Who is Father Abraham? and why is he reading in Hebrew?

In my link list you might notice "Fr. Abraham Reads the Bible in Hebrew".  This is a link to the Mechon-Mamre site where the Hebrew Bible is available in various formats and languages, and indeed, read aloud in mp3 format.

Ehud (my Hebrew prof) recommended that we listen to him - his accent is as perfect as we will ever hear.

So who is Father Abraham?  He was born in Jerusalem to an ultra-orthodox Jewish family in 1913, joined the British Army in 1939, was taken prisoner by the Germans in Greece in 1941 and while imprisoned, read the New Testament.  Upon his release he went to England and was baptized into the Catholic Church.  Returning home to the Middle East, he joined the Benedictines and later, the Trappists.  It was not always easy being a Jew among Arab Christians.

Here are two bios of him.  What an interesting man.  And what a great legacy he has left the world.

Father Abraham Shmuelof

Abraham Shmuelof

Click here to hear him reading Psalm 23.