Louis Ginzberg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Louis Ginzberg (, ''Levy Gintzburg''; , ''Levy Ginzberg''; November 28, 1873 – November 11, 1953) was a Russian-born American
rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...
and Talmudic scholar of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, contributing editor to numerous articles of '' The Jewish Encyclopedia'' (1906), and leading figure in the Conservative movement of
Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...
during the early 20th century.


Early life

Ginzberg was born in
Kaunas Kaunas (; ) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius, the fourth largest List of cities in the Baltic states by population, city in the Baltic States and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaun ...
, Vilna Governorate (then called Kovno). His religious Lithuanian-Jewish family's piety and erudition were renowned, seeing that they traced their lineage back to the Gaon of Vilna's brother. Ginzberg received a traditional Jewish education, and later studied in German universities.(November 28, 1943
Leaders to Honor Louis Ginzberg, 70: On Eve of Birthday He Says Future of Jew Is Largely Up to America"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved December 7, 2023.


Career

Ginzberg first arrived in the United States in 1899. He began teaching the
Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) from its reorganization in 1902 until his death in 1953. During this time, he trained two generations of future
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
rabbis, influencing almost every rabbi of the Conservative movement in a personal way. Ginzberg was highly praised by his colleagues;(November 29, 1943
"Dr. Louis Ginzberg is Honored at 70: Leaders in Jewish Learning Pay Tribute Here to Talmudic Scholar"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
JTS leader Louis Finkelstein described him as a "living symbol of love for
Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...
". Leading Israeli Conservative posek David Golinkin has written prolifically on Ginzberg and published a collection of his responsa. Ginzberg's knowledge made him the expert to defend Judaism both in national and international affairs. In 1906, he defended the Jewish community against anti-Semitic accusations that Jews ritually slaughtered
Gentiles ''Gentile'' () is a word that today usually means someone who is not Jewish. Other Groups claiming affiliation with Israelites, groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, have historically used the term ''gentile'' to describe outsider ...
. In 1913, Louis Marshall requested that Ginzberg refute the Beilis blood libel charge in
Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
. On account of his impressive scholarship in Jewish studies, Ginzberg was one of 66 scholars honored with a doctorate by
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in celebration of its tercentenary in 1936.


Views

In his opening address to students, Ginzberg spoke of the need to keep Conservative Jewry under the rubric of ''halakha''. Ginzberg's initiative to base ''halakhic'' decisions on law committees and not laymen is the method the Conservative movement describes as its present one till today. In 1918, at the Sixth Annual Convention, Ginzberg, as the acting president, declared that United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism stood for 'historical Judaism' and thus elaborates: Ginzberg sought to emulate the Vilna Gaon's intermingling of "academic knowledge" in Torah studies under the label "historical Judaism"; for example, in his book ''Students, Scholars and Saints'', Ginzberg quotes the Vilna Gaon's instruction, "Do not regard the views of the
Shulchan Aruch The ''Shulhan Arukh'' ( ),, often called "the Code of Jewish Law", is the most widely consulted of the various legal codes in Rabbinic Judaism. It was authored in the city of Safed in what is now Israel by Joseph Karo in 1563 and published in ...
as binding if you think that they are not in agreement with those of the Talmud." In 1943, Ginzberg predicted that after the war, only two centers of Jewish culture would remain in the world: The United States and
Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
—with the latter depending upon the former for support. He foresaw problems for the Jews remaining in Europe due to their being perceived as those who caused Germany to lose the war.


Responsa

One of Ginzberg's responsa concerns the use of wine in the Jewish community during the Prohibition Era. The
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Eighteenth Amendment (Amendment XVIII) to the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified by the requisite number of sta ...
, ratified on January 16, 1920, declared that "the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within ... the United States ... for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited." The subsequent Volstead Act defined "intoxicating liquors" and provided for several exceptions, one of which as for sacramental use. The
Christian Church In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus Christ. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a syn ...
was able to successfully regulate the use of ceremonial wine. The clergy could easily monitor the nominal amount of sacramental wine that each worshipper drank, especially because it was usually drunk only in Church and only on Sundays (for the communion or Eucharist ceremony). This was not the case for the Jews, who needed a greater quantity of wine per person. Furthermore, the wine was drunk in the privacy of the home on
Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
, Jewish holidays, weddings, and '' brit milah'' (circumcision) ceremonies. This alone would have made the regulation of ceremonial wine complicated. It was not difficult for crooks to rig illegal "wine synagogues" to trick the government to receive their wine which would then be bootlegged. While contemporary Orthodox Jewish authorities are generally permissive of grape juice as a wine substitute, Orthodox rabbis of the 1920s soundly rejected its use. The
Reform movement Reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social system, social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more Radicalism (politics), radical social movements such as re ...
in 1920 proclaimed that grape juice be used instead of wine to eliminate future complaints. Shortly afterwards, on January 24, 1922, the Conservative movement publicized the 71-page response written by Ginzberg tackling the ''halakhic'' aspects of drinking grape juice instead of wine in light of the historical circumstances. Besides Ginzberg's well-grounded decision to permit grape juice, he includes meta-''halakhic'' reasoning: At the time of Ginzburg's responsum, the Orthodox rabbinate had exclusive authority to sanction sacramental wine for Jews, and the responsum was thought by the Orthodox community to be tainted by self-interest.


Works

Ginzberg was the author of a number of scholarly Jewish works, including a commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud and his six-volume (plus a one-volume index) '' The Legends of the Jews,'' (1909) which combined hundreds of legends and parables from a lifetime of
midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.
; or ''midrashot' ...
research. ''The Legends of the Jews'' is an original synthesis of a vast amount of '' aggadah'' from all of classical rabbinic literature, as well as apocryphal, pseudopigraphical and even early Christian literature, with legends ranging from the creation of the world and the fall of Adam, through a huge collection of legends on Moses, and ending with the story of Esther and the Jews in Persia.Isaacs, Abram S. (July 17, 1909
"Jewish Legends of Bible Times: The First Volume of Dr. Louis Ginzberg's Work Dealing with Semitic Traditions Makes Its Appearance"
''The New York Times''. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
Ginzberg also write ''Geonica'' (1909), an account of the Babylonian Geonim containing lengthy extracts from their responsa, as discovered in the form of fragments in the Cairo Genizah. He continued this work in the similar collection entitled ''Ginze Schechter'' (1929). Ginzberg wrote 406 articles and several
monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...
-length entries for the '' Jewish Encyclopedia'' (Levy 2002), some later collected in his ''Legend and Lore.'' He was also founder and president of the American Academy of Jewish Research. Many of his ''halakhic'' responsa are collected in ''The Responsa of Professor Louis Ginzberg,'' edited by David Golinkin.NY: Jewish Theological Seminary, 1996


Personal life

Ginzberg had a long term platonic relationship with Henrietta Szold, who was his editor at the Jewish Publication Society. She was in love with him, but was 13 years older than him. Ginzberg visited Berlin in 1908 and became engaged to Adele Katzenstein while he was there. Katzenstein was about 22 at the time. They had two children. Son Eli Ginzberg (1911–2002) was a professor of economics at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
. The second child was a daughter, Sophie Ginzberg Gould (1914–1985).


References


External links


Excerpts from ''The Responsa of Professor Louis Ginzberg''


* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ginzburg, Louis 1873 births 1953 deaths 19th-century Jewish theologians 19th-century Lithuanian rabbis 20th-century American rabbis 20th-century Jewish theologians American Conservative rabbis American Jewish theologians American male non-fiction writers American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Conservative poskim Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish Theological Seminary of America faculty Rabbis from Kaunas Talmudists Writers from Kaunas