Scholar Devoted to Unique Project

Moshe Lazar has been spending the past quarter-century on a project that almost no one else in the world could possibly do.

A professor of comparative literature at USC, he has dedicated himself to rescuing from oblivion a huge volume of ancient religious texts and manuscripts written by Sephardic Jews, members of the large Jewish community that flourished for centuries in Spain until they were driven out in 1492 by the Inquisition.

Working with original manuscripts he has found in libraries throughout Spain, Lazar has spent 25 years transcribing, translating and, in some cases, transliterating from Hebrew. The result is an extraordinary collection in Spanish of Sephardic religious classics, to which Lazar has added critical commentaries.

With the publication of books such as “The Ladino Pentateuch” and “The Ladino Bible of Ferrara,” scholars around the world now have access to these rare scriptures. Seven volumes have been published so far, and seven more are in preparation. Lazar, 64, a resident of Beverly Hills, expects to complete the series later this year.

His qualifications for such work are exceptional, perhaps unique. To begin with, he is fluent in more than a dozen languages, including all the Judeo-Romance languages and dialects found in the texts.

His efforts have not gone unnoticed. Last month, the USC professor received the insignia of the Order of Civil Merit of Spain for his work from Eduardo Garrigues, Spanish consul general in Los Angeles, in a ceremony at USC.

“It’s an honor,” Lazar said. “It’s a sign of encouragement along the way” for the project.

Born in Romania, Lazar moved as an infant with his family to Belgium, where they lived until 1940. When the Nazis advanced, the family fled to France before being caught and sent to a concentration camp.

“That whole period of my life is like a black hole,” he said. “I didn’t read or learn anything. . . . I don’t recollect any feelings.”

Yet somehow he and his family survived. Lazar went on to study comparative literature at the Sorbonne for two years after World War II, and then French literature, Romance philology and history at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he obtained a master’s degree in 1951.

He continued his postgraduate work at the Sorbonne, in medieval French and Provencal literatures as well as modern drama. Then he turned his attention to studying Spanish philology at the University of Salamanca, and presented his doctoral thesis, on the literature of courtly love, at the Sorbonne in 1957.

After serving as a soldier in the Israeli army, he had a distinguished teaching career at Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University.

In 1977, he went to USC as a visiting professor in the drama department. Two years later, he served as chairman of the comparative literature division, a department where he has remained on staff.

A naturalized American citizen, Lazar has published more than a dozen books and about 40 scholarly articles on the history and culture of Spanish Jewry, psychodramatic literature, drama and the arts.

“I feel like my work keeps me going and gives me strength,” he said.

In addition to the Spanish project, he is also writing a book on the use of visual and verbal anti-Jewish propaganda during the Middle Ages. He hopes to complete it this summer.

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Pacific Palisades resident Mike Bowlin has joined the Harvey Mudd College board of trustees.

Bowlin, who currently serves as executive vice president of Arco and will assume the title of president and chief operating officer next month, is a graduate of North Texas State University.

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Greg Wenger of Marina del Rey has been elected president of the Marina Foundation.

The Marina Foundation, a nonprofit organization, conducts marine and coastal educational projects to benefit the community. Other new officers are Willie Hjorth, Joe Manusia, Mariellen Peters and Gene O’Connell. Newly elected foundation directors are Daniel Haggerty and Jack Woods.

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Brother John Grever, a history professor at Loyola Marymount University, has been named the recipient of the first Loyola Marymount University President’s Distinguished Teaching Award for excellence in teaching.

Grever was awarded $2,000 at the University’s Academic Awards Convocation on April 15. He has researched and lectured internationally on 17th-Century European history.

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Stanley Gold, managing partner of Trefoil Capital Investors, has been elected to the USC Board of Trustees. He also serves as president and chief executive of Shamrock Holdings Inc. and chief executive of L.A. Gear Inc.

Gold, a Beverly Hills resident, graduated from UCLA and the USC Law Center. He is also chairman of the board of governors of Hebrew Union College and is a member of the American Bar Assn.

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Four Westside residents have been named to the board of directors of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Conference of Christians & Jews.

Elected at the group’s recent annual meeting were Beverly Hills residents Steven Broidy and Rabbi Harvey Fields, and Santa Monica residents Jeff Sagansky and Anita DeFrantz.

The National Conference of Christians & Jews is a nonsectarian education and training organization dedicated to fighting all prejudice.

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