Abraham Solomon Halkin (Russian: Абрахам Соломон Га́лкин, 1904 – March 9, 1990) was a Jewish history professor who was the brother of Simon Halkin and cousin of Shmuel Halkin.

Abraham Halkin
Абрахам Соломон Га́лкин
Born
Abraham Solomon Halkin

1904 (1904)
Died(1990-03-09)March 9, 1990 (aged 86)
ChildrenHillel Halkin
Relatives
Academic background
Alma materColumbia University
Academic work
DisciplineJewish literature, history, and culture
InstitutionsJewish Theological Seminary of America

Biography

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Halkin was born in 1904 in the Russian Empire, the younger brother of Simon Halkin.[1] He is also the cousin of Shmuel Halkin.[2]

In 1914, at the age of 11, Halkin immigrated to the United States from his native Russia.[3] He would go on to receive his bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia University.[4][5]

Halkin began teaching at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 1930. From 1938 to 1970 he also served as professor of Hebrew at City College of New York.[1][3] He would serve as professor emeritus at the seminary after retiring in 1977.[4][6] That same year he made aliyah to Israel.[7][8]

Halkin was known to be one of the few familiar with an Apologetic Letter of rabbi Jedaia ha - Penini.[9] He also was a noted scholar of Shmuel Yosef Agnon's writing, having taught it in his lectures.[8]

Halkin died on March 9, 1990, in Jerusalem, Israel at 86 years of age from pneumonia, survived by his son and daughter.[4][7] His son Hillel Halkin, would go on to serve as a prominent Hebrew writer.[1][8]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Scult, Mel (2016-10-10). Communings of the Spirit, Volume II: The Journals of Mordecai M. Kaplan, 1934–1941. Wayne State University Press. ISBN 978-0-8143-4162-9.
  2. ^ Krutikov, Mikhail. "Halkin, Shmuel". yivoencyclopedia.org. Archived from the original on 2011-01-12. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  3. ^ a b Cohn-Sherbok, Dan (2010-01-07). Dictionary of Jewish Biography. A&C Black. ISBN 978-1-4411-9784-9.
  4. ^ a b c "Abraham Halkin, 86; Taught Jewish Culture". The New York Times. 1990-03-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-12.
  5. ^ Roth, Salo W. Baron, Gerson D. Cohen, Abraham S. Halkin, Yehezkel Kaufmann, Ralph Marcus, Cecil (1956). Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Encyclopaedia Judaica. Encyclopaedia Judaica. 1996. ISBN 978-965-07-0219-9.
  7. ^ a b Cohen, Gerson D. (1990). "Abraham S. Halkin 1904-1990". Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research. 57: 1–3. ISSN 0065-6798. JSTOR 3622651.
  8. ^ a b c Falk, Avner (2018-10-22). Agnon's Story: A Psychoanalytic Biography of S. Y. Agnon. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-36778-4.
  9. ^ Aparício, Manuel Forcano i; Forcano, Manuel (2003). La lletra apologètica de Rabí Iedaia ha-Peniní: un episodi de la controvèrsia maimonidiana a Catalunya i Provença (in Catalan). Edicions Universitat Barcelona. ISBN 978-84-475-2728-1.