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Harry Mordecai Freedman (17 October 1901 – 4 December 1982) was a rabbi, author, translator, and teacher. Among his more famous contributions are his translations done for several tractates of the Talmud, Midrash Rabbah, and Encyclopedia Talmudit.

Biography

Freedman was born in Vitebsk, Russia in 1901. His family moved to England and he grew up in London. He studied at the Etz Chaim Yeshiva, received a BA from the University of London, semicha from Jews College, and a PHD from the university of London (in 1923, 1924, and 1930 respectively). He served in pulpit positions in England, Australia, and the United States, and served as a teacher at Yeshiva University.

Family

Freedman was father in law to prominent Melbourne lawyer, Arnold Bloch.

Published works

Translations

Freedman made several significant contributions as a translator.

• Eight volumes of the Babylonian Talmud as part of the Soncino English edition of the Talmud.
• Midrash Rabbah (10 volumes), with Maurice Simon.
• Several volumes of Menachem Mendel Kasher's Torah Sheleimah, called The Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation in English.
• Encyclopedia Talmudica, the English edition of Encyclopedia Talmudit.
• Israel Passover Haggadah, an English Translation of Kasher's הגדה ארצישראלית

Books

• One Hundred Years: The Story of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation 1841-1941 (1941)
• He wrote the commentary for the biblical books of Genesis, Joshua and Jeremiah for the Soncino Books of the Bible
• A commentary on the Pentateuch, published posthumously in 2001.

References

1. ^ Rutland, Suzanne. "Freedman, Harry Mordecai (1901–1982)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, 1981-1990. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. pp. 406–407.
2. "The New Melbourne Synagogue". Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
3. Apple, Raymond. "The Jewish Emigrant from Britain 1700-2000: Essays in Memory of Lloyd P Gartner".
4. "Connected for Life" (PDF).
5. Freedman, Harry (1939). Midrash Rabbah.
6. Marcus, Ralph (October 1953). "Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation: Torah Shelemah, a Millenial Anthology. Genesis: Volume I by Menachem M. Kasher". Classical Philology. 48 (4): 279. doi:10.1086/363714. JSTOR 266980.
7. Fuss, Abraham M. "Encyclopedia Talmudica". The Jewish Quarterly Review. JSTOR 1453560.
8. Kasher, Menachem M. Israel Passover Haggadah.

• 1901 births
• 1982 deaths
• 20th-century English rabbis
• English Orthodox rabbis
• Australian Orthodox rabbis
• Alumni of the London School of Jewish Studies
• Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom
• British emigrants to Australia
• 20th-century Australian rabbis
• 20th-century American rabbis