Chimen Abramsky

Chimen Abramsky (Hebrew: שמעון אברמסקי; September 12, 1916 – March 14, 2010) was emeritus professor of Jewish studies at University College London. His first name is pronounced Shimon.[1][2]

Chimen Abramsky
Born(1916-09-12)September 12, 1916
Minsk, Russian Empire
DiedMarch 14, 2010(2010-03-14) (aged 93)
NationalityJewish
Spouse(s)Miriam Nirenstein
ChildrenJack and Jenny Abramsky
Parent(s)Yehezkel Abramsky
Academic background
Alma materHebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Oxford
Academic work
InstitutionsUniversity College London

Abramsky was born in Minsk on September 12, 1916, the son of Rabbi Yehezkel Abramsky.[3][4] He gained a BA degree from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an MA from the University of Oxford. He was Reader in Jewish History, then Goldsmid Professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at University College London. He was a Senior Fellow at St Antony's College, Oxford. A noted scholar of Jewish History, Abramsky was also well known as an expert of antiquarian Hebrew books and manuscripts, and was professionally consulted for many years by the auction house Sotheby's, which traditionally ran one Hebraica and Judaica auction every year.[1][5]

In 1936, while studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, he became involved in socialist campus politics and on one occasion, he recalled being beaten up by the future Israeli prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir – then a leading figure in the rightwing Irgun.[1] He was a self-described atheist.[3]

Abramsky would visit London in the Summer of 1939 to see his parents, he would be unable to return to the Palestinian Mandate throughout World War 2 because of this; during this time he would meet and marry Miriam née Nirenstein (1917–1997). He would meet he at her parents' store Shapiro Vallentine, a prominent publisher of Jewish scholarly books.[2] They had two children, Jack and Jenny, the latter of whom became a senior employee for the BBC.[1][6] The house they shared in Northern London was considered an important destination for thinkers and scholars.[5]

In 1966, he was invited to take up a newly created lectureship in modern Jewish history at University College London.

In a well-known incident, Abramsky once hosted Japanese crown prince and Hebrew scholar Prince Takahito Mikasa at the University College London's Institute of Jewish Studies in 1975.

Abramsky died March 14, 2010.[2]

Biography
  • Sasha Abramsky: The house of twenty thousand books. London : Halban, 2014 ISBN 9781905559640[7]

See also

References
  1. Rapoport-Albert, Ada (18 March 2010). "Chimen Abramsky obituary". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  2. "Professor Chimen Abramsky". The Telegraph. 2010-05-18. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  3. Abramsky, Sasha (2015-08-27). "How the Atheist Son of a Jewish Rabbi Created One of the Greatest Libraries of Socialist Literature". ISSN 0027-8378. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  4. "Professor Chimen Abramsky". 2010-05-18. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  5. "Professor Chimen Abramsky: historian". timesonline.co.uk. 19 March 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  6. Summerskill, Ben (February 3, 2002). "Observer Profile: Jenny Abramsky: The cat's whiskers". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
  7. "My Grandfather's House of Twenty Thousand Books - An Abramsky Family Memoir - Introduced by Dr. Naftali Lowenthal". Chabad.org. Retrieved 2020-08-13.


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