# Daniel Sperber > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daniel_Sperber > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Daniel_Sperber.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Sperber > Source revision: 1357106130 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{about|the Israeli rabbi|the French social and cognitive scientist|Dan Sperber}} {{short description|British-born Israeli rabbi and academic}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Daniel Sperber | native_name = דניאל שפרבר | native_name_lang = he | image = פרופ' דניאל שפרבר (16711996562).jpg | caption = Daniel Sperber | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|11|4|df=yes}} | birth_place = Gwrych Castle, Wales, United Kingdom | occupation = Rabbi, professor | known_for = Talmudic studies, Jewish customs, Jewish art history | awards = [Israel Prize](/source/Israel_Prize) (1992) }} '''Daniel Sperber''' ([Hebrew](/source/Hebrew): דניאל שפרבר; born 4 November 1940) is a British-born [Israel](/source/Israel)i academic and Orthodox Jewish rabbi. He is a professor of [Talmud](/source/Talmud) at [Bar-Ilan University](/source/Bar-Ilan_University) in [Israel](/source/Israel), and an expert in [classical philology](/source/classical_philology), history of [Jewish customs](/source/minhag), [Jewish art](/source/Jewish_art) history, Jewish education, and Talmudic studies.{{cite web|url=http://www.torahinmotion.org/users/rabbi-dr-daniel-sperber|title=Rabbi Dr. Daniel Sperber|work=Torah in Motion|accessdate=1 November 2013}} ==Biography== Daniel Sperber was born in [Gwrych Castle](/source/Gwrych_Castle), [Wales](/source/Wales).{{cite web|url=https://cris.biu.ac.il/en/persons/daniel-sperber|title=Daniel Sperber|website=Bar-Ilan University|access-date=8 August 2023}} He studied for [rabbinical ordination](/source/rabbinical_ordination) at [Yeshivat Kol Torah](/source/Yeshivat_Kol_Torah) in Israel, earned a doctorate from [University College](/source/University_College_London), London, in the departments of Ancient History and Hebrew Studies. He is married to Phyllis (Hannah) Magnus, a couples therapist, originally of Highland Park, Illinois. They have ten children. One of their daughters, Abigail, is the founder of [Bat Kol](/source/Bat_Kol_(organization)), Israeli Jewish religious{{cite news |last1=Udasin |first1=Sharon |title=For Orthodox Lesbians, A Home Online |url=https://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/for-orthodox-lesbians-a-home-online/ |access-date=25 January 2021 |work=New York Jewish Week |date=17 August 2010}} lesbian group.{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/to-know-a-woman-1.249446|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002062552/http://www.haaretz.com/to-know-a-woman-1.249446|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 October 2013|title=To know a woman|newspaper=Haaretz |publisher=}} ==Academic and rabbinical career== He is the Milan Roven professor of Talmud at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, where he is also the President of the Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies.{{cite web|url=http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?action=author_page&aet_id=256|title=Author Page - Daniel Sperber - Bar-Ilan University Press- Bar-Ilan University Press|publisher=|access-date=6 October 2013|archive-date=25 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925232841/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?action=author_page&aet_id=256|url-status=dead}} He also served as rabbi of [Menachem Zion Synagogue](/source/Menachem_Zion_Synagogue) in the [Old City of Jerusalem](/source/Old_City_of_Jerusalem). In 2010, Sperber accepted an appointment as honorary Chancellor of the [non-denominational](/source/non-denominational) Canadian Yeshiva & Rabbinical School in Toronto.{{cite news |last1=Kraft |first1=Frances |title=First Mainstream Canadian Seminary Opens Officially |url=https://www.cjnews.com/uncategorized/first-mainstream-canadian-seminary-opens-officially |access-date=25 January 2021 |work=Canadian Jewish News |date=23 December 2011}}{{YouTube|NQIrfIDN3rI}} Sperber is the author of ''Minhagei Yisrael: Origins and History'' on the character and evolution of [Jewish customs](/source/Jewish_customs). He has written extensively on many issues regarding how Jewish law can evolve, and has evolved. This includes a call for a greater inclusion of women in certain ritual services, including ordination.{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/1.530591|title=Roles for Orthodox women take leap forward with graduation of maharats - Jewish World Features|newspaper=Haaretz |publisher=}} He has been critical of particular contemporary expressions of [halachic](/source/halachic) observance. Regarding [kitniyot](/source/kitniyot), he has said, "The attitude in the last few decades has changed and become stricter, to the point of absurdity", pointing out that non-kitniyot items have been added to the list, including "[cottonseed oil](/source/cottonseed_oil), [sunflower oil](/source/sunflower_oil), [peanut oil](/source/peanut_oil), and even [hemp](/source/hemp)".{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/2.209/orthodox-passover-rebels-do-away-with-ashkenazic-ban-on-legumes-1.273484|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002063449/http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/2.209/orthodox-passover-rebels-do-away-with-ashkenazic-ban-on-legumes-1.273484|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 October 2013|title=Orthodox passover rebels do away with Ashkenazic ban on legumes - News|newspaper=Haaretz |publisher=}} Sperber explains his rationale for allowing a greater role for women in Orthodox practice: "The first is that in the same way it is forbidden to permit that which is forbidden, it's also forbidden to forbid that which is permitted. The second is that it is not forbidden to permit that which is permitted, even if it wasn't practiced in the past, because halakha is dynamic, and when cultural circumstances change, one has to face up to these changes and accommodate them. The third principle is that if you can find a position of leniency, you should do so. So, when things are permitted, they should be encouraged."{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-10-02/ty-article/.premium/just-dont-call-the-rabbi-a-feminist/0000017f-db8c-db5a-a57f-dbee1a5a0000|title=Just don't call the rabbi "feminist" - Jewish World Features|newspaper=Haaretz |publisher=}} He has been condemned for not explaining the source of his personal authority to dislodge the views of prior voices in Jewish law, such as the Shulchan Aruch and the view of Maimonides, both of which are universally accepted in orthodox circles as the strongest, most authoritative halachic works.{{cite web |title=Women and Halacha Panel 14th June 2017 |website=montefioreendowment.org.uk |url=https://www.montefioreendowment.org.uk/common/ethos/women-and-halacha/ |accessdate=17 November 2020}} ==Awards and recognition== In 1992, Sperber won the [Israel Prize](/source/Israel_Prize), for Jewish studies.{{Cite web |title=Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1992 (in Hebrew) |url=http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashmag/Tashnab_Tashmag_Rikuz.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213091939/http://cms.education.gov.il/EducationCMS/Units/PrasIsrael/Tashmag/Tashnab_Tashmag_Rikuz.htm |archivedate=2010-02-13 }} ==Published work== *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=630 Material Culture in Eretz Israel during the Talmudic Period, Vol. 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185735/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=630 |date=4 October 2018 }}, Bar-Ilan University Press, 1993. *''Minhagei Yisrael: Origins and History.'' Mossad Harav Kook, 1998–2007, 8 vol.. *''Masekhet Derekh erets zuṭa u-Fereḳ ha-shalom'' (3rd Edition) [in Hebrew], 1994. {{OCLC|31267940}} *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?category=18&id=33 Magic and Folklore in Rabbinic Literature] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185748/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?category=18&id=33 |date=4 October 2018 }}, Bar-Ilan University Press, 1994. {{ISBN|965-226-165-3}} * Great is Peace, Jerusalem, 1979. {{OCLC|9368592}} *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=40 Roman Palestine 200-400: Money and Prices] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004225841/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=40 |date=4 October 2018 }}, Bar-Ilan University Press, 1974; second edition with supplement 1991 . {{ISBN|965-226-147-5}} *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=41] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185751/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=41 |date=4 October 2018 }}{{cite book | title = Roman Palestine, 200-400, the land : crisis and change in agrarian society as reflected in rabbinic sources | author = Daniel Sperber | location = Ramat-Gan | publisher = Bar-Ilan University | year = 1978 | oclc = 5222104 }} *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185635/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=5 |date=4 October 2018 }}{{cite book | title = A dictionary of Greek and Latin legal terms in Rabbinic Literature | author = Daniel Sperber | publisher = Bar-Ilan University Press | location = [Ramat-Gan](/source/Ramat-Gan), Israel | year = 1984 | isbn = 965-226-050-9 }} *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=34 Nautica Talmudica] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185602/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=34 |date=4 October 2018 }}, Bar-Ilan University Press and [E.J. Brill](/source/E.J._Brill), 1986. {{ISBN|90-04-08249-2}} *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=1 A Commentary on Derech Eretz Zuta] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404232841/http://biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=1 |date=4 April 2016 }} Chapters 5-8, Bar-Ilan University Press, 1990. {{OCLC|10107498}} * {{cite book | last = Sperber | first = Daniel | title = The City in Roman Palestine | publisher = [Oxford University Press](/source/Oxford_University_Press) | location = Oxford Oxfordshire | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-585-25475-3 }} * Essays on Greek and Latin in the Mishna, Talmud and midrashic 1982 * {{cite book | title = Re'ayot ha-Re'iyah : masot u-meḥḳarim be-torato shel ha-Rav Ḳuḳ | author = David Sperber | location = Yerushalayim | publisher = Bet ha-Rav | year = 1992 | oclc = 34010082 }} * {{cite book | title = Ten Best Jewish Children's Stories | url = https://archive.org/details/tenbestjewishchi00sper | url-access = registration |author1=Chana Sperber |author2=Daniel Sperber |author3=Jeffrey Allon | location = New York | publisher = Pitspopany | year = 1995 | isbn = 0-943706-58-0 }} * {{cite book | last = Sperber | first = Daniel | title = Why Jews Do What They Do | publisher = Ktav Pub. House | location = New York | year = 1999 | isbn = 0-88125-604-8 }} * Nautica in Talmudic Palestine. Mediterranean History Review, vol. 15, 2001 * Paralysis in Contemporary Halakhah? Tradition 36:3 (Fall 2002), 1-13. * Tarbut Homrit Be'eretz Yisrael Beyemai Hatalmud ([http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=631 Material Culture in Eretz-Israel during the Talmudic Period] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185632/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=631 |date=4 October 2018 }}), Vol. 2, Yad [Yitzhak Ben Zvi](/source/Yitzhak_Ben_Zvi) & Bar Ilan University * The Path of Halacha, Women Reading the Torah: A Case of Pesika Policy, Rubin Mass, Jerusalem, 2007 (Hebrew) * {{cite book | title = Resh Kalah u-mai ḥupah | author = Daniel Sperber | publisher = Yerushalayim | year = 2002 | oclc = 57331845 }} * {{cite book | last = Serber | first = Daniel | title = On Changes in Jewish Liturgy: Options and Limitations | publisher = Urim Publications | location = Jerusalem | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-965-524-040-5 }} *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=655 The Jewish Life Cycle: Custom, Lore and Iconography—Jewish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004225818/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=655 |date=4 October 2018 }} (Oxford UP and Bar-Ilan UP, Aug. 2008) * Why Jews Do What They Do: The History of Jewish Customs Throughout the Cycle of the Jewish Year by Daniel Sperber and Yaakov Elman, (KTAV, Jan 1999). * Women and Men in Communal Prayer: Halakhic Perspectives by Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber, Rabbi Mendel Shapiro, Professor Eliav Shochetman and Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Riskin, (KTAV, 10 Mar 2010). *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=819 Greek in Talmudic Palestine] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004185646/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=819 |date=4 October 2018 }}, Bar-Ilan University Press, 2012. *Contributor to the [''Talmud El Am''](/source/Arnost_Zvi_Ehrman) on ''Kiddushin''. *[http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=1041 The Paths of Daniel: Studies in Judaism and Jewish Culture in Honor of Rabbi Professor Daniel Sperber] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409021112/http://www.biupress.co.il/website_en/index.asp?id=1041 |date=9 April 2017 }} Edited By: '''Adam S. Ferziger''', Bar-Ilan University Press, 2017. == See also == * [List of Israel Prize recipients](/source/List_of_Israel_Prize_recipients) ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www1.biu.ac.il/indexE.php?id=1004&pt=1&pid=43&level=4&cPath=43,1004%5D Erica and Ludwig Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060227110703/http://www.mucjs.org/sherman04.htm Sherman Lectures, University of Manchester, 2004] * Sperber, D., [http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/3_2_Sperber.pdf "Congregational Dignity and Human Dignity: Women and Public Torah Reading"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622042808/http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/3_2_Sperber.pdf |date=22 June 2013 }} (pdf) Edah 3:2, 2002 * [https://web.archive.org/web/20061105234753/http://www.hum.huji.ac.il/dinur/Profs/Bar-Ilan/biutalmud.htm#Sperber Bar-Ilan University Talmud Department] * Sperber, D. [http://www.edah.org/backend/JournalArticle/sperber_5_2_final.pdf "'Friendly' Pesaq and the 'Friendly' Poseq"] (pdf) Edah 5:2, 2006 * [http://www.edah.org/backend/coldfusion/speakerInfo.cfm?authorid=223&title=Jewish+Education Daniel Sperber speaker information], [Edah](/source/Edah) {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sperber, Daniel}} Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century Israeli rabbis Category:21st-century Israeli rabbis Category:Alumni of University College London Category:Academic staff of Bar-Ilan University Category:British emigrants to Israel Category:British Modern Orthodox rabbis Category:Israeli art historians Category:Israeli Modern Orthodox rabbis Category:Israel Prize in Jewish studies recipients Category:Israel Prize Rabbi recipients Category:Jewish historians Category:Judaism and women Category:Open Orthodox Jews Category:Academic staff of the Open University of Israel Category:Talmudists Category:People from Conwy County Borough --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Daniel Sperber](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Sperber) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Sperber?action=history)). 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