Name Haim Shirman | Died June 14, 1981 | |
Hayyim (Jefim) Schirmann (Hebrew: חיים שירמן; October 19, 1904 – June 14, 1981) was an Israeli scholar of medieval Spanish and Italian Jewish poetry.
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Life
Schirmann was born in Kiev in the Russian Empire (today in Ukraine). He studied in his home country until 1919. His family then moved to Germany. he received a degree in Semitic linguistics from Berlin University in 1930. He joined the Schocken Institute for Study of Medieval Hebrew Poetry in 1930, and emigrated to Mandate Palestine, now Israel, in 1934 when the Institute relocated there.
He began lecturing in medieval poetry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 1942, and became a professor there in 1954. Schirmann continuing his work at the university until 1968. He died in Paris in 1981.
Schirmann was also an accomplished musician and violinist; he published essays on music and frequently referred to parallels between music and Jewish literature in his literary works.
Awards
In 1957, Schirmann was awarded the Israel Prize, for Jewish studies.