Herman Branover
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Professor Herman Branover (born 1931) was born in Riga, Latvia. As a young scientist in Riga, Branover wrote philosophical essays questioning atheism, materialism, and determinism and seeking G-d. These struggles to free his mind and soul from Communist propaganda were secretly reproduced and distributed underground. His manuscripts were smuggled out of the USSR to Israel and published there in Russian and Hebrew by the Israeli Ministry of Education.[citation needed]
Having learned Hebrew secretly at great peril while a student in Leningrad, Branover undertook to translate some of the fundamental books of Judaism into Russian. He has continued this work in Israel as President of the SHAMIR Association of Religious Professionals from the USSR and Editor-in-Chief of its publishing house. He has organized and trained a team of translators and editors to complete and expand his work, which includes most importantly the Pentateuch with commentaries, the Code of Jewish Life, and writings of Maimonides and Yehuda Halevy. Over 12 million copies of 400 titles of Russian-language Judaica published by SHAMIR have helped thousands of Russian-speaking Jews regain their national spiritual heritage that 70 years of Communist oppression snuffed out. The SHAMIR office in Jerusalem runs a free employment placement service for immigrants, which boasts a 20-percent success rate (considerably higher than that of commercial employment bureaus).[citation needed]
In 1991, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences invited Branover to supervise its 8-volume Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry. Covering 1000 years, the encyclopedia details the contribution of Jews to Russian and world civilization. The late Sir Isaiah Berlin of Oxford was the first chief consultant of the encyclopedia, and the Israeli Ministry of Education helps support the project. Three volumes have been printed in Russian. An English translation of Volume One was published in 1998 by Jason Aronson Publishers in the USA, and a children’s version is planned.[citation needed]
Under Branover’s direction, SHAMIR established a well-accredited Jewish day school in Petersburg. SHAMIR also has sent Rabbi Natan Barkan to Riga to serve as the Chief Rabbi of Riga and Latvia. Together with Rabbi Barkan and Prof. Ruvin Ferber, Branover has organized four international conferences in Riga entitled “Jews in a Changing World.” This is the only forum in the world where former Soviet Jews discuss spiritual and cultural problems on an academic level. Most of the Russian-speaking participants are successful academics who have never before studied Jewish wisdom literature or thought of applying it to their lives.[citation needed]
Branover’s autobiography Return, including De Profundis, a collection of his early philosophical essays has been published in Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English.[citation needed]
