Jakob Baruch was born in Mergentheim. His father was for a time financier and court factor to the Teutonic Order there, later following the Grand Master of the Order to Bonn. In 1781 when he was 18, Jakob Baruch came to Frankfurt and married Julie Gumperz. They had four children, including the famous political writer known under the pen name Ludwig Börne. Jakob Baruch was a banker and ran a moneychanging business at the house Rost. He took on many responsibilities within the Jewish community and increasingly became its representative in dealings with the authorities. As such he approached the imperial parliament in Regensburg in 1803, where he pleaded in vain for trade restrictions on Jews at the Frankfurt Fair to be lifted. In September 1814 he and Isaac Jakob Gumprecht were delegated by the Jewish community leadership to attend the Congress of Vienna and to represent the interests of Frankfurt Jews at the constitutional negotiations. It was hoped that his close family connections with the Austrian Court would be of advantage. At the Congress he nevertheless failed to achieve confirmation of the emancipation of Frankfurt Jews already achieved in 1811. It was not until nine years later after lengthy arguments between the Jewish community leadership and the city council that Frankfurt Jews were eventually accorded civil, but not political, rights in 1824. Much of the credit for this achievement was attributed to Baruch's untiring efforts. He nevertheless declined a gift of money offered to him by the Jewish community.