Jonah Frankel, () also spelled Yonah Frankel, (1928–2012) was an author, Hebrew literature professor and

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

laureate.

Biography

Jonah Frankel was born in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in 1928 and emigrated to Israel in 1937 to escape the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

. In high school, he studied at the Yeshiva of

Kfar Haroeh Kfar Haroeh () is a religious moshav in central Israel. Located in the coastal plain between Hadera and Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council. In it had a population of . History In 1929 the Jewish National F ...

. He then went on to study

Hebrew Literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...

and

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

, and in 1968, he completed his PhD in Talmud. He was a Professor Emeritus of Aggadah and Midrash in the Department of Hebrew Literature at the

of Jerusalem. He has been described as "an expert in the study of Midrashic Aggadah". Professor Frankel's main contribution to research was the innovative approach he introduced to the study of the

Aggadot Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

of the

. Until his time, these stories were typically viewed either as historical sources or as folklore. Frankel established a new school of thought, treating the Talmudic Aggadah through the methods of

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

, independent of the historical or cultural context in which they were written. He focused on the idea and message behind each Aggadah, conducting a scholarly comparison of different versions of Aggadic texts found in various sources. His influence has been immense, and to this day, Talmudic Aggadot are studied in literature departments at universities. He was also a scholar of

piyyut A piyyuṭ (plural piyyuṭim, ; from ) is a Jewish liturgical poem, usually designated to be sung, chanted, or recited during religious services. Most piyyuṭim are in Mishnaic Hebrew or Jewish Palestinian Aramaic, and most follow some p ...

, and he continued the project of the

Goldschmidt-Fraenkel Machzor Goldschmidt-Fraenkel Machzor, formally known as ''Machzor According to the Customs of the Ashkenazim in All Their Branches: Including the Western Ashkenazic Rite, Polish Rite and former French Rite'' is a critical edition of the piyyutim (liturgical ...

, started by his father-in-law, Professor .

Published works

*Darkhei Ha-Aggadah VeHa-Midrash (The Ways of the Midrash and the

Aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

), a two volume set, is an encyclopedic guide to the study of Midrash and Aggadah in broader Jewish culture. * Time and its role in the aggadic story (Jewish civilization university series) Jonah Frankel Death Notice Poster

Awards and honors

* In 1993, Jonah Frankel received the

Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate p ...

for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. * In 2000, Jonah Frankel won the

in Talmudic research, for his work on interpreting midrash and aggada. * In 2006,

Magnes Press The Hebrew University Magnes Press, known for short as Magnes Press, is the publishing house of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. History Magnes Press was founded in 1929, four years after the founding of the Hebrew University, and is the o ...

published a volume of studies in honor of Jonah Frankel, titled ''Higayon L'Yona: New Aspects in the Study of Midrash, Aggadah and Piyut, In Honor of Proffessor Yona Fraenkel''. The book Edited by

Galit Hasan-Rokem Galit Hasan-Rokem (; born 29 August 1945) is the Max and Margarethe Grunwald professor of folklore at the Mandel Institute of Jewish Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Author and editor of numerous works, including co-editor of the Wi ...

and others, and features contributions from prominent scholars, including

Daniel Boyarin Daniel Boyarin (; born 1946) is an Israeli–American academic and historian of religion. Born in New Jersey, he holds dual United States and Israeli citizenship. He is the Hermann P. and Sophia Taubman Professor of Talmudic Culture in the Dep ...

Ezra Fleischer Ezra Fleischer (; 7 August 1928 – 25 July 2006) was a Romanian-Israeli Hebrew-language poet and philologist and laurate of the Israel Prize for Literature studies for 1959. Biography Fleischer was born in 1928 in Timișoara, in the Banat r ...

Moshe Halbertal Moshe Halbertal (; born Montevideo, Uruguay, 1958) is an Israeli philosopher, professor, and writer, a noted expert on Maimonides, and co-author of the Israeli Army Code of Ethics. He currently holds positions as the John and Golda Cohen Professor ...

and others.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frankel, Jonah Jewish German writers Israel Prize in literature recipients 1928 births 2012 deaths Talmudists Jewish philosophers Israeli philosophers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Mandatory Palestine Israel Prize in Talmud studies recipients Academic staff of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni Jewish Israeli writers Burials at Har HaMenuchot Yeshivat Kfar HaRoeh alumni

Biography

Published works

Awards and honors

References

Further reading

External links