Return: The Spiritual Odyssey of a Soviet Scientist [Paperback]

Herman Branover (Author), Ilana Coven Attia (Translator), Mika Tuvinshlak (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1996

A noted professor of magneto-hydrodynamics records the physical and spiritual struggle he encountered as a Jew in the Soviet Union.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

About the Author

Editor-in-Chief of B’OR HA’TORAH, Herman Branover was born in Riga, Latvia, earned his PhD from the Moscow Institute of Aviation in magnetohydrodynamics (MHD), and completed a DSc degree in physics and mathematics at the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. While a leading scientist at the Latvian Academy of Science, Professor Branover discovered G-d and the Torah, became a Lubavitcher Hasid, and then struggled for the right for Jews to immigrate to Israel. During this difficult period and up until the present, he has led the cultural and spiritual revival of Russian Jewry.

After settling in Beersheba with his wife and son, in 1977 Professor Branover created the Center for Magnetohydrodynamics Studies at Ben-Gurion University. The Center engages in teaching, research, and the development of a novel MHD electricity generator. He has authored over twenty scientific books and textbooks, thirty technological patents, hundreds of professional articles, and an autobiography, Return (published by Jason Aronson).

As honorary president of SHAMIR, the Israel Association of Religious Professionals from the Former USSR, Professor Branover continues encouraging Russian Jews to observe the Torah and live in Israel. He is the initiator and editor-in-chief of B’Or Ha’Torah, published by SHAMIR. A recipient of the S.D. Bergman Prize for the development of new technology in Israel, he also received the Knesset Speaker’s Award in 1991 for his work with Russian immigrant absorption. He chairs the prime minister’s committee for solving immigrants’ professional employment problems. He is a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences in Moscow and the Latvian Academy of Sciences, a member of the Moscow International Energy Club, and has received honorary doctorates from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Technical University of St. Petersburg, and Yeshiva University. In 2001 he won the Award of Honor of the Menachem Begin Prize for his outstanding contribution to the State of Israel and the Jewish People.

Papers by Professor Branover have been published in B’Or Ha’Torah volumes 7E, 9E, 10E, 11E, 12E, and 13E. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson, Inc. (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568215290
• ISBN-13: 978-1568215297
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,015,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #85 in Books > History > Europe > Latvia

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5.0 out of 5 stars An admirable life, December 13, 2004

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Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Return: The Spiritual Odyssey of a Soviet Scientist (Paperback)

Herman Branover here tells the story of his ' return' to Jewish faith and practice. A struggle which begins in the Soviet Union has its continuation in Israel. In Israel Professor Branover continued to develop his distinguished scientific career and became a pioneer in outreach to the large community from the former Soviet Union in Israel.