Dov Noy (1920-2013), renowned folklorist and
ethnologist of blessed memory passed away on September 29, 2013. Born on
October 20, 1920 in Kolomyja, Poland, he immigrated in 1938 to Palestine where
he began his academic studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He
obtained his doctorate in folklore from Indiana University in 1954 with a
dissertation on the motif-index of Talmudic-Midrashic tales (under the name Dov
Neuman).
In
1955 he began his teaching career at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where
he taught aggadah, folk literature, general folklore, and Yiddish. He became
professor and holder of the Max Grunwald Chair of Folklore and Hebrew
Literature. From this post, he had a profound influence on the development of
folklore studies in Israel, mentoring many students and colleagues to engage
with folklore and ethnology. His travel and advocacy for folklore are
legendary: he taught and lectured all over the world, particularly on folk
narrative and Jewish folklore. He founded and directed the Haifa
Ethnological Museum and Folklore Archives (1956–82) and edited the Israel
Folktale Archives Publications series until 1981. He founded the Israel Folktale
Archives in 1955, now named after him. He was director of the Hebrew
University Folklore Research Center from 1968 and edited its journal. He served
as the Encyclopaedia Judaica departmental editor for folklore. He started the
folklore section at Haifa University within the department of Hebrew
Literature. From 1985 to 1992, he served as professor of Yiddish Folklore at
Bar-Ilan University. In 1992–93 he served as professor of folk literature at
Ben-Gurion University and in 1995–96 professor of folklore at Haifa University.
In addition to teaching in Israeli universities, Noy devoted himself to
spreading Jewish folk culture all over the world. He also wrote and edited
about 60 books, including in English Folktales
of Israel, Jewish Folktales from Morocco, and Studies In Biblical and Jewish Folklore. In 2004 he was awarded the
Israel Prize for literary research. Biographies of Dov Noy can be found in the Encyclopedia Judaica, Encyclopedia of Jewish
Folklore And Traditions (ed. Haya Bar-Itzhak), Who's Who In Israel and Jewish Personalities from All Over the World,
and in the Hebrew Wikipedia.
In 1974 while I was in Jerusalem for meetings of IAML and IASA, Dov took me "under his wing" for meals, tours, and visits. And he was always a welcome visitor to the Library of Congress Archive of Folk Song/Culture and Hebraic Center. A wonderful man and world-class scholar. Thank you, Dov, for all your friendship and wonderful works.
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