Naftali Schipper (Szyper, Szipper) ID: 321

Naftali Schipper (Szyper, Szipper) ID: 321

1860–1932

Teacher of Jewish religion, chairman of teachers' associations, and author and publisher of textbooks.

Naftali Schipper was born on December 2, 1860, to Salomon and Gitla Schipper in Żolin; his father was originally from the Kingdom of Poland. He was the younger brother of Natan Szyper (1852–1917), who also taught Jewish religion in Lviv. After losing their father at an early age, Natan Szyper became Naftali's guardian during his studies, according to the student catalog. 

From 1877 to 1881, he studied at the teachers' seminary in Lviv, receiving a very good grade in religion as a third-year student. In 1881, he earned his certificate of maturity with honors. On March 3, 1885, he obtained a teaching certificate for for general elementary schools with honors, granting him the right to teach in schools where Polish, Ukrainian, and German were the languages of instruction, based on an exam in Lviv. On October 14, 1889, he passed an additional religion exam in Stanisławów (now Ivano–Frankivsk) (grade: "satisfactory"). In 1895, he received a first-level teaching certificate for Polish-language schools. According to his own account, he was a student at the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Lviv, where he completed eight courses and received a certificate of completion in 1912. 

He began his teaching career in Lviv in the early 1880s at the Tadeusz Czacki School, first as an unpaid trainee and later as a paid trainee (1881–1884). 

In 1885, he moved to Stanisławów, where he remained for nearly a quarter of a century. There, he taught at various schools for boys and girls: at a private Jewish school run by the Israelitische Allianz (Jewish Alliance), he taught Polish language and history; in state higher elementary vocational (szkoły wydziałowe) and general elementary schools, including the Queen Jadwiga, Queen Zofia, and Adam Mickiewicz Schools. From 1886, he served as a senior teacher, and from 1890, as a permanent (tenured) teacher. For over 14 years, he taught Jewish religion at the women's teachers' seminary and the girls' gymnasium in Stanisławów. 

In 1909, at his own request, he transferred to Lviv, where he continued teaching the Jewish religion at the Mickiewicz Boys' Higher Elementary Vocational School and several other schools in the city. 

Beginning in 1909, he also taught at private girls' schools in Lviv, primarily at the Zofia Strzałkowska Gymnasium and the Fanni Dittner Lyceum. In 1914, he evacuated to Vienna, returning to Lviv in the fall of 1916. He continued teaching at the Strzałkowska Gymnasium and other schools in Lviv until his retirement in December 1924. 

He served for many years as president of the Society of Teachers of the Jewish Religion in Elementary and Higher Elementary Vocational Schools in Galicia (Towarzystwo Nauczycieli Religii Mojżeszowej Szkół Ludowych i Wydziałowych w Galicji), founded in 1905 in Stanisławów and based in Lviv from 1909; dissolved in 1936; renamed in 1923 to Towarzystwo nauczycieli religii mojżeszowej szkół powszechnych w Polsce. He was also the editor and publisher of the society's official publication, the monthly newspaper Wychowanie i Oświata (eng. Upbringing and Education, published 1905–1914 and 1925–1926). 

He authored textbooks and articles on pedagogical topics. At his own expense, he published supplementary manuals for teachers and students, as well as textbooks and books by his brother Natan Szyper. 

He was a member of the Polish Pedagogical Society (Polskie Towarzystwo Pedagogiczne) and numerous educational and charitable associations. He also belonged to the Union of Poles of the Mosaic Faith (Zjednoczenie Polaków Wyznania Mojżeszowego), participating in its First General Assembly in Warsaw from May 10 to 12, 1919. In 1904, he was a member of the Union of Teachers of the Jewish Religion in Secondary, Higher Elementary Vocational, and Elementary Schools (Związek nauczycieli religii mojżeszowej szkół średnich, wydziałowych i ludowych), led by Mojżesz Schorr and Majer Bałaban, but he later left to found his own association. These two professional associations often put forward opposing proposals: the Schipper Society advocated pro-Polish assimilationist policies, while the Schorr–Bałaban Union promoted a more pro-Jewish stance, particularly supporting the preservation of Hebrew language classes in schools. 

As an expert in Jewish religious education, he and his colleague Majer Weisberg took part in an expert consultation on reforming religious education curricula [...] held in Lviv on February 10–11, 1907. 

He had a reputation as a controversial figure in his community. His transfer from Stanisławów to Lviv was accompanied by a conflict with Rabbi Jecheskiel Caro and several local religious education teachers, resolved only in the spring of 1910 after the intervention of the Provincial School Board (Rada Szkolna Krajowa) and a formal apology from Schipper. As chairman of the Society of Teachers of the Jewish Religion, Schipper expelled his colleague Ozjasz Offenberger from the organization in 1908. Some teachers viewed this as an abuse of power, accusing Schipper of authoritarian leadership and financial malpractice. The conflict became public, and when Schipper refused to appear before a "society court" to address the allegations, 24 teachers, led by Rabbi Caro, announced they were severing all ties with him. Following apologies and reconciliation, Schipper partially refuted the accusations and the conflict was resolved. 

In 1920, during the Jewish New Year, he was reportedly seen riding the city's electric transit system, causing widespread outrage. The leadership of the Jewish community in Lviv sent him a letter of reprimand, stressing that even physical illness could not justify violating the religious prohibition against using public transportation. In response, Schipper publicly asserted he had not used public transportation that day and had been mistaken for someone else. 

On September 12, 1886, in Lviv, Naftali Schipper married Lea (Laura) Kohl, who came from a rabbinical family in Yaroslav. Lea was active in many charitable organizations and founded the Society for the Assistance of Poor Women in Childbirth and the Fraternal Aid Society in Stanisławów. 

The couple had the following children. 

Zygmunt Schipper (born July 23, 1887, in Stanisławów) was a lawyer in Lviv (holding a doctorate). In 1922, he was listed as a military defense attorney (authorized to represent clients in military trials). He perished during the Holocaust along with his wife, Marcela Metanomska, daughter of a pharmacist and the mayor of Komarno. 

Aleksander Schipper (born June 26, 1890) received his certificate of maturity from the Realschule (szkoła realna) in Stanisławów in 1907. In 1932, he worked as an engineer in Belgium and was married to Anna Horowitz from Krakow. 

Henryk (born October 1, 1900, in Stanisławów; died May 6, 1949, in Warsaw) changed the spelling of his last name to Szyper in 1948. In June 1918, he passed the certificate of maturity examination at the Franz Joseph Gymnasium in Lviv, and in the 1918–1919 academic year, began studies at the Faculty of Philosophy at Jagiellonian University. He became a literary historian (holding a doctorate). 

During the interwar period, the Schippers lived in Lviv at ul. Wincentego Pola, 12, 2nd floor (now vul. Yuliana Dorosha). 

Naftali Schipper died at the age of 62 in the mountain resort town of Krynica on December 16, 1932. The funeral took place on December 21 in Lviv; his grave in the Jewish section of the Yaniv Cemetery has not survived.

Works and projects

• N. Schipper, "Kilka uwag w sprawie założenia Seminaryum dla kandydatów nauczycielskich religii mojżeszowej", Ojczyzna. Organ stow. "Przymierze braci" (Lwów), nr 11, 1887: 3.
• N. Schipper, "Recenzya na W. Englander 'Bóg sierot nie opuszcza'", Światło-Hamaor, 1896, nr 1: 8–9.
• N. Schipper, "Nauka religii mojż. w kl. I.", Światło-Hamaor, 1896: 54–55.
• N. Schipper i Weissberg, "Protokół z posiedzeń zjazdu naucz rel.", Światło-Hamaor, 1896, nr 1, s. 12; nr 2: 20–21.
• Natan Szyper i Naftali Schipper, Zbiór modlitw dla szkół ludowych i wydziałowych, z dodatkiem modlitwy na Nowy Rok. Wydanie 5, poprawione i pomnożone (Lwów: Nakład autorów, [1905?]).
• N. Schipper, "Żydzi w powieści polskiej", Wychowanie i Oświata, 1906, nr 5, s. 33; nr 6, s. 41–43; nr 7, s. 51–52; nr 8, s. 61–62; nr 9, s. 69–70; nr 10, s. 77–78; nr 11, s. 86–87; 1907, nr 12, s. 93–94.
• N. Schipper, "Odpowiedź oszczercom i fałszywym prorokom", Wychowanie i Oświata, 1906, nr 7: 49–50.
• N. Schipper, "Nauka religii w klasie I-szej", Wychowanie i Oświata, 1908, nr 22: 170–171.
• Naftali Schipper, Natan Szyper, Dzieje Żydów w Polsce oraz przegląd ich kultury duchowej: zwięzły podręcznik do użytku szkolnego wraz z mapą Polski. Cz. 1, Od przybycia Żydów do Polski do XVIII wieku: do panowania Sasów (Lwów: Nakł. aut., 1926), 102, [2] s.
• Naftali Schipper, Natan Szyper, Dzieje Żydów w Polsce oraz przegląd ich kultury duchowej (z uwzględnieniem krajów ościennych): zwięzły podręcznik do użytku szkolnego wraz z mapą Polski. Cz. 2, Od panowania Sasów do r. 1914 (Lwów: Nakł. aut., 1927), 118, [6] s.
• Natan Szyper, Naftali Schipper, Historia Żydów oraz przegląd ich kultury. Cz. 1: od upadku państwa żydowskiego (r.70) do końca wieków średnich (1492) (Lwów, 1929), 65 s.; Cz. 2: od końca wieków średnich (1492) do doby najnowszej (1928) (Lwów, 1930), 105 s.
• Naftali Schipper, Natan Szyper, Z naszej przeszłości w Polsce: opowiadania historyczne dla młodzieży żydowskiej z ilustracjami (Lwów; Warszawa: Nakł. Warszawskiego Instytutu Wydawniczego, [1930?]), [2], 102, [2], 118, [6] s., [14] k. tabl., [2] s.
• Natan Szyper, Naftali Schipper, Zbiór modlitw dla młodzieży żydowskiej: Podręcznik dla oddziałów I-VI szkoły powszechnej (Lwów, 1930, wydanie 7), 88 s.

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