Basic HTML Version
1 8 8
JEWISH BOOK ANNUAL
C y r u s
H.
G o r d o n .
80th birthday. Born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 29,
1908. A highly acclaimed Semitic philologist, who taught at Bran-
deis University for many years, he has made important contribu
tions to the study o f Ugaritic, a language related to Hebrew. By
developing textbooks in this language and publishing texts and
translations o f this literature he has helped shed light on biblical civ
ilization. In many o f his writings he has stressed the interre
lationship between biblical and others parts o f the eastern Medi
terranean civilizations (
Before the Bible; the Common Background of
Greek and Hebrew Civilizations,
1962, 1973;
Homer and the Bible,
1967).
In recent years he has also taken an interest in the newly discovered
Ebla Tablets, which like the Ugaritic texts are written in a language
related to Hebrew.
H a y y im b e n B e z a l e l .
400th anniversary o f death. Born in Posen,
around 1520, died in Friedberg, Germany, June 1, 1588. A fellow
student o f Moses Isserles, he was opposed to the codification ofJew
ish law, undertaken by Joseph Caro and Isserles, since it would
undermine study o f the Talmud and would also blur the various
local customs or
Minhagim.
H e
also wrote books on Jewish law and
ethics. The strictures against Caro and Isserles were suppressed in
some o f the later editions.
M i c h a e l H e i l p r i n .
100th anniversary o f death. Born in Piotrkow,
Poland, in 1823, died in Summit, New Jersey, May 10, 1888. He
came to the United States in 1856 and was active in Jewish educa
tional work. He was the author of a book on biblical studies in Ger
man and in English wrote
The Historical Poetry of the Ancient Hebrews
(1879-80). He also wrote for general encyclopedias and journals.
J o s e p h
E.
H e l l e r .
100th anniversary o f birth. Born in Ponivezh,
Lithuania, May 16, 1888, died in London in 1957. After a receiving
philosophical education in Germany he contributed articles to the
German
Encyclopaedia Judaica,
particularly on Zionist and philo
sophical topics. In 1938 he moved to England, where he was active in
Zionist educational work. In 1949,
The Zionist Idea
was published. In
Hebrew he wrote about Ahad Ha-Am and translated some Greek
philosophical works into Hebrew.
C h a im H e r z o g .
70th birthday. Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sep
tember 17, 1918. His father was rabbi in his hometown, eventually
becoming chief rabbi of Israel. After studies in England, he joined
his father in Palestine during the 1930’s. A British intelligence offi
cer during WW II, he made a career in the Israeli army, holding
many high positions. A highly articulate speaker, he became very
popular for his broadcasts during the Six-Day War. For a number of
years he served as Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations and
was elected president of Israel in 1983. His writings have been