[1] His father, Joseph Rosenzweig, at the age of thirteen, had emigrated from Galicia to Hungary, where he studied medicine, became a physician, and wrote a book on asphyxia, which was ultimately published with the financial aid of the Hungarian politician Gábor Klauzál.

He also translated Hungarian literature and poetry into Hebrew, including the Szózat and works by Sándor Petőfi.

For this journal and for the Vasárnapi Újság [hu] he wrote letters from Vienna (1854–81), and occasionally contributed to the Wanderer, Gartenlaube, and Fliegende Blätter.

In 1871 Ágai undertook the editorship of the Kis Lap [hu] ('Little Magazine'), which he had founded for the youth of his country.

His annual calendars, published under the names of the various humorous characters in his Borsszem Jankó, were widely read.