Legends of the Jews

Born in Kovno (today, Kaunas), Lithuania, the rabbinics scholar Louis Ginzberg studied Talmud at the yeshivas of Kovno and Telz, and history, philosophy, and Near Eastern languages at Berlin, Strasbourg, and Heidelberg. He immigrated to the United States in 1899 and found work as the rabbinics editor at the Jewish Encyclopedia in 1900. From 1903 until his death, he taught Talmud at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, where he influenced two generations of rabbis and shaped the development of the Conservative movement, not only through his teaching but also through his responsa. His best-known work is his seven-volume Legends of the Jews (1909–1938), a compendium of stories, anecdotes, and tales from midrashic texts that he forged into a continuous narrative of ancient Israel’s history from the patriarchs to Queen Esther. He was a founder of the American Academy for Jewish Research and served as its president.