Jacob Katz

Jacob Katz
יעקב כ"ץ
Born(1904-11-15)15 November 1904
Magyargencs, Hungary
Died20 May 1998(1998-05-20) (aged 93)
Israel
NationalityIsrael
Awards
Academic background
Alma materUniversity of Frankfurt
Academic work
DisciplineHistory
Sub-discipline
  • Jewish history
  • Sociology of Jewish communities
InstitutionsHebrew University of Jerusalem
Notable works
  • Exclusiveness and Tolerance
  • Tradition and Crisis
  • Out of the Ghetto

Jacob Katz (Hebrew: יעקב כ"ץ) (born 15 November 1904 in Magyargencs, Hungary, died 20 May 1998 in Israel) was an acclaimed Jewish historian and educator.

Katz described "traditional society" and deployed sociological methods in his study of Jewish communities, with special attention to changes in halakhah (Jewish law) and Orthodoxy. He pioneered the modern study of Orthodoxy and its formation in reaction to Reform Judaism.

In his youth he pursued both religious and secular studies, receiving rabbinic ordination[1][2] and a doctorate in social history.[1]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Katz, Jacob (1995). With My Own Eyes: The Autobiography of an Historian. Published by University Press of New England [for] Brandeis University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-87451-639-5. I did not excel but was nonetheless ordained by the rosh yeshiva. My friend Just applied , as was customary , to have his ordination confirmed by two additional rabbis , but I refrained from doing so , so as not to be tempted to enter the rabbinate.