Arnold J. Band, one of the great Hebrew literary scholars of the past 50 years and a towering figure in the global community of Jewish studies researchers, passed away Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Silver Spring, MD, at the age of 94. Arnie Band was a professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at UCLA for more than 50 years ...Arnold Band was one of my teachers when I was an undergraduate at UCLA, more than forty years ago. I still have two papers I wrote for his classes. Some of the material from one of them went into one of my contributions to MOTP1.
In my senior year, when I took my first class with him, Professor Band saw some promise in me and invited me to his office to discuss my future career. He gave me much useful advice and drew my attention to important local contacts in my field who later became teachers, collaborators, and friends. He also wrote PhD references for me to a number of institutions, including the Harvard NELC program where I ended up pursuing my doctorate.
When I left UCLA, I thanked him for all his help. The last thing he said to me was, "Do the same for your students." I hope I have.
Studying with him was a decisive point in my life. If I hadn't met him, my career might have been very different. I am saddened indeed to hear that he is gone.
May his memory be for a blessing.
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