THE MEMORIAL BOOK OF PÁPA JEWRY - JewishGen

In 1956, he left the country and immigrated to the USA. First, he was chosen to be the
rabbi of the Beth Torah community of Gardena, Los Angeles; then, in 1969, he was invited by the
large community of Temple Beth Ami Covina, which had one of the most beautiful synagogues
in California, in addition to splendid community buildings. After three years of zealous and
dedicated service he was offered life-tenure, which is a rare honour in the USA. In 1960 he
earned an M.A. in Hebrew Literature: it was the first time at that university that someone could
earn such a degree after barely 3 years of learning English.
He was elected to be the Vice President for the Association of American Conservative
Rabbis in the Western States, in recognition of his intensive work in the field of religious life.
His devotion to Israel was reflected not only in his Friday night sermons, but also in
organizing a large group of his congregants for a pilgrimage to Israel, and accompanying them as
their guide.
DR. SAMUEL KRAUSZ, professor
He was one of the most significant scholars whose life-work belongs to universal Jewish
scholarship. A native of the village Ukk near Pápa, he was connected to Pápa by the years of his
religious studies.
He attended the Pápa Yeshiva under the leadership of Rabbi Salamon Breuer. As a result,
he had a solid basis in Talmud and Hebrew when he went to the Rabbinical Seminary. In 1893 he
became the Hebrew teacher of the National Israelite Teacher Training College (Országos Izraelita
Tanítóképző). In 1905, he started teaching at the Rabbinical Seminary of Vienna, where he
became the principal in 1936, succeeding Rector Adolf Schwarcz of Pápa. He worked here until
the Anschluss. He managed to escape from the hell of hatred and got to Cambridge. In 1948 he
passed away.
He did pioneering work in publishing his Griechische und Lateinische Lehrwörter, an
etymological dictionary of words of Greek and Latin origin in the Talmud and in the Midrash.
The Talmudische Archeologie, another often-quoted major work by him, offers an inside
view into Jewish life in Eretz Yisrael and Babylon. Anyone wishing to become familiar with the
Talmudic period in terms of attire, family life, agriculture, industry, commercial life,
entertainment, schools and studies, can find all this in Krausz’s book.
He had strong ties to Eretz Yisrael. He first came on a visit in 1905, and in 1933 he gave a
lecture at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as a guest lecturer.
His last book, Synagogale Altertümer, is interspersed with nostalgic childhood
reminiscences.
RABBI Dr. ANDOR KLEIN
Although he was not a native of Pápa, he was connected to the town through his
grandparents who lived there, and for most of his schooling. When it was time to get married, he
also took his young wife from here to Abony where he served as a rabbi. However, their
happiness did not last for long: the beloved spouse, Bözsi Schossberger from Pápa, died soon and
was laid to rest in the Pápa cemetery.
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