Max Reisel (Amsterdam, April 25, 1913 - Jerusalem, 1989) was a Dutch

semiticist Semitic studies, or Semitology, is the academic field dedicated to the studies of Semitic languages and literatures and the history of the Semitic-speaking peoples. A person may be called a ''Semiticist'' or a ''Semitist'', both terms being equi ...

(of Jewish descent) and a teacher at the

Montessori The Montessori method of education is a type of educational method that involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing ...

Lyceum Rotterdam. He strove in the dissemination of knowledge about

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

in general and

Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and remained in regular use as a first language unti ...

in particular. He played an important role in the field of education in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Life

M. Reisel was born on April 25, 1913, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. Reisel was the son of Wolf Pinchas Reisel (1881–1943), a well-known chief

Hazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term al ...

of the Neie Sjoel (New Synagogue in Amsterdam), and Sonja Wigdorowitz (1884–1943). They would eventually have eight children, namely; Barend (1908–1943), Lilly (1909–1945), Slata (1910, died shortly after birth), Ellie (1911–1999), Max himself,

Jacques Jacques or Jacq are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related t ...

(1915–1976), Rudolf (1920–1998) and Mirjam (1925–1943). In his youth, Max attended Hendrik Wester School, a public school on Weesperplein. He later became department chairman of the Jewish Youth Organization and wrote a thesis on its guidelines. In 1930, Reisel began his teacher training in Amsterdam. He was still rejected for military service in 1932, and in 1937 he passed the examination for Israel's religious headteacher position, but he was not able to do so.

War years

Reisel continued his studies, graduating in pedagogy in 1941 and Dutch language and literature in 1942, but Reisel would not practice teaching until after the war, and would not be able to do so until the war ended. Max Reisel married Clara Frederika Levie (1920–2000) during the war, in 1942, This followed Jewish tradition: the

chuppah A ''chuppah'' (, ) is a canopy under which a Judaism, Jewish couple stand during their Jewish wedding, wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held u ...

took place at his parents' home. Max had a daughter with Clara, the same year he became a cultural contributor to Het Joodsch Weekblad. He applied to be on the Barneveld list during the war, but had been rejected, though his brother Jacques, though then only a simple physician's assistant, did get on that list, yet Max survived the war. Of his parental family, besides himself, only his sister Rachel (Ellie) and brothers Jacques and Rudolf eventually survived the war. Both parents, his brother Barend (Benno) and his sisters Lina (Lilly) and Mirjam perished in the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and they were all killed.

After the war

In 1946, Reisel became a teacher of Dutch at the Montessori Lyceum in Rotterdam. From 1946 to 1964 he was secretary of the Nederlands-Israëlitische Gemeente and a member of the central education committee of the Nederlands Israëlitisch Kerkgenootschap (NIK). Reisel also studied Semitic languages and received his Ph.D. in Literature and Philosophy from the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

in 1957, with the thesis ''Observations on אהיה אשר אהיה, הואהא and שם המפורש'', or ''Observations on the Tetragrammaton'' (''Observations on Ehyeh aéser ehyeh, Hûhâ and éSēm ham-mefôrāés''). This thesis was published that same year in book form with the title ''The mysterious name of Y.H.W.H''. The English translation was done by Henriëtte Boas. Reisel's work is considered one of the most profound studies on the Tetragrammaton by far in 2014. That same year, the School voor Hebreeuwse Taal- en Letterkunde en Judaïca (School for Hebrew Language and Literature and Judaica) was founded in Rotterdam, which was headed by Reisel from the beginning. The aim of this school was to meet the then growing interest in the Jewish language and literature. Over the years he wrote several books, including a biography of

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

, Judaism in Modern Society, and the translation of the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

. Reisel emigrated to Israel in the late 1970s, where he died on January 26, 1989, in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Selected works

Reisel wrote several books, including a biography on

, Judaism in Modern Society and a translation of the

Thesis

Books

* * * * *

Varia

Max Reisel is uncle of Wanda Reisel, a Dutch writer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reisel, Max 1913 births 1989 deaths Jewish translators of the Bible Translators of the Bible into Dutch Dutch Holocaust survivors Linguists from the Netherlands