All posts by Hannah Teddy Schachter

About Hannah Teddy Schachter

I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a Doctoral Fellow of the Israel Science Foundation-funded research group "Contending with Crises: Jews in Fourteenth-Century Europe" led by Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten. While my doctoral research explores the relationships between Jews and royal women--specifically queens--in 13th-century France, my other research projects consider Jewish-Christian encounters in medieval processions, dance and song, as well as costume in France and the German Kingdom during the Middle Ages.

Research Spotlight: Albert Evan Kohn, review of Judah D. Galinsky, The Making of a Medieval Bestseller: Rabbi Isaac of Corbeil’s Pillars of Exile and Its Readers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2025)

Building on a string of focused studies, Judah Galinsky has published the definitive assessment of ’Amudei Golah (Pillars of Exile), aptly designated “a medieval bestseller.” Isaac of Corbeil (d. 1280) authored the work in c. 1276-7 while teaching largely in Corbeil, the center of Talmudic study in later thirteenth-century northern France. While respected for his learning and the son-in-law of the famed Rabbi Yehiel of Paris, Isaac was not himself a leading rabbinic authority of his generation. Nevertheless, he produced what became one of the most popular Hebrew works of the Middle Ages. Over 200 manuscripts of ’Amudei Golah —better known today as Sefer Mitzvot Katan—survive from the Middle Ages, most of which were glossed by either Peretz of Corbeil (d. c. 1295) or Moses of Zurich (14th cent.). This is an astounding number, comparable only to that of Rashi’s famed commentary on the Pentateuch. Galinsky highlights how Isaac structured ’Amudei Golah according to his specific educational outlook and with deep awareness for the needs of his generation. This intentionality successfully transformed the work into a classic during the Middle Ages and beyond.  

Continue reading Research Spotlight: Albert Evan Kohn, review of Judah D. Galinsky, The Making of a Medieval Bestseller: Rabbi Isaac of Corbeil’s Pillars of Exile and Its Readers (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2025)

New thematic issue of Aschkenas 35 (2025): Jewish Moneylending and Documentary Culture in the Middle Ages, featuring the work of many of our board members!

Thematic Issue: Jewish Moneylending and Documentary Culture in the Middle Ages I (part II to follow in issue 2.2025)

Ed. by Eveline Brugger, Dean A. Irwin und Birgit Wiedl 

CONTENTS:

Continue reading New thematic issue of Aschkenas 35 (2025): Jewish Moneylending and Documentary Culture in the Middle Ages, featuring the work of many of our board members!

Postdoc Fellowships, Israel Science Foundation, “Contending with Crises: The Jews in XIVth Century Europe” deadline March 15 

The Israel Science Foundation sponsored research project Contending with Crises: The Jews in XIVth Century Europe at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the direction of Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten is offering up to 1Post-Doctoral scholarships beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year. Scholars who have received their Ph.D. after October 1st 2020 or will submit their Ph.D. no later than October 1st 2025 are eligible to apply. It is possible to apply for a full year or for part of one.

Continue reading Postdoc Fellowships, Israel Science Foundation, “Contending with Crises: The Jews in XIVth Century Europe” deadline March 15 

Visiting Ph.D. Fellowships, Israel Science Foundation, “Contending with Crises: The Jews in XIVth Century Europe” deadline March 15

The Israel Science Foundation sponsored research project Contending with Crises: The Jews in XIVth Century Europe at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem under the direction of Prof. Elisheva Baumgarten is offering up to 2 visiting fellowships for Ph.D. students in the fields of History, Jewish Studies, Religious Studies, Literature, or Art History starting in October 2025. It is possible to apply for a full year or for part of one.

Continue reading Visiting Ph.D. Fellowships, Israel Science Foundation, “Contending with Crises: The Jews in XIVth Century Europe” deadline March 15

Conference: “Between Exchange and Expulsion: Jews and Christians in France, 1096–1394” 17-19 Sept 2024, Paris

Organisation:
Görge Hasselhoff (TU Dortmund), Judith Kogel (IRHT/CNRS) and Amélie Sagasser (DHIP)

The conference explores the interactions between Christians and Jews in France from 1096 to 1394, focussing on social, legal, economic and cultural factors that influenced Jewish-Christian coexistence during and after the Crusades. It centres on interreligious exchange and the transformations of both religions: With regard to the handling of sacred scriptures, there is evidence of an intensive dialogue. This also applies to the social sphere where many indications suggest an inclusion of the Jewish community in Christian society. On the other hand, until the 12th century there were no detailed regulations that formalised the place of the Jewish population in law. Instead, it can be observed that from the end of the 12th century onwards, successive expulsions fuelled by religious, economic and political interests ultimately led to the final expulsion of the Jews from France in 1394.