Asriel Günzig (also known as Azriel Günzig, Ezriel Günzig, Israel Günzig, Izrael Günzig, or J. Günzig; 10 April 1868,

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

– 1931,

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

) ( he, עזריאל גינציג) was a rabbi, scholar, bookseller, editor and writer. He served as the rabbi of

Loštice Loštice (, german: Loschitz) is a town in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts The village of Žádlovice is an administrative part of Loštice. Geography Loštice is ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

, from 1899 until 1920.

Life

Günzig was born on 10 April 1868 in

, where he received traditional Talmudic education, and he finished his studies in

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

Semitic languages The Semitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken by more than 330 million people across much of West Asia, the Horn of Africa, and latterly North Africa, Malta, West Africa, Chad, and in large immigra ...

at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It ...

, where he earned his doctorate. In 1899, he became the rabbi of the Jewish Congregation in Loštice, a position he held until the spring of 1920, when he moved with his family to

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. In Antwerp, he became the head of the Hebrew Tachkemoni School and held this position for ten years. He died in Antwerp in 1931 at the age of 63.

Family

Günzig and his wife Amalia (nee Schreiber) had four children: Regina (born 1898 in Kraków, died 1992), Sabine (born 1901 in Loštice; murdered at

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

), Jacques (born 1904 in Loštice; murdered 28 July 1942 at the Mauthausen concentration camp) and Hilda (born 1910 in Loštice; died 1995).

Works

His scholarly work was mainly focused on the history of Haskalah (Jewish

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

) in Galicia, but he dealt with other subjects as well. In 1898, Günzig published

Japheth ha-Levi Yefet ben Ali ( he, יפת בן עלי הלוי)Japheth ben Ali, Japheth ha-Levi. was perhaps the foremost Karaite commentator on the Bible, during the "Golden Age of Karaism". He lived during the 10th century, a native of Basra ( in present-day ...

's commentary on

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...

1-3. His own published works include: ''Der Pessimismus im Judenthume'' (Kraków, 1899), ''Rabbi Israel Baal-Schem'' (

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, 1908); ''Die "Wundermänner" im jüdischen Volke'' (Antwerp, 1921); and ''Das jüdische Schrifttum über den Wert des Lebens'' (

Hannover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German States of Germany, state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germa ...

, 1924). In 1898–1913 he edited the literary magazine ''Ha-Eshkol'' ( he, האשכול, links=no). He also contributed to the Hebrew encyclopedia '.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Günzig, Asriel 1868 births 1931 deaths Belgian editors Belgian magazine editors Belgian male writers Belgian rabbis Booksellers (people) German-language writers Hebrew-language writers Jewish encyclopedists Jewish historians Moravian writers Clergy from Antwerp Czech rabbis University of Bern alumni Writers from Kraków