Dalia Yasharpour was introduced to her dissertation topic by a member of the Iranian Jewish community in Los Angeles. Knowing that she was becoming an expert in the confluence of Jewish and Persian history and culture, he showed her a manuscript in his private collection and said he "wanted to know what it was."

It turned out to be a copy of The Prince and the Sufi, an adaptation of the life of Gautama Buddha in verse and rhymed prose. The author is Elisha ben Shemuel, a Jew living in 17th-century Persia. A sterling example of Judeo-Persian authors, he was a poet writing the Persian language using Hebrew script and addressing a Jewish audience in a composition that features a Muslim mystic and displays influences of the Persian culture in which he lived.

Dalia's dissertation topic focuses on a literary analysis and translation to English of the work, which combines Judaic and Iranian traditions with Muslim thinking. The plot of the story involves a prince who is, as Dalia puts it, "extraordinary in every sense" in his quest to understand the meaning of life. A Sufi, or Muslim mystic, seeks him out and enlightens him with an array of anecdotes that convey moral, theological, and philosophical values.

Ben Shemuel was clearly quite familiar with the Persian literary styles of his time, Dalia says, and "he was unabashed about seeing Jewish elements integrated with the Muslim." At one point, the mystical Muslim master expounds on Maimonides' thirteen principles of the Jewish faith. The Sufi also encourages the prince to pursue a moderate form of asceticism, a concept found in ancient Iranian wisdom literature.

"Judeo-Persian authors judged the quality of their work by the degree to which they successfully integrated Jewish with Iranian and Muslim elements," says Dalia, who finds it "amazing how interdisciplinary" her dissertation topic is. To pursue a doctorate in Near Eastern languages and cultures, she had to become expert in Islamic, Jewish, and Iranian studies and learn the Persian, Hebrew, and Arabic languages. Then, she could begin to examine the linguistic, literary, and intellectual features of Judeo-Persian literature.

However, her extraordinary scholarly journey began at her grandmother's knee, listening to stories about the family, Jews who had lived in Iran until 1979 Islamic Revolution. "I wanted to understand what my connection was to Iran and to being Jewish," she says. With her BA in English achieved, Dalia began to sit in on Persian language classes at UCLA. She earned a diploma at Oxford University's Center for Jewish Studies, writing a thesis on Iranian-Jewish history, which dates back as early as 722 BC. She spent the following summer at Hebrew University, studying Hebrew and exploring manuscripts; this would be the first of many visits.

Upon discovering Judeo-Persian literature, she began looking for scholarly mentors. "I had to find scholars specializing in Judeo-Persian studies and convince them I wasn't dabbling. I had to go out of my way to prove myself and how serious I was." One of those scholarly mentors brought her back to UCLA. Hossein Ziai, director of Iranian Studies, "knew that what I wanted to do was difficult, that it required extensive research abroad," and yet, she says, "he was enthusiastic and encouraging."

Indeed, Professor Ziai believes that Dalia's work will make an important contribution to scholarship on "the highly positive symbiosis of the Judaic and the Iranian framework," as the two cultural threads "merge and inform a uniquely harmonious view of fundamental issues relating to knowledge and experience." Judeo-Persian literature is not widely studied, and just one article has previously been written about Ben Shemuel's work.

Until two editions were printed in the 20th century, The Prince and the Sufi existed only in manuscripts, one carefully copied from another. Dalia has studied manuscripts from collections in the United States and Israel—and of course, from the private collection of her Los Angeles connection. Dalia relishes her links to the local Iranian Jewish community, where she occasionally lectures. "I've always wanted my research to be relevant to Iranian Jews, to be something that I can share with them. Every time we meet I am gratified by our exchange.

Dalia has also taught at UCLA and Santa Monica College, offering classes in language, history, and religion. In Winter 2003, she developed and taught a class on the intellectual development of Jews of Iran. She is hoping that her wide-ranging knowledge and her fluency in three languages besides English will help her find the academic job she seeks.

In continuing her research, she will benefit from the extensive experience she's acquired drafting proposals that win grants and fellowships—including a Skirball, Fulbright and most recently, a Dissertation Year Fellowship—to support her graduate work. Particularly with a subject that is relatively unknown in the academic world, "one needs to be able to communicate one's research objectives clearly and succinctly," she says, "to write proposals that are engaging for people who read them and put one's case across well."

Besides the ability to express oneself effectively, Dalia believes that a passion for one's work is the key to success. "If you're passionate about your work," she says, "irrespective of how obscure the field, you will engage people. They will want to listen."

Published in Fall 2003, Graduate Quarterly