A I S ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES J NEWSLETTER No. 20 June 1977 Editor: A.J. Band EDITORIAL IN THIS ISSUE Editorial 1 I News of Appointments 2 The Seventh World Congress of Jewish Studies to be held this Ninth Annual AJS Conference 2 August in Jerusalem will afford a convenient opportunity for the Report of Nominating Committee 3 assessment of developments in Jewish Studies over the past four Proposed Changes in AJS By-Laws 3 years. While the Congress is designated as a "World Congress," it The Role of the Bible in the Spiritual Development is primarily a meeting of two large groups of Judaics scholars: of Soviet Jewry - Baruch A. Levine (N.Y.U.) 4 Israelis and Americans. Participants from other countries are con- spicuous in their uniqueness. Between the last Congress in 1973 and the coming Congress, the Association for Jewish Studies has en- joyed its period of greatest growth in activities and membership. AJS REGIONAL CONFERENCE PROGRAM And unlike the World Union of Jewish Studies whose main enter- prise is the organization of the World Congress held once every four "Jewish Folklore" years, the Association for Jewish Studies has sponsored a variety of Conference held at Spertus College of Judaica, Chicago. May 1-3, 1977 publications ajid scholarly activities, not the least of which is its placement service which has democratized the placement process Abstracts of papers by: throughout this continent, and has begun to give shape to the Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett amorphous and diffuse body of Judaics scholars throughout the (Univ. of Pennsylvania, YIVO) 5 land. We come to the Seventh World Congress confident in our Mark Slobin (Wesleyan Univ.) 5 achievements over the past four years and eager to exchange infor- Reginetta Haboucha (Lehman College, mation with our Israeli colleagues. Radcliffe Institute) 6 Samuel G. Armistead (Univ. of Pennsylvania) 6 n Donna Shai (Univ. of Pennsylvania) 7 S.D. Goitein (Institute for Advanced Study) 7 We have often remarked in this column and elsewhere that the Walter P. Zenner (S.U.N.Y. at Albany) 8 litany of complaints received and filed in the AJS office will supply Laurence D. Loeb (Univ. of Utah) 8 valuable and amusing material for some future historian of the Yona Sabar (Univ. of California, Los Angeles) 9 mores of Judaics scholars in this century. The appreciative letters Jacob Neusner (Brown Univ.) 11 are naturally fewer and thus all the more cherished. In a gesture of Dan Ben-Amos (Univ. of Pennsylvania) 11 self indulgence we present the following excerpt: Ronald Brown (Hebrew Union Coll.) 12 Would you please see to it that henceforth two copies of each issue of the A J.S.Newsletter reach us regularly? The reason for this is that I invariably find that I want to clip several EIGHTH ANNUAL CONFERENCE reviews, etc. for my files, and as a result our file of the Newsletter Abstracts of papers by: turns out to be full of holes. Mark R. Cohen (Princeton Univ.) 12 This, of course, implies, rightly, that I think the Newsletter is really Lee Levine (Hebrew Univ.) 13 first-class, and you all deserve high commendation. It takes care of Wayne Meeks (Yale Univ.) 14 the business of the organization as concisely as possible and then goes Shaye J.D. Cohen (Jewish Theological Seminary) 15 on to print substantive synopses, reviews, even articles of real value. Daniel J. Lasker (Ohio State Univ.) 16 This is especially valuable for someone like me who, holding the Todd M. Endelman (Yeshiva Univ.) 17 generalized belief that anything published after 1800 is probably not worth reading anyway, can't be bothered to keep up with the journals Susan A. Slotnick (Columbia Univ.) 18 etc. as much as a lot of people do, therefore, of course, misses out on a David G. Roskies (Jewish Theological Seminary) 18 lot, and the Newsletter now gives me a lot of the information and Paula E. Hyman (Columbia Univ.) 19 references that I do want to have. Deborah E. Lips tad t (Univ. of Washington) 20 Deborah Dash Moore (Vassar College) 21 ASSOCIATION FOR JEWISH STUDIES Widener Library M, Harvard University BIBLIOGRAPHIA JUDAICA Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 Reviews by: 'resident Executive Secretary Daniel J. Lasker (Ohio State Univ.) 22 Marvin Fox, Brandeis University Charles Berlin,Harvard University Raphael Jospe (Univ. of Denver) 23 Ninth Annual AJS Conference In Memoriam: Hayyim Hillel Ben-Sasson The following sessions have tentatively been scheduled for the forth- Hayyim Hillel Ben-Sasson, Professor of Jewish History at the coming Ninth Annual Conference: Hebrew University, died on Tuesday, 17 May 1977, of a sudden Bible Modern Jewish Thought heart-failure. To his family, to his friends and colleagues, the loss is Midrashic Literature Modern Hebrew Literature inestimable. Literary Exegesis of Jewish Folklore Hayyim Hillel Ben-Sasson was an inspiring teacher and one of the Classical Texts Contemporary Jewry leading scholars of Jewish History, -a disciple of J. Baer and of the Medieval Jewish Philosophy Jewish Linguistics late B.Z. Dinur. He came to the Hebrew University after having Medieval Jewish History Hebrew Language Practicum taught in various elementary and high-schools, including one in the old city of Jerusalem. Joy of life manifested itself in everything he Individuals who wish to deliver papers at these sessions are invited to said and did, and the joy of creativity spoke from every line he submit abstracts (in 3 copies) for consideration by the Program Committee. wrote. The phenomenon of creativity also stood at the center of his Abstracts should be sent to the AJS office by 1 August 1977. reflection, the creative powers of the Jewish community in all of its In addition there will be an experimental "Round Table on Jewish Social manifestations: its institutions, its leadership, religious movements, History" in which all present will discuss a central paper in the development social and political thought, economic conduct. In Hagut vehan- of the historiography of Jewish social institutions. haga (1960), he reconstructed the social thought of 16th-century rabbinic leadership in Poland at the height of its self-confidence and News of Appointments creative adaptability to new circumstances, which led to new av- ( ) = previous affiliation; g = graduate student enues of legal interpretations. Here and elsewhere he showed that wherever there is political will, political theories can be found, even David J. Biale State University of New York where they are not explicitly declared. In his work on Hasidut (University of California at at Binghamton Ashkenaz, he showed us the tension between isolation and claims Los Angeles - g) for leadership in the movement and its ideology. He demonstrated Steven B. Bowman University of Massachusetts the dialectical reformulations of the consciousness of uniqueness (Indiana University) at Amherst among medieval Jews. Lawrence B. Fine Indiana University (University of British Columbia) H.H. Ben-Sasson never tired of proving the profound awareness Michael V. Fox University of Wisconsin of Jews to political, religious or intellectual constellations surround- (Hebrew University) at Madison ing them. Where others saw in the Jewish reaction to the reforma- Sheldon B. Greenberg University of Natal, tion indifference and lack of awareness, he proved in a series of (Yeshiva University - g) Durban, South Africa articles how differentiated and sensitive the Jewish response actu- Arthur Hyman University of California ally had been, commencing with hope if not sympathy and ending (Yeshiva University) at San Diego (visiting) with fear and a yearning for order. Regarding the Sabbatian move- Aaron L. Katchen ment he regretted that not enough emphasis had been given to the Brandeis University (Indiana University) political aspect, the urge for kingship in the century of absolutist Reuven R. Kimelman monarchies; he meant to write about it. In the Karaite schism he (Amherst College) Brandeis University examined, among other things, the growing atrophy of the severed Daniel J. Lasker limb. He sought the source of creative energies in his biographical (Ohio State University) University of Texas studies, such as the paradigmatic article on the Gaon of Wilna Arthur M. Lesley at Austin (1966). H.H. Ben-Sasson discovered the fecund source of the per- (Hebrew Union College, University of Toronto New York) sonality and work of the Gaon in the tension between rational, Stanley F. Levine State University of discursive knowledge and intuitive-speculative, even mystical, (Oberlin College) New York-College at faculties which the Gaon tried to repress. The recently translated Brockport History of the Jewish People, which he edited and of which he wrote Ruth Link-Salinger (Hyman) Yeshiva University - the Medieval section, is the only challenging, original advanced (San Diego State University) West Coast Branch textbook of Jewish History available in English, and sums up many Yeshayahu Maori Yeshiva University, of H.H. Ben-Sasson's positions. (University of Haifa) Revel Graduate School Many of us profited by H.H. Ben-Sasson's insights and intimate Peter B. Machinist acquaintance with Hebrew medieval manuscripts. He was generous (Case Western Reserve University) University of Arizona with his help and advice. His friends will miss his good sense, his Joel Manon (Harvard University - g) Tufts University humour and encouragement. His colleagues will miss his rich and original perspectives. Alan L. Mintz (Columbia University - g) Columbia University Amos Funkenstein (Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles) Herbert H. Paper Hebrew Union College, Joel M. Siegelman University of Massachusetts (University of Michigan) Cincinnati (Dropsie University - g) at Amherst Jonathan Rosenbaum University of Nebraska Yochanan Silman Hebrew College, Boston (Harvard University - g) at Omaha (Bar-Ilan University) (visiting) Norman Roth University of Wisconsin Kenneth R. Stow University of Haifa (Cornell University - g) at Madison (Queens College) Tamar Rudavsky Ohio State University Naomi Tamir-Ghez Yeshiva University, Revel (Trinity College) (Tel-Aviv University) Graduate School 3 Report of Nominating Committee Proposed Changes in AJS By-Laws To be submitted to the membership at the Annual Meeting on 19 December 1977.