CONGRATULATIONS to the Department of Hebrew and Semitic Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison:

Hebrew and Semitic Studies to celebrate golden anniversary

March 24, 2006

by Barbara Wolff

The genesis of this anniversary began with another one:

Rabbi Joseph L. Baron suggested in 1954 that the 300th anniversary of the arrival of Jews in the American colonies might best be recognized with a special chair in Hebrew language and literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Baron backed his commitment to that idea and $75,000 in private donations funded a faculty position occupied initially by the late Menachem Mansoor.

In 1954 Mansoor was a young scholar interested in the recently discovered Dead Sea Scrolls. His first course, Modern Hebrew Literature, enrolled 37 students. Hebrew and Semitic studies became an official department in 1956.

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If you're in Madison this coming week, note the lecture series associated with the anniversary celebrations.