Elias Lipiner Jewish writer, medieval historian, journalist. Date of Birth: 23.02.1916 Country: Israel

1. Early Life and Education
2. Legal and Academic Career
3. Historical Research
4. Literary and Journalistic Activities
5. Later Life and Legacy

Early Life and Education

Ele Lipiner was born in the Bessarabian town of Khotyn, now part of Ukraine, on August 9, 1876. His father, Gdalya Lipiner, was a teacher and poet. Lipiner attended a cheder, a Hebrew elementary school, before moving on to a Tarbut Hebrew high school and a Romanian high school. In 1935, he immigrated to Brazil and settled in São Paulo, where he became editor of the local Yiddish newspaper, São Paulo Idishe Tsaytung.

Legal and Academic Career

After graduating from the University of Rio de Janeiro's law school in 1944, Lipiner returned to São Paulo and earned a master's degree in law in 1955. He practiced law and became a leading medievalist.

Historical Research

Lipiner's first major work, "Oysyes Dertseyln," was published in Yiddish in 1941. In 1949, he published a commented translation of Shmuel Ushque's "Ba Di Taykhn Fun Portugal" ("On the Rivers of Portugal"), which sparked his lifelong interest in the history of the Portuguese Inquisition. He gained access to the Torre do Tombo National Archive in Portugal and published numerous scholarly works on the history of Portuguese Marranos, Kabbalah, and Brazilian Jewish folklore.

Literary and Journalistic Activities

Lipiner was also a prolific journalist and literary writer in Yiddish. He published in various periodicals in Argentina, France, and Israel. His historical work "Tsvishn Maranentum Un Shmad" ("Between Marranism and Baptism") was published in Tel Aviv in 1973. He also published several historical monographs in Portuguese, which were translated into English, Italian, Hebrew, and other languages.

Later Life and Legacy

In 1968, Lipiner moved to Israel, where he continued to write and practice law. He received the Comenda da Ordem de Merito from the Portuguese Republic for his contributions to the study of Portuguese history. Lipiner passed away on May 11, 1933. His work continues to inspire and inform scholars of medieval history, the Portuguese Inquisition, and Jewish life in the Americas.