Jewish Studies

Jewish Studies

episodes

Interviews with scholars of Judaism about their new books.

Steven Nadler, "Spinoza: A Life" (Cambridge UP, 2022)

April 22, 2024

Spinoza

Steven Nadler

Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677) was one of the most important philosophers of all time; he was also one of the most radical and controversial. The story of…

John Tolan, "England's Jews: Finance, Violence, and the Crown in the Thirteenth Century" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2023)

April 22, 2024

England's Jews

John Tolan
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In 1290, Jews were expelled from England and subsequently largely expunged from English historical memory. Yet for two centuries they occupied importa…

Chris Webb, "The Sobibor Death Camp: History, Biographies, Remembrance" (Ibidem Verlag, 2017)

April 22, 2024

The Sobibor Death Camp

Chris Webb
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

The Sobibor Death Camp was the second extermination camp built by the Nazis as part of the secretive Operation Reinhardt--with intent to carry out the…

Robert Rozett and Iael Nidam-Orvieto, "After So Much Pain and Anguish: First Letters After Liberation" (Yad Vashem, 2016)

April 21, 2024

After So Much Pain and Anguish

Robert Rozett and Iael Nidam-Orvieto
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

After So Much Pain and Anguish: First Letters After Liberation (Yad Vashem, 2016) comprises letters written by survivors and liberating soliders in th…

Stuart Halpern and Jacob Kupietzky, "The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada" (Maggid, 2024)

April 19, 2024

The Promise of Liberty

Stuart Halpern and Jacob Kupietzky
Hosted by Matthew Miller

In The Promise of Liberty: A Passover Haggada (Maggid, 2024) you will find, alongside the traditional Haggada text, how American abolitionists and ar…

Debby Koren, "Responsa in a Historical Context: A View of Post-Expulsion Spanish-Portuguese Jewish Communities Through 16th- And 17th-Century Responsa" (Academic Studies Press, 2023)

April 18, 2024

Responsa in a Historical Context

Debby Koren
Hosted by Drora Arussy

Debby Koren's book Responsa in a Historical Context: A View of Post-Expulsion Spanish-Portuguese Jewish Communities Through 16th- And 17th-Century Res…

Kerry Wallach, "Traces of a Jewish Artist: The Lost Life and Work of Rahel Szalit" (Penn State UP, 2024)

April 16, 2024

Traces of a Jewish Artist

Kerry Wallach
Hosted by Paul Lerner

Graphic artist, illustrator, painter, and cartoonist Rahel Szalit (1888-1942) was among the best-known Jewish women artists in Weimar Berlin. But afte…

Steven Ujifusa, "The Last Ships from Hamburg: Business, Rivalry, and the Race to Save Russia's Jews on the Eve of World War I" (HarperCollins, 2023)

April 15, 2024

The Last Ships from Hamburg

Steven Ujifusa
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Over thirty years, from 1890 to 1921, 2.5 million Jews, fleeing discrimination and violence in their homelands of Eastern Europe, arrived in the Unite…

Jae Hee Han, "Prophets and Prophecy in the Late Antique Near East" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

April 13, 2024

Prophets and Prophecy in the Late Antique Near East

Jae Hee Han
Hosted by Michael Motia

In Prophets and Prophecy in the Late Antique Near East (Cambridge UP, 2023), Jae Han investigates how various Late Antique Near Eastern communities—Je…

Aidan Beatty and Dan O'Brien, "Irish Questions and Jewish Questions: Crossovers in Culture" (Syracuse UP, 2018)

April 12, 2024

Irish Questions and Jewish Questions

Aidan Beatty and Dan O'Brien
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

The Irish and the Jews are two of the classic outliers of modern Europe. Both struggled with their lack of formal political sovereignty in the ninetee…

Tzafrir Barzilay, "Poisoned Wells: Accusations, Persecution, and Minorities in Medieval Europe, 1321-1422" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2022)

April 8, 2024

Poisoned Wells

Tzafrir Barzilay
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Between 1348 and 1350, Jews throughout Europe were accused of having caused the spread of the Black Death by poisoning the wells from which the entire…

Gustavo Guzmán, "Attitudes of the Chilean Right toward Jews: From Acceptable Undesirables to Respected Businessmen" (Brill, 2022)

April 7, 2024

Attitudes of the Chilean Right toward Jews

Gustavo Guzmán
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Gustavo Guzmán's Attitudes of the Chilean Right toward Jews: From Acceptable Undesirables to Respected Businessmen (Brill, 2022) is the first book in …

Sandra Fox, "The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America" (Stanford UP, 2023)

April 6, 2024

The Jews of Summer

Sandra Fox
Hosted by Miranda Melcher

In the decades directly following the Holocaust, American Jewish leaders anxiously debated how to preserve and produce what they considered authentic …

Michael LeFebvre, "Collections, Codes, and Torah: The Re-characterization of Israel's Written Law" (Bloomsbury, 2019)

April 6, 2024

Collections, Codes, and Torah

Michael LeFebvre
Hosted by Michael Morales

Scholars of biblical law widely hold that ancient Israel did not draft law-texts for legislative purposes. Little attention has yet been given to expl…

Paola Tartakoff, "Between Christian and Jew: Conversion and Inquisition in the Crown of Aragon, 1250-1391" (U Pennsylvania Press, 2012)

April 2, 2024

Between Christian and Jew

Paola Tartakoff
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

In 1341 in Aragon, a Jewish convert to Christianity was sentenced to death, only to be pulled from the burning stake and into a formal religious inter…

Chiara Renzo, "Jewish Displaced Persons in Italy 1943-1951: Politics, Rehabilitation, Identity" (Routledge, 2023)

March 24, 2024

Jewish Displaced Persons in Italy 1943-1951

Chiara Renzo
Hosted by Drora Arussy

Chiara Renzo's book Jewish Displaced Persons in Italy 1943-1951: Politics, Rehabilitation, Identity (Routledge, 2023) focuses on the experiences of th…

Jehanne Dubrow, "Exhibitions: Essays on Art and Atrocity" (U New Mexico Press, 2023)

March 24, 2024

Exhibitions

Jehanne Dubrow
Hosted by Amber Nickell

What happens when beauty intersects with horror? In Exhibitions: Essays on Art and Atrocity (U New Mexico Press, 2023), Jehanne Dubrow interrogates th…

Kira Sirote, "Haftorah Unrolled: Weekly Insights from the Prophets" (2018)

March 22, 2024

Haftorah Unrolled

Kira Sirote
Hosted by Matthew Miller

Haftorah Unrolled explores the weekly readings from the Prophets (known as the "haftorah") and their connections to the corresponding Torah portions. …

Shoshanna Lockshin and Efrayim Unterman, "The Devash Megillat Esther" (Hadar Press, 2024)

March 21, 2024

The Devash Megillat Esther

Shoshanna Lockshin and Efrayim Unterman
Hosted by Matthew Miller

The Devash Megillat Esther (Hadar Press, 2024) includes the full Hebrew Megillah text, an original kid-friendly English translation, and carefully sel…

Yaacov Nir, "Establishment and History of the Cyprus Detention Camps for Jewish Refugees (1946-1949) (Cambridge Scholars, 2024)

March 19, 2024

Establishment and History of the Cyprus Detention Camps for Jewish Refugees (1946-1949).

Yaacov Nir
Hosted by Ari Barbalat

Yaacov Nir's Establishment and History of the Cyprus Detention Camps for Jewish Refugees (1946-1949) (Cambridge Scholars, 2024) explores the nature of…