Benjamin Fain (russian: Вениамин Моисеевич Файн, he, בנימין פיין) (February 17, 1930 – April 15, 2013) was an Israeli physicist, professor-emeritus, and former

refusenik Refusenik (russian: отказник, otkaznik, ; alternatively spelt refusnik) was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authori ...

Biography

Fain was born to a Jewish family in

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. His father was a mathematician. He instilled in the child a love for science as well as a strong national sentiment. Benjamin Fain was named after his grandfather, who was murdered in the

Proskurov pogrom The Proskurov pogrom took place on 15 February 1919 in the town of Proskurov (now Khmelnytskyi) during the Ukrainian War of Independence, which was taken over from under the Bolshevik control by militants who claimed themselves to be Haidamacks. I ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the family was evacuated and changed location several times. After the end of the war the family stayed in

Dushanbe Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (r ...

, where Fain graduated from school. He became a student in the Moscow Institute of Energetics. During his first year in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

he visited

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

and attempted to learn the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

languages. Fain was strongly impressed by the historical visit of the first Israeli ambassador to

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

Golda Meir Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and ''kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to 1 ...

. Fain managed to transfer in 1950 to the Faculty of

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

in Gorky University. He graduated there

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

. His instructor was future

Nobel prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

winner

Vitaly Ginzburg Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg, ForMemRS (russian: Вита́лий Ла́заревич Ги́нзбург, link=no; 4 October 1916 – 8 November 2009) was a Russian physicist who was honored with the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003, together with ...

Academic career

Fain successfully started his scientific career, and already in 1965 became a professor in his alma mater. He wrote several scientific books translated into English and German. In 1966 he moved to Moscow and started successful work in the Institute of Solid State Physics in

Chernogolovka Chernogolovka (russian: Черноголо́вка) is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia. Center of the town is located some 43 km (27 miles) northeast of the Moscow city limit and 59 km (37 miles) from Red Square. Its population in 2018 ...

. Starting from 1972 Fain gradually started to participate in a

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

movement. He took part in

scientific seminar, and also in

Samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

. He applied for exit visa to Israel in 1974 and became a

. He also became unemployed after dismissal from his work on political grounds.

Sociological research of Soviet Jewry

In 1976 Fain initiated a sociological research on

Soviet Jewry The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "For ...

. An attempt to organize an international symposium on the subject was foiled by the

KGB The KGB (russian: links=no, lit=Committee for State Security, Комитет государственной безопасности (КГБ), a=ru-KGB.ogg, p=kəmʲɪˈtʲet ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)əj bʲɪzɐˈpasnəsʲtʲɪ, Komitet gosud ...

, which closely watched all his steps from then on. At the same period Fain gradually started practicing

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

. After several arrests, searches, interrogations and a hunger strike Fain finally arrived in Israel in 1977. Fain published his study on

Jewish identity Jewish identity is the objective or subjective state of Identity (social science), perceiving oneself as a Jew and as relating to being Jews, Jewish. Under a broader definition, Jewish identity does not depend on whether a person is regarded as ...

Soviet Jews The history of the Jews in the Soviet Union is inextricably linked to much earlier expansionist policies of the Russian Empire conquering and ruling the eastern half of the European continent already before the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. "For ...

with the American sociologist

Mervin Verbit Mervin Feldman Verbit (born November 24, 1936) is an American sociologist whose work focuses on sociology of religion, American Jews and the American Jewish community. He is currently the chair of the Sociology Department at Touro College. Acad ...

. Fain and Verbit published their findings in 1984 through the

Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an Israeli research institute specializing in public diplomacy and foreign policy founded in 1976. Currently, the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs's research portfolio consists of five primar ...

In Israel

He continued to struggle to improve the life of Soviet Jews and also continued his scientific work in

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

in the fields of

quantum electronics Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics dealing with how individual quanta of light, known as photons, interact with atoms and molecules. It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons. Photons have b ...

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

s and

condensed matter Condensed matter physics is the field of physics that deals with the macroscopic and microscopic physical properties of matter, especially the solid and liquid phases which arise from electromagnetic forces between atoms. More generally, the su ...

. Starting from 1998 his field of interest moved to the

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is a branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. The central questions of this study concern what qualifies as science, the reliability of scientific theories, and the ultim ...

and Judaism and the interrelation between them. After retirement Fain wrote his first philosophic book in Hebrew: "Creation Ex Nihilo", where he analyzes the relationship between

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

and

science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

. It was published in Hebrew as well as in English and Russian translations. The Russian version of the book also has an autobiographic part to it. In 2008 Fain completed another book in Hebrew: "Law and Providence". he, חוק והשגחה. הוצאת מכון הספרים הר ברכה תשס"ט It was published in 2011 in English by Urim Publications. In January 2011 Fain's third book he, «דלות הכפירה» («Dalut Ha'kfira» («The Poverty of Secularism») was published by he, Mosad Ha'rav Kook.

Children

Fain is the father of two sons and one daughter.

References

Bibliography

"Creation Ex Nihilo : Thoughts on Science, Divine Providence, Free Will, and Faith in the Perspective of My Own Experiences"
Benjamin Fain * "Laws of Nature and the Providence", Benjamin Fain (in print)
"Quantum Electronics"
by Benjamin Fain and Ya. I. Khanin, The MIT Press (15 September 1969), in English, , {{DEFAULTSORT:Fain, Benjamin 1930 births 2013 deaths Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli physicists Scientists from Kyiv Refuseniks Russian physicists Soviet emigrants to Israel Ukrainian Jews Jewish physicists Modern Hebrew writers