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en meir, aaron
BEN MEIR, AARON (early tenth century), scholar and rosh
yeshivah in Ereẓ Israel. Aaron lived apparently in *Ramleh,
and traced his descent to the former nesi’im (“patriarchs”) of
Palestinian Jewry. His relations with the *Karaites in Palestine
were extremely strained. In about 920 he went to Baghdad to
complain to the central authorities of the malicious Karaite attacks
upon the Rabbanites. After his return, Aaron conceived
the idea of strengthening the religious hegemony of Palestine,
which had been weakened by the Babylonian yeshivot. To
achieve this, Aaron attempted to restore to the Palestinians
the sole authority to fix the calendar, as they had had until the
middle of the ninth century. On Hoshana Rabba 921 he proclaimed
on the Mount of Olives to all communities of Palestine
and of the Diaspora that the months of Marḥeshvan and
Kislev would be defective, i.e., consisting of only 29 days. As
a result, Passover of 922 would fall on Sunday and the New
Year of 922 would fall on a Tuesday instead of on the following
Thursday as it would have done were these months to contain
the full 30 days (see *Calendar).
This proclamation aroused the opposition of several
scholars, notably of *Saadiah, who was on his way to Baghdad.
The latter tried repeatedly to convince Aaron that there
was no justification for opposing the Babylonian calendar calculations.
Aaron stood his ground, however, and gave publicity
to his proclamation. Fearing that the Jewish festivals might
be celebrated at different times in different places, Saadiah
addressed himself to the Diaspora communities warning them
against acceptance of Aaron’s proclamation, but he could
not prevent a split. In 922 the Jews of Palestine, and, apparently,
also those of Egypt, celebrated Passover two days before
the Jews of Babylonia, fixing also the date of the following
Rosh Ha-Shanah accordingly. This split caused considerable
agitation throughout Jewry. References to it are to be
found even in Syriac literature. Thus, the Syrian, Elias of Nisibis,
wrote: “The year 309 [of the Hijra] began on the Sabbath,
Iyyar 12, 1232 of the Seleucid era; in that year dissension
broke out between the Jews of the West [Palestine] and
those of the East [Babylon] with regard to the calculation of
their holidays. The former fixed the New Year on a Tuesday
and the latter on a Thursday” (Baethgen, Fragmente syrischer
und arabischer Historiker (Leipzig, 1884), 84). The Karaite
Sahl b. Maẓli’aḥ sought to prove from this controversy that
the Rabbanite calendar calculations were altogether groundless.
The controversy between Aaron and his opponents on
this issue continued for some time thereafter, ending in Aaron’s
defeat, and with it the failure of the attempt to strengthen
the sole religious authority of the Palestinian scholars.
Bibliography: H. Malter, Saadia Gaon (Eng., 1921), 69–88,
409–19; Mann, Egypt, 1 (1920), 50–55, 61–66; 2 (1922), 49–57; Mann,
Texts, 2 (1935), index; American Academy for Jewish Research, Saadia
Anniversary Volume (1943), index; Abramson, Merkazim, 29 33; H.J.
Bornstein, Maḥaloket Rav Sa’adyah Ga’on u-Ven Me’ir (1904), printed
also in Sefer ha-Yovel… N. Sokolow (1904), 19–189.
[Encyclopaedia Hebraica]
BENN (Benzion Rabinovich; 1905–1989), painter and graphic
artist. Benn was born in Bialystok, Poland, and finished the
Hebrew gymnasium there, where he later started his education
in art at the private studios of local artists. He also studied at
the Academy of Arts in Warsaw. He made his debut in 1927
with his first solo exhibition, shown first in Białystok and then
in Warsaw. During this period, he designed the typography for
collections of Yiddish poetry. In Białystok, his native town, he
became a leading figure in local cultural life. He was among
the founders of the modernist group “3F” (“Forma-Farba-
Faktura”), where most of the members were Jewish artists. In
1928, he organized the first Autumn Salon for Białystok and
Vilna artists. In 1926–29, he designed the scenery for the performances
of several Yiddish theater companies in Białystok.
In 1929, the Białystok municipality awarded him a scholarship
for a trip to Paris. On the eve of his departure, Benn arranged
a “farewell” solo exhibition that was later shown in
Warsaw with the assistance of the Jewish Society for Encouragement
of Artists. In Paris, he studied with Fernand Leger.
From 1932, Benn regularly exhibited in Paris art salons. His
works were highly praised by critics and won public recognition.
Six one-man shows in the 1930s at private art galleries
in Paris are yet another indication of his success. During this
period, he was also active in book design. During the German
occupation of France, Benn went into hiding. However, not
long before the end of the occupation, he was finally seized
by the Gestapo and deported to the Drancy concentration
camp. By sheer luck, he not only survived but also escaped
further deportation to Auschwitz. In 1945, Benn returned to
Paris. In the post-war years, having rejected the cubist and expressionistic
techniques that had so strongly attracted him in
the 1920s and 1930s, Benn crystallized his individual manner
based on an organic combination of “metaphysical painting”
techniques and surrealism. From the 1950s through the 1970s,
while mainly active in painting, he also engaged in book design
and, among other works in this field, executed a series
of illustrations for The Song of Songs (1950, 1974) and other
books of the Bible (1948, 1954, 1971), as well as for an edition
of “Ḥad Gadya” (1956). In these years, he had numerous oneman
shows in France and other West European countries as
well as in Canada and Israel.
Bibliography: P. Learsin, “Ben-Tsiyon Rabinovitsh,” in: Illustrierte
Voch (Warsaw), 16, 98 (1928), 14; C. Aronson, Scenes et visages
de Montparnasse (1963), 561–65; S. Roi, Benn (Yid., 1967); Jubilé
du peintre Benn (Paris, 1975); J. Malinowski. Malarstwo i rzeźba Żydow
Polskich w XIX i XX wieku (2000), 398.
[Hillel Kazovsky (2nd ed.)]
BENN, BEN (Benjamin Rosenberg; 1884–1983), U.S. painter.
Benn was born in Russia and immigrated to New York with
his family in 1889. After studying drawing in high school, he
attended the National Academy of Design in New York City
from 1904 to 1908, where he received traditional art training
with Jewish classmates Benjamin *Kopman and William
*Zorach. His first exhibition, “Oils by Eight American Artists,”
366 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 3