Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2021-04-09DOI: 10.1007/s10835-021-09374-7
David I. Shyovitz
{"title":"Was Judah he-Ḥasid the “Author” of Sefer Ḥasidim ?","authors":"David I. Shyovitz","doi":"10.1007/s10835-021-09374-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-021-09374-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><i>Sefer</i> <i>Ḥasidim</i> (The Book of the Pious) has long served as a crucial source for medieval Jewish historiography. Yet the dual question of who composed the anonymous text and how its varying recensions came into existence has been a contentious one among scholars of medieval Ashkenaz. In particular, opinions have been split on the issue of the book’s authorship. Ever since the 1538 publication of the <i>editio princeps</i>, Judah he-Ḥasid (“the Pious,” d. 1217) has been credited as the work’s singular “author,” but in the intervening years numerous theories of composite authorship have been proposed as well. The present article reassesses notions of “authorship” in medieval Ashkenaz and does so in dialogue with Ivan Marcus’s recent <i>Sefer Ḥasidim and the Ashkenazic Book in Medieval Europe</i> (2018), a work that seeks to deconstruct the reductive category of unitary “books” in medieval Ashkenaz, but which simultaneously reifies Judah’s self-conscious “authorial identity.” In contrast, I argue on methodological and conceptual grounds that “authorship” is a problematic category in medieval Ashkenazic culture and suggest that in the case of <i>Sefer Ḥasidim</i> there are textual reasons to doubt that a single individual (Judah he-Ḥasid or anyone else) was solely responsible for “authoring” the text in its entirety.</p>","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138517384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2021-04-09DOI: 10.1007/s10835-021-09382-7
Daniel Abrams
{"title":"Suspicion and Evidence: Manuscript Sources of the Hermeneutic Gates of German Pietism","authors":"Daniel Abrams","doi":"10.1007/s10835-021-09382-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-021-09382-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study presents a new manuscript witness for the hermeneutics gates that Eleazar of Worms apparently presented as the basis of the esoteric lore he received from his teacher, R. Judah he-Ḥasid. Eleazar of Worms has been widely acknowledged as the recipient of the secrets of German Pietism and the author of the library of texts that would represent the movement. <i>Sefer ha-Ḥokhmah</i>, the <i>Book of Wisdom</i> purports to be the first literary work he composed just after the death of R. Judah. All surviving manuscript copies of <i>Sefer ha-Ḥokhmah</i> were produced in a later period, and studies have shown that later Kabbalistic texts and themes were reworked into what was initially penned by R. Eleazar. Discovery of the gates in an early Ashkenazic manuscript free of any sign of Kabbalistic revision offers new evidence that grounds at least some of the writing and esoteric lore of Ḥasidei Ashkenaz prior to its later use and revision. This study further delves into the R. Eleazar’s self-awareness as the authoritative voice of German Pietism and proposes that scholars consider the role of rhetoric and the narrative function of Eleazar as the sole agent of literary production, whether or not that was indeed the case at the time he wrote this text. The tension between the scholarly suspicion about the historical veracity of the sources and the textual evidence available is thus highlighted for further consideration. The study concludes with a transcription of all the manuscript texts of the hermeneutic gates.</p>","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"1099 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2021-04-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138504467","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2020-07-01DOI: 10.1007/s10835-020-09367-y
Martina Mampieri
{"title":"When the Rabbi’s Soul Entered a Pig: Melchiorre Palontrotti and His Giudiata against the Jews of Rome","authors":"Martina Mampieri","doi":"10.1007/s10835-020-09367-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09367-y","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"33 1","pages":"351 - 375"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s10835-020-09367-y","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43651954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2020-07-01DOI: 10.1007/s10835-020-09362-3
Ephraim Shoham-Steiner
{"title":"Towers and Lions? Identifying the Patron of a Medieval Illuminated Maḥzor from Cologne","authors":"Ephraim Shoham-Steiner","doi":"10.1007/s10835-020-09362-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09362-3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"46 1","pages":"245-273"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138517412","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2020-06-17DOI: 10.1007/s10835-020-09363-2
Adam Teller
{"title":"The Wars in Eastern Europe, the Jews of Jerusalem, and the Rise of Sabbateanism: The Shaping of the Jewish World in the Mid-Seventeenth Century","authors":"Adam Teller","doi":"10.1007/s10835-020-09363-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09363-2","url":null,"abstract":"This paper revisits the question of the connection between the wars in Eastern Europe (beginning with gezeirot taḥ ve-tat in 1648) and the rise of Sabbateanism. It argues that the key issue is the ways in which the Ashkenazi Jews of Jerusalem dealt with the collapse of Polish-Lithuanian Jewish funding for the Land of Israel in the wake of the wars. Following 1648, an extended transregional philanthropic network began to support the relief efforts for Polish Jewry, diverting resources from the Land of Israel. Initially, this caused great suffering in Jerusalem, including a famine in which many, particularly women, died. In response, great pressure was put on the philanthropic network supporting Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel: the Ashkenazi women of Jerusalem tried to establish their own independent fundraising mechanism, while the men employed a Polish Jew, Nathan Shapira, to collect for them. A major kabbalist, Shapira found common ground with millenarian Protestants in north-western Europe, who saw in the suffering of the Jews in both Eastern Europe and the Holy Land a sign of the Messiah’s imminent return. When they sent money to Jerusalem, the local community—including Nathan of Gaza, then a student—was forced to consider its attitude towards them and their ideology. Nathan had grown up in the post-1648 expanded world of philanthropy and, after the appearance of Shabbetai Zvi, used many transregional fundraising strategies with great success to help spread the new messianic movement.","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"1105 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138504464","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2020-06-17DOI: 10.1007/s10835-020-09363-2
Adam Teller
{"title":"The Wars in Eastern Europe, the Jews of Jerusalem, and the Rise of Sabbateanism: The Shaping of the Jewish World in the Mid-Seventeenth Century","authors":"Adam Teller","doi":"10.1007/s10835-020-09363-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09363-2","url":null,"abstract":"This paper revisits the question of the connection between the wars in Eastern Europe (beginning with \u0000<i>\u0000 gezeirot taḥ ve-tat\u0000</i> in 1648) and the rise of Sabbateanism. It argues that the key issue is the ways in which the Ashkenazi Jews of Jerusalem dealt with the collapse of Polish-Lithuanian Jewish funding for the Land of Israel in the wake of the wars. Following 1648, an extended transregional philanthropic network began to support the relief efforts for Polish Jewry, diverting resources from the Land of Israel. Initially, this caused great suffering in Jerusalem, including a famine in which many, particularly women, died. In response, great pressure was put on the philanthropic network supporting Jewish settlement in the Land of Israel: the Ashkenazi women of Jerusalem tried to establish their own independent fundraising mechanism, while the men employed a Polish Jew, Nathan Shapira, to collect for them. A major kabbalist, Shapira found common ground with millenarian Protestants in north-western Europe, who saw in the suffering of the Jews in both Eastern Europe and the Holy Land a sign of the Messiah’s imminent return. When they sent money to Jerusalem, the local community—including Nathan of Gaza, then a student—was forced to consider its attitude towards them and their ideology. Nathan had grown up in the post-1648 expanded world of philanthropy and, after the appearance of Shabbetai Zvi, used many transregional fundraising strategies with great success to help spread the new messianic movement.","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"1108 ","pages":"377-402"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138504462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2020-06-17DOI: 10.1007/s10835-020-09365-0
Asaf Yedidya
{"title":"The Emancipation of Slaves and the Auto-Emancipation of the Jews: The Impact of the American Civil War and the Abolition of Slavery on the Precursors of Zionism","authors":"Asaf Yedidya","doi":"10.1007/s10835-020-09365-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09365-0","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"33 1","pages":"461 - 486"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1007/s10835-020-09365-0","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"52262004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2020-06-17DOI: 10.1007/s10835-020-09361-4
Yosef Salmon
{"title":"The Hatam Sofer and the Land of Israel","authors":"Yosef Salmon","doi":"10.1007/s10835-020-09361-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09361-4","url":null,"abstract":"Scholarly assessments of Rabbi Moses Sofer (known as the Hatam Sofer) and his position on immigration to the Land of Israel have varied widely. Many scholars have called attention to his negation of the Diaspora and some, such as Ben Zion Dinur, have claimed that Sofer’s teachings led to the beginning of the Jewish national awakening. Owing to the wide-ranging nature of Sofer’s thought and writings, and to changing conditions in the Jewish community and beyond, both Religious Zionists and the anti-Zionist Ultra-Orthodox have relied on his teachings to support their positions. Drawing on a wide array of sources, including sermons, biblical commentaries, correspondence, and rabbinic responsa, this essay analyzes Sofer’s views against the backdrop of his struggles against the religious reform movement and his efforts to strengthen traditional religious observance in response to the challenges of modernity in the nineteenth century.","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"1106 ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138504463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jewish HistoryPub Date : 2020-06-17DOI: 10.1007/s10835-020-09361-4
Yosef Salmon
{"title":"The Hatam Sofer and the Land of Israel","authors":"Yosef Salmon","doi":"10.1007/s10835-020-09361-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10835-020-09361-4","url":null,"abstract":"Scholarly assessments of Rabbi Moses Sofer (known as the Hatam Sofer) and his position on immigration to the Land of Israel have varied widely. Many scholars have called attention to his negation of the Diaspora and some, such as Ben Zion Dinur, have claimed that Sofer’s teachings led to the beginning of the Jewish national awakening. Owing to the wide-ranging nature of Sofer’s thought and writings, and to changing conditions in the Jewish community and beyond, both Religious Zionists and the anti-Zionist Ultra-Orthodox have relied on his teachings to support their positions. Drawing on a wide array of sources, including sermons, biblical commentaries, correspondence, and rabbinic responsa, this essay analyzes Sofer’s views against the backdrop of his struggles against the religious reform movement and his efforts to strengthen traditional religious observance in response to the challenges of modernity in the nineteenth century.","PeriodicalId":44151,"journal":{"name":"Jewish History","volume":"1109 ","pages":"437-459"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2020-06-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138504461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}