Nahum Norbert Glatzer
Encyclopedia
Nahum Norbert Glatzer was a noted Jewish-American
literary scholar, theologian, and editor.
Glatzer was born in Lemberg, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
(now Lviv in the western Ukraine). In 1914 his family abandoned Lemberg in the face of the advancing Russia
n army and arrived in Bodenbach
, Bohemia
, in 1915. In 1920 he settled in Frankfurt
, Germany
where he married Anne (Anny) Stiebel, the daughter of the owners of Butonia
, in 1932. He received his Ph.D. in 1931 from the University of Frankfurt, where he was eventually nominated to succeed Martin Buber
. Shortly after the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany
, he emigrated to Israel
and settled in Haifa
where he obtained an academic position.
In 1938 he emigrated to the United States
and received US citizenship in 1942. He taught at Chicago and New York before finally settling at Brandeis University
in Waltham, Massachusetts
, where he served for many years as chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. Towards the end of his professional career he transferred to Boston University
in Boston, Massachusetts.
He was the editor of Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, and a consulting editor of Schocken Books
, an American publishing house where he was responsible, in part, for the publication of Kafka’s writings in English translation. He also participated in editorial conferences in Germany on critical editions of Kafka's works.
He is known for his Geschichte der talmudischen Zeit (Berlin, Schocken-Verlag, 1937; 2nd ed., Neukirchen-Vluyn, Neukirchener Verlag, 1981); for seminal anthologies of Jewish sources in English translation; for his study of The Loves of Franz Kafka (New York, Schocken Books, 1986; published in a German translation by Otto Bayer as Frauen in Kafkas Leben (Zurich, Diogenes, 1987)); and for his influential biography of Franz Rosenzweig
, "Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought" (New York: Schocken Books, 1953). He was also the author of a vast array of other books.
Glatzer died on February 27, 1990, aged 86, after several days in a coma in Tucson, Arizona
, where he was spending the winter, away from his hometown of Watertown, Massachusetts
.
The Memoirs of Nahum N. Glatzer, edited and presented by Michael Fishbane
(a student) and Judith Glatzer Wechsler (his daughter), was issued posthumously in 1997 (Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College Press). His other notable students include Arthur Green
and Everett Fox
.
The Papers of Nahum Norbert Glatzer are preserved at Brandeis University
; and at the Mary and Harry Zimmerman Judaica Collection of the Divinity Library, Vanderbilt University
, Nashville, Tennessee.
American Jews
American Jews, also known as Jewish Americans, are American citizens of the Jewish faith or Jewish ethnicity. The Jewish community in the United States is composed predominantly of Ashkenazi Jews who emigrated from Central and Eastern Europe, and their U.S.-born descendants...
literary scholar, theologian, and editor.
Glatzer was born in Lemberg, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
(now Lviv in the western Ukraine). In 1914 his family abandoned Lemberg in the face of the advancing Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n army and arrived in Bodenbach
Decín
Děčín is a town in the Ústí nad Labem Region in the north of the Czech Republic. It is the largest town and administrative seat of the Děčín District.-Geography:...
, Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
, in 1915. In 1920 he settled in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
where he married Anne (Anny) Stiebel, the daughter of the owners of Butonia
Butonia
Butonia is a multi-national European group of companies trading in garment trimmings and supplying accessories to the textile industry. The group originated in mid-19th century Germany and spread throughout Western Europe and Asia in the 20th century. Butonia offers a range of buttons, zippers,...
, in 1932. He received his Ph.D. in 1931 from the University of Frankfurt, where he was eventually nominated to succeed Martin Buber
Martin Buber
Martin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
. Shortly after the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, he emigrated to Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and settled in Haifa
Haifa
Haifa is the largest city in northern Israel, and the third-largest city in the country, with a population of over 268,000. Another 300,000 people live in towns directly adjacent to the city including the cities of the Krayot, as well as, Tirat Carmel, Daliyat al-Karmel and Nesher...
where he obtained an academic position.
In 1938 he emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and received US citizenship in 1942. He taught at Chicago and New York before finally settling at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
in Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
, where he served for many years as chair of the Department of Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. Towards the end of his professional career he transferred to Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
in Boston, Massachusetts.
He was the editor of Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, and a consulting editor of Schocken Books
Schocken Books
Schocken Books is a publishing company that was established in Berlin with a publishing office in Prague in 1931 by the Schocken Department Store owner Salman Schocken. It published the writings of Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Franz Kafka and S. Y...
, an American publishing house where he was responsible, in part, for the publication of Kafka’s writings in English translation. He also participated in editorial conferences in Germany on critical editions of Kafka's works.
He is known for his Geschichte der talmudischen Zeit (Berlin, Schocken-Verlag, 1937; 2nd ed., Neukirchen-Vluyn, Neukirchener Verlag, 1981); for seminal anthologies of Jewish sources in English translation; for his study of The Loves of Franz Kafka (New York, Schocken Books, 1986; published in a German translation by Otto Bayer as Frauen in Kafkas Leben (Zurich, Diogenes, 1987)); and for his influential biography of Franz Rosenzweig
Franz Rosenzweig
Franz Rosenzweig was an influential Jewish theologian and philosopher.-Early life:Franz Rosenzweig was born in Kassel, Germany to a middle-class, minimally observant Jewish family...
, "Franz Rosenzweig: His Life and Thought" (New York: Schocken Books, 1953). He was also the author of a vast array of other books.
Glatzer died on February 27, 1990, aged 86, after several days in a coma in Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, where he was spending the winter, away from his hometown of Watertown, Massachusetts
Watertown, Massachusetts
The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...
.
The Memoirs of Nahum N. Glatzer, edited and presented by Michael Fishbane
Michael Fishbane
Michael A. Fishbane is a scholar of Judaism and rabbinic literature. Formerly at Brandeis University, he is currently the Nathan Cummings Professor of Jewish Studies at the Divinity School, University of Chicago....
(a student) and Judith Glatzer Wechsler (his daughter), was issued posthumously in 1997 (Cincinnati, Hebrew Union College Press). His other notable students include Arthur Green
Arthur Green
Arthur Green is a scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidism. He is a professor in the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston. He was a dean of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 1987–1993.-Biography:...
and Everett Fox
Everett Fox
Everett Fox is a scholar and translator of the Hebrew Bible, a graduate of Brandeis University. He is currently the Allen M. Glick Professor of Judaic and Biblical Studies and director of the program in Jewish Studies at Clark University....
.
The Papers of Nahum Norbert Glatzer are preserved at Brandeis University
Brandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
; and at the Mary and Harry Zimmerman Judaica Collection of the Divinity Library, Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, the university is named for shipping and rail magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided Vanderbilt its initial $1 million endowment despite having never been to the...
, Nashville, Tennessee.