Creativity and Confrontation: The History of Medieval Jewry

A new online course with Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter

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Sandwiched between the rabbinic period and the Enlightenment, the medieval period of Jewish history is often an afterthought. It shouldn’t be.

In this online course, the distinguished historian Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter will bring you on a journey through the events, debates, trends, and formative figures of medieval Jewish history. Over ten fascinating lectures, he’ll show you how the medieval period was a dramatic, vibrant, and significant time in the story of the Jews.

Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter

Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. is University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought and senior scholar at the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University. From 2000 to 2005, he served as dean of the Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik Institute in Boston, and from 1981 to 2000 he served as rabbi of The Jewish Center in Manhattan. Rabbi Schacter holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages from Harvard University and received rabbinic ordination from Mesivta Torah Vodaath. He is the co-author of A Modern Heretic and a Traditional Community: Mordecai M. Kaplan, Orthodoxy, and American Judaism (with Jeffrey Gurock, 1996) and the editor of Jewish Tradition and the Nontraditional Jew (1992) and Judaism’s Encounter with other Cultures: Rejection or Integration? (1997). He has published numerous articles and reviews in Hebrew and English and is the founding editor of the Torah u-Madda Journal.

Episodes

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In his first lecture, Rabbi Schacter explains why knowledge of medieval Jewish history is critical to a proper understanding of the modern era. He also discusses the structure of this course, and why Jewish life in the Middle Ages is uniquely suited to helping us appreciate the majesty, significance, and vibrancy of the Jewish story.

Introduction: Why Medieval Jewish History Matters

Introduction: Why Medieval Jewish History Matters 24:02

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Jews in Western Europe lived under Christian rule for many centuries. In this episode, Rabbi Schacter describes the emergence of Christianity and the theological arguments that shaped Christian thinking about Jews. He also discusses how Christians and Jews treated each other then, and considers how the past sheds light on Christian attitudes toward Jews today.

Jews and Christians in Western Europe

Jews and Christians in Western Europe 00:00

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The small Jewish communities of early medieval Western Europe were initially treated well. That changed radically during the Crusades. But as Rabbi Schacter shows in this episode, even as classical European anti-Semitism began to take shape, Jews made important intellectual achievements that continue to affect Jewish life today.

Jews in Ashkenaz

Jews in Ashkenaz 38:56

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This course is generously sponsored by Gary and Lee Rosenthal.