Simon Bernfeld

Born in Stanisławów in Habsburg Galicia (today Ivano-Frankivs’k, Ukraine), Simon Bernfeld was a rabbi, historian, editor, translator, and journalist. In 1872, his maskilic family was persecuted by Hasidim. As a result, they relocated to Lwów (now L’viv, Ukraine), where Bernfeld obtained a traditional and general education. He studied in Königsberg before completing his university studies in 1885 in Berlin, where he was ordained as a rabbi in the same year. Afterward, Bernfeld moved to Belgrade, serving as chief rabbi of the Sephardic community until 1894. He began his writing career at the age of eighteen with an article on medieval Jewish history, and he later worked on the editorial staff of two Hebrew weeklies. After leaving his post in Belgrade, he devoted himself solely to writing: he composed numerous Hebrew works (both articles and books) on various periods of Jewish history in addition to a history of religious philosophy, discussions of Jewish literature, a history of Islam, and a work on the Crusades. He also compiled an anthology of Jewish responses to persecution. Bernfeld wrote about similar topics in German and in addition published a German translation of the Bible. He was murdered by the Nazis.