Wilhelm attended the Hebrew schools in Szucsány and in his native town, and passed through the higher classes of the Evangelical Lyceum at Presburg from 1863 to 1867, at the same time diligently prosecuting Talmudic studies.
In 1867 he began the study of philosophy and of Oriental languages-the latter under Ármin Vámbéry-at the University of Budapest, and also attended the lectures on the Talmud given by Samuel Löb Brill.