbatean writings. [[Ezekiel Katzenellenbogen]], Chief Rabbi of the Three Communities<ref>Gahalei Esh, Vol. I, fol. 54</ref> was unwilling to attack Eybeschutz publicly, but stated that one of the Sabbatean texts found by the Amsterdam [[beth din]], ''Va’avo hayyom el-haʿayin'' ({{langx|he|וָאָבֹא הַיּוֹם אֶל־הָעָיִן|Wāʾāb̲o hayyom el-hāʿāyin|I came today to the spring}}{{efn|A reference of to Genesis 24:42, {{cite web |title=Genesis 24:42 |url=https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.24.42?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en |website=www.sefaria.org}}}}), was authored by Eybeschutz and declared that all copies of the work that were in circulation should be immediately burned.<ref>Prager, Gahalei Esh, Vol. I, fol. 54v.</ref> The recent discovery in Metz of notarial copies of the disputed amulets written by Eybeschutz supports Emden's view that these are Sabbatean writings.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leimann |first1=Sid Z. |last2=Schwarzfuchs |first2=Simon |title=New Evidence on the Emden-Eibeschuetz Controversy |journal=Revue des Études Juives |date=1 May 2006 |volume=165 |issue=1 |pages=229–249 |doi=10.2143/REJ.165.1.2013881}}</ref>

== Other notable events ==
[[File:Jacobemdenkingdenmark.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Letter of Jacob Emden to the [[Frederick V of Denmark|King of Denmark]], August 20, 1743]]
In 1756, the members of the synod of [[Starokostiantyniv]] ({{langx|yi|אלט-קאָנסטאַנטין|Alt Konstantin}}) in the [[Volhynian Voivodeship (1569–1795)|Volhynian Voivodeship]] (now [[western Ukraine]]) requested Emden aid them in repressing the Sabbateans and [[Frankism|Frankists]]. As the Sabbateans referred much to the [[Zohar]], Emden thought it wise to examine that book, and after a careful study he concluded that a significant part of the Zohar was the production of an impostor.<ref>Taken from the Public Domain [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=341&letter=E Jewish Encyclopedia article]</ref>

Emden's works show critical powers rarely found among his contemporaries. He was strictly orthodox, never deviating the least from tradition, even when the difference in time and circumstance might have warranted a deviation from custom. Emden's opinions were often viewed as extremely unconventional from the perspective of strictly traditional mainstream Judaism, though not so unusual in more free-thinking Enlightenment circles. Emden had friendly relations with [[Moses Mendelssohn]], founder of [[Haskalah]], and with several Christian scholars.<ref>The Jewish enlightenment, by Shmuel Feiner, ch. 1, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2003</ref>

In 1772, [[Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]] issued a decree forbidding burial on the day of death. The Jews in his territories approached Emden with the request that he demonstrate a Talmudic ruling that a more prolonged exposure of a corpse would be against [[Bereavement in Judaism|Jewish burial customs]]. Emden referred them to Mendelssohn, who greatly influenced Christian authorities and wrote in excellent German. Mendelssohn wrote the requested letter to the Duke. However, he privately complained to Emden that the Duke was correct based on his understanding of the Talmud. Emden wrote to him in strong terms, saying that it was ludicrous to assert that the custom of the entire Jewish people was blatantly incorrect and told Mendelssohn that this kind of claim would only strengthen rumors of irreligiousness Mendelssohn had aroused by his associations.<ref>''Sheilat Yaavetz'', by Jacob Emden, Volume three, siman 44–47, new edition of Keren Zichron Moshe Yoseph, 2016</ref>

== Views ==
Emden was a traditionalist who responded to the ideals of tolerance being circulated during the 18th-century [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]]. He stretched the traditional inclusivist position into universal directions.<ref>Rabbi Dr. Alan Brill. [http://www.bc.edu/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/Brill.htm Judaism and Other Religions: An Orthodox perspective] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120004754/http://www.bc.edu/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/Brill.htm |date=January 20, 2012 }}, commissioned by the [[World Jewish Congress]] for the World Symposium of Catholic Cardinals and Jewish Leaders (January 2004).</ref>
Like Maimonides, he believed that [[monotheism|monotheistic faiths]] have an important roles to play in God's plan for mankind, writing that "we should consider Christians and Muslims as instruments for the fulfilment of the prophecy that the knowledge of God will one day spread throughout the earth."<ref>[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=142&letter=G#543 Gentile], ''[[Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' (1906).</ref> Emden praised the ethical teachings of Christianity, considering them beneficial in removing the prevalence of idolatry and bestowing gentiles with a "moral doctrine".<ref name="JES19">Falk, Harvey. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20190423042804/http://webhome.auburn.edu/~allenkc/falk1a.html Rabbi Jacob Emden's Views on Christianity]" ''Journal of Ecumenical Studies'', Volume 19, no. 1 (Winter 1982), pp. 105–11.</ref><ref name="Lubarsky1990">{{cite book|author=Sandra B. Lubarsky|title=Tolerance and transformation: Jewish approaches to religious pluralism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cSURAQAAIAAJ|access-date=July 19, 2011|date=November 1990|publisher=Hebrew Union College Press|isbn=978-0-87820-504-2|page=20}}</ref> Emden also suggested that ascetic Christian practices provided additional rectification of the soul in the same way that Judaic commandments do.<ref name="JES19"/>

In many ways, Emden was a nuanced figure who navigated the tension between rabbinic and external historical sources. Emden often tempered the exclusionist approach of scholars like [[:de:Solomon Aviad Sar Shalom Basilea|Aviad Sar-Shalom Basilea]], who outright rejected non-rabbinic sources, by cautiously engaging with external historical claims. For example, in addressing contradictions between Talmudic and historical accounts, Emden sometimes reinterpreted rabbinic texts to align with external evidence, as seen in his treatment of the Talmudic story about [[Nero]]’s conversion. He also critiqued [[Azariah dei Rossi]] for uncritically accepting non-Jewish sources, but stopped short of branding him a heretic, instead viewing him as misguided. Emden’s approach reflects a balance between preserving the authority of rabbinic literature and cautiously integrating external historical insights, making him a moderate voice in the debate over the historicity of rabbinic claims.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Reuven Chaim |date= 2023 |title= Are historical sections of the Talmud actually historical? Critical tools for understanding historical claims in rabbinic literature |url=https://www.academia.edu/127965994/Are_historical_sections_of_the_Talmud_actually_historical_Critical_tools_for_understanding_historical_claims_in_rabbinic_literature|journal=Journal of Philological Pedagogy |volume=12 |issue= |publisher=Chandler School of Education |pages=42-75 |doi=10.17613/rjp5a-md343 }}</ref>

He theoretically advocated the [[pilegesh]] (biblical concubinage), since the [[Chazal|Sages]] stated "the greater the man, the greater his [[yetzer hara|evil inclination]]", and cited many sources in support.<ref>{{cite book|last1=עמדין|first1=יעקב בן צבי|title=שאילת יעבץ|date=1884|location=Lemberg|page=חלק ב סימן טו|url=https://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1408&pgnum=182|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Winkler|first1=Gershon|title=The responsum of Rabbi Yaakov Emden from Sheylot Ye'avitz, vol. 2, no. 15|url=http://pilegeshpersonals.com/Rabbi_Yaakov_Emden's_responsa_on_Pilegesh.pdf|access-date=November 28, 2017 |url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170028/http://pilegeshpersonals.com/Rabbi_Yaakov_Emden's_responsa_on_Pilegesh.pdf
|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> He also suggested it might be permissible under certain circumstances for a Jewish man to cohabit with a single Jewish woman, provided that she is in an exclusive relationship with him that is public knowledge and where she would not be embarrassed to attend the [[mikveh]]. He also wished to revoke the ban on [[Polygamy#Judaism|polygamy]] instituted by [[Gershom ben Judah]], believing it erroneously followed Christian morals. However, he admitted he lacked the power to do so.<ref name="Jacobs1995"/>

Emden wrote that he owned books containing secular wisdom written in Hebrew but would read them in the bathroom.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Torah Tavlin  |date=January 3, 2015 |page=4 |title=Keeping the Jewish Camp Holy (series, part 34)}}</ref> He was opposed to philosophy and maintained that the views contained in ''[[The Guide for the Perplexed]]'' could not have been authored by [[Maimonides]], but rather by an unknown heretic.<ref name="Jacobs1995"/>

== Works ==
[[File:Seforim of Yaavetz.jpg|thumb|Various works of Emden and his father. The two-volume set (first pair, left side) is the 1994 re-issue of the Shaarei ShaMaYim siddur.]]
Jacob Emden’s corpus spans halakhic, liturgical, kabbalistic, and polemical writings—with some works jointly attributed to him and his father. His published writings include:

* ''Edut BeYaakov'' (Altona, Hamburg, 1756) – Addresses the alleged heresy of Eybeschütz, including the letter ''Iggeret Shum'' to the rabbis of the Four Lands.
* ''Shimmush'' (Amsterdam, 1758–62) – Comprises three works: ''Shoṭ la‑Sus'', ''Meteg laHamor'' (against the influence of the Sabbateans), and ''Sheveṭ leGev Kesilim'', a refutation of heretical demonstrations.
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/49970 Shevirat Luchot haAven]'' (Altona, 1759) – A refutation of Eybeschütz’s ''Luchot Edut''.
* ''Sechok haKesil'', ''Yekev Ze'ev'', and ''Gat Derukhah'' (Altona, 1762) – Three polemical works published in the *Hit'abbekut* of one of his pupils.
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/42385 Mitpachat Sefarim]'' (Altona, 1761–68) – In two parts: the first demonstrates that part of the Zohar is a later compilation; the second criticizes works such as ''Emunat Hakhamim'' and ''Mishnat Hakhamim'' as well as various polemical letters.
* ''Herev Pifiyyot'', ''Iggeret Purim'', ''Teshuvot haMinim'', and ''Zikkaron beSefer'' – On money changers and bankers (unpublished).
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/22309 Lechem Shamayim]'' (Altona, 1728; Wandsbeck, 1733) – A commentary on the Mishnah with a treatise on Maimonides’ [[Mishneh Torah]] (Beit haBechirah).
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/19536 Iggeret Bikkoret]'' (Altona, 1733) – Responsa.
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/43089 She'elat Ya'abetz]'' (Altona, 1739–59) – A collection of 372 responsa.
* ''Siddur Tefillah'' (Altona, 1745–48) – An edition of the prayer book featuring commentary, grammatical notes, ritual laws, and treatises (including ''Beit‑El'', ''Sha'ar haShamayim'', and ''Migdal Oz''); also contains the treatise ''Even Bochan'' and a critique of Menahem Lonzano’s ''Avodat Mikdash'' (titled ''Seder Avodah'').
* ''Etz Avot'' (Amsterdam, 1751) – A commentary on [[Pirkei Avot]], with grammatical notes compiled in ''Lechem Nekudim''.
* ''Sha'agat Aryeh'' (Amsterdam, 1755) – A eulogy for his brother‑in‑law, Aryeh Leib ben Saul (rabbi of Amsterdam); also included in his ''Kishurim leYaakov''.
* ''Seder Olam Rabbah'' and ''Seder Olam Zutta'' (Hamburg, 1757) – The texts of Seder Olam and [[Megillat Ta'anit]], edited with critical notes.
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/21988 Mor uKetziah]'' (Altona, 177?) – Novellæ on [[Orach Hayyim]] (with additional novellæ on [[Yoreh Deah]], [[Even haEzer]], and [[Hoshen Mishpat]] remaining unpublished).
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/22411 Tzitzim uFerachim]'' (Altona, 1768) – A collection of kabbalistic articles arranged alphabetically.
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/44452 Luach Eresh]'' (Altona, 1769) – Grammatical notes on the prayers and a critique of Solomon Hena’s ''Sha'arei Tefillah''.
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/21103 Shemesh Tzedakah]'' (Altona, 1772).
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/20092 Pesach Gadol]'', ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/45307 Tefillat Yesharim]'', and ''Ḥoli Ketem'' (Altona, 1775).
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/20735 Sha'arei Azarah]'' (Altona, 1776).
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/44426 Divrei Emet uMishpaṭ Shalom]'' (Altona, 1776).
* ''[https://hebrewbooks.org/37017 Megillat Sefer]'' (Warsaw, 1897) – Contains biographies of himself and his father.
* ''Kishurim leYaakov'' – A collection of sermons.
* Marginal novellæ on the Babylonian Talmud.
* ''Emet LeYaakov'' (Kiryas Joel, 2017) – Notes on the [[Zohar]] and assorted works, including Dei Rossi’s ''Meor Einayim''.

His unpublished rabbinical writings include:
* ''Tza'akat Damim'' – A refutation of the blood libel in Poland.
* ''Hilkheta liMeshicha'' – A responsum to R. Israel Lipschütz.
* ''Mada'ah Rabbah''.
* ''Gal‑Ed'' – A commentary on [[Rashi]] and the [[Targum]] of the Pentateuch.
* ''Em laBinah'' – A commentary on the entire Bible.
* ''Em laMikra velaMasoret'' – Also a commentary on the Bible.

=== Emden Siddur ===
20th-century printings of the Emden Siddur exist, notably the Lemberg edition (1904)<ref>{{cite web
   |url=https://www.ebay.com/itm/JACOB-EMDEN-YAABETZ-Siddur-prayerbook-Huge-Siddur-Bet-Yaakov-/372314841486?_ul=CR
   |title=Jacob Emden Yaabetz Siddur
   |quote=Reprint of the popular Emden Siddur (Lemberg 1904}}</ref> and the Augsburg edition (1948),<ref>{{cite web 
   |url=http://old.virtualjudaica.com/Item/23440/Siddur_Bet_Yakov 
   |access-date=May 23, 2019 
   |quote=Printed by and for the use of Holocaust survivors in liberation camps. ... dedicated to 
   |title=Siddur Bet Yakov 
   |archive-date=May 23, 2019 
   |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523231911/http://old.virtualjudaica.com/Item/23440/Siddur_Bet_Yakov 
   |url-status=dead 
   }}</ref> both bearing the cover title ''Siddur Beis Yaakov''<ref>{{cite web  |website=[[Orthodox Union|OU]].org
   |url=https://www.ou.org/torah/tefillah/weekly-tefilah-focus/shemoneh-esrei-34-davening-majority-part
   |title=Shemoneh Esrei 34: Davening For The Majority Part I}}</ref> (also anglicized as ''Siddur Bet Yaakov''; Hebrew: סידור בית יעקב).<ref>{{cite book
   |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0881250775  |isbn=0881250775
   |title=Jewish Marriage: A Halakhic Ethic  |page=218
   |author=Reuven P. Bulka|author-link=Reuven Bulka|date=1986|publisher=KTAV Publishing House
 }}</ref> The covers identify the work as being by "Jacob from Emden" (יעקב מעמדין). The 472-page Lemberg 1904 printing includes ''[[Tikun Leil Shavuot]]'' on pages 275–305 and is considerably larger than Emden’s ''Shaarei Shamayim'' siddur.

==== Shaarei Shamayim ====
A physically smaller siddur, reprinted in Israel in 1994, was titled ''Siddur Rebbe Yaakov of Emden'' (Hebrew: סידור רבי יעקב מעמדין) on the upper half of the cover and ''Siddur HaYaavetz Shaarei ShaMaYim'' (סדור היעב"ץ שערי שמים) elsewhere. Its commentary is less detailed than that of the full Emden Siddur—for example, it omits ''Tikkun Leil Shavuot''. This edition is presented as a two-volume set.

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=341&letter=E Emden, Jacob Israel Ben Zebi Ashkenazi], jewishencyclopedia.com
* [https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Emden.html Jacob Emden], jewishvirtuallibrary.org
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110728182817/http://wikinoah.org/index.php?title=Yaakov_Emden_on_Noahides#View_on_Christianity Rabbi Jacob Emden's View on Christianity and the Noachite Commandments], Reprinted from the Journal of Ecumenical Studies, 19:1, Winter 1982
*, from Shelyot Ye'avetz, v 2, 15
* {{Citation | surname=Cohen| given=Mortimer J. | title=Was Eibeschuetz a Sabbatian? | journal=The Jewish Quarterly Review|volume=XXXIX |issue=1 | year=1948 | pages=51–62 | doi=10.2307/1453087 | jstor=1453087 }}.
* Cohen, Mortimer Joseph, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=ncw4AAAAIAAJ Jacob Emden, A Man of Controversy]'', Philadelphia, Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning, 1937.
* [[Jacob J. Schacter|Schacter, Jacob J.]], [https://www.academia.edu/62300348/Jacob_J_Schacter_Rabbi_Jacob_Emden_Life_and_Major_Works_PhD_Dissertation_Harvard_University_1988_ Rabbi Jacob Emden: Life and Major Works], Diss., Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 1988.
{{Sabbateanism}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emden, Jacob}}
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