Haim Zafrani

Haim Zafrani(Arabic:حاييم زعفراني), 10 June 1922 inEssaouira– 31 March 2004), was a Moroccan-born French scholar and writer.

Zafrani is particularly noted for having collected and preserved much or the music and oral poetry of the Jews of Morocco. He recorded, and thereby preserved, the melodies of RabbiDavid Buzaglo(1903–1975), widely acclaimed as the greatestpaytan(author of Jewish liturgical poem) of his time.

Zafrani was also a leading scholar on the history of the Jews of Morocco. His best-known book is2000 Years of Jewish Life in Morocco(translated from French and published in an English edition).

Zafrani began his career as a teacher and became a school inspector in charge of the teaching ofArabicin theAlliance Israélite Universelleschools in Morocco. Later, Zafrani moved to Paris, France, where he was a professor and head of the Department of Hebrew language and Jewish civilization at theUniversity of Paris.He was member of theInstitut des Hautes Etudes Semitiquesof theCollège de France,of theAcademy of the Kingdom of Morocco,and a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies of theHebrew University of Jerusalem,Israel. He was awarded theIrving and Bertha Neuman Distinguished Scholar Award,(1982–1983), theYad Yitzhak Ben-Zviprize (1985), theGrand Atlasprize (1999), and thePrize of Maghreb(2001).

Zafrani wrote fifteen books and more than a hundred articles covering Jewish culture, languages, and literature in the Muslim countries of North Africa, especiallyMorocco,as well as the history of the Jews inMuslim Spain.

Le Prix Haïm Zafrani

Le Prix Haïm Zafraniis a prize given to creators of works of literary, scientific or artistic merit by theInstitut Universitaire Elie Wiesel.

Bibliography

• ZAFRANI, Haim. Two thousand years of Jewish life in Morocco. (English translation). Hoboken, N.J.: Ktav Pub. House, 2002
• ZAFRANI, Haim. Deux mille ans de vie juive au Maroc: histoire et culture, religion et magie. Pp. 325, ill. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose; [Casablanca]: Eddif, c1998
• ZAFRANI, Haim. L'Ecclésiaste et son commentaire: "le livre de l'ascèse": la version arabe de la Bible de Sa'adya Gaon. (withAndré Caquot). Pp. 132. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, c1989
• ZAFRANI, Haim. Juifs d'Andalousie et du Maghreb. Pp. 437, ill. [Paris]: Maisonneuve et Larose, c1996.
• ZAFRANI, Haim. Pédagogie juive en terre d'islam; l'enseignement traditionnel de l'hébreu et du judaïsme au Maroc. Pp. 191. Paris: A. Maisonneuve, 1969
• ZAFRANI, Haim. Études et recherches sur la vie intellectuelle juive au Maroc de la fin du 15e au début du 20e siècle. V. 1-3. Paris: Geuthner [1972-<c1980]
• ZAFRANI, Haim. Éthique et mystique: judaïsme en terre d'Islam: le commentaire kabbalistique du "Traite des Peres" de J. Bu-'Ifergan. Pp. 260. Paris: Editions Maisonneuve & Larose, 1991
• ZAFRANI, Haim. Kabbale, vie mystique et magie: judaïsme d'Occident musulman. Pp. 487, ill. Paris: Maisonneuve & Larose, 1986
• ZAFRANI, Haim. Recherches sur les juifs du Maghreb. Pp. 177, 44. Paris: Institut européen d'études hébraïques, Université de Paris VIII: [Berit `Ivrit `olamit], 1997