Rabbeinu Yaakov Ettlinger was born in 1798 in Karlsruhe. As a young student, Rav Ettlinger learned under his fathe, as well as by Rav Asher Gunzberg (son of the Shaagas Aryeh). At age 18 he went to Würzburg to learn under Rav Avraham Bing, as well as to attend university, becoming one of the first Orthodox rabbonim to receive a formal education. In 1819 he joined the large Yeshiva in Fürth under the leadership of Rav Wolf Hamburg. In 1829, Rav Ettlinger took a rabbinical position in Mannheim (Ladenburg), and in 1836 he became the Rav of Altona. Among his well-known talmidim are Rav Shamshon Rephoel Hirsch and Rav Azriel Hildesheimer. Rav Ettlinger composed numerous seforim and became known by the title of his magnum opus Aruch L’ner. He also composed the Bikurei Yaakov on the laws of Sukkah, two volumes of responsa titled Binyan Tzion, and Minchas Ani on Chumash. Rav Yaakov Ettlinger passed away in 1871