Videos by Elisheva Baumgarten
This short film summarizes the work of the Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe... more This short film summarizes the work of the Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe research project (2016-2022), supported by the European Research Council, grant no. 681507. Beyond the Elite is a multifaceted research project that seeks to explore what daily life was like for the Jews of northern France and Germany (Ashkenaz) from 1100 to 1350. Beyond the Elite broadens its gaze, looking past the upper echelons of Jewish society to understand and describe the textures and constructs that made up the lives of the “ordinary” members of these communities. The research team was directed by Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten (Hebrew University of Jerusalem). Members included: Tzafrir Barzilay, Neta Bodner, Nureet Dermer, Aviya Doron, Miri Fenton, Audrey Fingherman, Annika Funke, Etelle Kalaora, Albert Kohn,Ariella Lehman, Andreas Lehnertz, Eyal Levinson, Adi Namia-Cohen, Ido Noy, Erez Rochman-Shachar, Amit Shafran, Hannah Teddy Schachter 84 views
Articles by Elisheva Baumgarten
JOFA, 2011
I wrote this article for the JOFA magazine, a Jewish Feminist publication in 2011. The unnamed he... more I wrote this article for the JOFA magazine, a Jewish Feminist publication in 2011. The unnamed heroine of the story I recount is Natalie Zemon Davis. May her memory be a blessing.
This article provides the theoretical and contextual background for Jewish Studies Quarterly 21 n... more This article provides the theoretical and contextual background for Jewish Studies Quarterly 21 nos. 3 and 4 (2021). It situates the Jews of medieval Ashkenaz within their homes and discusses their attachment to and identification with the places where they lived. It surveys approaches to space as used by scholars seeking to understand medieval life and outlines the relevance of these theories to the study of everyday life. Situating the Jews within this area of studies, the article focuses on the tensions and affiliations Jews had within the surrounding Christian space and challenges some of the previous approaches towards these issues. Against this backdrop, the goals of the articles are explained and surveyed, moving from the home to the general environs of medieval towns and cities.
Elisheva Baumgarten, Elisabeth Hollender, Ephraim Shoham-Steiner, “Introduction: Sefer Hasidim – Book, Context, and Afterlife,” in Sefer Hasidim: Book, Context, and Afterlife. Studies in Honor of Ivan G. Marcus [=Jewish History, vol. 34, no. 1-3] (Haifa: University of Haifa Press, 2021), 1-14
This article examines the use of the words ḥasid and ḥasidah in a wide variety of medieval texts,... more This article examines the use of the words ḥasid and ḥasidah in a wide variety of medieval texts, primarily from Germany, in order to question current scholarly understandings of Ḥasidei Ashkenaz as a social entity. The article outlines the appearance and contexts in which the term can be found in poems, on tombstones, lists of dead, and in stories. The final section of the article investigates possible parallels for the word ḥasid/ah in vernaculars spoken by Jews. The result of this broad survey that seeks out not just men but also women, and that focuses on a variety of genres rather than primarily on Sefer Ḥasidim, is that the words ḥasid and ḥasidah did not indicate a particular group, circle, or movement. Rather these terms were used to describe honest, upstanding members of the community who were seen as fulfilling their religious and social duties.
This article focuses on a chapter in a manual on circumcision written in Worms in the thirteenth ... more This article focuses on a chapter in a manual on circumcision written in Worms in the thirteenth century by Jacob and Gershom haGozrim (the circumcisers). The third chapter of the manual contains medical instruction on how to attend to women in labour and other gynaecological conditions. Whereas the first two chapters of the manual were published in the late nineteenth century, the midwifery chapter has only been recently examined. This article is comprised of a translation of the midwifery text(s) along with an introduction to the text and the community practices it reflects. It outlines the cooperation between medical practitioners, male and female, Jewish and Christian, and discusses the medical remedies recommended and some practices current in thirteenth-century Germany.
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Videos by Elisheva Baumgarten
Articles by Elisheva Baumgarten
Reviews
“"This is a remarkable collection of articles which both deepens our understanding of problems long subjected to scrutiny and opens up entirely new vistas on Jewish-Christian relations in thirteenth-century France. Because the authors are so learned and so attuned to the relevant scholarship on other times and places, scholars with a wide variety of interests should return repeatedly to the collection for information and stimulation. The editors brought together an amazing group of authors - and they have not disappointed." - William Chester Jordan, Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Princeton University, USA
“"In bringing together scholars of medieval Jewry and of medieval Christendom, and so situating Jewish history firmly within its larger social and cultural context, this book deepens our understanding of the medieval Jewish experience. The contributions are of impressive quality and disciplinary breadth, addressing important developments in law, literature, exegesis, art, devotion, polemic, and learning. Jews and Christians in Thirteenth-Century France is a signal contribution." - Sara Lipton, Associate Professor of History, Stony Brook University, SUNY, USA
Since the inception of the project (fall 2016), the team has worked to construct a history which includes those who were not part of the learned elite as well as those who were learned, about whom we know more. The research team trained its sights on everyday moments, investigating daily routines and the ways medieval Jews understood their lives amidst their host cultures. At the heart of this work is the complexity of the circumstances in which medieval Jews lived: the integration of Ashkenazic Jews within their Christian surroundings, alongside their maintenance of a distinct religious identity. To complement the medieval study underlying this endeavor, the exhibit’s curator, Dr. Ido Noy, orchestrated a fruitful exchange between the research team and seven Israeli artists, who then produced contemporary expressions of the historic ideas under discussion. This book, mirroring the structure of the exhibit, is comprised of sixteen articles. Each one is built around a primary source from a particular literary genre. The colorful catalogue at the end of the volume documents the objects created especially for the exhibition that was displayed physically at the gallery on the Mount Scopus campus of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and can still be viewed virtually.
With introduction by Tzafrir Barzilay, Eyal Levinson and Elisheva Baumgarten. Entries by the editors and also by Neta Bodner, Adi Namia-Cohen, Nureet Dermer, Aviya Doron, Miri Fenton, Etelle Kalaora, Albert Kohn, Andreas Lehnertz, Hannah Teddy Schachter, Amit Shafran.
https://beyond-the-elite.huji.ac.il/
The aim of the conference is to consider Christian-Jewish relations regarding matters of citizenship and civic identity in medieval urban spaces. To this end, we wish to present a wide range of sources and different approaches to analyze the ways in which Jews and others could be considered citizens of their towns. Particular questions of interest are: How did being a citizen of any given place influence people’s identity, belonging or way of life? Which privileges and obligations come with Jewish citizenship and how does that compare to that of Christians? What was the relationship of people to their towns and fellow townsmen and to the town authorities that governed? The aim is to discuss social manifestations of medieval citizenship and identity in urban v. rural settings and landscapes, as well as performative and ideological acts of civic participation and belonging.
RSVP requested
throughout the various subfields of Jewish studies in the
humanities and the social sciences, including students
interested in various aspects of the Jewish past as well as
those focused on present-day realities. It is designed to
allow the students a chance to work with internationally
recognized scholars as well as their peers from around
the world.
Deadline for application March 1, 2017
March 19, 2015
The exhibition In and Out, Between and Beyond: Jewish Daily Life in
Medieval Europe is among the final fruits of the European Research Council research group Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe, headed by Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten that studies daily life in the Jewish communities of medieval Ashkenaz. The team has worked to construct a history which includes those who were not part of the learned elite alongside those who were learned, about whom we know more. Rather than spotlighting the dramatic events of this period, we have trained our sights on its everyday moments. In addition, we have investigated a complex historical reality: the integration of Ashkenazic Jews within their Christian surroundings, alongside their maintenance of a distinct religious identity.
Reflecting its textual origins, the exhibition is comprised of sixteen units, at the heart of each of which stands a primary source from a particular literary genre. The curator, Dr. Ido Noy, orchestrated a fruitful exchange between the research team and seven Israeli artists, who then produced contemporary expressions of the historic ideas under discussion. The display includes several installations based on medieval artifacts, as well as original works created especially for the exhibition by contemporary artists. Rather than being constructed along a specific linear narrative, the space is divided by pillars into three distinct spaces, reflecting our three guiding themes: In and Out, Between and Beyond. Visitors may begin by reading the historical sources and continue by viewing the objects, or vice versa. We envision viewers making their own way among the displays at the exhibition and experiencing these connections between past and present.
Hosted by The Humanities and Social Sciences Fund, Israel Academy of Science and Humanities, Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the University of Haifa
International Conference, March 19th to 22nd 2017, National Library of Israel, Jerusalem
Organized by:
Prof. Dr. Elisheva Baumgarten, Department of Jewish History and Department of History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Hollender, Department of Jewish Studies, Goethe University, Frankfurt
Dr. Ephraim Shoham-Steiner, Department of Jewish History, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva
Conference Rationale
The year 2017 marks the 800th anniversary of the death of Judah b. Samuel (known as Judah heHasid), the primary author of Sefer Hasidim (the Book of the Pious). Sefer Hasidim is an outstandingly unique text consisting of an amalgam of genres including exegesis, legal material, folk narratives, literary narratives, homiletics, ethical directives, and liturgy. Judah heHasid himself, together with his disciple Eleazar b. Judah of Worms (author of Sefer Rokeah), are accredited with the establishment of a group known as Hasidei Ashkenaz (Rhineland Pietists) who stood out for their pious devotion and practice.
This four-part mini-series features the work of the “Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe” project of the Hebrew University, providing historical context and insight to current events
The exhibition In and Out, Between and Beyond: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe is among the final fruits of the European Research Council research group Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe, headed by Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten, that studies daily life in the Jewish communities of medieval Ashkenaz. The team has worked to construct a history which includes those who were not part of the learned elite alongside those who were learned, about whom we know more. Rather than spotlighting the dramatic events of this period, we have trained our sights on its everyday moments. In addition, we have investigated a complex historical reality: the integration of Ashkenazic Jews within their Christian surroundings, alongside their maintenance of a distinct religious identity.
Reflecting its textual origins, the exhibition is comprised of sixteen units, at the heart of each of which stands a primary source from a particular literary genre. The curator, Dr. Ido Noy, orchestrated a fruitful exchange between the research team and seven Israeli artists, who then produced contemporary expressions of the historic ideas under discussion. The display includes several installations based on medieval artifacts, as well as original works created especially for the exhibition by contemporary artists. Rather than being constructed along a specific linear narrative, the space is divided by pillars into three distinct spaces, reflecting our three guiding themes: In and Out, Between and Beyond. Visitors may begin by reading the historical sources and continue by viewing the objects, or vice versa. We envision viewers making their own way among the displays at the exhibition and experiencing these connections between past and present.
the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, led by Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten.
Based on the group‘s research results, seven Israeli artists
created contemporary works that address the various aspects
regarding the daily life of Jewish communities in medieval
Ashkenaz. Curated by Dr. Ido Noy, the exhibition is on view
for the first time outside Jerusalem - at the Old Synagogue
Erfurt, where it will enter into dialogue with the authentic
evidence of medieval Jewish everyday life in the permanent
exhibition.