Elias Gewurz (1875–1947) was a Polish-American author, lecturer, and active member of the Theosophical Society, whose writings helped introduce Qabalistic philosophy to a wider English-speaking audience. Born on September 11, 1875, in Kraków, Galicia, Poland, he was educated in Vienna, Austria.
By 1908, Gewurz had transferred from the Austrian Section to the American Theosophical Society. During the First World War, while Galicia became a battleground between advancing Russian and German forces, he spent time writing in Las Palmas on Grand Canary Island before emigrating to the United States. Upon his arrival, he settled at the Krotona Theosophical Colony in Hollywood, California, where he delivered several lectures in 1915. Over the following decades he lived in San Francisco, where he worked as Assistant Librarian at the Olympic Club, later returned to Hollywood as a language teacher, and eventually settled in Ventura, California, supporting himself as a writer after becoming a naturalized American citizen.
Gewurz is best known for his influential works on Qabalah, particularly The Hidden Treasures of the Ancient Qabalah and Mysteries of the Qabalah. The Hidden Treasures of the Ancient Qabalah was first published by the Theosophical Book Concern at Krotona in 1915 after originating as a series of lectures delivered before the Krotona Lodge. The book was warmly received within Theosophical circles, with Gewurz donating copies to newly chartered lodges and their libraries. It was highly praised as an accessible introduction to one of the world’s oldest esoteric traditions. In 1918, the Yogi Publication Society issued its own edition.
Gewurz never married and remained devoted to writing, lecturing, and the study of Western esotericism throughout his life. He died in Ventura, California, on November 23, 1947.
