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Name:
Leopold Zunz
Dates:
Born: August 10, 1794 in Detmold, Germany
Died: March 18, 1886 in Berlin, Germany
Biography:
Leopold Zunz is widely considered one of the most important historians of Judaism
during the nineteenth century. In 1819 he was instrumental in the creation of a
movement which became known as Wissenschaft des Judentums ("Science of
Judaism") which was focused upon the study of Jewish literature and Jewish culture
with the intellectual tools created by modern scholarship.
In 1823 he became editor of Gottesdienstliche Vorträge der Juden, historisch entwickelt ("The Worship Sermons of the Jews, Historically Developed") which was devoted to historical analyses of Judaism in the context of human culture generally. By tracing the development of Judaism and Jewish thought through the ages, he also hoped to be able to identify some sort of "essence" of Judaism which remained constant and absolute despite the myriad of cultural changes and non-Jewish influences. His ultimate aim was the creation of departments of Jewish studies at secular universities.
Also Known As: Moses ben Maimon
Alternate Spellings: none
Common Misspellings: none
Related Resources:
What is Theism?
What is the difference between monotheism and monolatry? Between pantheism and panentheism? How about between animism and shamanism? Or theism and deism? What the heck is henotheism? For that matter, what is and is not a religion?What is Religion?
A system of human beliefs, ideals and practices which is harder to define than it may at first appear.
