Jewish Studies at the Crossroads of Anthropology and History

This volume explores forms of Jewish experience that span the period from antiquity to the present and encompass a wide range of textual, ritual, spatial, and visual materials. Chapters devote sustained attention to three key concepts--authority, diaspora, and tradition--that have long been central to the study of Jews and Judaism.

Preface—David B. RudermanIntroduction: Anthropology, History, and the Remaking of Jewish Studies—Ra'anan S. Boustan, Oren Kosansky, and Marina RustowPART I. AUTHORITYChapter 1. "How Do You Know That I Am a Jew?": Authority, Cultural Identity, and the Shaping of Postwar American Judaism—Riv-Ellen PrellChapter 2. Rabbis and Their (In)Famous Magic: Classical Foundations, Medieval and Early Modern Reverberations—J. H. ChajesChapter 3. Dreamers in Paradise: The Rise and Fall of a New Holy Site in Beit She'an, Israel—Yoram BiluChapter 4. Words, Images, and Magic: The Protection of the Bride and Bridegroom in Jewish Marriage Contracts—Shalom SabarPART II. DIASPORAChapter 5. The Dislocation of the Temple Vessels: Mobile Sanctity and Rabbinic Rhetorics of Space—Ra'anan S. BoustanChapter 6. Sacred Space, Local History, and Diasporic Identity: The Graves of the Righteous in Medieval and Early Modern Ashkenaz—Lucia RaspeChapter 7. Detours in a "Hidden Land": Samuel Romanelli's Masa' ba'rav—Andrea SchatzChapter 8. The Rhetoric of Rescue: "Salvage Immigration" Narratives inIsraeli Culture—Tamar KatrielPART III. TRADITIONChapter 9. Judaism and Tradition: Continuity, Change, and Innovation—Albert I. Baumgarten and Marina RustowChapter 10. In the Path of Our Fathers: On Tradition and Time from Jerusalem to Babylonia and Beyond—Sylvie Anne GoldbergChapter 11. Prayer, Literacy, and Literary Memory in the Jewish Communities of Medieval Europe—Ephraim KanarfogelChapter 12. A Temple in Your Kitchen: Hafrashat @Hallah—The Rebirth of a Forgotten Ritual as a Public Ceremony—Tamar El-OrChapter 13. Judaism and the Idea of Ancient Ritual Theory—Michael D. SwartzEpilogue. Toward an Integrative Approach in Jewish Studies: A View from Anthropology—Harvey E. GoldbergNotesList of ContributorsIndex