ADASA

ADASA (Heb. חֲדָשָׁה, Ḥadashah). (1) A village on a small hill strategically overlooking the Beth-Horon road close to the place of Judah Maccabee's final victory over Nicanor. Nicanor fell in the battle and his army fled toward Gazera/Gezer (I Macc. 7:39–40, 45; cf. Elasa which is probably a scribal error for Adasa in II Macc. 14:6). The town is mentioned in the Mishnah as a place with 50 inhabitants, or with three courtyards and two households (Er. 5:6). It is the present-day Khirbet 'Adasa, a little more than 5 mi. (9 km.) north of Jerusalem. The site has not been excavated, but visible archaeological remains include the remains of a settlement with scattered Herodian, Roman, and Byzantine pottery, rock-hewn caves, and agricultural features round about. This site is not to be confused with another Khirbet 'Adasa north of Jerusalem, situated immediately to the northeast of Tell el-Ful, mentioned by some scholars, which has remains that only date back to Mamluk times. Yet another Khirbet 'Adasa is situated west of Gibeon (el-Jib), but the remains there are primarily of the Byzantine period. (2) Ḥadashah/Adasa is also the name of a town in the Shephelah of Judah. It is mentioned in Joshua 15:37 and located close to Migdal-Gad and Zenan. Since Lachish and Eglon are referred to in the same district, Adasa's location should probably be sought in southwest Judah. However, no convincing suggestion has thus far been proposed for the site. Eusebius (26:1) situated Adasa of Joshua 15:37 at a totally different location, close to Gophna (Jifna), but Jerome (27:1) rightly expressed his doubts about this identification. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: B. Bagatti, Ancient Christian Villages of Samaria (2002), 20–21; B. Bar-Kochva, Judas Maccabaeus (1989), 349 ff.; M. Fischer, B. Isaac, and I. Roll, Roman Roads in Judaea. II: The Jaffa-Jerusalem Roads (1996), 120–22; G.S.P. Freeman-Grenville, R.L. Chapman, and J.E. Taylor, The Onomasticon by Eusebius of Caesarea (2003), 22–105; A. Kloner, Survey of Jerusalem: The Northeastern Sector (2001), 21; Y. Tsafrir, L. Di Segni, and J. Green, Tabula Imperii Romani. Iudea, Palaestina. Maps and Gazetteer (1994), 57. (Shimon Gibson (2nd ed.) ADASKIN, MURRAY ADASKIN, MURRAY (1905–2002), Canadian violinist, conductor, composer, teacher. Adaskin was born in Toronto of Russian immigrant parents. He studied music in Toronto and while still in his teens became a violinist with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1923–36). He played with the Banff Springs Trio (1932–41) and Toronto Trio (1938–52). Adaskin was a major figure in the decentralization of Canadian concert music. From the 1930s to 1950s, he toured the country with his wife, Frances James, Canada's leading soprano, and both were pioneers in disseminating contemporary music by radio broadcasting. After studying composition with John Weinzweig (1944) and, in Santa Barbara and Aspen with Charles Jones (1949–51) and Darius Milhaud (1949–53), Adaskin was appointed to the University of Saskatchewan (1952–72). There he served as head of music and composer-in-residence and conducted the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (sso). In 1973, he moved to Victoria, where he continued to compose and teach violin and composition. A leader in postwar cultural nationalism, Adaskin insisted that the sso commission Canadian works annually and based many of his own pieces on Canada's landscape and early history as well as its First Nations' traditions. A conservative modernist, Adaskin's neo-classic works also include music on Jewish themes. His T'filat Shalom (1973) was commissioned by the father of Adaskin's violin student Jeff Krolik who premiered the piece in Jerusalem. A founding member of the Canadian League of Composers, Adaskin served on the Canada Council (1966–69) and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada (1980). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. Lazarevich, The Musical World of Frances James and Murray Adaskin (1988). (Jay Rahn (2nd ed.)