Resources for 2004
Elia Schadeus' Mysterium: About the Conversion of the Jews (1592)
This text reflects Elia Schadeus' position that economic tolerance of Jews and of converts would facilitate conversion to Christianity. It also documents the desperation felt by Jewish converts to Christianity, who had difficulty integrating into both their old and new societies.
Introduction to R Hayim Vital and His Treatise Etz Hayim - The Tree of Life [and to] the Sha'ar haHaqdamot - Gate of Principles (1572)
Yosef Hacker of Hebrew University in Jerusalem discusses Hayim Vital's Ets Hayim.
Anti-Jewish Accusations in Poland: A Medieval or Early Modern Phenomenon?
Anti-Jewish accusations of host desecration and ritual murder, both of medieval origin and nature, became characteristic of the early modern period in Poland. Despite their medieval roots, some of the medieval characteristics of the accusations were gradually lost in the early modern period, even though their traces continue to appear in the sources. The presentation discusses the loss of theological significance of the accusations. The host desecration accusations gradually become church robbery cases, even if some theological rhetoric is retained, and the blood libels become cases of Jewish hostility and not of reenacting of the Crucifixion.
Introduction to Triumpho del Govierno Popular
The _Triumpho del Govierno Popular, y de la Antiguedad Holandesa_ by Miguel de Barrios (Daniel Levi de Barrios) describes the political and religious 'government' of the community, and includes accounts of its literary and charitable associations, along with poems, encomia, funeral orations, and other miscellanea from de Barrios' Jewish oeuvre. This excerpt constitutes the opening of the work, part of a 58-page introduction which sets a theme for the rest by relating the exilic governance of the Jewish people to the six days of creation, and the restored monarchy of the messianic age to the seventh day, on which God rested. The seven numbered stanzas of the dedicatory poem correspond to the seven sections of this introduction.
Jewish Legal Status in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
In this presentation, Adam Teller discusses the change of status of Jews in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the subjects of the King in the late medieval period to subjects of lords, in private dominions during the early modern period. He contrasts two legal documents: a privilege granted to Jews by King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk (1453) and a privilege granted to Jews in the town of Jampol by the town's owner.
The Jewishness of Conversos
Talya Fishman discusses rabbinic views on the Jewishness of conversos in the early modern period.
Letter from Jerusalem by Obadiah of Bertinoro (1488)
Elliott Horowitz discusses letters by the fifteenth-century Jewish traveler, Obadiah of Bertinoro, who traveled from northern Italy to Jerusalem, as an example of early modern travel literature and encounters with different cultures.
The Letters of Bella Perlhefter (1674-75)
Elisheva Carlebach discusses the literary legacy of Bella bat Jacob Perlhefter (born c. 1650), accomplished writer, instructor of music and rhythm, and entrepreneurial seventeenth-century businesswoman. Her letters provide a rare glimpse into the life of a seventeenth-century Jewish woman (other than Glikl).
The Order of Women's Commandments: Seder Mitzvot Nashim by Benjamin Slonik (1577)
Using Benjamin Slonik's _Seder mitsvot ha-nashim_ (1577), Edward Fram discusses the impact of printing on Jewish culture in the early modern period.
Popularization of the Kabbalah: Two Early Modern Perspectives
In this presentation Boaz Huss of Ben Gurion University discusses two texts, one from the sixteenth century, and one from the eighteenth century, illustrating the popularization of the Zohar, the foundational kabbalistic text, in the early modern period.
Privilege and Statute of Maria Theresia for the Jews of Trieste (1771)
In 1771 the Habsburg ruler Maria Theresia issued a Privilege and a Statute to Jews in Trieste, both to confirm their status and to attract additional Jewish merchants to help develop the Adriatic Free Port. Lois Dubin discusses the legal and historical significance of this privilege.
Sefer Zikhronot: Book of Remembrances by Samuel Aboab (1650)
No description available.
Sefer Ha-Heshek by Hillel Baal Shem (1739)
Moshe Rosman discusses the 1739 book by Hillel Baal Shem as an example of early modern Jewish culture. It focuses on the tension between manuscript and print culture, and esoteric and exoteric knowledge. The selected passages highlight Hillel's training, the problems caused by charlatans, the undesirable popularization of mystical techniques fostered by the publication of simplistic handbooks, and the tangled relationship between _ba'al shem_ type practices and "proper" medicine.
Trent 1475: The Responses of a Pope and a Jewish Chronicler
This presentation discusses two responses to the 1475 trial of Jews accused of ritually murdering a Christian boy, Simon, in the city of Trent. One comes from Pope Sixtus IV and another, a century later, from a Jewish chronicler, Joseph ha-Cohen.
Records of the Metz Beit Din: Jewish Court Records (1771-1789)
Until roughly 1789, the hallmark of Jewish communal autonomy was the authority granted to rabbinic courts to adjudicate civil cases involving Jewish litigants. Nevertheless, the exclusive civil jurisdiction of these tribunals was challenged regularly by individuals seeking to resolve their disputes in the general courts. In Metz, the much esteemed rabbinic court (_beit din_) continued to convene until early 1790. Three registers from the _beit din_ are preserved in manuscript at the YIVO Archives in New York. Commencing in 1771, the registers contain nearly two decades of judicial cases totaling 1167 decisions. The texts included are two cases pertaining to the guardianship of orphans -- a common matter before Jewish and general tribunals.