Aryeh Kasher
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Aryeh Kasher ( he, אריה כשר; 1935 – October 26, 2011) was an Israeli academic and writer. He was a
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
at
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 ...
and winner of the 1990
Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Biali ...
for Hebrew literature.


His life and his research activity

Kasher grew up in
Kfar Vitkin Kfar Vitkin ( he, כְּפַר וִיתְקִין, ''lit.'' Vitkin Village) is a moshav in central Israel. Located near Netanya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hefer Valley Regional Council and was the first Jewish settlement in the valley. I ...
, where he graduated from elementary school and high school. In his youth he wrote the radio feuilleton "Hilik Haviv" with his childhood friends and classmates
Gad Yaacobi Gad Yaacobi ( he, גד יעקבי, 18 January 1935 – 27 August 2007) was an Israeli Minister, Alignment Knesset member, and Israel Ambassador to the United Nations. Biography Yaacobi was born in Kfar Vitkin during Mandate era, where he compl ...
(later a government minister and member of the
Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...
) and Micha Gisser (later professor of economics at the
University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; es, Universidad de Nuevo México) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1889, it is the state's flagship academic institution and the largest by enrollment, with over 25,400 ...
in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
). In the Israeli army, he served at the
Nahal Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...
. He began his history teaching in Emek Hefer regional school in the early 1960s. He received a MA from
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 ...
—the subject of his thesis, completed in 1966, was history background and messianism in Assumption of Moses. Kasher received his PhD in
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish studies from Tel Aviv University in 1973. The dissertation subject was "The jurisric-political class and the rights system of the Jews of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
in the
Hellenistic period In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 3 ...
and the
Roman Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...
". His advisor was . taught him and influenced his work. Kasher taught Jewish history in Tel Aviv University for many years and led the Center for the Study of Israel and its Settlements at Tel Aviv University, affiliated to Yad Yitzhak Ben-Zvi Institute. He retired in 2005. His speciality was the history of the Jews and
Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
during the
Second Temple The Second Temple (, , ), later known as Herod's Temple, was the reconstructed Temple in Jerusalem between and 70 CE. It replaced Solomon's Temple, which had been built at the same location in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited ...
period.


Awards

In 1990, Kasher was the co-recipient (jointly with ) of the
Bialik Prize The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Biali ...
for Jewish thought.


His books


''Jews, Idumaeans and Ancient Arabs''

His book deals with two major subjects: first, the Idumeans Judaizing, located in Idumea and the Yturs in the
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
and their integrating in the Jewish society. The Judaizing action describe in the
Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
Historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...
as an act of compulsion by the Hasmonean, in order to abase their name. Kasher argues that the judaising conducted out of good will and cooperation of the nations who judaized with the Hasmonean. He examines the consequences of the Hellenistic influence in the Idumean society, and its implications on their relations with the neighbor Jewish nation, even though in the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
the Idumean accused in co-operation with
Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
power and the ruin of
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and the temple in the year 586 BCE. The second part of the book deals with the
Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic language, Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Pe ...
relations with the Jews from 332 BCE to 70 AD. The relations start with great friendship in the beginning of the Hashmonean period and ends in the
Alexander Jannaeus Alexander Jannaeus ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξανδρος Ἰανναῖος ; he, ''Yannaʾy''; born Jonathan ) was the second king of the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled over an expanding kingdom of Judea from 103 to 76 BCE. A son of John Hyrcanus, h ...
wars and the Roman rule. It is a pioneering monographic research, that was held in the first time by Aryeh Kasher. till his research historians used to study specially the Jewish People and the regime that conquer the country and hardly look for the non Jewish Israel country inhabitants. This because we hardly have national history papers of this nations authors, the archeological finding about them is scarce and the majority of the knowledge we have is from
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
, who describe them through their relations with the Jewish people.


''Kenaan, Paleshet, Yavan ve-Yisrael''

The book describes the history of the Jews relating to their relations with the Hellenistic cities in Israel country, in chronological order, during the period from the country conquest by
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
till the end of the big revolt against the Romans. The Jews saw the citizens of the Hellenistic cities as the heirs of
Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
and the
Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...
from the Biblical period, whom the Hasmonean try to distinct, in the spirit of the Biblians saying. with all that accompany political, economical and cultural rival, that gather strength since the Hellenistic period.


''King Herod: A Persecuted Persecutor''

Pioneers research about
Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renov ...
. Psychological biography about in collaborate with the psychiatrist professor . The book stands as an antithesis to : ''Herod the Great: the man and his deed'', third edition,
Bialik Institute Bialik Institute ( he, מוסד ביאליק, ''Mosad Bialik'') is a research institution and publishing house, mostly dealing with the history and culture of the Hebrew language. It was established in 1935 by the World Zionist Executive and the E ...
, 1964. In this book Shalit describe Herod as king that contribute a great deal to the Jewish People due to his monumental building enterprises. Kasher choose in his study to another aspect in Herod personality: his murderousness and interpret him as suffer from a
paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concer ...
illness. Kasher's research based on
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
's writing as a main source of knowledge. He was assisted by professor Witztum that using the psychological research tools in order to decipher the complex personality of Herod and diagnose his illness as
inferiority complex In psychology, an inferiority complex is an intense personal feeling of inadequacy, often resulting in the belief that one is in some way deficient, or inferior, to others. According to Alfred Adler, a feeling of inferiority may be brought ab ...
, a man that murder his closest relatives and anyone who he suspect by the least sign of treason, including his wife and three sons. The manuscript of the book won the Bahat Prize given for distinguished reference books by the
University of Haifa The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
in 2006.


List of published works

* Kasher, Aryeh. (in collaboration with Witztum, Eliezer). ''King Herod: A Persecuted Persecutor. A Case Study in Psychohistory and Psychobiography''. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin-New York, March 2007. * Kasher Aryeh. ''Jews and Hellenistic cities in Eretz-Israel: relations of the Jews in Eretz-Israel with the Hellenistic cities during the second Temple Period (332 BCE-70ce)''. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1990. * Kasher A., Rappaport U., Fux G. (editors). ''Greece and Rome in Eretz Israel: collected essays''. Jerusalem: Yad Itzhak Ben-Zvi, 1990. * Kasher, Aryeh. ''Jews, Idumaeans, and ancient Arabs: relations of the Jews in Eretz-Israel with the nations of the frontier and the desert during the Hellenistic and Roman era (332 BCE-70 CE)''. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1988. * Kasher, Aryeh. ''The Jews in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt: the struggle for equal rights''. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr, 1985.


See also

*
List of Bialik Prize recipients The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik Hayim Nahman Biali ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasher, Aryeh Israeli Jews Israeli historians Jewish historians Academic staff of Tel Aviv University 1935 births 2011 deaths