Leopold Zunz

Leopold Zunz (originally Yom Tob Lippmann Zunz, born August 10, 1794 in Detmold, † March 17, 1886 in Berlin) was a German Jewish scientist and champion of the emancipation of the Jews in Germany. He is regarded as the actual founder of the " Science of Judaism ", the study of Jewish history, culture and religion with the scientific methods of the 19th century.

Life

Leopold Zunz visited the Wolfenbütteler Samson School 1803-1809 and was then taken as the first Jew on the local high school, which he completed in 1811. In 1815 he moved to Berlin, studied philosophy, philology and history at the Humboldt University, where he in 1816 among others with his school friend Isaak Markus Jost founded the Jewish science circles. Zunz his doctorate in 1821 at the University of Halle as a doctor of philosophy. After his ordination by one of the first representatives of the Jewish reform movement, Aaron Chorin, he served from 1820-1822 as a preacher in the " Beer Temple ", a reform synagogue in Berlin, however, met there with incomprehension and announced that post. He earned his money from now on as the editorial board of the newspaper Haude and Spenersche newspaper ( 1824-31 ) and as director of a Jewish elementary school ( 1826-1830 ). Also this post in the Jewish community school but he gave up because he could not enforce it considers necessary reforms. In 1840 he founded in Berlin with Rabbi Meyer Landsberg seminar for Jewish teacher and was appointed director. In 1850 he resigned from the chairmanship of the Department and received a pension.

Zunz was also politically active. Committed to democratic liberalism Since his youth, he joined during the revolution of 1848 the democratic movement and was repeatedly elected as an elector for the parliamentary elections.

After the death of his wife Adelheid Beermann, whom he had married in 1822, he retired from public life in 1874. He died in 1886 and was buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Berlin Beautifully Allee.

Science of Judaism

Together with other personalities, including Eduard Gans, Zunz founded in 1819 in Berlin the Association for the Culture and Science of the Jews, the Heinrich Heine joined in 1822. A year before his writing Something had appeared on the rabbinic literature, which, according to general opinion, the founder of the "Science of Judaism " made ​​him. Together with goose and Moses Moser was Zunz 1820 Member of the Society of Friends. In 1823 he became editor of the Journal of the Science of Judaism and one of its most important writers. A larger readership, the magazine could not win, and it was canceled after three issues. The effects of the association were less religious than rather scientific. Zunz participated hardly at Reform Judaism, but never lost faith in the invigorating power of science in their critical application to centuries-old traditions and literary traditions. Zunz had " to bring the cultural legacy of Jewish literature in the area of cultural heritage of Europe" the desire ..

In 1832 he published lectures worship of the Jews, which gives an account of the development of biblical interpretation from its beginnings in the Targums to Zunzens in time, it provides an introduction to more than one hundred midrashim and is regarded as the most important Jewish work of the 19th century. In the preface, which was censored by the government, urged Zunz the right of Jews to German citizenship as well as the institutional support of Jewish Studies.

Works (selection)

  • Something about the rabbinic literature. In 1818. Digitalisat SLUB Dresden via EOD
  • Worship presentations of the Jews. In 1832. A history of preaching, with principles to the historical study of Midrash and Siddur.
  • On the history and literature. In 1845.
  • Synagogue poetry of the Middle Ages. In 1855.
  • Rite. In 1859. A description of synagogue rites.
  • Literary history of the synagogue poetry. 1865, with a supplementary volume in 1867.
  • As editor, with Eduard Gans: Journal fd Jewish Studies, Vol 1, Issue 1-3, 1822 ( more ersch not ). In: J. Raphael The Journal of Dr. LZ in: Zeitschrift fd History of the Jews, Issue 1/1970, Tel Aviv: Olamenu, pp. 31-36 (numerous Note)

In addition, Zunz wrote numerous essays, later published as Collected Writings (1876 ).

The rabbis Bible

Zunz led a group of Jewish scientists, who from 1839 to a translation of the Scriptures under the title The four and twenty books of Scripture. After the Masoretic texts gave out. It was later called the " rabbi Bible."

Translators were

  • Heymann Arnhem in Glogau
  • Dr. Michael Sachs in Prague
  • Dr. Julius Fürst in Leipzig and
  • Dr. Leopold Zunz in Berlin itself

The 15th edition was published in 1904 in Frankfurt am Main in the publishing house of J. Kauffmann.

The joint effort was launched as again in a new typography

  • The twenty-four books of the Holy Scriptures Translated by Leopold Zunz. Basel: Victor Goldschmidt, undated ( ( C) 1995 ). ISBN 3-85705-002-0

A Hebrew- German edition under the title

  • The twenty-four books of Scripture. According to the Masoretic Text Translated by Leopold Zunz, Publisher Tel -Aviv appeared in the Sinai in cooperation with the DORONIA Verlag Stuttgart ( ( C) 1997 ). ISBN 3-929895-11-0
Wissenschaft des Judentums Sermon Leon Wieseltier Encyclopaedia Judaica David Kaufmann Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie Hanoch Albeck Integrated Authority File
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