Levi Herzfeld (27 December 1810,

Ellrich Ellrich is a town in the district of Nordhausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the southern edge of the Harz, 13 km northwest of Nordhausen. It is the northernmost settlement in Thuringia. History Second World War Durin ...

– 11 March 1884, Brunswick) was a German rabbi and historian.

Life

Having chosen the rabbinical career, he studied under Chief Rabbi

Abraham Bing Abraham Bing (1752–1841) was the Oberrabbiner (Chief Rabbi) of Würzburg, and a Rosh yeshiva there. He trained several prominent German rabbis. Biography Bing received his rabbinic training from the talmudist and kabbalist Nathan Adler. (The ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, and under District Rabbi Samuel Egers at Brunswick. In 1833 he went to the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, at the same time completing his

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...

ic studies with Rabbis Oettinger and Rosenstein, and with

Leopold Zunz Leopold Zunz ( he, יום טוב צונץ—''Yom Tov Tzuntz'', yi, ליפמן צונץ—''Lipmann Zunz''; 10 August 1794 – 17 March 1886) was the founder of academic Judaic Studies (''Wissenschaft des Judentums''), the critical investigation ...

. Herzfeld took his degree (Ph.D.) in 1836, and shortly after was called by Egers, who had become blind, as his assistant at Brunswick. In 1842 he succeeded his master as "Landesrabbiner," retaining that office until his death. In 1879 the

Duke of Brunswick Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

conferred upon him the title of professor. Herzfeld displayed great activity, both as rabbi and as writer. His historical works embody the results of painstaking research and show analytical power. With

Ludwig Philippson Ludwig Philippson (28 December 1811 – 29 December 1889) was a German rabbi and author. Early life and education Ludwig Philippson was born in Dessau, the son of , a printer, writer, teacher, translator, publisher and a member of the Haskalah. H ...

he convoked the first rabbinical convention at Brunswick, where, as well as in the subsequent conventions at Frankfurt and Breslau, he advocated a moderate Reform, remaining himself a strict observer of the traditions.

Works

Herzfeld's writings include: * "Kohelet, Uebersetzt und Erläutert," Brunswick, 1838 * "Das Deutsche in der Liturgie der Braunschweiger Synagoge," 1844 * "Vorschläge zu einer Reform der Jüdischen Ehegesetze," ib. 1846 * "Geschichte des Volkes Jisrael von der Zerstörung des Ersten Tempels bis zur Einsetzung des Makkabäers Schimon zum Hohenpriester und Fürsten," 3 vols., ib. 1847 (Nordhausen, 1855–57; abridged edition, 1870) * a volume of sermons, 1858 (2d ed. Leipsic, 1863) * "Minḥat Zikkaron," a primer for Jewish schools, 1861 (2d ed. 1866) * "Metrologische Voruntersuchungen zu einer Geschichte des Ibräischen, Respektive Altjüdischen Handels," ib. 1863-65 * "Zwei Vorträge über die Kunstleistungen der Alten Juden," ib. 1864 * "Handelsgeschichte der Juden des Alterthums," Brunswick, 1879, 1894 * "Einblicke in das Sprachliche der Semitischen Urzeit, Betreffend die Entstehungsweise der Meisten Hebräischen Wortstämme," Hanover, 1883.

External links

*
Source

Digitized works by Levi Herzfeld
at the

Leo Baeck Institute, New York The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) is a research institute in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking J ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herzfeld, Levi 1810 births 1884 deaths 19th-century German rabbis Jewish historians People from Nordhausen (district) 19th-century German historians German male non-fiction writers