Milestones: Menahem Haran (1924–2015)

Eminent Biblical scholar Menahem Haran passed away in April at the age of 91. Not only did Haran serve as the head of two Bible departments—at Haifa University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem—but he also was awarded the Israel Prize in 2000 for his work in Biblical studies. Haran was born in Moscow, USSR, in 1924. Even though it was illegal to study Hebrew under Stalin’s rule, Haran’s father ensured that he had a Hebrew tutor. If discovered, the punishment for breaking this law would have meant being sent to Siberia. As a Zionist, Haran’s father thought it […]