Levi Cooper
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, Faculty, Faculty Member
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Jewish Law, Jewish Studies, Environmental Law, Leadership, Jewish Mysticism, and 15 moreJewish History, Philosophy Of Law, Mysticism, History of Plague, Rabbinics, Public Health, Rabbinic Literature, Judaism, 19th Century Prussia/Germany, Germany, Charity, Legislation, Vibrio cholerae, Rabbinic Judaism, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Background: There is no consensus on the optimal drainage technique in the management of biliary anastomotic strictures occurring after right-lobe living-donor liver transplantation (RL LDLT). Aims: To investigate whether there is a... more
Background: There is no consensus on the optimal drainage technique in the management of biliary anastomotic strictures occurring after right-lobe living-donor liver transplantation (RL LDLT). Aims: To investigate whether there is a superiority between unilateral and bilateral drainage groups in terms of efficacy and safety of biliary drainage in RL LDLT patients undergoing double-biliary reconstruction. Study design: Retrospective Cohort Methods: Between January 2009 and August 2019, 1693 patients underwent RL LDLT. Of these, 182 patients who developed biliary anastomotic strictures out of the 306 patients who had double-biliary reconstruction, were included in the study. One hundred fifty-five patients with technical success were divided into 2 groups as unilateral (n=116) and bilateral (n=39) drainage groups. The groups were compared in terms of variable parameters such as clinical success, additional procedure, post-ERCP complication, procedures after clinical failure, hospital stay, mortality, and survival. Results: The clinical success was higher in the bilateral group (70% vs. 82%, P = .201). In the initial and the follow-up periods, a total of 44 (38%) patients in the unilateral group were switched to the bilateral drainage group due to the increased need for stenting. The placement of a stent successfully solved the problem only in 28% (32/117) of the patients in the unilateral group, while this rate was 44% (17/39) in the bilateral group. The median follow-up time of both groups was 42 months, and was equal. The number of stent-free follow-up patients in the unilateral drainage group was less than that in the bilateral drainage group (4 and 7, respectively). Conclusion: An active attempt should be made for bilateral drainage in patients with biliary anastomotic stricture following RL LDLT. However, for patients in whom bilateral drainage is not possible, unilateral drainage may be recommended, with the placement of a maximum number of stents following primary biliary balloon dilatation, depending on the degree of stricture.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: History, Epidemiology, Infectious disease epidemiology, Ottoman History, Storytelling, and 15 moreJewish History, History of Plague, Jewish Thought, Jewish Philosophy, Republic of Letters (Early Modern History), Hasidism, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Cultural Studies, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Modern Jewish Thought, Story, Charity, Jewish Mysticism/Kababalah, and Australian Jewish Studies
Research Interests: History, Law, Jewish Law, Jurisprudence, Philosophy, and 15 moreNarrative, Historiography, Legal History, Jewish Mysticism, Legal Theory, Jewish History, Midrash, Jewish Philosophy, Legal Philosophy, Judaism, Hasidism, Jewish Cultural Studies, Modern Jewish Thought, Jewish Folklore, and Philosophy of Law
This chapter discusses the relationship between Jewish Law and Hasidism – the religious revival that began in Eastern Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century and that continues to animate Jewish politics, religion, music,... more
This chapter discusses the relationship between Jewish Law and Hasidism – the religious revival that began in Eastern Europe in the second half of the eighteenth century and that continues to animate Jewish politics, religion, music, storytelling, and practice to this very day. Literary sources of Jewish law are presented and the hasidic contribution to each legal genre is detailed. This is followed by an overview of the state of research, and the contention that this fertile ground remains to be fully explored. The chapter concludes with a case study of hasidic headwear – fur hats known as shtrayml, spodik, or kolpik – and how they are treated in the writing of Rabbi Hayim Elazar Shapira of Munkacs (1871-1937), known by the title of his collection of responsa: Minhat Elazar. The shtraymel case study highlights the potential of Jewish legal writing from the hasidic milieu.
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Research Interests: Philosophy, Jewish Studies, Hagiography, Jewish Mysticism, Jewish History, and 15 morePrayer, Martin Buber, Jewish Thought, Literary History, Religious Experience, Judaism, Hasidism, Gershom Scholem, Judaic Studies, Folk and Fairy Tales, Jewish Prayer, Passover, Israel Baal Shem Tov, Agnon, and Elie Wiesel
The Hasidic custom on Passover is to avoid gebrokts – that is, matsah that has come in contact with water. This article explores the practice as a case study for the adoption, popularization, and spread of Hasidic customs. The acceptance... more
The Hasidic custom on Passover is to avoid gebrokts – that is, matsah that has come in contact with water. This article explores the practice as a case study for the adoption, popularization, and spread of Hasidic customs. The acceptance of the custom is linked to the approach of the nascent Hasidic movement towards Lurianic mystical lore and the quest to encourage the Jewish laity to embrace practices grounded in this tradition. This process contributed to the coalescence of Hasidic identity. A vector of this research explores the legal writings from the Beit Midrash of Hasidism as they pertain to the gebrokts custom. Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady was the first Hasidic jurist to relate to the custom. In an undated responsum he advocated the adoption of the practice, though he did not mention the custom in his code of law. The two sources provide freeze frames of the process of a custom germinating in an emerging community. This is a rare opportunity to pinpoint such a process. The case of gebrokts in the Hasidic milieu is significant from an additional perspective. Customs that took root during Hasidism’s formative years were observed in communal spaces: Prayer rites and venues, white clothing, slaughter knives, the communal festive meal, and others. Gebrokts is an early case of Hasidic values entering the privacy of the home. As families sat down for the traditional Passover seder, Hasidism – in the form of the gebrokts stricture – was present at the festivities.
Research Interests: Jewish Law, Jewish Studies, Sociology of Food and Eating, Food Security and Insecurity, Law and Society, and 15 moreLegal History, Ritual, Jewish History, Jewish Thought, Law and culture, Ritual Theory, Judaism, Hasidism, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Cultural Studies, Historical Development of Halakhah, Judaic Studies, History of Halakhah, Ritual Practices, and History of Halakha and Jewish Law
Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the groundbreaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of a lifetime. This paper... more
Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the groundbreaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of a lifetime. This paper contextualizes Rosenblatt's baffling decision, by exploring one possible relationship between the arts and law; in this case-the art of storytelling and the Jewish legal system. The study demonstrates where the two pursuits tread separate, unlinked paths to a common end. This vector is refracted through the lens of liturgical performances outside the religious synagogue service; specifically the propriety of cantorial concerts featuring prayers from the High Holy Days. This issue is addressed in legal writing and in storytelling, each modality using its own tools to tackle the trend. It is noted that legal systems without effective enforcement mechanisms-such as Jewish law in the late modern period-could use arts as compensatory media for achieving societ...
Research Interests: American Literature, American History, Eastern European Studies, American Studies, Art History, and 15 moreEducation, Film Studies, Galician Studies, Film Analysis, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Film History, History of Art, Film and History, Cinema, Classical Hollywood, Hasidism, Art and the Law, Cinema Studies, Cantorial Musicology, and Cantorial Music
This paper outlines the inconsistencies, idiosyncrasies, and unusual features of the code of Jewish law written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady (ca. 1745-1812) and first published posthumously in 1814-1816. The spotlight is cast on the... more
This paper outlines the inconsistencies, idiosyncrasies, and unusual features of the code of Jewish law written by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady (ca. 1745-1812) and first published posthumously in 1814-1816. The spotlight is cast on the code’s paratext – a notion introduced by French literary theorist Gerard Genette to describe any part of a work, except for the main body of the composition. The study offers a viable explanation for the unorthodox phenomena, by recounting the history of the code from its inception through its early editions. The account reveals that when Shneur Zalman died prematurely in 1812, his legal writings were in state of disarray. His sons cobbled together faulty, copied, and partial manuscripts in a valiant attempt to construct their illustrious father’s legal legacy. They utilised the paratext in order to frame the work, essentially creating a code out of a disparate array of legal writings. The results of their efforts would become known as Shulhan ‘Arukh ...
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IN THE LATE 1820s a set of takanot (regulations) regarding traditional Jewish education for all boys in Munkács, in Carpathian Ruthenia, at the time part of the Habsburg monarchy, was enacted by the local rabbinic leadership. They were... more
IN THE LATE 1820s a set of takanot (regulations) regarding traditional Jewish education for all boys in Munkács, in Carpathian Ruthenia, at the time part of the Habsburg monarchy, was enacted by the local rabbinic leadership. They were titled Takanot tamkhin de’orayta (‘Regulations for the Support of Torah’), and over the next century they were copied and printed in different locations in eastern Europe. This chapter examines the ...
Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn to each other and offer a fleeting hand gesture. This study tracks this inimitable practice from its hazy origins, through almost four... more
Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn to each other and offer a fleeting hand gesture. This study tracks this inimitable practice from its hazy origins, through almost four centuries to the present day. Beyond uncovering the sources of the custom and laying bare the justifications and explanations, this study considers the evolving meaning of this practice, demonstrating that the custom goes through different stages. The practice’s recorded history begins with esoteric kabbalistic lore, it then metamorphoses into an accessible template, before processes of mainstreamisation threaten its existence. The survival of the practice is protected in contemporary communities that function like Nature Reserves. Unique customs that are preserved in such Nature Reserves should be guarded and documented.
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Would a court judging according to Jewish Law find Voldemort guilty for the murders of James and Lily Potter? Voldemort had the intention to kill, yet the legal question is: Would Jewish Law consider the Killing Curse to be an act of... more
Would a court judging according to Jewish Law find Voldemort guilty for the murders of James and Lily Potter? Voldemort had the intention to kill, yet the legal question is: Would Jewish Law consider the Killing Curse to be an act of murder? This study explores legal aspects of three magical phenomena – incantations that kill, automatic writing like Tom Riddle’s Diary, and food with different possible tastes like Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans – as they are discussed in Jewish Law. In Jewish esoteric lore, magical phenomena have conventionally been the province of the mystically adept. Though laypeople may not have been proficient in magic, the mystical tradition dictated conduct. A by-product of this situation was that jurists considered legal implications of magic. Legal opinions on magical phenomena can therefore be found in Jewish legal literature, making this corpus fertile ground for analysis.Drawing on the fields of Comparative Law, Law and Literature, and Legal History, th...
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The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study analyses the ritual as it was conducted in 2009 in three hasidic courts: Lubavitch, Munkatch, and Boyan. A comparative study of the choice of... more
The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study analyses the ritual as it was conducted in 2009 in three hasidic courts: Lubavitch, Munkatch, and Boyan. A comparative study of the choice of liturgical passages and of the manner of presentation of the liturgy, together with anecdotal evidence, reveals the narrative of each community. This narrative is not necessarily limited to this rare ceremony, and in some cases reflects the general attitude of the particular hasidic community. The uncanonised nature of the rite also exposes a theme that is common to the three hasidic courts discussed: the tension between fidelity to tradition and the creative spirit.
Review essay Immanuel Etkes’ Ba'al Ha-Tanya: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady and the Origins of Habad Hasidism (2011). While praising Etkes’ work, the author highlights that Shneur Zalman was also an accomplished jurist and this... more
Review essay Immanuel Etkes’ Ba'al Ha-Tanya: Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady and the Origins of Habad Hasidism (2011). While praising Etkes’ work, the author highlights that Shneur Zalman was also an accomplished jurist and this biographical angle has yet to be fully explored.
Research Interests: History and Legal History
הרב לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב היה בין הדמויות הבולטות בשחר החסידות. מלבד פועלו באפיק החסידי, ולצד דמותו האגדתית הנצורה בזיכרון הקולקטיבי – ר' לוי יצחק גם עסק ברבנות ובהנהגה ציבורית, בענייני הלכה ובכתיבת שו"ת, בתלמוד תורה ובלמדנות... more
הרב לוי יצחק מברדיטשוב היה בין הדמויות הבולטות בשחר החסידות. מלבד פועלו באפיק החסידי, ולצד דמותו האגדתית הנצורה בזיכרון הקולקטיבי – ר' לוי יצחק גם עסק ברבנות ובהנהגה ציבורית, בענייני הלכה ובכתיבת שו"ת, בתלמוד תורה ובלמדנות תלמודית. רשימה זו סוקרת ומעריכה – ובמידה מסוימת גם גואלת – את הפעילות הלא-חסידית של ר' לוי יצחק בשלושה תחומים: רבנות, הלכה ולמדנות תלמודית. באמצעות בחינת ידיעות ועדויות ממקורות שונים ומפוזרים, ובעזרת בחינת תולדות הדפסת כתבי ר' לוי יצחק, ניתן להציץ מבעד למסך הזמן ולהבחין בדיוקן עשיר ומורכב של מנהיג חסידי שגם היה איש הלכה ולמדן. הארת היבטים עלומים אלו בתולדות ר' לוי יצחק מאירה גם על תולדות החסידות בתקופת גיבושה וגם על תולדות ההלכה, ובכך מוסיפה חלק לתצרף המורכב של היחס להלכה של הצדיקים בשחר החסידות.
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Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (1882-1933) was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the ground-breaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of the lifetime. This... more
Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt (1882-1933) was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the ground-breaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of the lifetime. This paper contextualises Rosenblatt’s baffling decision, by exploring one possible relationship between art and law; in this case – the art of storytelling and the Jewish legal system. The study demonstrates where the two pursuits tread separate, unlinked paths to a common end. This vector is refracted through the lens of performance of prayers outside of the religious synagogue service; specifically the propriety of cantorial concerts that presented prayers from the High Holy Day liturgy. This issue appears in Jewish legal writing and in storytelling – each modality using its own tools to tackle the trend. It is noted that legal systems without effective enforcement mechanisms – such as Jewish law in the late modern period – could use arts as compensato...
Research Interests: American Literature, Eastern European Studies, American Studies, Law, Jewish Law, and 15 moreArt History, Education, Film Studies, Galician Studies, Literature, Jewish Mysticism, Law and Literature, History of Hungary, Film History, Jazz Studies, Cinema, Hasidism, Hollywood, Cinema Studies, and Cantorial Musicology
This study focuses on the rabbinate of Munkacs, situated in Subcarpathian Rus’. By tracing the epistolary networks of Munkacs rabbis, and garnering what we know about the rabbis’ origins and activity, it is possible to sketch the... more
This study focuses on the rabbinate of Munkacs, situated in Subcarpathian Rus’. By tracing the epistolary networks of Munkacs rabbis, and garnering what we know about the rabbis’ origins and activity, it is possible to sketch the influences that gave this town’s rabbinate its character. This study spans the period from the earliest recorded rabbi of Munkacs through to the end of the nineteenth-century when the town’s rabbinate took on a dynastic character. For most of Munkacs history – Polish and Hungarian stimuli seemed to take turns in leaving their mark on the town, making this borderland region into a catchment basin for competing ideologies. Hasidism arrived from Poland and Orthodoxy arrived from Hungary. While a cultural and intellectual crossroads implies transfer of ideas, Munkacs was not an apparent waystation: Polish Hasidism did not spread from Munkacs throughout Hungary; Hungarian Orthodoxy did not travel from Munkacs to Poland. Rather, Munkacs was a terminus.
This paper tracks the practice-cum-custom in the Galician hasidic milieu of eating less than the required amount of bitter herbs at the annual Passover seder. Significantly, early informants did not relate to the antinomian nature of the... more
This paper tracks the practice-cum-custom in the Galician hasidic milieu of eating less than the required amount of bitter herbs at the annual Passover seder. Significantly, early informants did not relate to the antinomian nature of the practice. Hasidic jurists responded by harmonising the practice with Jewish law, grappling with it, or barely justifying it. The common theme in these judicial opinions is a dual motive: fidelity to hasidic lore while taking stock of normative Jewish law. Later on, the historicity of the practice was denied by descendants of some of the alleged practitioners. Following the methodology of Legal Historicism, analysing this historeme suggests insights into major themes of the evolution of Jewish practice and the interplay between Jewish law and hasidic lore; between text and context. In particular, the spotlight is cast on the interpretive community of hasidic jurists.
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English Abstract: In the late 1820s, legislation designed to provide traditional Jewish education for all boys in Munkacs, Hungary was enacted by the local rabbinic leadership. The legislation was titled Takkanot tamkhin de’orayta... more
English Abstract: In the late 1820s, legislation designed to provide traditional Jewish education for all boys in Munkacs, Hungary was enacted by the local rabbinic leadership. The legislation was titled Takkanot tamkhin de’orayta (“Regulations for the Support of Torah”). Over the next century, these Regulations were copied or printed in different locations in Eastern Europe. This study is an analysis of the legislation, its objectives, circulation, and effectiveness. While the enactment ostensibly organized educational matters, it had a distinct socializing objective, and a careful reading of the legislation highlights the socio-religious issues that troubled the legislator. The study examines the role of the enactment in its Munkacs birthplace, from the end of the nineteenth century until the eve of the Second World War – under the Hungary government of the dual monarchy (1867-1918) and in the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938). During this period two processes were co...
This chapter highlights the Hasidic fur hats spodik, kolpik, and shtrayml, which are worn by married men and are reserved for the sabbath, festivals, and other significant days, such as the wedding of a son or daughter. It refers to... more
This chapter highlights the Hasidic fur hats spodik, kolpik, and shtrayml, which are worn by married men and are reserved for the sabbath, festivals, and other significant days, such as the wedding of a son or daughter. It refers to groups of Hasidim that have adopted particular types of headwear that distinguish individual communities and are used as cultural markers of identity. Hasidic groups that trace their roots to Poland sport spodik, which is made from pieces of black or dyed-black animal fur, while Hasidic groups that originate in Ukraine, Galicia, Hungary, or Romania don the shtrayml, which is traditionally made from animal tails. The kolpik is worn by Hasidic masters on noteworthy non-festival days, such as the commemoration of the death of a saintly ancestor. The chapter traces how shtrayml fashions have changed over the last century as it made way for the meticulously groomed shtraymlekh.
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This study seeks to forge a new avenue of legal scholarship on the modern religious movement known as Hasidism. The paper focuses on Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady (ca. 1745–1812)—Hasidic master, religious thinker, and jurist. Much has been... more
This study seeks to forge a new avenue of legal scholarship on the modern religious movement known as Hasidism. The paper focuses on Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liady (ca. 1745–1812)—Hasidic master, religious thinker, and jurist. Much has been written on Shneur Zalman, his formidable leadership in the face of strident opposition and his groundbreaking religious philosophy. His legacy continues to animate contemporary Judaism, primarily through his spiritual heirs—the Lubavitch Hasidic community—and through his Hasidic thought known as Chabad. The present study maps out an aspect which has been widely neglected, but is nonetheless crucial to understanding this religious leader: Rabbi Shneur Zalman's legal activity. The first part of the study surveys existing research, assessing what has been achieved thus far, and what tools are available for further research. The second part of the essay highlights salient questions to be considered as part of a judicial biography, offering prelimin...
Research Interests: Law and Law Religion
This article analyses electronic she’elot u-teshuvot – responsa in Jewish law exchanged via the internet or SMS – and the vast online databases created by these network systems. From the perspective of twenty years of activity, it... more
This article analyses electronic she’elot u-teshuvot – responsa in Jewish law exchanged via the internet or SMS – and the vast online databases created by these network systems. From the perspective of twenty years of activity, it highlights how the systems and the databases make possible and even promote phenomena that strive to undermine traditional Halakha and its institutions. Three phenomena are examined: satire, trolling, and women as authors of electronic responsa in Jewish law.
While there are historical precedents and contemporary parallels for each phenomenon, the internet is propelling them to new horizons. Despite the increase in satire and trolling, these efforts have been unsuccessful at shifting traditional Jewish legal institutions or changing specific norms. Satire echoes age-old critique of Jewish law that can be traced back to the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment. As such, the satire is not an agent of halakhic change in our times. Trolling also does not impact the halakhic system, though for a different reason: due to filters at different stages of the electronic responsa process, trolling is nothing more than background noise to the smooth operation of electronic responsa systems.
In contrast, it is possible that the entry of women into the responsa field heralds a change in Jewish law. The online medium makes entry into the field of Halakhic decision-making an easier prospect. Indeed, some fifty women have begun to be active in responding to halakhic questions via the internet. The legal answers of these female respondents are then stored in online databases of responsa, which remain widely accessible.
The internet also amplifies the ability of the public to influence the halakhic agenda. It remains to be seen to what extent the public will accept these online female respondents.
While there are historical precedents and contemporary parallels for each phenomenon, the internet is propelling them to new horizons. Despite the increase in satire and trolling, these efforts have been unsuccessful at shifting traditional Jewish legal institutions or changing specific norms. Satire echoes age-old critique of Jewish law that can be traced back to the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment. As such, the satire is not an agent of halakhic change in our times. Trolling also does not impact the halakhic system, though for a different reason: due to filters at different stages of the electronic responsa process, trolling is nothing more than background noise to the smooth operation of electronic responsa systems.
In contrast, it is possible that the entry of women into the responsa field heralds a change in Jewish law. The online medium makes entry into the field of Halakhic decision-making an easier prospect. Indeed, some fifty women have begun to be active in responding to halakhic questions via the internet. The legal answers of these female respondents are then stored in online databases of responsa, which remain widely accessible.
The internet also amplifies the ability of the public to influence the halakhic agenda. It remains to be seen to what extent the public will accept these online female respondents.
Research Interests: Jewish Law, Jurisprudence, Gender Studies, Women's Studies, Power Systems, and 15 moreJewish History, Women, Jurisdiction, Judaism, Modern Jewish History, The Internet, Historical Development of Halakhah, Satire & Irony, Satire, Judaic Studies, Feminist jurisprudence, Modern Jewish Thought, History of Halakhah, History of Halakha and Jewish Law, and Trolling
Napoleon's most famous innovation in his legendary military career was the use of the daunting Grande Armée with an emphasis on speed, maneuverability, and maintaining the offensive. Yet Napoleon understood that while skirmishes were won... more
Napoleon's most famous innovation in his legendary military career was the use of the daunting Grande Armée with an emphasis on speed, maneuverability, and maintaining the offensive. Yet Napoleon understood that while skirmishes were won or lost on the battlefield, the real war lay in public perception. To that end, Napoleon used art and cultural treasures as part of his arsenal in order to create the perception of victory, regardless of the outcome of any particular campaign. Examining contemporary French artistic representations of Napoleon granting freedom of worship to religious groups, this article analyzes artwork as a tool for fashioning and communicating legal narrative. Popular visual arts are mined for meaning, painting a portrait of the legal and cultural setting of these creative works. The partisan artwork demonstrates how Napoleon's artists depicted freedom of worship as the freedom—granted to all faiths—to worship Napoleon. It is noted that Jews feature disproportionately in the Empire period’s depictions of freedom of worship. This is surprising, as the Jewish community was numerically insignificant and hardly influential in Napoleon’s realm. This article argues that in addition to broadcasting religious tolerance, Napoleonic artwork used Jews and symbols like Moses and tablets of law to fashion a narrative of law that foregrounded the legal legitimacy of Napoleon’s rule: Napoleon’s regime is legally just; the enlightened ruler affords rights and liberties to all his subjects; divine Napoleon is the new lawgiver.
Research Interests: Law, Jewish Law, Art History, Jewish Studies, Art, and 15 moreHuman Rights, Legal History, Jewish History, Freedom of Religion, Jewish - Christian Relations, History of Art, European Legal History, History of Human Rights, Empire, Jewish Cultural Studies, Worship, Rituals, Moses, Law Religion, and Napoleonic History
Research Interests: History, Epidemiology, Infectious disease epidemiology, Ottoman History, Storytelling, and 15 moreJewish History, History of Plague, Jewish Thought, Jewish Philosophy, Republic of Letters (Early Modern History), Hasidism, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Cultural Studies, Israel, Israel and Zionism, Modern Jewish Thought, Story, Charity, Jewish Mysticism/Kababalah, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Research Interests: History, Law, Jewish Law, Jurisprudence, Philosophy, and 15 moreNarrative, Historiography, Legal History, Jewish Mysticism, Legal Theory, Jewish History, Philosophy Of Law, Socio-legal studies, Jewish Philosophy, Legal Philosophy, Hasidism, Jewish Cultural Studies, Modern Jewish Thought, Jewish Folklore, and Jewish Mysticism/Kababalah
Research Interests: Religion, History, Cultural History, Jurisprudence, Jewish Studies, and 15 moreHebrew Language, Literature, Legal History, Ritual, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Jewish Thought, Rabbinic Literature, Judaism, Modern Jewish History, Historical Development of Halakhah, Religious Studies, Practice, Rabbinic Judaism, Ritual Practices, and Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Research Interests: Religion, American History, Sociology, Sociology of Religion, American Studies, and 15 moreJewish Law, Comparative Law, Jewish Studies, History of Religion, Law and Society, Ritual, Jewish History, History of the Jews, Jewish Thought, Judaism, Modern Jewish History, Religious Studies, Judaic Studies, Ritual Practices, and COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Research Interests: Jewish Law, Jewish Studies, Jewish History, Second World War, World War II, and 15 moreTunisian History, Rabbinic Literature, Sephardic Studies, Modern Jewish History, Sephardi/Mizrahi Studies, Zionism, Sefardic studies, Sermon Studies, Tunisia, Sephardic Jews, Djerba, Military chaplaincy, HIstory of Zionism and Jewish Nationalism, Sephardic Literature and Culture, and Jews In Islamic Lands
Guidelines for our community in Zur Hadassa, March 2020.
Research Interests: Jewish Law, Jewish Studies, Government, Leadership, Community Engagement & Participation, and 15 moreCommunity Development, Ritual, Governance, Jewish History, Sociology of Mental Health & Illness, Virology, Local Government and Local Development, Community, Infectious Diseases, Sociology of Health and Illness, Festivals, Rituals, Jewish Prayer, Local Wisdom, and Ritual Practices
Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn to each other and offer a fleeting hand gesture. This study tracks this inimitable practice from its hazy origins, through almost four... more
Moments before beginning the silent prayer, male and female synagogue attendees in Istanbul turn to each other and offer a fleeting hand gesture. This study tracks this inimitable practice from its hazy origins, through almost four centuries to the present day. Beyond uncovering the sources of the custom and laying bare the justifications and explanations, this study considers the evolving meaning of this practice, demonstrating that the custom goes through different stages. The practice’s recorded history begins with esoteric kabbalistic lore, it then metamorphoses into an accessible template, before processes of mainstreamisation threaten its existence. The survival of the practice is protected in contemporary communities that function like Nature Reserves. Unique customs that are preserved in such Nature Reserves should be guarded and documented.
Research Interests: Law, Jewish Law, Jewish Studies, Gesture, Jewish Mysticism, and 15 moreJewish History, Manuscript Studies, Prayer, Mysticism, Turkey, Spirituality & Mysticism, Syria, Jewish Thought, Kabbalah, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Cultural Studies, Esotericism, Istanbul, Esoteric Prayer, and Jewish Mysticism/Kababalah
Research Interests: Eastern European Studies, Russian Studies, Law, Jewish Law, Comparative Law, and 56 moreRussian Literature, Art History, Jewish Studies, Eastern Europe, Art, Environmental Law, Dress Studies, Anthropology of Dress, History of Dress, Contemporary Art, Animal Studies, Animal Ethics, Critical Animal Studies, Environmental Studies, Environmental History, Jewish Mysticism, Painting, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Eastern European history, Storytelling, Jewish History, History of Art, Russian History, Jewish Thought, Environmental Sustainability, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Literature, Dress and identity, Russian & Soviet Art, Environmental Law and Human Rights, Short story (Literature), Animals in Culture, Hasidism, Visual Arts, Modern Jewish History, Organisational Change + Storytelling, Jewish Cultural Studies, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Legislative Studies, Clothing Culture, Russia, Central and Eastern Europe, Social Behavior Through Clothing, Jewish Art History, Short story, Modern Jewish Thought, Jewish Magic, Clothing, Story, Fashion,textile and clothing, Legislation, Animals, Artists, History of clothing and fashion, Clothes, and Philosophy and Sociology of Human/animal Relations
Ideal prayer spaces; grappling with competing values in Jewish Law.
Communal identity, corporate identity, identity of displaced communities.
Communal identity, corporate identity, identity of displaced communities.
Research Interests: Law, Jewish Law, Education, Self and Identity, Jewish Studies, and 47 moreOttoman History, Social Identity, Community Engagement & Participation, Community Development, Spirituality, Jewish Mysticism, Identity (Culture), Jewish History, Prayer, Ottoman Studies, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Pedagogy, Cultural Identity, National Identity, Turkey, Ottoman Empire, Ethnic Identity, Spirituality & Mysticism, Autonomy, Narrative and Identity, Ottoman Balkans, Personal Identity, Jewish Thought, Community, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Literature, Judaism, Spain (History), Modern Jewish History, Jewish Education, Public Space, Jewish Cultural Studies, Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire, Spain, Identity, Greece, Synagogues, Modern Jewish Thought, High School, Contemplative Prayer, School, Jewish Prayer, Esoteric Prayer, Displacement, Spirituality and Prayer, Ethnicity and National Identity, and Architecture and Public Spaces
Tracking a kabbalistic prayer custom of the Jewish community of Istanbul from its hazy origins to the present day.
Research Interests: Religion, Sociology of Religion, Law, Jewish Law, Philosophy Of Religion, and 38 moreEducation, Interpersonal Communication, Jewish Studies, Educational Leadership, Teacher Education, History of Religion, Leadership, Contemporary Spirituality, Spirituality, Jewish Mysticism, Andragogy, Jewish History, Manuscript Studies, Prayer, Leadership and Mentoring, Turkish and Middle East Studies, Pedagogy, History of Religions, Spirituality & Mysticism, Jewish Thought, Spiritualism, Leadership Development, Jewish Literature, Social Practice, Kabbalah, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Cultural Studies, Religious Studies, History of Istanbul, Synagogues, Educational management and leadership, Modern Jewish Thought, Contemplative Prayer, Lurianic Kabbalah, Istanbul, Esoteric Prayer, Educational Leadership and Management, and Customs
The conundrum of the Ben Ish Hai's pseudonymous legal writing. The motive behind this strange episode remains a mystery ...
Research Interests: Law, Jewish Law, World Literatures, Comparative Literature, Ethics, and 27 moreEducation, Jewish Studies, Book History, Literature, Iraqi History, History of the Book, Legal History, Jewish Mysticism, Authorship Attribution, Jewish History, Manuscript Studies, Jewish Thought, Book History (History), Forgery, Fakery, Fraud, Jewish Literature, Sephardic Studies, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Education, Authorship, Jewish Cultural Studies, Books, Paratexts, Modern Jewish Thought, Authorship Analysis, Textual analysis, Baghdad, and Authorship and Deception
Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the ground-breaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of a lifetime. This paper... more
Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt was offered an opportunity that would make any performer swoon: a star role in the ground-breaking film The Jazz Singer (1927). Yet Rosenblatt refused this artistic opportunity of a lifetime. This paper contextualizes Rosenblatt’s baffling decision, by exploring one possible relationship between the arts and law; in this case—the art of storytelling and the Jewish legal system. The study demonstrates where the two pursuits tread separate, unlinked paths to a common end. This vector is refracted through the lens of liturgical performances outside the religious synagogue service; specifically the propriety of cantorial concerts featuring prayers from the High Holy Days. This issue is addressed in legal writing and in storytelling, each modality using its own tools to tackle the trend. It is noted that legal systems without effective enforcement mechanisms—such as Jewish law in the late modern period—could use arts as compensatory media for achieving societal order. More significantly, however, arts and law are not umbilically connected; each cultural creation independently strives to fashion society.
Research Interests: American Literature, Jewish American Literature, American History, Eastern European Studies, American Studies, and 61 moreLaw, Jewish Law, Music, Music History, Art History, Education, Performing Arts, Jewish Studies, Social Sciences, Liturgical Studies, Film Studies, Galician Studies, Literature, Liturgy, Narrative, Literature and cinema, Film Analysis, Law and Society, Spirituality, Jewish Mysticism, Law and Religion, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Storytelling, Jewish History, Mysticism, Law and Literature, Czech & Slovak Studies, History of Hungary, Spirituality & Mysticism, Film History, Hungarian Studies, History of Art, Literature and Visual Arts, Film and History, Site-Specific Art, Jewish Thought, Jazz Studies, Cinema, Jewish Literature, Classical Hollywood, Hasidism, Visual Arts, Modern Jewish History, Sacred Music, Art and the Law, Jewish Cultural Studies, Hollywood, Cinema Studies, Synagogues, Jewish Art History, Modern Jewish Thought, History of Czechoslovakia, Visual and Performing Arts, Sacred Space, Performing Art, Cantorial Musicology, History of Liturgy, Cantorial Music, Law and the Arts, Jewish Mysticism/Kababalah, and Music and Performing Arts
Fascinating tale of a young man from Rangoon, Burma who came to America to become a rabbi.
Research Interests: American History, Education, Jewish Studies, Journalism, Teacher Education, and 27 moreIraqi History, Higher Education, Immigration, Migration, Jewish History, Pedagogy, British Empire, Rabbinics, History of the Jews, Migration Studies, British Imperial and Colonial History (1600 - ), Burma Studies, Jews in Indian Culture, Burmese/Myanmar history, India, Myanmar, Myanmar/Burma, Burma Myanmar, Newspaper, Current Education in Myanmar, British Indian Empire, Southeast Asian Studies/ Myanmar, American Jewish History, Divide and Rule in British India, China-Myanmar, History of myanmar, and History of Jews in China
“Tikkun olam” is a marvelous term that is used as a slogan for activism, political involvement, and social justice. The term has had numerous lives, such that its endurance and malleability over time are truly impressive. This paper is a... more
“Tikkun olam” is a marvelous term that is used as a slogan for activism, political involvement, and social justice. The term has had numerous lives, such that its endurance and malleability over time are truly impressive. This paper is a whistle stop tour that provides an overview of the vicissitudes of the term. This journey demonstrates how tikkun olam has come to connote a disparate array of values, and has been assimilated into modern, liberal, democratic discourse. With the course of time, tikkun olam has come to serve as watchword for any value, even if a particular value – laudable as it may be – is not rooted in Jewish tradition. This trend raises a question that should be considered: What is the opportunity cost of the cultural assimilation of the term tikkun olam?
Research Interests: Modern History, Law, Jewish Law, Jewish Studies, Environmental Education, and 30 moreLiturgy, Contemporary Art, Environmental Studies, Contemporary History, Jewish Mysticism, Political Science, Social Justice, Jewish History, Prayer, Mysticism, Political communication, Political History, Social Activism, Social Justice in Education, Energy and Environment, Social Justice Issues, Modern Jewish History, Activist Art, Liturgical History, Jewish Cultural Studies, Activism, Advocacy and Activism, Jewish Prayer, Cultural Assimilation, Advocacy, Assimilation, Law and Social Justice, Tikkun, Human Rights and Social Justice, and Public Policy
The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study analyses the ritual as it was conducted in 2009 in three hasidic courts: Lubavitch, Munkatch, and Boyan. A comparative study of the choice of... more
The Blessing over the Sun (Birkat HaHama) is recited once every twenty-eight years. This study analyses the ritual as it was conducted in 2009 in three hasidic courts: Lubavitch, Munkatch, and Boyan. A comparative study of the choice of liturgical passages and of the manner of presentation of the liturgy, together with anecdotal evidence, reveals the narrative of each community. This narrative is not necessarily limited to this rare ceremony, and in some cases reflects the general attitude of the particular hasidic community. The uncanonised nature of the rite also exposes a theme that is common to the three hasidic courts discussed: the tension between fidelity to tradition and the creative spirit.
Research Interests:
A collection of scholarly studies in Hebrew on different aspects of one of the great hasidic masters, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823), and his posthumously published seminal work: Maor Vashamesh (Breslau,... more
A collection of scholarly studies in Hebrew on different aspects of one of the great hasidic masters, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Halevi Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823), and his posthumously published seminal work: Maor Vashamesh (Breslau, 1842).
This multi-disciplinary volume will include a variety of perspectives on the Maor Vashamesh and the author’s place in hasidic thought and history, presenting a mosaic of a central hasidic leader who has thus far not received sufficient scholarly attention.
Proposals should be no longer than one page and should include: (1) name of author, (2) academic affiliation, (3) abstract of proposed article, and (4) brief biographical statement.
Proposals should be emailed to maorvashamesh@gmail.com
Deadline for submission of proposals: December 13, 2017.
Final articles in Hebrew on the basis of accepted proposals to be submitted by June 1, 2018. Articles will be subject to double review before acceptance.
A more detailed Hebrew version of this call is available.
This multi-disciplinary volume will include a variety of perspectives on the Maor Vashamesh and the author’s place in hasidic thought and history, presenting a mosaic of a central hasidic leader who has thus far not received sufficient scholarly attention.
Proposals should be no longer than one page and should include: (1) name of author, (2) academic affiliation, (3) abstract of proposed article, and (4) brief biographical statement.
Proposals should be emailed to maorvashamesh@gmail.com
Deadline for submission of proposals: December 13, 2017.
Final articles in Hebrew on the basis of accepted proposals to be submitted by June 1, 2018. Articles will be subject to double review before acceptance.
A more detailed Hebrew version of this call is available.
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Law, Jewish Law, Comparative Law, Comparative Literature, and 31 moreJewish Studies, Publishing, Book History, Literature, History of the Book, Legal History, Spirituality, Jewish Mysticism, Eastern European and Russian Jewish History, Storytelling, Jewish History, Mysticism, Socio-legal studies, Jewish - Christian Relations, Spirituality & Mysticism, Jewish Thought, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish Literature, Jewish historiography, Modern Jewish Philosophy, Hassidism, Hasidism, Jewish Messianism, Modern Jewish History, Jewish Music, Jewish Cultural Studies, Jewish Art History, Modern Jewish Thought, Russian Jewry, Hasidism, Jewish Traditional Society, חסידות, and Hasidim and Mitnagdim
Research Interests:
A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable worth. The Talmud is such a... more
A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and
conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable worth. The Talmud is such a relic. This work explores the world of the sages, seeking relevance in the timeless texts of the Talmud. Each section analyses a passage from Berakhot, the first tractate of Talmud, chapters five to nine, presenting the commentators’ insights, searching for meaning and hoping to provide inspiration for our generation.
conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable worth. The Talmud is such a relic. This work explores the world of the sages, seeking relevance in the timeless texts of the Talmud. Each section analyses a passage from Berakhot, the first tractate of Talmud, chapters five to nine, presenting the commentators’ insights, searching for meaning and hoping to provide inspiration for our generation.
Research Interests: Law, Jewish Law, Education, Jewish Studies, Teacher Education, and 27 moreLiturgy, Higher Education, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, Prayer, Meaning, Midrash, Contemporary Literature, Jewish Thought, Rabbinic Literature, Interpretation, Jewish Literature, Translation and Interpretation, Hasidism, Jewish Education, Jewish Cultural Studies, Mishnah, Jewish Prayer, Relevance, Rabbinic Judaism, Babylonian talmud, Jewish Liturgy, Rabbinical literature (The Mishnah, Babylonian and Palestinian Talmudim, aggadic midrashim), Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Research Interests: Rabbinical Literature (The Mishnah, Babylonian and Palestinian Talmudim, Aggadic Midrashim), Midrash, Redactional Criticism of Rabbinic Literature, Literary Criticism, Rabbinic Literature, and Rabbinics, Talmud and Rabbinics, and Rhetorical Features In Talmudic Literature
A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable worth. The Talmud is such a... more
A relic is an object surviving from an earlier time, carefully and
conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed
object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable
worth. The Talmud is such a relic. This work explores the world of the sages, seeking relevance in the timeless texts of the Talmud. Each section analyses a passage from Berakhot, the first tractate of Talmud, chapters one to five, presenting the commentators’ insights, searching for meaning and hoping to provide inspiration for our generation.
conscientiously preserved, esteemed and venerated. It is a hallowed
object of historical interest, of sentimental value, of unquestionable
worth. The Talmud is such a relic. This work explores the world of the sages, seeking relevance in the timeless texts of the Talmud. Each section analyses a passage from Berakhot, the first tractate of Talmud, chapters one to five, presenting the commentators’ insights, searching for meaning and hoping to provide inspiration for our generation.
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Law, Jewish Law, Art History, Jewish Studies, Liturgy, and 4 moreNarrative, Storytelling, Biography, and Hasidism
Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem
http://www.pardes.org.il/calendar/is-the-talmud-relevant-book-launch-of-levi-coopers-relics-for-the-present-ii/
http://www.pardes.org.il/calendar/is-the-talmud-relevant-book-launch-of-levi-coopers-relics-for-the-present-ii/