Meyer Waxman
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Meyer Waxman (; 1887 – March 7, 1969) was an
Imperial Russian The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
-born American
rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
, historian, and scholar. He best known for his six-volume work ''A History of Jewish Literature'', published in 1960.


Biography

Waxman was born in
Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population is ...
, and received a traditional education at
Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...
s there and in
Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
. He emigrated to the United States in 1905 and studied at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
, the
Jewish Theological Seminary of America The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
, where he was ordained as a rabbi in 1913, and
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where he received a doctorate in philosophy in 1916. He served for some years in rabbinical posts in
Sioux City Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury and Plymouth counties in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest city in Iowa. The bulk of the city is in Woodbury County, ...
and in Albany, before returning to New York to become founder and principal of the Mizrachi Teachers Seminary (1917–21). From 1920 to 1924, he served as Executive Director of the Mizrachi Zionist organization. In 1924 he joined the faculty of the
Hebrew Theological College The Hebrew Theological College, known colloquially as "Skokie Yeshiva" or HTC, is a yeshiva in Skokie, Illinois. Although the school's primary focus is the teaching of Torah and Jewish tradition, it is also a private university that is part of t ...
in Chicago, where he served as professor of Hebrew literature and philosophy until his retirement in 1955, also teaching at the College of Jewish Studies in Chicago. After his retirement, he left for Israel to serve as Visiting Professor at
Bar-Ilan University Bar-Ilan University (BIU, he, אוניברסיטת בר-אילן, ''Universitat Bar-Ilan'') is a public research university in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Established in 1955, Bar Ilan is Israel's second-largest academic i ...
. He then moved to New York where he continued his literary and scholarly activities until his death. He died in March 1969 while vacationing in
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and artificial island, man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the ...
.


Work

Waxman is best known for his six-volume
magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...
''A History of Jewish Literature'' (1960). The work contains a history of Jewish literature from the close of the Bible to the 1950s. The purpose of this history was "to make accessible to the large lay intelligent public the results of Jewish scholarship and research in the various branches of Jewish literature, carried on during the last century; to coördinate and correlate the scattered facts and the numerous data, so as to present a complete picture of the productivity of the Jewish genius during the ages." Waxman also published hundreds of articles in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. Many of his articles were collected in volumes of essays, ''Ketavim Nivḥarim'' (2 vols., 1943–44), ''Galut u-Ge'ullah'' (1952), and ''Moreh ha-Dorot'' (1963). He wrote studies on the history of Jewish philosophy, including ''The Philosophy of Don
Hasdai Crescas Hasdai ben Abraham Crescas (; he, חסדאי קרשקש; c. 1340 in Barcelona – 1410/11 in Zaragoza) was a Spanish-Jewish philosopher and a renowned halakhist (teacher of Jewish law). Along with Maimonides ("Rambam"), Gersonides ("Ralbag"), ...
'' () and a translation, with introduction, of
Moses Hess Moses (Moritz) Hess (21 January 1812 – 6 April 1875) was a German-Jewish philosopher, early communist and Zionist thinker. His socialist theories led to disagreements with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. He is considered a pioneer of Labor Zion ...
' ''
Rome and Jerusalem ''Rome and Jerusalem: The Last National Question'' (german: Rom und Jerusalem, die Letzte Nationalitätsfrage) is a book published by Moses Hess in 1862 in Leipzig. It gave impetus to the Labor Zionism movement. In his ''magnum opus'', Hess argue ...
'' (1945).


References


External links

*
Meyer Waxman
at the
Online Books Page The Online Books Page is an index of e-text books available on the Internet. It is edited by John Mark Ockerbloom and is hosted by the library of the University of Pennsylvania. The Online Books Page lists over 2 million books and has several feat ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waxman, Meyer 1887 births 1969 deaths People from Slutsk People from Slutsky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Jewish Theological Seminary of America semikhah recipients German–English translators