Faculty of Humanities / Department of Hebrew and Jewish Languages
Prof. Ofra Tirosh-Becker


Prof. Ofra Tirosh-Becker



·        
Head of the Center for the Study of Jewish Languages and Literatures, The Hebrew University
·        
Founding co-Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Jewish Languages, Brill Academic Publishers
·        
Co-editor, Massorot: Studies in Language Traditions and Jewish Languages
·        
Editor (Languages and Linguistics), Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World (Chief editor: N. A. Stillman),        Brill Academic Publishers , 2nd edition
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Member, Academy of the Hebrew Language

Research Interests:

Rabbinic Hebrew in Karaite writings; North-African Judeo-Arabic; Judeo-Arabic translations of the Bible and of post-biblical literature; Medieval Hebrew; Hebrew in Algeria in the 19th-20th centuries; The contact between Hebrew and Arabic in the Middle Ages.


Awards

2005 - Shelomo Dov Goitein Prize for Genizah Studies
2011 - Michelle and Robert Asaraf Prize by the Academy of Hebrew Langauge
2013 - Ben-Zvi Award for Resaerch of Jewish Communities in the East
2013 - Polonsky Prize for Creativity and Originality in the Humanistic Disciplines (first prize)

Publications

 

Books

·         Tirosh-Becker, O. (2011). Rabbinic Excerpts in Medieval Karaite Literature, 2 volumes, 1,282 pages, Jerusalem, The Bialik Institute and the Hebrew University. Volume 1:Philological and Linguistic Studies, 22+466+vi pages; Volume 2: A Critical Annotated Scientific Edition of the Texts, 15+816+vi pages. (in Hebrew)


Edited Journal volumes

 

Tirosh-Becker, O. and Bunis, D., Co-editors, Massorot: Studies in Language Traditions and Jewish Languages (in Hebrew)

·         Massorot 15 (2010), 7+xix+229 pages.

·         Massorot 16-17 (2014), 278+xviii+æ pages.

·         Massorot 18 (2016), 160 pages.

 

Tirosh-Becker, O. and Bunin Benor, S., Co-Editors-in-Chief, Journal of Jewish Languages, Brill Academic Publishers.

·         Journal of Jewish Languages 1 (1) (2013), pp. 1-176.

·         Journal of Jewish Languages 1 (2) (2013), pp. 177-283.

·         Journal of Jewish Languages 2 (1) (2014), pp. 1-116.

·         Journal of Jewish Languages 2 (2) (2015), pp. 117-243.

·         Journal of Jewish Languages 3 (1-2) (2015), pp. 1-350.

·         Journal of Jewish Languages 4 (1) (2016), pp. 1-153.


Papers

  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (1989). "A Characterization of the Judeo-Arabic Language of Constantine." Massorot 3-4:285-312. (in Hebrew)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (1989-90). "The Hebrew Component in Judeo-Arabic." Leshonenu La'am 40-41:331-337. (in Hebrew) [A special volume on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Va'ad ha-Lashon]
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (1990). "On the Linguistic Uniformity of the 'Sharh' of the Jews of Constantine."  Proceedings of the Tenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Section D,  1:197-204.  (in Hebrew).
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (1990). "On the Arabic Glosses in the Italian Version of the 'Maqre Dardeqe'." Italia - Studi e ricerche sulla storia, la cultura e la letteratura degli ebrei d'Italia 9:37-77. (in Hebrew)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (1991). "Studies in Rabbinic Quotations Embedded in the Pentateuch Commentaries of the Karaite Scholar Yeshu'a ben Yehuda." Massorot 5-6:313-340.  (in Hebrew)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (1994). "A Linguistic Study in Mishnaic Quotations Embedded in Yeshu'a ben Yehuda's Commentary on Leviticus." Massorot 7:145-186. (in Hebrew) [An abstract of this paper appears in: Issues in the Study of Rabbinic Hebrew, abstracts of the papers presented at a workshop on Rabbinic Hebrew, The Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 1991, pp. 126-127]
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (1997). "Elements and Quotations of Rabbinic Hebrew Embedded in Karaite Literature."Studies in Language 2 (Hebrew Through the Ages, in memory of Shoshanna Bahat):155-172. (in Hebrew)
  •  Tirosh-Becker, O. (1998). "Linguistic Study of a Rabbinic Quotation  Embedded in a Karaite Commentary on Exodus." Scripta Hierosolymitana 37:380-407. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2003). "The Use of Rabbinic Sources in Karaite Writings." Karaite Judaism: A Guide to its History and Literary Sources, ed. M. Polliack, pp. 319-338, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, HOS Series Vol. 73. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2005). "Karaite Judeo-Arabic Translations of Excerpts from the Mishnah: On the Meaning of Ba'alil." Jewish Quarterly Review 95:530-556. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O.  (2006). "An Algerian Judeo-Arabic Translation of Piyyut 'Mi Khamokha' by Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Levi." Massorot 13-14:315-369.  (in Hebrew)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2006). Addition to the entry "Constantine". Encyclopedia Judaica, Second new edition,5:181. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2007). "Judeo-Arabic Translations of the Karaite Scholars Yeshu'ah ben Yehudah, Yusuf al-Basir and Ya'qub al-Qirqisani to Excerpts from the Mishnah". Sha'arei Lashon: Studies in Hebrew, Aramaic and Jewish Languages presented to Moshe Bar-Asher, eds. A. Maman, S.E. Fassberg, and Y. Breuer, Vol.3, Bialik Institute,  Jerusalem, pp. 435-466. (in Hebrew)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2010). "Jeshua ben Judah (Abū ’l-Faraj Furqān ibn Asad)." Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Ed. N. A. Stillman, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, 3:21-22. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2010). "Transcribed Hebrew Texts". Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Ed. N. A. Stillman, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, 4:528-530. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2010). "Translations of Rabbinic Sources into Arabic". Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Ed. N. A. Stillman, Brill Academic Publishers, Leiden, 4:530-532. (in English) 
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2011). "On Dialectal Roots in Judeo-Arabic Texts from Constantine (East Algeria)." Revue des Études Juives 170(1-2):227-253  (in English)
  •  Tirosh-Becker, O. (2011). "Languages of Algerian Jews." in: H. Saadun (ed.), AlgeriaJewish Communities in the East in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries. Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem, pp. 109-124. (in Hebrew) 
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2011). "Archaic and Dialectal Features in an Algerian Judeo-Arabic Translation and Commentary of Tractate Avot." Hikrei Ma'arav u-Mizrah: Studies in Language, Literature and History Presented to Joseph Chetrit, eds. Y. Tobi and D. Kurzon, Jerusalem 2011, pp. 181-207. (in Hebrew)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2011). “Terms for Realia in an Algerian Judeo-Arabic Translation of the Hošaʿnot”, Studies in the History and Culture of North African Jewry, eds. M. Bar-Asher and S. Fraade, New Haven, pp. 171-186. (in English)  
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2012). “Mixed Linguistic Features in a Judeo-Arabic Text from Algeria: The Šarḥ to the Hafṭarot from Constantine”,Language and Nature: Papers presented to John Huehnergard on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday. Ed. R. Hasselbach and N. Pat-El. The Oriental Institute, Chicago, pp. 407-431. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2013). ”Algeria, Hebrew in”. Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, Ed. G. Khan, Brill Academic Publishers, Boston, vol. 1, pp. 85-86. (in English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2013). ”Karaite sources for Rabbinic Hebrew (Tannaitic and Amoraic)”. Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics, Ed. G. Khan, Brill Academic Publishers, Boston, vol. 3, pp. 316-319. (in English)
  • Bunin Benor, S. and Tirosh-Becker, O. (2013). “A New Venue for Research on Jewish Languages”. Journal of Jewish Languages 1(1): 3-7. (English)
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2014), “A Reflection of a Linguistic Reality: An Algerian Judeo-Arabic Book for the New Year”, Studies in the Culture of North African Jewry 3, pp. 193-216. (English) 
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2015), “Eliʿezer Ben-Yehuda and Algerian Jews: Relationship and Language”, Arabic and Semitic Linguistics Contextualized. A Festschrift for Jan Retsö, ed. L. Edzard, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden, pp. 430-447. (English) 
  • Tirosh-Becker, O. (2015), “Two Judeo-Arabic Translations of the Scroll of Antiochus from Ghardaia (Algeria)”, Darchei Noam: The Jews of Arab Lands, a festschrift for Norman (Noam) Stillman. Brill: Leiden-Boston, pp. 185-213. (in English)


Other publications

 

·         Tirosh-Becker, O. Compiler (1993). "A Bibliography of the Writings of Prof. Blau." Hebrew and Arabic Studies, in honour of Joshua Blau, Jerusalem-Tel Aviv, pp. 1-34.

·         Tirosh-Becker, O. Editor (1996). Studies in Rabbinic Hebrew: Abstracts of lectures in the International conference on Rabbinic Hebrew, The Institute for Advanced Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. 154 pages.

·         Tirosh-Becker, O. (2001). Multi-annual Report 1985-2001 of The Center for the Study of Jewish Languages and Literatures. [A booklet of 36 pages]

·         Tirosh-Becker, O. (2005). Multi-annual Report 2002-2005 of The Center for the Study of Jewish Languages and Literatures. [A booklet of 22 pages]

 

Contact information:

Prof. Ofra Tirosh-Becker

 

 

 

Department of Hebrew and Jewish Languages

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, Israel 91905

 

Tel.  +972-2-5880244

 

 

 

Fax: +972-2-533-6828

Email: Otirosh@huji.ac.il

 

 


 

 

 

 

       

 


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