Philip Birnbaum | |
|---|---|
| Personal life | |
| Born | (1904-03-30)March 30, 1904 |
| Died | March 19, 1988(1988-03-19) (aged 83) |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Judaism |
| Denomination | Orthodox |
| Main work | Daily Prayer Book (1949) |
Philip Birnbaum (Hebrew:פַּלְטִיאֵל בִּירֶנְבּוֹים,romanized: Paltiel Birenboym; March 30, 1904 – March 19, 1988) was an American religious author and translator. He is best known for his workHa-Siddur ha-Shalem, a translation and annotation of theSiddur first published in 1949.[1]
Birnbaum was born inKielce,Poland and emigrated to theUnited States in 1923. He attendedHoward College and received hisPh.D. fromDropsie College. He served for several years as the principal of aJewish day school inWilmington, Delaware, and directed Jewish schools inBirmingham, Alabama,[2] andCamden, New Jersey. He was a regular columnist and book reviewer for the Hebrew-language weeklyHa-Doar. He also served on the board of directors of the Histadrut Ivrit b'America, an American association for the promotion of Hebrew language and culture.[3]
His works include translations (withannotation and introductory material) of theSiddur (first published in 1949), theMachzor, theTorah withHaftorot, and thePassover Haggadah (published by theHebrew Publishing Company). These translations sought to express reverence without appearingarchaic. His Siddur and Machzor were pioneering in that the Hebrew text is of uniformtypeface, "unlike the helter-skelter boldface paragraphing … found inOld World siddurim".[4] His Siddur also contains the rarely publishedMegillat Antiochus.
Until the advent of theArtscroll andKoren translations,[5] the Birnbaum Siddur and Machzor were widely used inOrthodox andConservativesynagogues, selling over 300,000 copies.[6] These works presented "an accessible American English translation" and were pioneering in addressingAmerican Jews' "perceived deficiencies in personal and communal prayer".[7]
Birnbaum is also well known for his works of popular Judaism: his excerpted translation ofMaimonidesMishne Torah, was one of the first into English; his "Encyclopedia of Jewish Concepts" and "A Treasury of Judaism" (an Anthology excerpting over 70 classic works) were widely referenced.[6] He also produced a "readable" summary and translation of theTanakh.
On his death, one writer described him as "the most obscure best-selling author".[6]
The Jewish Agency'sCulture department describes "the Birnbaum" as "one of the most useful versions of the prayerbook."[8]
Birnbaum's original gravestone misspelled his name, had the wrong birth year, and called him a "renouned author & scholar". In 2022, the original gravestone was replaced with one with all three mistakes corrected and a Hebrew verse from the High Holiday liturgy added.[9]
Knesseth Israel Congregation … Among the venerable teachers were … Philip Birnbaum.
