Louis Ginzberg
| Louis Ginzberg | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 28, 1873 Kaunas, Vilna Governorate, Russia |
| Died | November 11, 1953 (aged 79) New York City, United States |
Rabbi Louis Ginzberg (Hebrew: לוי גינצבורג, Levy Gintzburg) was a Talmudist and leading figure in the Conservative Movement of Judaism of the twentieth century. He was born on November 28, 1873, in Kaunas, Vilna Governorate (then called Kovno); he died on November 11, 1953, in New York City.
Ginzberg was born into a religious family whose piety and erudition was well known. The family traced its lineage back to the revered talmudist, halachist, and kabbalist Gaon of Vilna. Ginzberg emulated the Vilna Gaon’s intermingling of ‘academic knowledge’ in Torah studies under the label ‘historical Judaism’. In his book Students, Scholars and Saints, Ginzberg quotes the Vilna Gaon instructing, “Do not regard the views of the Shulchan Aruch as binding if you think that they are not in agreement with those of the Talmud.”
He writes in his memoirs that he felt saddened that he had grieved his father. Ginzberg recognized that his pious father was disappointed that his son had chosen a more liberal path with regards to Jewish law opposed to following the path of his forefathers. Ginzberg first arrived in America in 1899, unsure where he belonged or what he should pursue. Almost immediately, he accepted a position at Hebrew Union College and subsequently wrote articles for the Jewish Encyclopedia. Still, he had not found his niche.
In 1903, he began teaching at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS) in New York City, where he taught until his death. Throughout his life, all of his works were infused with the belief that Judaism and Jewish history could not be understood properly without a firm grasp of Halakhah. Instead of just studying Halakha, Louis Ginzberg wrote responsa, formal responses to questions of Jewish law.
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