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210
JEWISH BOOK ANNUAL
in New York before returning to Israel to assume a similar position
at the Hebrew University. He has published critical editions o f tal-
mudic tractates, o f Geonic responsa, and o f the poetry o f Samuel
Ha-Nagid.
I
r v i n g
A
b r a h a m
A
g u s
.
75th birthday. Born in Swislocz, Poland, Febru
ary 22, 1910. In the United States since 1937, he has taught Jewish
history at Yeshiva University. His researches deal with the medieval
period. In
Rabbi Me ir o f Rothenburg
(1947), he treats this important
figure o f German Jewry.
Urban Civilization in Pre-Crusade Europe
(1965) contends that the pattern o f Jewish community life was imi
tated by the Gentiles in urban centers.
The Heroic Age o f Franco-
German Jewry
(1969) points up the rigorous adherence to tradition
by these medieval Jews, which made up for their small number and
enabled them to perpetuate their heritage.
A
r y e h
L
e ib
b e n
A
s h e r
,
o f Metz (Gunzberg). 200th anniversary o f
death. Born in Minsk, Russia, in 1695, died in Metz, France, June
23, 1785. Serving as a rabbi in various communities in Eastern
Europe, he was finally called to Metz, where he led his community
until his death. He was the author o f a whole series o f rabbinic
works, commentaries and responsa.
E
l i e z e r
A
s h k e n a z i
.
400th anniversary o f death. Born in the Levant in
1512 or 1513, died in Cracow, Poland, December 13, 1585. Active as
a physician and rabbi in Egypt and Italy, he eventually became rabbi
in Cracow. He wrote commentaries on several biblical books and
responsa. While highly respected as a rabbinic authority by some o f
his contemporaries, such as Joseph Karo, he antagonized the more
conventionally minded rabbis by what seemed to them a departure
from tradition.
N
a h m a n
A
v i g a d
.
80th birthday. Born in Seidenberg, Germany, Sep
tember 29, 1905.
A
prominent Israeli archaeologist, he has directed
many excavations, particularly at Bet-She’arim. He was co-editor o f
A Genesis Apocryphon
(1956), one o f the Dead Sea Scrolls. In English
there appeared
Discovering Jerusalem
(1983) about the archaeolog
ical activities in Jerusalem and the city’s many-layered past.
S
a l o
W . B
a r o n
.
90th birthday. Born in Tarnopol, Galicia, May 26,
1895. A graduate of the University o f Vienna and the rabbinical
seminary there, he taught in the United States from the 1920’s on,
first at the Jewish Institute o f Religion and then at Columbia
University, serving as the first professor o f Jewish history at a secu
lar institution. Active in Jewish scholarly organizations, such as the
American Academy for Jewish Research and the Conference on
Jewish Relations, he has written a large number o f books and articles
on every aspect o f Jewish history. His most monumental effort has
been
A Social and Religious History o f theJews,
which first appeared in