Description
Book SynopsisMoshe Rosman's revolutionary approach has become a cornerstone of Polish Jewish historiography. Challenging conventions, he asserts that the 'marriage of convenience' between the Jews and the Polish--Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dynamic relationship that, though punctuated by crisis and persecution, developed into a saga of overall achievement and stability.
With that fundamental message this book forges a thematic survey of Jewish history in early modern Poland. These essays, written by Rosman over the course of a distinguished career, have all been updated and enhanced with new detail and nuanced arguments, taking account not only of new archival material and research but also of the ongoing evolution of the author’s own knowledge and perspectives. Some appear here in English for the first time.
The volume's structure highlights key topics for understanding the Polish Jewish past: relations between Jews and other Poles; Jewish communal life; Polish Jewish women; and hasidism. One section analyses how this past has been presented in both scholarly and popular modes. The essays are crafted to place them in dialogue with each other. Analytical introductions weigh their significance in the light of modern and postmodern Jewish and Polish historiography. An extensive general introduction sets the context of the history portrayed here, while a thoughtful conclusion elucidates the larger motifs that emerge.
Trade ReviewReviews'This is a book I myself would want!'
Antony Polonsky, author of the three-volume
History of the Jews in Poland and Russia'The pieces . . . are all of high quality, and bringing them together fills the need for a book that can supplement existing narrative histories, especially for graduate students who need to learn not only the history but the historiography of the subject. The inclusion of pieces that have not previously appeared in English is a real contribution.'
David Engel,
New York University‘In a rare and fascinating overview of his field, Rosman evaluates changes in the study of Polish Jewry and the perceptions altered by his own distinguished research as well as others’.’ Sara Jo Ben Zvi, Segula
Table of ContentsIntroduction PART I HISTORIOGRAPHY Introduction 1. A New Scholarly Foundation: The Historiography of Polish Jewry Since 1945 2. The Verdict of Israeli Historiography on Hasidism 3. POLIN: The Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the New Polish Jewish Metahistory PART II JEWS AND OTHER POLES Introduction 4. Jewish Perceptions of Persecution and Powerlessness in the Commonwealth 5. A Minority Views the Majority: Jewish Attitudes Towards the Commonwealth and Interaction with Poles 6. Dubno in the Wake of Khmelnytsky 7. The Question of the Jews in the Constitution of the Third of May PART III THE JEWISH COMMUNITY Introduction 8. Jewish Autonomy in Poland and the Polish Regime 9. The Authority of the Council of Four Lands Outside Poland--Lithuania 10. The Indebtedness of the Lublin Kahal in the Eighteenth Century 11. Everyday Violence in Jewish Communities of the Commonwealth 12. The Image of Poland as a Torah Centre after 1648 PART IV WOMEN Introduction 13. History of Jewish Women in the Commonwealth I: An Assessment 14. History of Jewish Women in the Commonwealth II: From Facilitation to Participation 15. A Proto-Feminist Demand to Increase Jewish Women’s Religious Capital: Leah Horowitz’s Tkhine Imohos PART V HASIDISM Introduction 16. The Rise of Hasidism 17. Międzybóż and Rabbi Yisra’el Ba’al Shem Tov 18. Stories that Changed History: The Unique Career of Shivḥei habesht 19. Hasidism as a Modern Phenomenon Conclusion: Theme Decoding
