ר׳ נתן הכהן אדלר

ר׳ נתן הכהן אדלר (1741–1800) was a Frankfurt talmudist, kabbalist and charismatic teacher whose circle influenced Central European Orthodoxy. A prodigy, he studied in Frankfurt under ר׳ יעקב יהושע פאלק and principally under ר׳ דוד טעבלי שיף. In 1761 he established a private yeshiva; its students included ר׳ אברהם בינג and, most famously, ר׳ משה סופר. Adler adopted many liturgical practices associated with ר׳ יצחק לוריא, including Sephardi prayer forms and daily priestly blessing, and gathered an intensely devotional private minyan. These innovations and the independence of his circle brought conflict with Frankfurt’s communal authorities and bans against his congregation. In 1782 he accepted the rabbinate of Boskovice in Moravia, travelling with the young ר׳ משה סופר, but communal tensions led him to return to Frankfurt in 1785. He left few writings; his influence was transmitted primarily through students, customs and posthumously collected Torah teachings. He died in Frankfurt and was buried in the historic Battonnstraße cemetery.