Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 10: Jews in Early Modern Poland
Gershon David Hundert
Abstract
Jewish society in Poland–Lithuania in the second half of the eighteenth century was by no means insular: Jews numbered about 750,000, and comprised about half the urban population of the country. The contact between Jews and the wider Polish society found expression in the languages Jews knew, in their marriage patterns, even in their synagogue architecture and decoration, but also in Polish accusations of Jewish ritual murder. All these aspects are here systematically reviewed. Internal factors influencing developments within Jewish society are discussed: treatments of the medieval rabbinic b ... More
Jewish society in Poland–Lithuania in the second half of the eighteenth century was by no means insular: Jews numbered about 750,000, and comprised about half the urban population of the country. The contact between Jews and the wider Polish society found expression in the languages Jews knew, in their marriage patterns, even in their synagogue architecture and decoration, but also in Polish accusations of Jewish ritual murder. All these aspects are here systematically reviewed. Internal factors influencing developments within Jewish society are discussed: treatments of the medieval rabbinic ban on polygamy, as well as various influences of the growing interest in kabbalah — its impact on synagogue structure, on prayer, and on the spiritual world of women. The growth of hasidism is considered through critical analysis of the legends about its founder, Israel Ba'al Shem Tov. This wealth of topics helps to fill the gaps in our understanding of Jewish life in this important period. The New Views section of the volume incorporates valuable studies on other topics.
Keywords:
Poland–Lithuania,
Jews,
Jewish society,
Hasidism,
kabbalah,
polygamy,
Jewish life
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 1997 |
Print ISBN-13: 9781874774310 |
Published to Liverpool Scholarship Online: February 2021 |
DOI:10.3828/liverpool/9781874774310.001.0001 |