Born in 1856, Moses Gaster maintained a multifaceted career as a rabbi, linguist, and orientalist across Romania, the Austrian Empire, and the United Kingdom. His scholarly output spanned from philology to the documentation of ancient manuscripts, eventually positioning him as a central figure in early Zionist diplomacy and the academic study of Jewish and Slavonic religious literature.
Academic and Early Professional Life
Gaster completed his initial studies in Bucharest by 1874 before earning a Doctor of Philosophy at Leipzig University in 1878. He continued his education at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau, where he secured a rabbinical diploma in 1881. Early in his career, he served as a lecturer on the Romanian language and literature at the University of Bucharest. His publication of Romanian popular literature in 1883 marked the beginning of his formal contribution to linguistics. Following his relocation to England in 1885, he held a lectureship in Slavonic literature at the University of Oxford between 1886 and 1891.
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Appointed as the hakham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish congregation in London in 1887, Gaster held this role during the bicentenary of the Bevis Marks Synagogue. He was a prominent advocate for Zionism, assisting in the development of the Zichron Ya'akov settlement. In 1917, his residence in Maida Vale served as a critical venue for negotiations regarding the Balfour Declaration, involving figures such as Chaim Weizmann and Baron Rothschild. His influence extended to the Yiddish Scientific Institute, where he served on the board of trustees starting in 1925.
Manuscript Collection and Preservation
Gaster assembled a significant collection of over two thousand manuscripts, predominantly comprising Hebrew, Samaritan, and Slavonic texts. This repository included ten thousand fragments from the Cairo Geniza and numerous Samaritan liturgical codices. While the collection suffered water damage during the Second World War, the majority of the content survived. These items were eventually acquired by the John Rylands Library in 1954 and the British Library, while his personal archive, including extensive correspondence on Zionism and Jewish history, was donated to University College London in 1974.
Fast facts
- Born: 1856, Bucharest
- Died: 1939, Abingdon-on-Thames
- Citizenship: United Kingdom, Romania, Austrian Empire
- Academic Degree: Doctor of Philosophy
- Employer: University of Oxford
- Award: Bene Merenti
- Languages: German, English, Romanian, Hebrew
Questions readers ask
What subjects did Moses Gaster study?
He focused on linguistics, philology, religious thought, and the study of Romanian and Slavonic literature.
Where are his collections kept today?
His manuscript collection is held by the John Rylands Library and the British Library, while his personal archives reside at University College London.
Achievements
- Affiliated with University of Oxford
- Educated at Leipzig University and Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau
- Worked as linguist, philologist and rabbi
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