Mojsije Margel

Mojsije Margel also Kroat. Mojsije Moše Margel or Moshe Margel ( born November 13, 1875 in Mościsko, formerly Western Galicia, now Poland, † April 30, 1939 in Zagreb, former Kingdom of Yugoslavia, now Croatia) was a Croatian rabbi, lexicographer and Hebrew scholar.

Religious Life

Mojsije Margel attended a Talmudic school. After successful completion of this, Margel began his Jewish theological studies in the seminary of Vienna and Berlin. The compartment Jewish philosophy, he finished successfully in Berlin and Bern. As a rabbi Margel worked first in the Slovak town Ružomberok.

In 1903 he took over the service as a rabbi and Jewish religious teachers in the Croatian city of Požega. There Margel was active in the Jewish community and as a religion teacher in the schools of Požega. In 1908 he became a member of the Committee of Jewish rabbis in the Kingdom of Croatia - Slavonia. During the First World War Mosije Margel took over the pastoral care in Militärrabbinat Zagreb. For his paid military service, also in Italy, Margel was excellent.

In 1919 he became director of the Jewish elementary school in Zagreb. In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was Margel 1927-1937 rabbi of the Jewish Community of Zagreb. Due to health problems emeritus Mojsije Margel after 1937 from his service as a congregational rabbi. He died on 30 April 1939 in Zagreb.

The Margel Institute in Zagreb was named after his name.

Scientific activities

Margels scientific activities were primarily the Hebrew language, especially of Hebrew literature and lexicography. For his expertise Mosije Margel was estimated in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. At the age of 15 years sent a Margel penned in Hebrew poem on the Jewish journal Ha - Maggid. In Krakow, Poland, he later published together with Hebrew philologists and writers of the Hebrew journal Ozar Hasifrut.

In his dissertation, " The Blessing of Jacob " Margel deals thematically - critical with various Midrashim, especially with the Midrash Bereshit Rabba aggadic. In 1906 he published in a German - Hebrew dictionary Požega, which can be also regarded as his life's work. Special merits had Margel due to the translation (in collaboration with the Croatian school teacher Max Kuntarić ) of Bereshit Rabba work of Jaroslav Vrchlický in the Croatian language. This translation was published in 1912 in Požega. His activities also included a number of studies and articles published in various Hebrew periodicals Margel.

In the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, he was the editor of the Jewish Almanac. Also for the Jewish Encyclopedia created Margel supplementary sheets or editions. Mojsije Margel began with the creation of a Hebrew -Croatian dictionary, because of his death remained this work unfinished.

In addition to the Croatian Rabbi of the Jewish community in Varaždin, Herman Ekzekiel merchant, counting Margel to Maskilim.