Isidore Loeb was a French-Jewish scholar born at Soultzmatt

Soultzmatt

Soultzmatt is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Its vineyards produce one of the finest Alsacian wines: the Grand Cru .-References:*...

, Haut-Rhin

Haut-Rhin

Haut-Rhin is a département of the Alsace region of France, named after the Rhine river. Its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less populated of the two departements of Alsace, although is still densely populated compared to the rest of France.-Subdivisions:The department...

. The son of Rabbi Seligmann Loeb of Sulzmatt, he was educated in Bible

Bible

The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

 and Talmud

Talmud

The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 by his father. After having followed the usual course in the public school of his native town, Loeb studied at the college of Rufach and at the lycée of Colmar, in which city he at the same time attended classes in Hebrew and Talmud at the preparatory rabbinical school founded by Chief Rabbi Solomon Klein

Solomon Klein

Solomon Klein Solomon Klein Solomon Klein (born at Bischheim, Alsace, October 14, 1814; died at Colmar, Alsace, November 10, 1867 was a French rabbi.He was successively district rabbi at Bischheim (1839–41), Durmenach (1841–48), and Rixheim (1848–50)...

. In 1856 he entered the Central Rabbinical School (École Centrale Rabbinique) at Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...

, where he soon ranked high through his knowledge of Hebrew, his literary ability, and his proficiency in mathematics. In 1862 he was graduated, and received his rabbinical diploma from the Séminaire Israélite de France at Paris, which had replaced (1859) the Metz École Centrale Rabbinique.

Activities

Loeb did not immediately enter upon a rabbinical career, but tutored for some years, first at Bayonne, France and then at Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

. In 1865 he was called to the rabbinate of St. Etienne (Loire). His installation sermon, on the duties of the smaller congregations (Les Devoirs des Petites Communautés), is one of the best examples of French pulpit rhetoric.

Soon, however, he felt a desire to extend the field of his activity. He went to Paris, where he was appointed (June 1, 1869) secretary of the Alliance Israélite Universelle, which position he held until his death. It was largely due to Loeb's labors that this association became an important factor in the progress of Oriental Judaism; and he created the library of the Alliance, which is one of the most valuable Jewish libraries in existence. Meanwhile he continued his historical and philological researches, and developed an extensive literary activity. The chair of Jewish history in the Rabbinical Seminary of Paris having become vacant through the death of Albert Cohn

Albert Cohn

Albert Cohn may refer to:*Albert Cohn *Albert C. Cohn , father of Roy Cohn...

 (1877), Loeb was appointed his successor. He held this position for 12 years. His main activity, however, was devoted to the Société des Etudes Juives, which was organized in Paris in 1880. Beginning with the first number, he successfully edited the Revue des Études Juives

Revue des Études Juives

Revue des Études Juives is a French quarterly of Jewish studies, founded in July 1880 at the École pratique des hautes études, Paris by the Société des Études Juives...

, the organ of that society, and was, moreover, a voluminous and brilliant contributor thereto.

The following works published by Loeb deserve especial notice:

• La Situation des Israélites en Turquie, en Serbie, et en Roumanie (1869)
• Biographie d'Albert Cohn (1878)
• Tables du Calendrier Juif Depuis l'Ere Chrétienne Jusqu'au XXX Siècle
• Les Juifs de Russie (1891)
• La Littérature des Pauvres dans la Bible
• Réflexions sur les Juifs.

The two last-named works have been published by the Société des Études Juives. Isidore Loeb died at Paris on June 3, 1892.

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

• I. Lévi, list of Loeb's works, in R. E. J. vol. xxiv.;
• Zadoc Kahn
  Zadoc Kahn
  Zadoc Kahn was an Alsatian-French rabbi and chief rabbi of France.- Life :In 1856 he entered the rabbinical school of Metz, finishing his theological studies at the same institution after it had been established at Paris as the Séminaire Israélite; and on graduation he was appointed director of...
  
  , biographical sketch, ib.

External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia article for Isidore Loeb, by Isidore Singer
  Isidore Singer
  Isidore Singer was an editor of the Jewish Encyclopedia and founder of the American League for the Rights of Man.-Biography:...
  
  and Zadoc Kahn.