Shanks leaves behind scholarly legacy

Mar. 20—Hershel Shanks began his career in the law, but found worldwide renown as a pioneer in the field of biblical archeology, a passion that traced its roots to his childhood in Sharon.

Shanks, who died Feb. 5 about a month short of his 81st birthday, chased that passion in middle age and founded the Biblical Archaeology Review.

His sister Leah Shanks Gordon, of New York City, said her family lived on both Pearl Street and Jefferson Avenue in Sharon as children. They moved about 1950, to a home on South Buhl Farm Drive in Hickory Township, now Hermitage.

Their father, Martin Shanks, owned Kramer's Shoe Store at 43 W. State St. until the shop went out of business in the early 1960s. He then went to work at Reyers' Shoe Store until Leah's parents retired and moved to Florida in 1979.

"At that time the malls were just coming into popularity, and the one they started to build on upper State Street really took away from the businesses along the main street," Leah said, referring to the Shenango Valley Mall.

Hershel graduated from Sharon High School in 1948, and Leah graduated in 1952. She pursued a career in journalism and eventually became chief of research at Time Magazine, while Hershel worked as a lawyer.

Even while serving the law, Hershel yearned for a higher calling. Leah said he had an interest in biblical history since the Shanks family worshipped at the former Temple Beth Israel on Highland Road in Sharon, Leah said.

"I think he got that from my mother, Mildred Shanks, because she taught Sunday school in Sharon," Leah said. "There used to be a very vibrant Jewish community in Sharon."

In 1972, Hershel took his family on a year-long sabbatical to Israel before his daughters would have to begin school. That trip would lead to Hershel pursuing his passion.

According to an editorial, Hershel wrote for the BAR in 2015, his family was exploring an area around Hazor when one of his daughters, Elizabeth, discovered a clay pot handle. This would lead to Hershel meeting Israeli archeologist Yigael Yadin, who encouraged Hershel to write about the find.

Later returning to the United States, Hershel wanted to maintain some connection with Israel, and a friend suggested that Hershel start his own publication, which became the Biblical Archaeology Review, according to the editorial.

Leah remembered that she discouraged him from starting the magazine. At the time, Leah said she told her brother to focus on his family and not squander his money pursuing a magazine, especially since Leah — who worked in the field — said newly formed magazines had only a slim chance for success.

"He wasn't a journalist and he didn't know anything about publishing," Leah said of her brother. "I told him not to go into the business, but he was his own man."

Hershel decided to move forward with the project and published the BAR's first issue in 1975. He retired in 2017 as the magazine's editor-in-chief, but the publication continues today.

Though pleasantly surprised at the magazine's longevity, Leah said she knows Jews and Christians who subscribe to the Biblical Archeology Review, which indicates that the publication connects history and science to people across religious backgrounds.

Hershel went on to visit Israel multiple times, with Leah accompanying him during a few trips in the 1980s and a final trip in 2004. Though more focused on American history herself, Leah said visiting Israel allowed her to see the reality behind some of the Bible stories.

Leah visited locations depicted in the Bible, including the Temple of the Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, and Petra in Jordan, she said.

"It's unbelievable in many respects, to see these historical sites that you've heard about all your life from the Bible and suddenly it's there in plain sight," Leah said. "The images you've carried all through the years become real."

Leah said Hershel's legacy will continue to be the Biblical Archeology Review, which illustrates her brother's devotion to the subject and determination to overcome her reservations.

"It's a model success story," she said.

Like David L. Dye on Facebook or email him at ddye@sharonherald.com.