- Isadore Twersky
Isadore Twersky (a.k.a. Yitzhak Asher Twersky) (1930–
October 12 ,1997 ) was the "Nathan Littauer Professor of Hebrew Literature and Philosophy" atHarvard University , a chair previously held byHarry Austryn Wolfson . Twersky was an internationally recognized authority onRabbinic literature andJewish philosophy . He was especially known as an expert in the writings and influence of the 12th-century Jewish legalist and philosopherMaimonides . His best-known works are, "An Introduction to the Code of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah)", and the more popular anthology, "A Maimonides Reader." He was the editor of the "Harvard Studies in Medieval Jewish History and Literature" (in three volumes), won aGuggenheim Fellowship in 1989, and was a fellow of both theAmerican Academy for Jewish Research and theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences . According to Harvtxt|Hacker|2005, Twersky can best be characterized as a "historian of ideas and a researcher of the intellectual history of the Jews," and would presumably have considered himself as such.Biography
Twersky was born in
Boston in 1930, and attended bothBoston Latin School and BostonHebrew College , which was then known as "Hebrew Teachers' College". HisTorah knowledge was largely acquired through diligent private study rather than formalyeshiva instruction Harv|Hacker|2205. He graduated from Harvard in 1952, where he majored in history. In 1949, he was one of the first students to spend a year abroad at theHebrew University of Jerusalem , where he developed relationships with such scholarly and literary giants asGershom Scholem ,Yitzhak Baer ,Haim Hillel Ben-Sasson andNobel Prize winnerS. Y. Agnon .Upon his graduation from Harvard he began studies toward a doctorate in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, under the guidance of the scholar of
medieval philosophy ,Harry Austryn Wolfson . His doctorate was on the twelfth centuryProvencal Talmud ist, RabbiAbraham ben David of Posquières (Rabad), which, when subsequently published under the title "Rabad of Posquières: A Twelfth-Century Talmudist", was one of the first academic portraits of a Talmudist written at an American university Harv|Septimus|2005.A scion of the Hasidic dynasty of Chernobyl, Twersky succeeded his father as the
Talne rRebbe for the last twenty years of his life. He was a son-in-law of Rabbi Dr.Joseph B. Soloveitchik . His elder son, RabbiMosheh Twersky , is a lecturer atYeshivas Toras Moshe inJerusalem . His other son, RabbiMayer Twersky , holds the Leib Merkin Distinguished Professorial Chair in Talmud and Jewish Philosophy and is arosh yeshiva atYeshiva University . His daughterTzipporah Rosenblatt is a lawyer. She is married to Rabbi Dr.Jonathan Rosenblatt , who serves as therabbi of theRiverdale Jewish Center inNew York City .Teaching and research
Twersky was a pioneer in the introduction of the methodology of the
History of ideas , first developed by Arthur O. Lovejoy into JewishIntellectual history . He also devoted special emphasis upon the interaction between law and spirituality in the History of Judaism. He founded theCenter for Jewish Studies in 1978 and served as its director until 1993.His research in some respects resembled that of his contemporary and friend
Alexander Altmann Harv|Hacker|2005, and his work on Jewish rationalist philosophy brought him into conflict with scholars such asGershom Scholem andShlomo Pines , who viewed the medieval rational philosophy typified by Rambam as an alien parasite grafted onto traditional Judaism Harv|Septimus|2005. There has been noted a certain irony in the affection given to this greatest of Jewish rationalists by the descendant of an illustriousHasidic dynasty (it being the case by and large that Hasidic doctrine has stronger affinity for the mystical over the rational), but Harvtxt|Septimus|2005 sees here a coherent and unified search for the "spiritual" within the "rational".At Harvard, Twersky taught both undergraduate and graduate students. His popular course, "Moderation and Extremism," which compared and contrasted the paths to virtue in the works of
Aristotle ,Maimonides , andThomas Aquinas , drew over 200 students in 1995, the final year it was taught. Over the course of his thirty years at Harvard, he taught a large number of graduate students. His exacting standards and expectations were legendary. Nevertheless, over thirty individuals completed their doctorates under his guidance. Many of these play leading roles inJewish studies , both inNorth America and inIsrael . Among these are Morris (Moshe B.) Berger,Edward Breuer ,Bernard Dov Cooperman ,Joseph M. Davis ,Lois Dubin ,Talya Fishman ,Daniel Frank ,Steven Harvey ,Carmi Horowitz ,Eric Lawee ,Diana Lobel ,David Malkiel ,Allan Nadler , Ira Robinson,Marc Saperstein ,Mark Sendor ,Bernard Septimus ,Marc Shapiro ,Michael Shmidman ,David Sklare , Adena Tannenbaum, andJeffrey R. Woolf .References
*Citation
first =Hacker
last =Joseph R.
editor-last =Harris
editor-first =Jay M.
contribution =Isadore Twersky: Historian of Jewish Culture
contribution-url =
title = Be'erot Yitzhak: Studies in Memory of Isadore Twersky
year =2005
pages =1-14
place =Cambridge, MA
publisher =Harvard University Press
url =
doi =
id =
*Citation
first =Septimus
last =Bernard
editor-last =Harris
editor-first =Jay M.
contribution =Isadore Twersky as a Scholar of Medieval Jewish History
contribution-url =
title = Be'erot Yitzhak: Studies in Memory of Isadore Twersky
year =2005
pages =15-24
place =Cambridge, MA
publisher =Harvard University Press
url =
doi =
id =External links
* [http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/10.16/IsadoreTwerskyR.html Obituary for Isadore Twersky in the Harvard Gazette]
* [http://www.ou.org/publications/ja/5759winter/goldberg.htm Obituary for Isadore Twersky by Rabbi Hillel Goldberg]
* [http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog/HARBEE.html Promotional page for "Be'erot Yitzhak: Studies in Memory of Isadore Twersky"]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.