Scienceחנוך אלבק

Hanoch Albeck

Hanoch Albeck was a scholar of the Mishna and Talmud and a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, known for his commentary on the Mishna.

1890 to 1972Commentary on the MishnaScientific study of the MishnaRefusing the Israel Prize

Born: 7 August 1890, Łowicz
Died: 9 January 1972, Jerusalem
Occupation: rabbi, scientist, university teacher, Rabbinic literature scholar

Hanoch Albeck was born in 1890 in Łowicz

Hanoch Albeck was born in 1890 in Łowicz, then part of the Russian Empire. His father, Shalom Albeck, edited several works of the Rishonim, among them Ha-Eshkol.

He studied at the rabbinical seminary in Vienna and received rabbinical ordination. In 1921 he completed his studies at the University of Vienna.

From 1926 to 1936 he taught at the College for Jewish Studies in Berlin. He then moved to the Land of Israel and became professor and later head of the Talmud department at the Hebrew University. His students included Avraham Goldberg and Abraham Joshua Heschel.

He wrote books in Hebrew and German, including Introduction to the Mishna and Introduction to the Talmuds. At the request of the Dvir publishing house he wrote a commentary on the Mishna, continuing a project of Hayyim Nahman Bialik. A dispute over the commentary on Seder Nezikin went to court and ended in a compromise.

In 1957 he refused to accept the Israel Prize. He died in 1972 in Jerusalem and was buried on the Mount of Olives. Streets in Jerusalem and Beersheba are named after him.