Leo Baeck Institute works to preserve and promote the history and culture of German-speaking Jews.
The Pachner Wolff Family
Hollywood Legends at LBI
Concert & Discussion: Music and Identity
Help LBI keep the past present with a financial donation or by contributing historical materials.
Exhibition
Jewish Studies programs around the world acknowledge the year 1818 as the founding moment of their discipline. That year, Leopold Zunz published his essay Etwas über die rabbinische Litteratur (“On Rabbinical Literature”), which launched the movement for a Wissenschaft des Judentums – a Science of Judaism.
Zunz established a secular and interdisciplinary method of scholarship to investigate Jewish history, culture, and life in all its forms. In contrast to traditional Jewish scholarship rooted in the study of religious texts, Wissenschaft meant applying the tools of history, archeology, and other modern sciences to the study of Jewish history and culture. Zunz’s methodology also amounted to an appeal for political and religious reform. By the time of his death in 1886, his work and vision had given rise to a discourse within Judaism that transformed Jewish practice; the Reform, Conservative, and Modern Orthodox movements all have their roots in the Wissenschaft. The Wissenschaft also gave the fight for Jewish political emancipation its intellectual undergirding, and few scholars were more engaged in that fight than Zunz.
Learn more about Zunz's legacy and the Wissenschaft at our new exhibit, Leopold Zunz: Scholarship and Revolution. For Gallery hours see Visit LBI.
We use cookies on our site to enable functionality and analyze traffic. By clicking “I Accept” or “X” on this banner, or using our site, you consent to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them in your browser settings. To learn more, view our Privacy Policy.