Leopold Zunz (Hebrew/Yiddish: יום טוב ליפמן צונץ—Yom Tov Lipmann Tzuntz; 10 August 1794 – 17 March 1886) was a German Reform rabbi and writer, the founder of what has been termed "Jewish Studies" or "Judaic Studies" (Wissenschaft des Judentums), the critical investigation of Jewish literature, hymnology and ritual. Zunz's historical investigations and contemporary writings had an important influence on contemporary Judaism.