EPHRAIM

EPHRAIM, family mainly active in Berlin. Its first member to settle there was Heine (ḤAYYIM) EPHRAIM (1665–1748), born in Altona, who rose to be court jeweler and head of the Berlin Jewish community (1726–32). His son was Veitel heine ephraim , most of whose great-grandsons embraced   ephraim Christianity and changed their names to Ebers; some of their descendants were ennobled. Veitel Heine's grandson, DAVID (1762–1834), married a daughter of daniel itzig ; following a financial scandal he fled to Vienna, embraced Catholicism, and changed his family name to Schmidt. ZACHARIAS (1736–1779), son of Veitel Heine, showed marked business ability. His grandson ZACHARIAS FRAENKEL (1781–1842) was an influential banker. As representative of the Berlin community, he demanded conscription of the Jews in 1812. Veitel Heine's youngest son BENJAMIN (1742–1811) was a businessman and government confidential agent. After varying success in questionable business transactions, he reorganized the family lace factory in Potsdam, opening a school for his girl workers, which was highly commended. In 1779 he took on in his factory unemployed Jewish girls and women from the recently annexed Polish territory. He successfully averted the expulsion orders of Frederick William II by stressing the usefulness of his 700 to 1,500 workers to the state. In Berlin, Benjamin maintained a leading salon, was the first Jew to own an art collection, and had access to ruling circles, having loaned the king large sums before his accession. In 1787 he was sent on a secret mission to Brussels to assure the anti-Austrian rebels of Prussian support. In 1790 the king entrusted him with the mission of contacting the French government to arrange a treaty, with a government post promised as his reward. His expenditure of large sums of his own fortune in Paris aroused suspicions against him in Berlin; at the same time Prussia changed her diplomatic course. Discredited and impoverished, Benjamin demanded recognition and reimbursement. An advocate of close French-Prussian ties, he was entrusted with minor diplomatic roles in negotiations with France. His pro-French attitude led to his arrest in 1806; he was later released by the victorious French. He died in relative poverty. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: H. Rachel et al., Berliner Grosskaufleute, 2 (1938), index; H. Schnee, Die Hoffinanz und der moderne Staat, 1 (1953), 145–68; J. Jacobson, Die Judenbuergerbuecher der Stadt Berlin 1809 – 1851 (1962), index; Kuehn, in: Deutsche Rundschau, 166 (1916), 171–91; L. Geiger, Geschichte der Juden in Berlin, 1 (1871), 140–4; S. Stern, The Court Jew (1950), index; J. Meisl (ed.), Protokollbuch der juedischen Gemeinde Berlin (1723 – 1854) (Heb. and Ger., 1962), 473; M. Stern, in: Juedische Familien-Forschung, 1 (1925), 6–10, 31–32, 82–86; B.V. Ephraim, Ueber meine Verhaftung (1907); Gelber, in: MGWJ, 71 (1927), 62–66; Jacobson, in: ZGJD, 1 (1929), 152–62. (Henry Wasserman)