thumb|250px|saul lieberman saul lieberman (hebrew: ×©××× ××××¨××, may 28, 1898 â march 23, 1983), also known as rabbi shaul lieberman or, among some of his students, the gra"sh (gaon rabbeinu shaul), was an israeli rabbi and a scholar of talmud. he served as professor of talmud at the jewish theological seminary of america (jtsa) for over 40 years, and for many years was head of the harry fischel institute in israel and also president of the american academy for jewish research. == biography == born in motal, near pinsk, russian empire (now belarus), he studied at the orthodox yeshivot of malch and slobodka. while studying at the slobodka yeshiva, he befriended rabbis yitzchak ruderman and yitzchak hutner, both of whom would become leaders of great rabbinical seminaries in america. in the 1920s he attended the university of kiev, and, following a short stay in palestine, continued his studies in france. in 1928, he settled in jerusalem. he studied talmudic philology and greek language and literature at the hebrew university, where he was appointed lecturer in talmud in 1931. he also taught at the mizrachi teachers seminary and from 1935 was dean of the harry fischel institute for talmudic research in jerusalem. in 1940, he was invited both by rabbi yitzchak hutner to teach in the orthodox yeshiva chaim berlin, and by the jtsa to serve as professor of palestinian literature and institutions. lieberman chose the offer by the jtsa. lieberman's decision was motivated by a desire to "train american jews to make a commitment to study and observe the mitzvot."marc b. shapiro, saul lieberman and the orthodox. in chaim dalfinâs conversations with the rebbe (la: jec, 1996), pp.&nbsp;54â63, prof. haim dimitrovsky relates that when he was newly hired at jtsa, he asked rabbi menachem mendel schneerson of lubavitch whether he should remain in the seminary, and the response was "as long as lieberman is there." in 1949 he was appointed dean, and in 1958 rector, of the seminary's rabbinical school. lieberman died on march 23, 1983 while flying to jerusalem for passover. == awards and honors == * in 1957, lieberman was awarded the bialik prize for jewish thought.
1898_births 1983_deaths 20th-century_rabbis American_Conservative_rabbis American_Orthodox_rabbis Bialik_Prize_recipients Israel_Prize_Rabbi_recipients Israel_Prize_in_Jewish_studies_recipients Israeli_Jews Jewish_Theological_Seminary_of_America_people Members_of_the_Israel_Academy_of_Sciences_and_Humanities People_from_Motal Soviet_Jews Soviet_emigrants_to_Mandatory_Palestine Talmudists