Jewish Books and their Readers: Aspects of the Intellectual Life of Christians and Jews in Early Modern Europe, edited by Scott Mandelbrote and Joanna Weinberg
Year: 2018
Type: book-review
Abstract: The twelve essays in this volume stem from presentations made at the European Seminar on Advanced Judaic Studies and focus on the circulation and readership of Jewish writings among Jewish and Christian readers in the early modern period.In doing so, the essays collectively present a rich, nuanced, and multivalent picture of early modern Jewish culture and life and the complex relationship of Judaism with Christianity and Jews with Christians.The book profitably includes a select bibliography of secondary sources and an indexrare, but valuable additions to an edited conference volume.The essays probe an enviable range of sources and examine perceptions of, as well as interactions between, Jews and Christians, dipping into both contemporary concerns and historical representation.Along the way, the volume subtly challenges many traditional understandings of the term Christian Hebraism, to more thoughtfully center the work, goals, and perspectives of early modern Christians engaging with Jewish texts.Covering Western Europe writ large, the authors of the various essays address myriad issues among both Protestant and Catholic readers, providing a valuable balance and comparative framework.Simultaneously, the volume offers new insights into the impact of printing and the role of censorship in the creation, dissemination, discussion, and application of Jewish texts.Rather than summarize individual contributions, let me point to some broader themes and insights that cut across the volume.The depth of the intellectual exchange between Jews and Christians could be substantial and serve both pragmatic and pedagogical purposes.It was revealed in more formal and published scientific treatises, but also in commentaries, grammars, ethnographies (including those that were relatively "objective" and those that were intently anti-Jewish), and even epitaphs and private correspondence, as well as marginal notes and glosses in Hebrew texts (offering intriguing opportunities to track the movement of books and the reading of both Christians and Jews).At times these materials reveal substantial Christian familiarity with and understanding of a wide range of texts in Hebrew, including rabbinical works.To give one example of a source treated at length in one of the volume's contributions, the famed Greek text of the Letter of Aristeas encouraged numerous translations but also significant discussion.The work was mined for insights into the Bible and the Septuagint.In such cases, insights could be drawn from the scholarship of Jews but also through interactions between Jews and
Source: Journal of Jesuit Studies
Author: Dean Phillip Bell
Institution: Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2935795682