Haim Be'er born in 1945, is an Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

i novelist.

Biography

Haim Rachlevsky (Be'er) was born in Jerusalem to an Orthodox Jewish family. He grew up in the Geula

Geula

Geula is a neighborhood in the center of Jerusalem, Israel populated mainly by Haredi Jews. Geula is bordered by Zikhron Moshe and Mekor Baruch on the west, the Bukharim neighborhood on the north, Meah Shearim on the east and the Jerusalem city center on the south.-History:Geula was established in...

 neighborhood, and attended Ma'aleh, a state religious high school. In 1963–1965 he served in the Israel Defense Forces

Israel Defense Forces

The Israel Defense Forces , commonly known in Israel by the Hebrew acronym Tzahal , are the military forces of the State of Israel. They consist of the ground forces, air force and navy. It is the sole military wing of the Israeli security forces, and has no civilian jurisdiction within Israel...

 in the army rabbinate, writing for the army newspaper Mahanayim. Concurrently he worked nights as a copy editor at the daily newspaper Davar

Davar

Davar was a Hebrew-language daily newspaper published in the Mandate Palestine and Israel between 1925 and May 1996.-History:Davar was established by Moshe Beilinson and Berl Katznelson, with Katznelson as its first editor. The first edition was published on 1 June 1925 under the name Davar - Iton...

.

In 1966, he began working at the Am Oved publishing house, first as a copyeditor and later as an editor and member of the editorial board. All his books have been published by Am Oved. For ten years, he wrote a weekly column called "Memoirs of a Bookworm" (Mi-zikhronoteha shel tolaat sefarim).

Be'er teaches Hebrew literature

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...

 at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev   is a university in Beersheba, Israel, established in 1969. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has a current enrollment of 17,400 students, and is one of Israel's fastest growing universities....

.

Be'er's latest novel, El Makom Sheharuakh Holekh, (Back from Heavenly Lack), was inspired by a trek to Nepal

Nepal

Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

 and Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

. Dedicated to the classic Yiddish writer the Mendele Mocher Sforim

Mendele Mocher Sforim

Mendele Mocher Sforim , December 21, 1835 = January 2, 1836 , Kapyl — November 25, 1917 = December 8, 1917...

, it is a mystical tale about a Hasidic rebbe

Rebbe

Rebbe , which means master, teacher, or mentor, is a Yiddish word derived from the Hebrew word Rabbi. It often refers to the leader of a Hasidic Jewish movement...

 from Bnei Brak who travels to Tibet.

Awards

• In 1980, Be'er was awarded the Bernstein Prize
  Bernstein Prize
  The Bernstein Prize is an annual Israeli literary award for writers 50 years of age and younger. The prize is awarded by the Bernstein Foundation, named after Mordechai Bernstein, who left money in his estate to establish a foundation in order to encourage young Hebrew writers...
  
   (original Hebrew novel category).
• In 2002, Be'er was the co-recipient (jointly with Maya Bejerano
  Maya Bejerano
  Maya Bejerano is an Israeli poet.She graduated from Bar-Ilan University with a B.A. in Literature and Philosophy, and from Hebrew University with an M.A...
  
  , Yoel Hoffman and Miriam Rut) of the Bialik Prize
  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 Hayyim Nahman Bialik. There are two separate prizes, one specifically for "Literature", which is in the field of fiction,...
  
   for literature.
• In addition, he has won many other literary prizes, including the Prime Minister's Prize.

Published works

• Sha`ashu`ei Yom Yom (Day to Day Delights, poems, 1970)
• Feathers (in English translation, 2004), originally Notzot (1979)
• Et ha-Zamir (The Time of Trimming, 1987)
• Gam Ahavatam Gam Sinatam - Bialik, Brenner, Agnon Ma`arakhot Yahasim (Their Love and Their Hate: Bialik
  Hayyim Nahman Bialik
  Hayim Nahman Bialik , also Chaim or Haim, was a Jewish poet who wrote in Hebrew. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poets and came to be recognized as Israel's national poet.-Biography:...
  
  , Brenner
  Yosef Haim Brenner
  Yosef Haim Brenner was a Russian-born Hebrew-language author, one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew literature.-Biography:Brenner was born to a poor Jewish family in Novi Mlini, Russian Empire...
  
  , Agnon
  Shmuel Yosef Agnon
  Shmuel Yosef Agnon , was a Nobel Prize laureate writer and was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew fiction. In Hebrew, he is known by the acronym Shai Agnon . In English, his works are published under the name S. Y. Agnon.Agnon was born in Galicia, Austro-Hungarian Empire...
  
  , Relationships, biography, 1993)
• The Pure Element of Time (in English translation, 2003), originally Havalim (1998)
• Lifnei Hamakom ("Upon a Certain Place") (2007)

External links

• "Haim Be`er" at the Institute for Translation of Hebrew Literature. Retrieved November 23, 2005.
• Analysis of Be'er's literary style, Arnold Band - http://www.ithl.org.il/interview1.html