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When he passed away from cancer in 2004, Professor of Theology David Neiman left quite a legacy — one that continues to grow, and garner “likes,” each day.
For the past three years, Neiman has gained legions of followers and new students via YouTube; videos of his lectures have been viewed more than 330,000 times and attracted almost 1,300 subscribers. His daughter, Becky Neiman, works to preserve her father’s work through a website and the Neiman YouTube channel.
David Neiman made history when in 1966 he became the first Jewish scholar appointed to teach religion at Boston College. A story published in the Boston Globe at that time reported that his appointment was a first for any Catholic university in the nation.
David Neiman became a renowned scholar, speaker and writer. His book credits include The Book of Job, Domestic Relations in Antiquity and articles in the Encyclopedia Judaica. While teaching generations of BC students over three decades, he established the Institute of Biblical Archeology and conducted 10 archeological expeditions to Israel.
Growing up, Becky Neiman knew her father was a teacher, but it wasn’t until she sat in on one of his classes while attending Boston College that she realized the passion he brought to his subject.
“He was always just our dad,” said Neiman, who eventually transferred to the New School of Social Research. “I don’t think many children really think about the work lives of their parents. When I saw him at work, it was a transformative moment. He made a really complex subject accessible and I remember watching him, like it was a performance.”
Becky Neiman would continue watching her father’s lectures through the lens of a camera, taping them for posterity. Those tapes would later become digital files that populated Neiman’s YouTube channel.
Becky Neiman says the irony of David Neiman’s online popularity is that her dad was the same man that once banished a television from his home, calling it a “waste of time.”
A writer, director, editor and founder of Midnight Shadow Productions in Los Angeles, Becky Neiman has spent countless off-hours cataloguing lectures, transferring them to digital files and editing them. She finds it heartwarming and surprising to see a new generation of students discover her father’s work through social media.
The least likely audience? A group of die-hard video gamers who wanted to learn the history of a particular storyline in Egypt. The discussion of Major League Gaming referenced Neiman’s work and YouTube page and started spirited discussions on Neiman’s research.
“I don’t think he knew, or could have known that his work would live on in this way. I know that he would love the idea of continuing to inspire people with the subjects he dedicated his life to,” Neiman said.