911±¬ÁÏÍø

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Professor Ada Rapoport-AlbertÌý(26 October 1945-18 June 2020)

ByÌýDr NaftaliÌýLoewenthal

The international world of Jewish Studies has lost one of its most prominent luminaries, with the passing of Professor Ada Rapoport-Albert.ÌýThis is a particular loss to the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at 911±¬ÁÏÍø, with which she was closely associated for over half a century, and which she headed for ten years.ÌýHer passing is also a loss to her many friends, because,Ìýdue to her personal charisma, a significant proportion of her colleagues and students over the past fifty years think of her as aÌýspeciallyÌýclose friend, as indeed she was. ÌýWithinÌýless thanÌýa day of her passing an advert was placed inÌýHa’aretzÌýwhich read:Ìý‘Our beloved Prof. Ada Rapoport-Albert is mourned by her friends’,Ìýfollowed by a list of over thirty well-known names in the academe in Israel and the USA. Ìý

Ada (as she was known by all) was born in Tel AvivÌýin 1945. Her mother Alma was a Bulgarian pianist, trained in Vienna, who had reached Mandate Palestine in 1939. Her fatherÌýZalmanÌýRapoport, fromÌýBerdichev, reachedÌýOttomanÌýPalestineÌýin 1914 as a young child. ÌýA friend of the Rapoport family was Shmuel AbbaÌýHorodezkyÌý(1871-1957),ÌýdescendantÌýof famousÌýhasidicÌýleaders and scholar ofÌýHasidism andÌýKabbalah. ÌýThis can be seen as Ada’s firstÌývisibleÌýlink with her future vocation. Ìý

Her father was a qualified agronomist and the family moved to Brussels where he representedÌýIsraeli agricultural interests to theÌýEuropean Economic Community. After Israeli military service, Ada decided toÌýmove to LondonÌýin 1965ÌýtoÌýpursue a course in JewishÌýHistory at 911±¬ÁÏÍø. ÌýAfter her 1st classÌýhonoursBA, she went on to study for a PhD aboutÌýBratslavÌýHasidism, under Professor Joseph G. Weiss, a former student of GershomÌýScholem.ÌýIt was at this point that I met her, having joined the department as an undergraduate, and also having a strong interest inÌýBratslav.ÌýShe would eventually become a close friend of my wife andÌýme, and of our children.

Weiss was a deeply spiritual figure, fascinated by the radical and complex RabbiÌýNahmanÌýofÌýBratslavÌý(d.1810)Ìýand his focus on paradox in Judaism.ÌýÌýAfter the tragic passing of Weiss in 1969,ÌýAdaÌýcontinued and gainedÌýher PhD with ProfessorÌýChimenÌýAbramsky as supervisor. ÌýHerÌýearliestÌýpublishedÌýarticles were aboutÌýBratslavÌýHasidism.ÌýÌý

In her long career as a leading scholar of Hasidism,ÌýAdaÌýtaught first at the Oriental Institute in Oxford.ÌýAmong the institutions where she held visiting teaching positions and research fellowships were theÌýHarvard Divinity School, Stanford University, the Institute of Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Ludwig-MaximiliansÌýUniversity in Munich. ÌýBut her longest and most prominent institutional role was in the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies at 911±¬ÁÏÍø, as Lecturer, then Reader, Professor and Head of the DepartmentÌý(the latter,Ìýfrom 2002 till 2012, when she retired). ÌýThroughout her time working in the Department, whether as lecturer or as Head, she had a crucial role in establishingÌýitsÌýpositive, warm, accepting atmosphere, which continues under her successorÌýas Head, Professor Sacha Stern.ÌýÌýAda was much respected and loved by her colleagues and her students, especially her many doctoral students, although these all had to face her copious sharp comments on their essaysÌýandÌýdraft chapters, often written in pencil.

Ada’s editorialÌý(and managerial)Ìýskills came to the fore in the several volumes she edited,ÌýgenerallyÌýwith colleagues. ÌýThese volumes oftenÌýcan be seen asÌýexpressingÌýherÌýkindness,Ìýlove forÌýone’sÌýfellow. ÌýThusÌýtogether with SteveÌýZippersteinÌýshe producedÌýJewish HistoryÌýEssays inÌýHonour ofÌýChimenAbramskyÌý(1998), a warmly felt tribute to this remarkable scholar who had been her lecturer, PhD supervisor, and Head of Department. ÌýWhenÌýMichael Weitzman, Reader in Jewish Studies in the Department tragically passed away in 1998, aged only 51, Ada helped edit, with Gillian Greenberg,ÌýtwoÌývolumesÌýin his memory. ÌýThere were several other such works. ÌýShortly before she passedÌýawayÌýshe co-edited, together withÌýProfessorÌýMarcinÌýWodziÅ„ski, a volume of essays on the religious life ofÌýeastern EuropeanÌýJewry, to be published as a volumeÌý33ÌýofÌýPolin. Studies in Polish Jewry.

Ada’s chief contributions to scholarship, in terms of her own research and writing, were in the fieldsÌýof HasidismÌýin the 18th-20th centuriesÌýand the earlierÌýSabbateanÌýmovement. ÌýShe was interested in the early structure of theÌýhasidicmovement, and in the role ofÌýgender in Jewish mysticism. ÌýA seminal article (in the Abramsky volume)ÌýrevisedÌýthe idea presented by her grandfather’s friend Shmuel AbbaÌýHorodezkyÌýÌýthat ‘women enjoyed complete equality in the Hasidic movement’ which, he believed, was illustrated by the career of ‘the Maid ofÌýLudmir’ who was described as a femaleÌýhasidicÌýRebbe. ÌýAda claimed that the ‘Maid’ was discountedÌýin her role as RebbeÌýby prominent maleÌýhasidicleaders of the time. Ìý

Later, she wrote two significant articles on the role of women in Habad, showing how each of the last three LubavitcherÌýRebbesÌýmade radical stepsÌýconcerning women, first creating a female constituency inÌýthe community,ÌýthenÌýconsidering themÌýhasidimÌýin their own right and eventually, she claimed, granting them theÌýmysticalÌýstatus of ‘Tsaddik’.ÌýÌýAll these articles are included in her volumeÌýHasidic Studies, Essays in History and GenderÌý(Littman Library,Ìý2018).

She also explored more radical aspects of gender and mysticismÌýin her bookÌýWomen and the Messianic Heresy ofÌýSabbataiÌýZevi, 1666-1816Ìý(LittmanÌýLibrary, 2011, translated from the Hebrew by DeborahÌýGreniman),Ìýwhich focused on theÌýSabbateanÌýcombination ofÌýsexual liberation of womenÌýand granting them the role of ‘prophets’. Ìý

Apart from her own research,ÌýAda drew contrasting people together and generously opened doors. ÌýAÌýconference on Hasidism which she organised at 911±¬ÁÏÍø in 1988Ìý(its proceedings were published in herÌýHasidism Reappraised,ÌýLittman Library,Ìý1996) brought together many of the leading ‘secular’ scholars of the movement together with ‘haredi’ researchers such as YehoshuaÌýMondshine, DanielÌýMeijersÌýand the writer of these lines. ÌýAda transcended suchÌýdistinctions, andÌýhelped others to transcend them as well.

Ada’s activities included her time as President of the British Association of Jewish Studies, and her lengthy funded project, housed at the HJS Department, on the language of the Zohar.Ìý She also served, with great distinction, as president of the Jewish Historical Society of England,Ìýgraciously accepting the position after the untimely death of Professor JohnÌýKlierÌýin 2007. ÌýÌý

Ada frequentlyÌýparticipated ÌýinÌýtheÌýpublicÌýevents organised by the Institute of Jewish Studies at 911±¬ÁÏÍø, and was involved in several ways with the now burgeoning realm of Jewish Studies inÌýcontemporary Poland. ÌýHence it is fitting that her extensive personal library ofÌýhasidicÌýworks will be housed at the University of Wroclaw.Ìý Also significant were her contacts with figures in the contemporary Hasidic world, such as Rabbi Shmuel Lew, whom she admired.

Ada’sÌýfinalÌýpublic actÌýin the academeÌýwas the organising of a conference at 911±¬ÁÏÍø in September 2019, commemoratingÌýfiftyÌýyears since the passing of her old mentor and PhD supervisor, Joseph G. Weiss, dedicated to his thought, lifeÌýand teachings. ÌýAgain, an act of love.

A volume of essays planned to be in her honour, edited by colleagues and former students, is shortly to be published. Now, it will be in her memory. ÌýAcademic memorial events are being planned, in this country and in Israel.

Sadly, cancer cut short her life.ÌýShe had an amicable relationship with her former husband Bill Albert, who lectured on economics at the University of East Anglia and later became a popular author. ÌýThey haveÌýa daughter Maya, and a son Saul, who with his wife Selene hasÌýa baby boyÌýYshai, a source of much joy for Ada. ÌýMay her memory be for a blessing.

Professor Sacha Stern, Head of Department, UCL Hebrew and Jewish Studies, adds:

Professor Ada Rapoport-Albert was the life and soul of the Department, where she was student, academic, andÌýthenÌýHead ofÌýDepartment,ÌýforÌýover half a century. Her charismatic and inspiring leadership raised the Department to its current internationallyÌýhighÌýstanding. She was expert in all areas of JewishÌýStudies, andÌýmade paradigm-shifting contributions to the study of Jewish mysticism, Sabbateanism,Ìýand Hasidism.ÌýShe was a well-known, highly popular figure across the whole of UCL, and will be sorely missed.