Rabbi David Neiman, 82; Scholar in Jewish History, Bible Studies

Rabbi David Neiman, 82, an archeologist and scholar in Bible studies, Jewish history and the relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jews, died Feb. 22 of cancer in Los Angeles.

Neiman was born in Russia and came with his family to the United States in 1923. Raised in New York City, Neiman graduated from City College of New York and earned his master’s degree at the University of Chicago and his doctorate at Dropsie College for Hebrew and Cognate Learning in Philadelphia.

He was ordained as a rabbi in 1952, and over the years led congregations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts.

He began his teaching career at Brandeis University, and in 1966 was appointed associate professor of Jewish theology at Boston College -- a first for a Jewish professor of theology at a Catholic University. In 1971, he was invited to teach a course at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, a leading Jesuit school.

After retiring from Boston College in 1991, he continued as rabbi of Congregation Beth Zion in Brookline, Mass., until 1998. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he taught at Loyola Marymount University, St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo and the University of Judaism.