Rothschild Prize

The Rothschild Prize in Jewish Studies for 2008 was awarded to Professor Moshe Bar-Asher for his innovative and outstanding contribution to the study of Hebrew and Jewish languages. His work has been exceptional in three fields in particular: The study of Rabbinic Hebrew, in which he is the leading scholar in Israel and abroad. Prof. Bar-Asher established a new research agenda in his identification of separate language types in Rabbinic (Mishnaic) Hebrew, and elucidated important aspects of its grammar; the study of Palestinian Syriac, in which he has revolutionized the analysis of the dialect; the study of Jewish languages, in which he has laid new foundations through the preparation of editions of important texts and through his examination of Judeo-Arabic Biblical translations. He has proposed unique methods of investigating the Hebrew element in the Judeo-Arabic of North African Jewry and of studying traditions and languages of the descendants of the Marranos in France. Professor Moshe Bar-Asher is the President of the Academy of the Hebrew Language.

(Photo by Sasson Tiram)