Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies
Encyclopedia
The Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies (OCHJS) is an independent institution which is part of the University of Oxford
. Its research fellows teach on a variety of Bachelors and Masters degrees in Oriental Studies
, and it publishes the Journal of Jewish Studies.
Manor, in Yarnton
village, Oxfordshire, four miles north of Oxford. It is a registered charity
and a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England, under English law. Today, it is the leading academic Jewish studies centre in Europe. Its Fellows and Lecturers provide courses in Hebrew and Jewish studies for undergraduates and postgraduates up to the doctoral level in many faculties within the University of Oxford
. The Centre also promotes Jewish studies based on the Bodleian Library’s Hebrew and Jewish collections by supporting research, by development projects, and by shared staffing with the Centre’s Leopold Muller Memorial Library.
, Loewe Pamphlets Collection from Herbert Loewe
and his elder son, the library of Jacob H. Coppenhagen (1913-1997), Kressel Archive, Foyle-Montefiore Collection (which incorporates the library of Leopold Zunz
), Lipson-Shandel and Moses Montefiore
Archives of rare documentation regarding life and activities of Sir Moses Montefiore
, one of the largest collections of Yizkor Books in Europe - it counts over 800 memorial volumes for communities destroyed in the Holocaust, and the Archive of Rabbi Hugo Gryn
. Among the Library's most recent enterprises is the Digital Haskalah Library project .
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. Its research fellows teach on a variety of Bachelors and Masters degrees in Oriental Studies
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...
, and it publishes the Journal of Jewish Studies.
History and Case Statement
The Centre was founded in 1972 by Dr. David Patterson to help restore Jewish Studies in Europe in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Currently it is located at YarntonYarnton
Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford and southeast of Woodstock.-Archaeology:Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the parish...
Manor, in Yarnton
Yarnton
Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford and southeast of Woodstock.-Archaeology:Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the parish...
village, Oxfordshire, four miles north of Oxford. It is a registered charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
and a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England, under English law. Today, it is the leading academic Jewish studies centre in Europe. Its Fellows and Lecturers provide courses in Hebrew and Jewish studies for undergraduates and postgraduates up to the doctoral level in many faculties within the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. The Centre also promotes Jewish studies based on the Bodleian Library’s Hebrew and Jewish collections by supporting research, by development projects, and by shared staffing with the Centre’s Leopold Muller Memorial Library.
Leopold Muller Memorial Library
The Centre's library is named the Leopold Muller Memorial Library. It is housed in two converted stone barns at Yarnton Manor. It comprises one of the best collections of books and periodicals in Jewish Studies in Europe and serves as a resource for scholars, students and visiting fellows of the Centre. The core of the Library consists of several rare collections and archives; among those one finds a large collection of materials donated by Rabbi Louis JacobsLouis Jacobs
Rabbi Dr. Louis Jacobs was a Masorti rabbi, the first leader of Masorti Judaism in the United Kingdom, and a leading writer and thinker on Judaism...
, Loewe Pamphlets Collection from Herbert Loewe
Herbert Loewe
Herbert Martin James Loewe was a noted scholar of Semitic languages and Jewish culture. His grandfather, Louis Loewe , had been Sir Moses Montefiore’s secretary and the first Principal of the Judith, Lady Montefiore College at Ramsgate....
and his elder son, the library of Jacob H. Coppenhagen (1913-1997), Kressel Archive, Foyle-Montefiore Collection (which incorporates the library of Leopold Zunz
Leopold Zunz
Leopold Zunz was a German Reform rabbi and writer, the founder of what has been termed "Jewish Studies" or "Judaic Studies" , the critical investigation of Jewish literature, hymnology and ritual...
), Lipson-Shandel and Moses Montefiore
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous British Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a financier, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London...
Archives of rare documentation regarding life and activities of Sir Moses Montefiore
Moses Montefiore
Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, Kt was one of the most famous British Jews of the 19th century. Montefiore was a financier, banker, philanthropist and Sheriff of London...
, one of the largest collections of Yizkor Books in Europe - it counts over 800 memorial volumes for communities destroyed in the Holocaust, and the Archive of Rabbi Hugo Gryn
Hugo Gryn
Hugo Gabriel Gryn was a British Reform rabbi who was a popular broadcaster and a leading voice in interfaith dialogue....
. Among the Library's most recent enterprises is the Digital Haskalah Library project .
Notable Students and Fellows
- Chimen AbramskyChimen AbramskyChimen Abramsky was emeritus Professor of Jewish Studies at University College London. His first name is pronounced Shimon....
, Fellow and Visiting Lecturer, Professor of Jewish Studies at University College London - Aharon AppelfeldAharon Appelfeld-Biography:Appelfeld was born in the village of Zhadova near Czernowitz, Romania, now Ukraine. In 1941, when he was eight years old, the Romanian army invaded his hometown and his mother was murdered. Appelfeld was deported with his father to a concentration camp in Ukraine. He escaped and hid for...
, Visiting Hebrew Writer, Israeli novelist - Leonie ArcherLeonie ArcherLeonie Jane Archer is an English author and a former Research Fellow in Environmental Studies at the Oxford Institute of Energy Studies. Archer graduated from the University of Oxford in 1981, with ancient history honours, and became a Fellow in Jewish Studies of the Graeco-Roman Period, Oxford...
, Fellow, author - Malachi Beit-Arié, Honorary Fellow, Professor emeritus of Codicology and Palaeography at the Hebrew University of Jerualem, member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities
- Christian M. M. BradyChristian M. M. BradyChristian M. M. Brady is an American targumist, Jewish studies scholar and academic. He is Dean of the Schreyer Honors College, Penn State University and is an Associate Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies and Jewish Studies...
, Jewish Studies scholar - David DaubeDavid DaubeDavid Daube DCL, FBA was the twentieth century's preeminent scholar of ancient law. He combined a familiarity with many legal systems, particularly Roman law and biblical law, with an expertise in Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Christian literature, and used literary, religious, and legal texts to...
, Honorary Fellow, Professor of Civil Law - Robert EisenmanRobert EisenmanRobert Eisenman is an American Biblical scholar, theoretical writer, historian, archaeologist, and "road" poet. He is currently Professor of Middle East Religions, Archaeology, and Islamic Law and director of the Institute for the Study of...
, archaeologist, Biblical scholar - Hanan Eshel, Fellow, Professor of Archaeology
- Shamma Friedman, Professor of Talmud and Rabbinics at The Jewish Theological Seminary
- Gordon Hugenberger, Fellow, author, American pastor
- Peter Machinist, Fellow, Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages, Harvard University
- Reuven SnirReuven SnirReuven Snir is an Israeli Jewish academic, Professor of Arabic language and Arabic literature at the University of Haifa, Dean of Humanities, and a translator of poetry between Arabic, Hebrew, and English....
, Fellow, Israeli academic, Arabic professor - Emanuel TovEmanuel TovEmanuel Tov is Professor in the Department of Bible at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, corresponding to Fellow of the British Academy , since 2006.-Biography:...
, Fellow, Hebrew Bible academic - Edward Ullendorf, Visiting Scholar, Professor of History and scholar of Semitic languages, School of Oriental and African Studies, London
- Mihai Răzvan UngureanuMihai Razvan UngureanuMihai Răzvan Ungureanu is a Romanian historian, diplomat and politician. He was the foreign minister of Romania from December 28, 2004 to March 12, 2007...
, former foreign minister of Romania - Pieter Willem van der HorstPieter Willem van der HorstPieter Willem van der Horst is a scholar and university professor emeritus specializing in New Testament studies, Early Christian literature, and the Jewish and Hellenistic context of Early Christianity.-Education and career:...
, Professor of Religion and author - A. B. YehoshuaA. B. YehoshuaAbraham B. Yehoshua is an Israeli novelist, essayist, and playwright. His pen name is A. B. Yehoshua.-Biography:...
, Fellow, Israeli novelist, essayist, and playwright - Steven J. Zipperstein, Fellow, Professor in Jewish Culture and History, Stanford University