Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization – serie

This volume of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization covers the religious, political, economic, and geographic transformations of Jewish life through the early Middle Ages  Volume 3 of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization presents a time of tremendous vibrancy for Jews and Judaism in the early Middle Ages, with a comprehensive historical introduction to the period in over a thousand source texts, alongside the extant visual and material culture. The sources offer an unprecedented range of voices—male and female, religious and secular, mystical and rationalist, learned and commoner—from a historical period that is thoroughly unfamiliar to modern audiences. The volume captures passionate political controversies, virtuosic liturgical poets, learned scientific and medical texts, and spiritually uplifting philosophical and theological discussions, all alongside the plaintive voices of Jewish mothers writing to their sons, real-life cases of commercial transactions, legal contests, and the details of domestic disputes.

Volume 4 of The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, covering the later Middle Ages and highlighting the religious and cultural shifts of Jewish life at that timeAt the start of the late medieval period, the center of Jewish intellectual productivity had shifted from Muslim lands to Christian Europe. By its end, Jews had been expelled from most of western Europe. In the intervening three hundred years, Jews in western and central Europe, the Middle East, and beyond produced a wealth of literary, legal, philosophical, and scientific writings, primarily but not exclusively written in Hebrew. Adding to this rich abundance, Jewish migration fostered increased contact and intellectual exchange among far-flung Jewish communities, each of which possessed a distinct regional culture.This volume gathers over a thousand primary sources—texts, translated from more than a dozen languages, as well as a stunning array of visual images—that represent the breadth and diversity of late medieval Jewish cultures. The birth of kabbalah, a major development in the field of Jewish mysticism, represents a highlight of these years. Alongside religious, literary, and scholarly writings, the volume presents personal letters, chronicles, communal records, account ledgers, tombstone inscriptions, legal contracts, court testimonies, and much more, giving expression to the full sweep of Jewish civilization. The texts and artifacts in this volume offer an exciting window into the social, political, economic, and religious life of Jews in the late Middle Ages.

An extensive collection of Jewish texts and visual artifacts, representing the memory, identity, and culture of ancient Jewish life over nearly a thousand years  Volume 2 of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization covers Jewish life as it evolved in the first several centuries following the biblical period. Jewish identity grew from its Israelite background and took on new dimensions, shaped by cultural exchanges and interactions with surrounding civilizations, including the Greek, Roman, Sasanian, and Parthian Empires. Shifts in Jewish culture during this long period include the rise of sectarianism, the expansion of the concept of Torah, the shift from Temple to synagogue, the disappearance of the priesthood and the emergence of rabbis, and the development of new forms of liturgy.  These years laid the groundwork for the rich tapestry of Jewish identity that would continue to evolve throughout history. Providing a robust collection of written and visual primary resources, Volume 2 affords an unmatched opportunity to discover the forms and movements of ancient Judaism and the institutions around which Jews centered their lives.

A celebrated novelist and an acclaimed historian of ideas, father and daughter, unravel the chain of words at the core of Jewish life, history, and cultureWhy are words so important to so many Jews? Novelist Amos Oz and historian Fania Oz-Salzberger roam the gamut of Jewish history to explain the integral relationship of Jews and words. Through a blend of storytelling and scholarship, conversation and argument, father and daughter tell the tales behind Judaism’s most enduring names, adages, disputes, texts, and quips. These words, they argue, compose the chain connecting Abraham with the Jews of every subsequent generation.Framing the discussion within such topics as continuity, women, timelessness, and individualism, Oz and Oz-Salzberger deftly engage Jewish personalities across the ages, from the unnamed, possibly female author of the Song of Songs through obscure Talmudists to contemporary writers. They suggest that Jewish continuity, even Jewish uniqueness, depends not on central places, monuments, heroic personalities, or rituals but rather on written words and an ongoing debate between the generations. Full of learning, lyricism, and humor, Jews and Words offers an extraordinary tour of the words at the heart of Jewish culture and extends a hand to the reader, any reader, to join the conversation.