Sources on Jewish Self-Government in the Polish Lands from Its Inception to the Present
ISBN: 9789004501614
Platform/Publisher: BRILL / BRILL
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Unlimited; Download: Unlimited
Subjects: Cosmology; Soul; Mind and body; Cosmology.; Mind and body.; Soul.;

This source-reader invites you to encounter the world of one thousand years of Jewish self-government in eastern Europe. It tells about the beginnings in the Middle Ages, delves into the unfolding of communal hierarchies and supra-communal representation in the early modern period, and reflects on the impact of the partitions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and of growing state interference, as well as on the communist and post-communist periods. Translated into English from Hebrew, Latin, Yiddish, Polish, Russian, German, and other languages, in most cases for the first time, the sources illustrate communal life, the interdependence of civil and religious leadership, the impact of state legislation, Jewish-non-Jewish encounters, reform projects and political movements, but also Jewish resilience during the Holocaust.
"The reviewed volume is a valuable publication reflecting the considerable work of the editors, authors and translators. It allows English-speaking readers to reach out to materials previously inaccessible linguistically. Most importantly, it allows to include and/or introduce the history of Polish Jews into the didactics of universitites worldwide." Anna Michałowska-Mycielska, Studia Judaica (quote was translated from Polish)

"The collection of sources provides expert introductions to the individual period-chapters which consider both Jewish and non-Jewish material. Throughout, the volume successfully illustrates the complex realities of Jewish self-governance in the Polish and Lithuanian lands. It represents an important contribution, especially for the academic classroom. Beyond the breadth of evidence and the concise discussion of the various periods, the volume fulfils its promise of providing an 'entangled history.'" Jürgen Heyde, Zeitschrift für Ostmitteleuropaforschung 73:1, 2024 (quote was translated from German).

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