You can explore the Ukrainian Jewish Encounter Timeline now and read about medieval Jewish life in Ukraine.
Monthly Archives: July 2023
Editions of Classical Jewish Literature in the Digital Era
Read about exciting new digital projects in the area of Jewish literature, as presented in the recent Research Workshop of the Israel Science Foundation that was held at University of Haifa, June 18-20, 2023.
CfP: “The Sense of an Ending: Finispieces in medieval codices” at Kalamazoo
While much has been written about the opening folios of medieval illuminated codices – especially about the entity known as the carpet page – the final pages of these books have been little studied. Papers in this session are asked to address the following questions: what sort of materials does one expect to find at the end of a precious codex? Can the visual designs of these final folios be seen as expressing notions of protection, closure, continuity, or identity? How do the designs we find at the end of a book reconcile ideation about its contents with the material requirements of the codex and the needs of its patrons/users? Is the decorative Finispiece a viable, meaningful, and expected entity in medieval book culture?
Continue reading CfP: “The Sense of an Ending: Finispieces in medieval codices” at KalamazooCfP: ICMS Kalamazoo 2024: Recent Research in Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts
You can now apply for the ICMS Kalamazoo’s 2024 session(s) about “Recent Research in Jewish Illuminated Manuscripts.”

Video Lectures: Maimonides: History, Philosophy, Legacy
Watch this three part video lectures series about “Maimonides: History, Philosophy, Legacy” with Sarah Stroumsa, Philip I. Lieberman, and Lenn E. Goodman.
Video Recording: Sara Lipton – Marked Off in the Eyes of the Public: Anti-Jewish Imagery and the Politics of Prejudice
You can now watch Sara Lipton’s talk about “Marked Off in the Eyes of the Public: Anti-Jewish Imagery and the Politics of Prejudice” at the Leo Baeck Institute London.
New Book: “Jüdische Geschichte ist uns anvertraut.” Festschrift in Honour of Martha Keil (in German)
“It is important to me to make clear that Jewish history is an integral part of history,” Martha Keil has stated in an interview. The Institute for Jewish History in Austria, whose director Martha Keil has been since 2004, has had the great pleasure to honour her birthday and (semi)retirement with a Festschrift which in its diversity of contributions aims at reflecting her demand that Jewish history should always be seen and interpreted in connection with general historical developments.
The book contains articles from Christoph Cluse, Johannes Heil, Markus Wenninger, Eveline Brugger, and Birgit Wiedl (and many more, post-1500).
Ad multos annos, bis 120, dear Martha!

New Exhibition on recent Yiddish Finds: Vom “Kalten Keller” und falschen Versprechungen – Neue jiddische Funde aus dem Mittelalter

Erfurt, Small Synagogue, 03 August 2023 – 13 October 2023
In recent years, a number of medieval objects with Yiddish texts or inscriptions have been newly discovered and examined. These include two finds from Thuringia: A Yiddish private letter of the 15thcentury from Mühlhausen and the only known medieval Yiddish building inscription from Erfurt so far. And some of the slate tablets from the former Jewish quarter in Cologne also show Yiddish inscriptions. These new medieval finds on Jewish everyday history are shown together here for the first time and placed in the history of the Yiddish language as well as its everyday writing.
Podcast: Spanish Jewry Through the Ages with Maya Soifer Irish
You can now listen to the new Seforim Chatter Podcast with our Board members Maya Soifer Irish, who talks about “The Spanish Riots of 1391 in the Kingdom of Castile” with the series “Spanish Jewry Through the Ages.”
The Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellowship
The Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellowship supports the best and brightest minds in their postdoctoral research in Israel, connecting them with world-class academics and leading researchers.
Continue reading The Azrieli International Postdoctoral Fellowship