Sid Leiman’s Evocation of Moshe Greenberg מורו ורבו

Moshe Greenberg (1928-2010) excelled as a scholar, teacher, and Bible translator. In what sense was he a great teacher? 10 years ago, Sid Leiman, a brilliant scholar in his own right, painted a picture of Greenberg the professor whom he studied with at U of Penn. Here is the full text of Leiman's tribute (HT Michael Pitkowsky). A few key grafs:

Moshe is a gifted and dedicated teacher. I can attest to the excellence of his teaching for I am among the many fortunate students who were privileged to sit at his feet. I recall, as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, literally running to Moshe’s lectures. It was a privilege to hear him lecture and to learn from him. I did not want to miss a word. My classmates felt the same way. I have now been teaching graduate students for some 30 years. No one runs to hear my lectures. Unabashedly, I often tell my graduate students that I was a better student than they are: I came on time, I came prepared, and I never missed a session. As the insult begins to sink in, I smile and explain to them quite truthfully that the reason I was a better student was entirely due to the fact that I had a better teacher, מורי ורבי Professor Moshe Greenberg.

A scholar’s legacy lives on through his students, but a scholar is not an island. Rather, a professor is part of a community of scholars, a tree in a garden filled with other trees, one oak in a shady grove. In that setting a legacy is fully effective and fully realized. Moshe Greenberg modeled this by attending to the entire tradition of Jewish exegesis even as he plumbed the tradition of critical and historical exegesis.

A teacher’s legacy is even greater, if she or he is also a life-teacher. That was what Greenberg was. That is why Leiman remarks:

Thousands sat at his feet, not only in the classroom, but in lecture halls, synagogues, adult education centers, and even (better: especially) in his own home.

In his own home: how did that work? Kinetic teaching by example is the most memorable teaching of all:

Some 35 years ago, I was a guest at Moshe and Evelyn’s home in Lower Merion, Pennsylvania, when their youngest son, Eitan, caught a splinter on his knee. He was perhaps four years old at the time. After dipping the tweezers in an antiseptic, Moshe gently explained to Eitan what was about to happen. As I never heard a father say before, Moshe said: “Now Eitan this will surely hurt, but not very much.” Moshe’s honesty when addressing a four year old son left an indelible impression on me. Unfortunately, it didn’t help Moshe. After the successful operation, Eitan cried and exclaimed: “Abba, you said it wouldn’t hurt much, but it hurt a lot!”

Moshe Greenberg: may his memory be for a blessing. 

Comments

[Adam Couturier]

What a touching anecdote. Thanks for sharing, John.