Pub Date : 2020-12-21DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12171088
Ilaria Briata
This article presents the results of a preliminary inquiry into the theatrical activity of Sephardic Jews in Italy from 1492 to the 18th century. Through archival investigation conducted on catalogues of manuscripts and published books from Italian libraries, as well as on documents produced by Sephardic communities, the study focuses on three case studies: the communities in Venice, Naples, and Tuscany. Concerning the Venetian community, literary witnesses to the dramatic activity in the Ghetto are collected and analyzed, including Ester by Salomon Usque and Leon Modena. Concerning the Neapolitan community, the reasons for the absence of Sephardic cultural traces are clarified. The only extant Judeo-Spanish plays produced in Italy come from Pisa and Livorno, testifying to the prolific activity of Iberian Jews in Tuscany. Finally, a list of Hebrew dramatic works written by Italian authors of Sephardic origin is provided in order to reflect on the very categories of ‘Sephardic’ and ‘Italian.’
{"title":"A Preliminary Study of the History of Sephardic Theatre in Italy","authors":"Ilaria Briata","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12171088","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12171088","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article presents the results of a preliminary inquiry into the theatrical activity of Sephardic Jews in Italy from 1492 to the 18th century. Through archival investigation conducted on catalogues of manuscripts and published books from Italian libraries, as well as on documents produced by Sephardic communities, the study focuses on three case studies: the communities in Venice, Naples, and Tuscany. Concerning the Venetian community, literary witnesses to the dramatic activity in the Ghetto are collected and analyzed, including Ester by Salomon Usque and Leon Modena. Concerning the Neapolitan community, the reasons for the absence of Sephardic cultural traces are clarified. The only extant Judeo-Spanish plays produced in Italy come from Pisa and Livorno, testifying to the prolific activity of Iberian Jews in Tuscany. Finally, a list of Hebrew dramatic works written by Italian authors of Sephardic origin is provided in order to reflect on the very categories of ‘Sephardic’ and ‘Italian.’","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2020-12-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"64860069","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-03-04DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12171086
Claudia Rosenzweig
In the editio princeps of the Mayse-bukh (Basel 1602) are circa 250 stories. The last one is a translation/reworking of a story that appears in Sefer Hasidim, and is about a bibliotaphos, someone who is ready to bury his books, but not to lend them. In this short paper, I try to show the differences between the Yiddish and the Hebrew source, suggesting that these differences can hint at historical and social transformations of the reading public of Yiddish texts in the Early Modern era.
{"title":"A Note on an Old Jewish Bibliotaphos","authors":"Claudia Rosenzweig","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12171086","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12171086","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the editio princeps of the <em>Mayse-bukh</em> (Basel 1602) are circa 250 stories. The last one is a translation/reworking of a story that appears in <em>Sefer Hasidim</em>, and is about a <em>bibliotaphos</em>, someone who is ready to bury his books, but not to lend them. In this short paper, I try to show the differences between the Yiddish and the Hebrew source, suggesting that these differences can hint at historical and social transformations of the reading public of Yiddish texts in the Early Modern era.</p>","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":"20 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2020-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138512061","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-08-31DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12171082
A. V. D. Haven
A record from 1 November 1655 of a donation to a certain Sarah from Poland is probably the first documented historical appearance of Sarah the Ashkenazi, future wife of messiah Shabbetai Tzevi. Individually recorded donations by the Sephardic community to Polish refugees were quite unusual in these years, but, according to later biographical sources, the future messianic bride Sarah displayed a great talent for persuading others, and this explains why Amsterdam’s Portuguese Mahamad would give her money. Arriving as a Polish refugee around the time of this record, Sarah the Ashkenazi told a fantastic autobiographical tale that made her stand out among the other refugees and forged a bond of kinship with an earlier refugee. Moreover, she might have claimed clairvoyant abilities.
{"title":"The Earliest Footprint of a Messianic Queen: Sarah the Ashkenazi in Amsterdam","authors":"A. V. D. Haven","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12171082","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12171082","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000A record from 1 November 1655 of a donation to a certain Sarah from Poland is probably the first documented historical appearance of Sarah the Ashkenazi, future wife of messiah Shabbetai Tzevi. Individually recorded donations by the Sephardic community to Polish refugees were quite unusual in these years, but, according to later biographical sources, the future messianic bride Sarah displayed a great talent for persuading others, and this explains why Amsterdam’s Portuguese Mahamad would give her money. Arriving as a Polish refugee around the time of this record, Sarah the Ashkenazi told a fantastic autobiographical tale that made her stand out among the other refugees and forged a bond of kinship with an earlier refugee. Moreover, she might have claimed clairvoyant abilities.","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12171082","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44575235","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-20DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12171081
A. Wilde
As a first step towards more research in the field of Jewish private libraries and Hebrew auction catalogues, this zuta focuses on the understudied corpus of 18th-century Hebrew book sales catalogues printed in the Dutch Republic. It is not always clear if these 18th-century catalogues contain collections from private libraries or retail stocks of publishers, printers, or booksellers. In this article I will analyse and compare the title pages of several catalogues, in order to understand the meaning of the phrase ʿal yede in relation to ownership of the catalogued collections.
{"title":"How to Understand ʿal yede? Title Pages of Hebrew Private Library Catalogues Printed in the Dutch Republic during the Long 18th Century","authors":"A. Wilde","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12171081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12171081","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000As a first step towards more research in the field of Jewish private libraries and Hebrew auction catalogues, this zuta focuses on the understudied corpus of 18th-century Hebrew book sales catalogues printed in the Dutch Republic. It is not always clear if these 18th-century catalogues contain collections from private libraries or retail stocks of publishers, printers, or booksellers. In this article I will analyse and compare the title pages of several catalogues, in order to understand the meaning of the phrase ʿal yede in relation to ownership of the catalogued collections.","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12171081","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43091413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-05-27DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12171084
Zvi Y. D. Ron
This article traces the origin and development of the by now ubiquitous Ashkenazic custom for the bride to circle the groom under the chuppa. The custom began as circling three times, and various reasons were given for this particular practice. Due to kabbalistic influence, the custom shifted from three circuits to seven, the common custom today. The reasons given also changed over time, reflecting changing attitudes to the symbolism of the wedding ceremony.
{"title":"The Origin and Development of the Custom for the Bride to Circle the Groom Three or Seven Times","authors":"Zvi Y. D. Ron","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12171084","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12171084","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article traces the origin and development of the by now ubiquitous Ashkenazic custom for the bride to circle the groom under the chuppa. The custom began as circling three times, and various reasons were given for this particular practice. Due to kabbalistic influence, the custom shifted from three circuits to seven, the common custom today. The reasons given also changed over time, reflecting changing attitudes to the symbolism of the wedding ceremony.","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12171084","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48401872","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-22DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12171085
Dov J. Cohen
A comprehensive project conducted over the past few years to locate and document every book printed in Ladino, revealed that between the years 1490–1960, nearly four thousand titles were published. In this article, I will show that many Ladino books were lost over the generations. Some of those missing books were referenced in assorted sources. Others did not come to researchers’ attention until fairly recently. This study contains several examples of Ladino books from the 16th century, which were lost and then rediscovered – due to the fact that their fragments were preserved in the Cairo Genizah or found in the bindings of antique books.
{"title":"Missing Treasures: Tracking Lost Ladino Books","authors":"Dov J. Cohen","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12171085","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12171085","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000A comprehensive project conducted over the past few years to locate and document every book printed in Ladino, revealed that between the years 1490–1960, nearly four thousand titles were published. In this article, I will show that many Ladino books were lost over the generations. Some of those missing books were referenced in assorted sources. Others did not come to researchers’ attention until fairly recently. This study contains several examples of Ladino books from the 16th century, which were lost and then rediscovered – due to the fact that their fragments were preserved in the Cairo Genizah or found in the bindings of antique books.","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12171085","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43411610","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-14DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12161005
I. Zwiep, Avriel Bar-Levav
{"title":"18th-Century Religious Renewal and Reform in Interreligious Perspective","authors":"I. Zwiep, Avriel Bar-Levav","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12161005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12161005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12161005","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48128052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-14DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12161004
P. Schmid
This article focuses on an aspect of Pietist education that may be regarded as a reform, namely a new way of upholding the role model to educational ends – or, more simply put, of teaching by example. This new approach to the example, according to my thesis, manifests itself in an implicit, narrative didactics of piety. This will be illustrated by reference to a popular genre of children’ and young people’s literature dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, namely ‘exemplary children’s stories’ (Kinderexempelgeschichten). Such stories consist of biographical model narratives concerning exemplary pious boys and girls. To demonstrate how this implicit, religious didactic was made explicit, I draw on the text ‘Christliche Lebens=Regeln’ (Christian Rules of Life), which was especifically conceived as a systematic elucidation of exemplary stories.
{"title":"Didactics of Piety in Children’s Edifying Literature in the Early 18th Century","authors":"P. Schmid","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12161004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12161004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This article focuses on an aspect of Pietist education that may be regarded as a reform, namely a new way of upholding the role model to educational ends – or, more simply put, of teaching by example. This new approach to the example, according to my thesis, manifests itself in an implicit, narrative didactics of piety. This will be illustrated by reference to a popular genre of children’ and young people’s literature dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, namely ‘exemplary children’s stories’ (Kinderexempelgeschichten). Such stories consist of biographical model narratives concerning exemplary pious boys and girls. To demonstrate how this implicit, religious didactic was made explicit, I draw on the text ‘Christliche Lebens=Regeln’ (Christian Rules of Life), which was especifically conceived as a systematic elucidation of exemplary stories.","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12161004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42270352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-14DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12161007
Gadi Sagiv
Rituals have always been a characterizing and significant aspect of Hasidism. Although ritual practices are often considered rigid and conservative, Hasidism showed tremendous flexibility in composing, reviving, and disseminating old rituals in novel religious settings. Highly visible, easily deliverable, not requiring intellectual background, and embedded in Jewish tradition, rituals and ceremonies were the perfect means by which to popularize pietism and esoteric knowledge among large audiences, while maintaining the prestige of their performers.
{"title":"Ritualization as Religious Renewal in 18th-Century Hasidism","authors":"Gadi Sagiv","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12161007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12161007","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Rituals have always been a characterizing and significant aspect of Hasidism. Although ritual practices are often considered rigid and conservative, Hasidism showed tremendous flexibility in composing, reviving, and disseminating old rituals in novel religious settings. Highly visible, easily deliverable, not requiring intellectual background, and embedded in Jewish tradition, rituals and ceremonies were the perfect means by which to popularize pietism and esoteric knowledge among large audiences, while maintaining the prestige of their performers.","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12161007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49123092","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-03-14DOI: 10.1163/18750214-12161001
Avi Siluk, R. Voss
Varied initiatives for religious revival and reform emerged throughout the 18th century in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; each had a significant impact on its religious community and also contributed to lasting cultural, social, and political change. This introductory essay argues for the importance of early modern religious renewal for understanding transformations in 18th-century life, culture, and thought. Due to their critical roles in society, religious renewal and reform should be considered as key factors for change at the threshold of modernity rather than counters to modernization.
{"title":"The 18th Century as a Time of Religious Renewal and Reform","authors":"Avi Siluk, R. Voss","doi":"10.1163/18750214-12161001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18750214-12161001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Varied initiatives for religious revival and reform emerged throughout the 18th century in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; each had a significant impact on its religious community and also contributed to lasting cultural, social, and political change. This introductory essay argues for the importance of early modern religious renewal for understanding transformations in 18th-century life, culture, and thought. Due to their critical roles in society, religious renewal and reform should be considered as key factors for change at the threshold of modernity rather than counters to modernization.","PeriodicalId":40667,"journal":{"name":"Zutot","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.1,"publicationDate":"2019-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18750214-12161001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44830999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}