Anti-slavery proponent and Jewish theological writer David R. Einhorn (1809-1879) was one of the leaders of the Reform movement of Judaism in the United States. Influenced by the ideas of Friedrich Schelling, he had a turbulent career as rabbi in central Europe before he moved to the United States. Like Abraham Geiger, Einhorn took a more liberal view on the practice of Judaism than did orthodox Jews.

Turned to Radical Jewism

Einhorn was born on November 10, 1809, in Dispeck, Bavaria. Son of Maier and Karoline Einhorn, the reform rabbi David Einhorn had a traditional Jewish education at the Furth yeshiva. He did exceptionally well in his studies and earned his rabbinical diploma at age 17. When Einhorn's father died, his mother helped him attend the universities of Erlangen, Wurzburg, and Munich.

Einhorn was a religious radical. He was raised in the strict traditions of his Judaism, but the more liberal...