Ziegler, Ignaz

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ZIEGLER, IGNAZ

ZIEGLER, IGNAZ (1861–1948), scholar. Ziegler, who was born in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia, studied at the rabbinical seminary and the University of Budapest. During the period of his studies, he was influenced by the Reform movement and from 1888 served as liberal rabbi of Carlsbad, where he accomplished a great deal for the Jewish community. Ziegler sympathized with Zionism.

His research dealt with the Bible, Talmud and Midrash, Jewish religious philosophy, and Jewish history. In his most important work, Die Koenigsgleichnisse des Midrasch (1903), he dealt with the "parables of kings in the Midrash" in the light of the historical and factual reality of the Roman Empire. His other important works are: Religioese Disputationen im Mittelalter (1894); Die Geschichte des Judenthums (1900); Die Geistesreligion und das juedische Religionsgesetz (1912); Dokumente zur Geschichte der Juden in Karlsbad (17911869) (1913); Das magische Judentum (1923); and the two-volume Die sittliche Welt des Judentums, 2 vols. (1924–28).

bibliography:

blbi, 2 (1958–59), 211–22 (autobiography).

[Moshe David Herr]