Product Code Database
Herman Branover (; born 1931) is a Russian physicist and Jews educator. He is best known in the Jewish world as an author, translator, publisher, and educator. Branover is known in the scientific community as a pioneer in the field of magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). In his personal conduct he adheres to the customs and mystical philosophy of Chabad Hasidism.
As a young scientist in Riga, Branover wrote philosophical essays questioning atheism, materialism, and determinism and seeking God. He led a fifteen-year struggle to leave the Soviet Union (he was a Refusenik), during which he initiated and directed a great number of activities advancing Jewish education and culture; he was among the initiators of the Jewish revival movement in Soviet Russia. He learned Hebrew secretly at great peril while a student in Saint Petersburg. Frequent arrests, interrogations, and harassment by the KGB did not stop him from teaching Jewish thought and ethics to many individuals and groups. Branover was the first Jew holding a Doctor of Science degree and the title of Full Professor to receive an exit visa to leave the USSR.
In Israel, Branover started a research and development company, Solmecs,
In 1987 Branover founded SATEC, which started out as a technological business incubator, soon after focusing on the development and manufacturing of power metering solutions, such as power meters and power quality analyzers. This move was inspired by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, who predicted an influx of Jewish immigration from the Soviet Union, following Perestroika. His aim was to create jobs in a fitting technological environment for these immigrants, many of them holding advanced scientific degrees and in-depth technological experience.
In 1991, the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences invited Branover to supervise its 8-volume Encyclopedia of Russian Jewry. Covering 1000 years, the encyclopedia details the contribution of Jews to Russian and world civilization. The late Sir Isaiah Berlin of Oxford was the first chief consultant of the encyclopedia, and the Israeli Ministry of Education helps support the project. Three volumes have been printed in Russian. An English translation of Volume One was published in 1998 by Jason Aronson Publishers in the U.S., and a children's version is planned.
Branover is president of the SHAMIR Association of Religious Professionals from the USSR and editor-in-chief of its publishing house.See http://shamirbooks.org.il/main.htm The SHAMIR office in Jerusalem runs a free employment placement service for immigrants, which boasts a 20-percent success rate.
Under Branover's direction, SHAMIR established a well-accredited Jewish day school in Saint Petersburg. SHAMIR also has sent Rabbi Natan Barkan to Riga to serve as the Chief Rabbi of Riga and Latvia. Together with Rabbi Barkan and Prof. Ruvin Ferber, Branover has organized four international conferences in Riga entitled “Jews in a Changing World.” This is the only forum in the world where former Soviet Jews discuss spiritual and cultural problems on an Academy level. Most of the Russian-speaking participants are successful academics who have never before studied Jewish Mysticism or thought of applying it to their lives.
|
|
