Arthur Kurzweil

Arthur Kurzweil (born 1951) is an American author, educator, editor, writer, publisher, and illusionist.

Kurzweil was born in New York City. He was raised in East Meadow, New York. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from New College at Hofstra University in 1971 and a Master of Library Science from Florida State University in 1972.

As a scholar-in-residence and guest speaker in synagogues and other Jewish organizations in the United States, as well as through the books he has written on Judaism, the Torah, Kabbalah, and Jewish genealogical research, Kurzweil’s career has been focused around helping others to discover the Jewish tradition. During his 17-year tenure at Jason Aronson Publishers, he commissioned and published over 650 volumes of Jewish interest, a substantial contribution to the contemporary English-language Jewish library. Kurzweil has also been editor-in-chief of the Jewish Book Club, president of the Jewish Book Council, and editorial consultant for Jossey-Bass.

Kurzweil's book From Generation to Generation: How to Trace Your Jewish Genealogy and Family History is considered to be a definitive introductory guide on the topic. Kurzweil has also authored two books in the for Dummies series: Kabbalah for Dummies and The Torah for Dummies. His other books are On the Road with Rabbi Steinsaltz, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Genealogy and My Generations: A Course in Jewish Family History, which is commonly used as a textbook at synagogue schools in the United States.