Henri Loëb

Grand Rabbi of Belgium (1834-1866)

As successor to Eliakim Carmoly, Henri Loëb was appointed Grand Rabbi of Belgium by the Jewish Community of Brussels on 22 September 1834, a choice that was later ratified by the Central Jewish Consistory of Belgium. He wrote a catechism for the use of the Jewish schools of the country (Derekh ha-Emounah, or the way of faith, Brussels, 1835) and a holy history inspired by the Wissenschaft des Judentums (Histoire sainte ou histoire des israélites depuis la création jusqu'à la dernière destruction de Jérusalem, Brussels, 1843). Henri Loëb also took part in the liturgical reforms carried out by the lay members of the Consistory. He was honorary president of the Société israélite de Bienfaisance de Bruxelles. Henri Loëb resigned in February 1866 and was replaced as Chief Rabbi of Belgium by Élie Aristide Astruc.

Abstract from: Jean-Philippe Schreiber, Dictionnaire biographique des Juifs de Belgique. Figures du judaïsme belge XIXe-XXe siècles, De Boeck & Larcier, 2002, p. 230.