Creator Bio

Shim’on Levi Gintsburg

16th Century

Shim’on Levi Gintsburg (also known as Simon Guenzberg) was the translator of Isaac Tyrnau’s Minhagim into Yiddish for the first printed edition of a book of customs, published in Venice in 1566. In 1592, he published a maḥzor (prayer book) in Tannhausen.

Content by Shim’on Levi Gintsburg

Primary Source

Lighting the Sabbath and Festival Candles

Isaac Tyrnau | Shim’on Levi Gintsburg
Restricted
Image
This woodcut depicts Jewish women and girls lighting candles to mark the beginning of the Sabbath or a holiday. The illustration appears in a Yiddish translation by Shim’on Levi Gintsburg, printed in…
Page with Hebrew text of decorative border and Star of David located in bottom section, with signatures in the Roman alphabet below.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Modern Rabbis and Intellectuals on the Move

1500–1750

Carrying books and knowledge, itinerant rabbis and scholars traveled between communities, facilitating cultural exchange. 

Manuscript scroll page with Hebrew text and decorated border with illustrations of cherubs, faces, animals, ribbons, and flowers.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Modern Italy: Where East and West Meet

1500–1750

Ashkenazim, Sephardim, and Marranos encountered each other in Italian cities, developing community structures that later influenced Jewish communal organization throughout the western world.

Two-panel drawing, the top of many people in interior room, some seated on right side under canopy, and the bottom of many people outside with a central figure with veil.
Tooltip info icon

Related Guide

Early Modern Religious Practices

1500–1750

Early modern Jews both preserved tradition and innovated. Documents and legal texts reveal rich details about synagogue life, marriage, family relations, and death rituals.