עברית

Mr. Avichai Levy

Email
avichai.levy@gmail.com
Fields of Interest
  • Hermeneutics (Schleiermacher, Gadamer)
  • The hermeneutics of Midrash and the nature of Midrash as a genre (Heinemann, Boyarin, Halbertal)
  • Rashi's use of Midrash (Grossman, Kamin)
  • The supercommentary genre and its historical and hermeneutical significance
  • The history of medieval biblical exegesis and the diverse interpretative orientations among Spanish and Ashkenazi Jews
  • Integration of AI technologies in analyzing Rashi's commentary on the Torah
CV

(2024, in progress) PhD candidate in the Department of Hermeneutics and Culture and the Department of Bible at Bar-Ilan University. Dissertation topic: "The Servant of Solomon," a supercommentary (interpretation-on-interpretation) on Rashi's Torah commentary by Rabbi Moshe Gabai, and his approach to Rashi's midrashic hermeneutics, supervised by Prof. Erich Levy (Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University).

(2020) Master’s degree (MA) with thesis in the Department of Hermeneutics and Culture at Bar-Ilan University. Thesis topic: Rashi's Hermeneutics – Rashi’s Approach to the Midrashim of the Sages, supervised by Prof. Hezki Shoham (Department of Hermeneutics and Culture, Bar-Ilan University) and Prof. Yehonatan Jacobs (Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University).

(1995) Master's degree (M.Sc.) with thesis in the Faculty of Management at Tel Aviv University, specializing in Information Systems Management. Thesis topic: Algorithm and Blues: Improvisation via Computer with Artificial Intelligence Technology, supervised by Prof. Philip Ein-Dor.

(1984) Bachelor's degree (B.Sc.) in Mathematics and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University.

Avichai is a graduate of the Israeli Conservatory. He is a composer, performer, and arranger specializing in instrumental, neo-classical, jazz, and song music. Avichai was a member of the rock band "Beta Rock Band," which recorded and performed between 2008 and 2019. He composed the soundtrack for the film Nadia's Friends (2006). Avichai's music and songs have been broadcast on various Israeli radio stations, including Galei Tzahal, Galgalatz, Kol Hamusica, Reshet Bet, 88FM, 103FM, and more.

This is Avichai's second career, following a distinguished career in technology (high-tech), where he held various senior management positions and worked as a consultant, owning the consulting firm StarVision Partners.

Research

Postdoctoral Research:

Avichai's postdoctoral research aims to apply artificial intelligence technologies and advanced analytics tools to the analysis and classification of Rashi's commentary on the Torah. This research is expected to offer new insights into Rashi's interpretative methods and highlight the ways he chooses to interpret various verses. By combining his technological background with his expertise in hermeneutics, Avichai brings an innovative and creative approach to this research.

Doctoral Research:

Avichai's doctoral dissertation, titled "Eved Shlomo", focuses on the supercommentary (meta-commentary) on Rashi's Torah commentary by Rabbi Moshe Gabai and his approach to Rashi's hermeneutics of Midrash. The dissertation was completed under the supervision of Prof. Eric Levy from the Department of Bible Studies at Bar-Ilan University.

This work brings to light an otherwise unknown commentator of Rashi, Rabbi Moshe Gabai, a Spanish scholar who fled to Algiers during the persecutions of 1391 and completed his commentary in 1421. The dissertation encompasses in-depth research in several areas:

  • Hermeneutics (Schleiermacher, Gadamer)
  • The hermeneutics of Midrash and the nature of Midrash as a genre (Heinemann, Boyarin, Halbertal)
  • Rashi's use of Midrash (Grossman, Kamin)
  • The supercommentary genre and its historical and hermeneutical significance
  • The history of medieval biblical exegesis and the different interpretative orientations among Spanish and Ashkenazi Jews
Publications

Presentations at Conferences

  • AJS (Association of Jewish Studies) 54th Annual Conference, DEC 2022 (Boston), Session Name: "Secondary Use" of Sages' Midrashim: From the Middle Ages to Now, Paper presented: Rashi's Use of Midrash according to EVED SHELOMO (Servant of Solomon), a Supercommentary on Rashi’s Commentary on the Torah

  • The 18th World Congress of Jewish Studies, Av 5782 (August 2022), Jerusalem. Session Name: Studies on the Approaches of Medieval Commentators, Paper presented: Eved Shlomo: A Supercommentary on Rashi's Commentary on the Torah by Rabbi Moshe Gabai and His Approach to Rashi's Midrashic Hermeneutics.

  • AJS (Association of Jewish Studies) 52nd Annual Conference, DEC 2020 (Virtual), Session Name: Rabbis, Rhetorics, and Re-readings, Chair

  • AJS (Association of Jewish Studies) 51st Annual Conference, DEC 2019 (San Diego), Session Name: Back to the Sources: Jewish Texts and Their Contexts, Paper presented: Immersed in Midrash: A Hermeneutical Approach to Rashi’s Method of Torah Commentary.

  • The Second Conference for Research Students, Department of Hermeneutics and Culture, Bar-Ilan University, 2018, Paper presented: The Puzzle of Rashi’s Hermeneutics in Light of Paul Ricoeur’s “Understanding and Explanation” Model.

     

Articles in Progress

  • The Unique Midrashic Hermeneutics of Rabbi Moshe Gabai, Author of ‘Eved Shlomo,’ a Supercommentary on Rashi, in His References to Two Verses in the Book of Genesis, an article in editing and submission to the journal Beit Mikra.

  • Completing Rashi's Commentaries to Form Double Commentaries, Using Rabbi Moshe Gabai's Midrashic Hermeneutics, Author of 'Eved Shlomo,' a Supercommentary on Rashi, an article in editing and submission to the JSIJ journal.

     

Awards

  • Weizer Prize – Amalia Weizer Memorial Scholarship for Outstanding Research Students in the Department of Bible at Bar-Ilan University (2024)

 

Last Updated Date : 05/12/2024