General Information

Full Name: Alfred L. Ivry
Date of Death: Thursday, February 12, 2026

‏אברהם אריה בן משה ובלה
January 14, 1935 — February 12, 2026

Alfred Lyon Ivry, son of Belle (Malamud) and Morris Ivry, died on February 12, 2026 at the age of 91, surrounded by family members. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he attended P.S. 138 and Yeshiva Ohel Moshe, followed by Coney Island’s Abraham Lincoln High School from which he graduated in 1953.

In 1957, he earned a B.A. in English literature and Philosophy from Brooklyn College, where he served as drama critic for the Brooklyn College Kingsman. He simultaneously earned certification from the Herzliah Bet Midrash LeMorim, a Hebrew Teachers Institute.

In 1963, Alfred earned a PhD in Medieval Jewish Philosophy from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA. In 1971, he was awarded a D. Phil in Medieval Islamic Philosophy from Oxford University, Linacre College.

Well-versed in modern Jewish thought, comparative Western religions, and Classical and Hellenistic Philosophy, in addition to his own specialities, Alfred was on the faculty at Cornell University; The Ohio State University, where he was named the Leon Yassenoff Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Studies; Brandeis University, where he was the Walter S. Hilborn Professor of Near Eastern & Judaic Studies; and New York University, where he was the Skirball Professor of Jewish Thought.

At NYU he held joint appointments in the Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies and the Department of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies and served a term as director of NYU’s Medieval and Renaissance Center. He retired from NYU in 2005.

Alfred was president of the Society for Medieval and Renaissance Philosophy, vice-president for the Society for Judaeo-Arabic Studies, and secretary of the Board of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He founded and co-chaired the Boston Colloquium in Medieval Philosophy, and founded and chaired the NYU Colloquium in Medieval Philosophy. He was a member of the editorial board of the University Press of New England, Maimonidean Studies, and AJSReview. Alfred was the author of over one hundred scholarly articles and book reviews, and was the author or editor of nine books, including Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: A Philosophical Guide, published in 2016.

In addition to academic interests, Alfred traveled regularly throughout the United States and the world along with his wife, Joann. He was an avid reader of the newspaper, fiction, and poetry, and had a sharp wit and estimable sense of humor. With Joann, he frequented museums and was an enthusiastic audience member at dance, theater, and classical music performances both in New York City and at their home in the Berkshires.

He enjoyed biking, swimming, camping, hiking, ice skating, and tennis throughout his life. Like many Brooklyn boys of his era, he followed the Dodgers, but happily took his children to Red Sox games at Fenway Park and later his grandchildren to see the Sox at Yankee Stadium. In his retirement, he became a successful gentleman farmer in the Northwest Corner of Connecticut, and enjoyed the wonders of the natural world on frequent walks, canoe trips, and fishing expeditions around the Twin Lakes. While continuing to write scholarly articles, he took up birding, among other hobbies, and with Joann developed and enjoyed the friendships he made there, amongst members of the Berkshire Minyan, of which they were founding members.

Above all, Alfred was committed to the Jewish tradition and people, and to his family. He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Joann (nee Saltzman), their children: Rebecca (Cliff Stein), Jonathan, Sara, and Jessica; grandchildren: Molly (Josh Mark), Noah (Noa Shapiro), and Ben Stein, and Talia, Max, Isaiah, and Esther Ivry; great-grandchild: Aaron Mark; and colleagues and friends made throughout his life. He was predeceased by his sister, Grace.

Donations in Alfred’s memory may be made to the Berkshire Minyan and to the Yaakov Goboff Fund at the Yaakov Herzog Institute for Jewish Studies at Kibbutz Ein Tzurim.