Nechama Leibowitz

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Nechama Leibowitz (1905 in Riga, Livonia – 12 April 1997 in Jerusalem) was a noted Israeli biblical scholar and commentator, who rekindled interest in Bible study.

Leibowitz was born to an Orthodox Jewish family in Riga, two years after her elder brother, the philosopher Yeshayahu Leibowitz. The family relocated to Berlin in 1919, and in 1930 she received a doctorate from the University of Berlin for her thesis, Techniques in the Translations of German-Jewish Biblical Translations. She never married. That same year 1930, she immigrated to Mandate Palestine. There she took a job at a religious Zionist teachers's seminar where she taught for the next twenty-five years. In 1957 she began lecturing at Tel Aviv University, and became a full professor eleven years later. She also gave classes at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and other educational institutions around the country.

In 1942, Leibowitz began distributing stencils of questions on the weekly Torah reading to anyone who requested them. These sheets, which she called "dapim" (pages), would be sent back to her, and she would personally review them and return them with corrections and comments. They became very popular and in demand by people from all sectors of Israeli society. In 1954, Leibowitz began publishing her "Studies", which included many of the questions that appeared on her "Pages," along with selected traditional commentaries and her own notes on them. Over time, these studies were collected into five books, one for each book of the Bible.

When asked to describe her methods she replied, "I have no derech... I only teach what the commentaries say. Nothing is my own.” (Bonchek, 1993, p.19).

In addition to her writings, Leibowitz also commented on the Torah readings regularly for the Voice of Israel radio station. In 1956, she was awarded the Israel Prize for her work in furthering understanding and appreciation of the Bible.

Even as a professor, she was noted for her modest demeanor coupled with wry wit, and always preferred the title of "teacher" over the more prestigious "professor." In accordance with her request, "מורה" (morah, "teacher") is the only word inscribed on her tombstone.

[edit] See also

  • Leah Abramowitz, Tales of Nehama: Impressions of the Life and Teaching of Nehama Leibowitz. Gefen Publishing House, 2003. ISBN 965-229-295-8.
  • Shmuel Peerless, To Study and to Teach: The Methodology of Nechama Leibowitz. Urim Publications, 2005. ISBN 965-7108-55-1.

[edit] References