Asriel Günzig


Asriel Günzig was a rabbi, scholar, bookseller, editor and writer. He served as the rabbi of Loštice, Moravia, from 1899 until 1920.
Günzig was born on April 10, 1868, in Kraków, where he received traditional Talmudic education, and he finished his studies in philosophy and Semitic languages at the University of Bern, 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 to Antwerp, Belgium, with his family.
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 had four children: Regina, Sabine, Jacques and Hilda.

Works

His scholarly work was mainly focused on the history of Haskalah in Galicia, but he dealt with other subjects as well.
In 1898, Günzig published Japheth ha-Levi's commentary on Ecclesiastes 1-3.
His own published works include: Der Pessimismus im Judenthume, Rabbi Israel Baal-Schem ; Die "Wundermänner" im jüdischen Volke ; and Das jüdische Schrifttum über den Wert des Lebens.
In 1898-1913 he edited the literary magazine Ha-Eshkol.
He also contributed to the Hebrew encyclopedia .