Monthly Archives: May 2022

AJS Scholars of Color Fellowship

According to their website, “the Scholars of Color Fellowship invites applications for its 2022–2023 academic year cohort. The mentorship program pairs scholars who have made or will make contributions to Jewish Studies scholarship with experienced mentors, while also building a community among the cohort. The program is focused on finding racialized scholars who are underrepresented in the academy and/or directly impacted by racialization due to their lived experience as a person of color. Mentorship, networking, and professional development sessions will take place on Zoom. An in-person workshop will also be held for fellows during the 54th Annual AJS Conference in Boston, MA from December 18–20, 2022. The AJS will cover fellows’ transportation and lodging associated with the conference.”

Deadline: 3 June 2022

AJS Contingent Faculty and Independent Scholar Research Grants 2022

According to their website, “the Association for Jewish Studies is pleased to offer its inaugural Contingent Faculty and Independent Scholar Research Grants. The AJS will award five research grants of $1,000 each. Eligible applicants must be current AJS members and hold a PhD. These awards are meant to assist scholars who do not have any guaranteed institutional funding.”

Deadline: 3 June 2022

The Former Synagogue of Rouffach (Alsace): a Prototype of Jewish Medieval Architecture

by Carla Heym

(English/Deutsch/Français)


East facade of the former synagogue with the central oculus, seen from the street. The synagogue building is the centrepiece of the medieval Jewish quarters and was usually built at the back of the housing blocks away from the streets, as can still be seen in Rouffach (Image: Heym, 2020)

Façade est de l’ancienne synagogue avec l’oculus central, vue de la rue. Le bâtiment de la synagogue est la pièce maîtresse des quartiers juifs médiévaux et était généralement construite au fond des blocs d’habitation et en retrait des rues, comme on peut encore l’observer à Rouffach. (Image : Heym, 2020)
Ostfassade der ehemaligen Synagoge mit mittigem Okulus, von der Straße gesehen. Der Synagogenbau ist das Herzstück mittelalterlicher Judenviertel und wurde meist tief im Wohnblock abseits der Straßen gebaut, wie in Rufach noch gut zu erkennen ist. (Bild: Heym, 2020)


The former synagogue of Rouffach (German: Rufach) is one of the oldest preserved Jewish buildings in Europe. Although some knowledge of the history of the Jewish community in Rouffach is available from written sources, the building itself has not been analysed except for a study by the architect and curator of historical monuments Charles (Karl) Winkler in 1906. The principal hurdle to a thorough building investigation was the fact that the building is privately owned and used as a residence. However, in 2020 the owners agreed to a one-off survey of the building. The goals of the survey were to determine clues to the building’s history and to verify the results of Winkler’s study of the building. The project was carried out as part of a master’s thesis in the field of heritage conservation at the Otto-Friedrich University in Bamberg and was supported by the regional archaeological service SRA Strasbourg and the association B’nai Brith Hirschler Strasbourg.

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A new digital critical edition of the Jerusalem Talmud (tractate Yevamot)

In January this year, Prof. Menachem Katz of the University of Haifa and Dr. Hillel Gershuni of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, together with the programmer Yaron Bar, launched a beta version of a new digital critical edition of the Jerusalem Talmud, right now of tractate Yevamot (under ISF grant 1717/19) but with the aim of expanding it to other tractates. The edition address is TalmudYerushalmi.com, and it is free to use.
The edition includes all the components of a classical critical edition: exact an amended base text (based on MS Leiden), synopsis of direct as well as indirect textual witnesses, parallels, citations, bibliographic notes and explanatory notes. The user interface is friendly, when the user can click on a certain line or passage to show the relevant apparatuses, and click on an arrow at the end of any line to show the synopsis. And there is much more. 

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