Description
Book SynopsisThough the existence of Jewish regional cultures is widely known, the origins of the most prominent groups, Ashkenaz and Sepharad, are poorly understood, and the rich variety of other regional Jewish identities is often overlooked. Yet all these subcultures emerged in the Middle Ages. Scholars contributing to the present study were invited to consider how such regional identities were fashioned, propagated, reinforced, contested, and reshaped—and to reflect on the developments, events, or encounters that made these identities manifest. They were asked to identify how subcultural identities proved to be useful, and the circumstances in which they were deployed. The resulting volume spans the ninth to the sixteenth centuries, and explores Jewish cultural developments in western Europe, the Balkans, North Africa, and Asia Minor. In its own way, each contribution considers factors—demographic, geographical, historical, economic, political, institutional, legal, intellectual, theological, cultural, and even biological—that led medieval Jews to conceive of themselves, or to be perceived by others, as bearers of a discrete Jewish regional identity. Notwithstanding the singularity of each essay, they collectively attest to the inherent dynamism of Jewish regional identities.
Trade Review‘[The essays] make unexpected and intriguing links between Jewish and non-Jewish literature and ideas, and (rightly) raise as much questions as they seek to answer. In that respect, they have helpfully indicted possible directions of future research.’
Stefan C . Reif,
Journal of Jewish Studies'Provides a wealth of new information… a first quality working tool.'
Jean-Pierre Rothschild,
Revue des études juives'Many of the contributions make unexpected and intriguing links between Jewish and non-Jewish literature and ideas and […] raise as many questions as those they seek to answer. In that respect, they have helpfully indicated possible directions of future research.'Stephan C. Reif,
Journal of Jewish StudiesTable of ContentsList of Contributors
Note on Transliteration
Introduction - Talya Fishman
Part I. Identity Claims
1. The Emergence of the Medieval Jewish Diaspora(s) of Europe from the Ninth to the Twelfth Centuries, with Some Thoughts on Historical DNA Studies - Michael Toch
2. Medieval Jewish Legends on the Decline of the Babylonian Centre and the Primacy of Other Geographical Centres - Avraham Grossman
Part II. The Impact of Non-Jewish Cultures on Regional Traditions
3. The Sacrifice of the Souls of the Righteous upon the Heavenly Altar: Transformations of Apocalyptic Traditions in Medieval Ashkenaz - Paul Mandel
4. The Bifurcated Legacy of Rabbi Moses Hadarshan and the Rise of Peshat Exegesis in Medieval France - Hananel Mack
5. A New Look at Medieval Jewish Exegetical Constructions of Peshat in Christian and Muslim Lands: Rashbam and Maimonides - Mordechai Z. Cohen
6. The ‘Our Talmud’ Tradition and the Predilection for Works of Applied Law in Early Sephardi Rabbinic Culture - Talya Fishman
Part III. Geopolitical Boundaries and Their Impact on Jewish Regional Identities
7. From Germany to Northern France and Back Again: A Tale of Two Tosafist Centres - Ephraim Kanarfogel
8. Rabbinic Politics, Royal Conquest, and the Creation of a Halakhic Tradition in Medieval Provence - Pinchas Roth
9. Mediterranean Regionalism in Hebrew Panegyric Poetry - Jonathan Decter
10. Framings of Sephardi Identity in Ashkenazi Prayer Books - Elisabeth Hollender
11. Minhag and Migration: Yiddish Custom Books from Sixteenth-Century Italy - Lucia Raspe
Part IV. Cultural Content as a Marker of Jewish Regional Identities
12. A Collection of Jewish Philosophical Prayers - Y. Tzvi Langermann
13. Prophets and Their Impact in the High Middle Ages: A Subculture of Franco-German Jewry - Moshe Idel
Index
