Max Seligsohn
Encyclopedia
Max Seligsohn was a Russian-American
Orientalist
.
Having received his rabbi
nical training at Slutsk
, government (guberniya
) of Minsk
, he went in 1888 to New York
, where he studied modern languages till 1894, in which year he went to Paris
to study Oriental languages, especially Semitic studies ("élève diplômé" of the Ecole des Langues Orientales, 1897, and of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, 1900). In 1898 he was sent by the Alliance Israélite Universelle
to Abyssinia
to inquire into the conditions of the Falashas; but, certain difficulties arising, he was able to proceed no farther than Cairo
, where he taught for eighteen months. Returning to Paris, he was invited in 1902 to go to New York to become a member of the staff of office editors of The Jewish Encyclopedia
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Orientalist
Oriental studies
Oriental studies is the academic field of study that embraces Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology; in recent years the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Asian studies and Middle Eastern studies...
.
Having received his rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
nical training at Slutsk
Slutsk
Slutsk is a town in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2010 its population is of 61,400).-Geography:The town is situated in the south-west of its Voblast, not too far from from the city of Soligorsk.-History:...
, government (guberniya
Guberniya
A guberniya was a major administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire usually translated as government, governorate, or province. Such administrative division was preserved for sometime upon the collapse of the empire in 1917. A guberniya was ruled by a governor , a word borrowed from Latin ,...
) of Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, he went in 1888 to New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, where he studied modern languages till 1894, in which year he went to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to study Oriental languages, especially Semitic studies ("élève diplômé" of the Ecole des Langues Orientales, 1897, and of the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, 1900). In 1898 he was sent by the Alliance Israélite Universelle
Alliance Israélite Universelle
The Alliance Israélite Universelle is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 by the French statesman Adolphe Crémieux to safeguard the human rights of Jews around the world...
to Abyssinia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
to inquire into the conditions of the Falashas; but, certain difficulties arising, he was able to proceed no farther than Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, where he taught for eighteen months. Returning to Paris, he was invited in 1902 to go to New York to become a member of the staff of office editors of The Jewish Encyclopedia
Jewish Encyclopedia
The Jewish Encyclopedia is an encyclopedia originally published in New York between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. It contained over 15,000 articles in 12 volumes on the history and then-current state of Judaism and the Jews as of 1901...
.
Literary works
- "Le Diwan de Ṭarafah ibn al-'Abd" (Paris, 1900), a translation from the Arabic into French, with notes and an introduction; a French translation of "Kitab al-Raml," an Arabic work on geomancyGeomancyGeomancy is a method of divination that interprets markings on the ground or the patterns formed by tossed handfuls of soil, rocks, or sand...
, with preface and notes; - (with E. N. Adler) "Une Nouvelle Chronique Samaritaine," Paris, 1903
- (as contributor) "Jewish Quarterly ReviewJewish Quarterly ReviewThe Jewish Quarterly Review is an peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on Jewish studies. It is published quarterly for the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania by the University of Pennsylvania Press. The current editors are Elliott Horowitz...
" and the "Revue des Etudes JuivesRevue des Études JuivesRevue des Études Juives is a French quarterly of Jewish studies, founded in July 1880 at the École pratique des hautes études, Paris by the Société des Études Juives...
", mostly on Judæo-Persian literature.