Menachem Banitt

Menachem Banitt

Menachem Banitt (born Max Berenblut), born July 17, 1914, Antwerp, Belgium, died February 24, 2007, Israel, was a Belgian–Israeli scholar of medieval French culture and language and an internationally acclaimed expert on Rashi. Banitt was particularly known for his analysis of Rashi's occasional translation of words and phrases from Hebrew or Aramaic into Old French, written phonetically in Hebrew letters.

Banitt, who lived for most of his life in Israel, was a recipient of the Israel Prize for the Study of Jewish Languages in 1999. He was also awarded the French honour of Officier of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques.