Between 1450 and 1550, a remarkable century of intellectual exchange developed across the Eastern Mediterranean. As Renaissance Europe depended on knowledge from the Ottoman Empire, and the courts of Mehmed the Conqueror and Bayezid II greatly benefitted from knowledge coming out of Europe, merchants of knowledge—multilingual and transregional Jewish scholar ... Show More
Jun 30
Jonathon Stuart Wright, "Joseph and Aseneth After Antiquity: A Study in Manuscript Transmission" (de Gruyter, 2025)
Joseph and Aseneth: A Study in Manuscript Transmission (de Gruyter, 2025) expands a few verses from the book of Genesis into a novella-length work. It is increasingly used as a source for Judaism and Christianity at the turn of the Common Era. Scholarly attention has largely focu ... Show More
1h 3m
Jun 30
Yonatan Y. Brafman, "Critique of Halakhic Reason: Divine Commandments and Social Normativity" (Oxford UP, 2024)
For centuries, Jewish thinkers have asked two parallel questions. First, what is the reasoning behind an individual commandment and second, why bother heeding a command at all, something Dr. Brafman terms “reasons for” vs “reasons of” the commandments. In his newest book, Critiqu ... Show More
1h 5m
Jun 22
Nicholas de Lange, "Japheth in the Tents of Shem: Greek Bible Translations in Byzantine Judaism" (Mohr Siebeck, 2016)
Japheth in the Tents of Shem: Greek Bible Translations in Byzantine Judaism (Mohr Siebeck, 2016) is the first book-length treatment of the reception and transmission of Greek Bible translations by Jews in the Middle Ages. It is the fruit of some 40 years' research by Nicholas de ... Show More
1h 5m
Dec 2022
Music in Jewish Mysticism
In this episode, we explore the history of music in Jewish mysticism, from the ancient prophets to the Hasidim of today.
Sources/Suggested Reading:Idel, Moshe (1987). "The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia". State University of New York Press.Idel, Moshe (1988). "Studies in ... Show More
23m 34s
Jan 2024
What is Jewish Mysticism?
We continue our series on mysticism by exploring Judaism and its mystical tradition, including the famous Kabbalah but also going beyond it.
Sources/Recomended Reading: Dan, Joseph (1986). "The Early Kabbalah". Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Paulist Press. Fine, Lawrenc ... Show More
1h 10m
Sep 2023
Dženita Karić, "Bosnian Hajj Literature: Multiple Paths to the Holy" (Edinburgh UP, 2022)
Dženita Karić's new book Bosnian Hajj Literature: Multiple Paths to the Holy (Edinburgh University Press, 2023) maps the diverse understandings of the hajj in relation to Islamic geography by Bosnian Muslim authors who wrote in different genres from the 16th to the 21st centuries ... Show More
59m 38s
Feb 2024
Adam Bursi, "Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam" (Edinburgh UP, 2024)
Adam Bursi’s Traces of the Prophets: Relics and Sacred Spaces in Early Islam (Edinburg University Press, 2024) uses writings by early Muslims to map a history of material objects, relics, and tombs of prophetic figures as they were conceptualized in the 8th and 9th centuries. The ... Show More
56m 59s