It is 1741 and the birth of Joseph II, future Holy Roman Emperor, is being celebrated throughout the realm. Imagine a glorious procession in the Judengasse in Prague on this occasion. The richest man in the Jewish community leads the way: behind him are the rabbis and community members in all their diversity. Here comes Pan and Bacchus riding astride a cask of wine. What are these mythological figures doing in a Jewish procession? The learned Rabbi Jonathan Eibeschitz explains to his congregation that there are those among the Gentiles who think that Hercules and the Amazons and the Sibyls never existed. Not so, says Eibeschitz, and it is this turn toward Greek and Roman mythology in 16 th century Hebrew thinking that Prof. Maoz Kahana unveils for us in today’s podcast.
From the writings of the great Iberian Jewish astrologists Isaac Abravanel and Abraham Zacuto, to Wolf Eibeschitz’s relations with Jacob Frank and the latter’s proclamations that the Messiah is a woman holding a sword in her hand, Prof. Kahana leads us on a winding procession through a Hebrew tradition that brought Janus, Hercules, the Sibyls and the gods of yore into the yeshiva.
Maoz Kahana (PhD) is an associate professor in the Jewish History department at Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on Jewish law and legal cultures within the social and intellectual context of early modern and modern European history with an emphasis on print and book history, the scientific revolution, magic, law, and the divine, Sabbatian literature, Chassidic Halakhic writings, and European romanticism. Prof. Kahana delivered two lectures at the Taube Department earlier this year.
Your host is Barbara Pendzich, a lecturer at the Taube Department on the history of Jews in medieval and early modern Poland. She also helps out in the Department’s administrative office.
"Jews and other Poles" - because we at the Taube Department of Jewish Studies at the University of Wrocław are convinced that the history and culture of Jews are an integral part of the history and culture of Poland. Our podcast is for anyone looking for new takes on the multi-national and multi-religious history of Poland. Our host for the Polish language episodes is Tomek Duda, who teaches Hebrew at the Taube Department. He talks with faculty and friends of Jewish Studies in Wrocław about Jewish history and culture and what it tells us about multiculturalism, inclusiveness, and tolerance, which we all feel strongly about and which relate to every minority culture everywhere. Our English language episodes are hosted by Barbara Pendzich, who lectures at the Taube Department and helps out in the Admin Office.Lean in, listen, and learn!
Jakub Wilk – our producer and lecturer at the Department of Journalism at the University of Wrocłąw. For more information about him go to https://dziennikarstwo.uni.wroc.pl/en/instytut/wykadowcy/pracownicy/jakub-wilk/
Semira Jassim – our graphic artist and top rate advisor on the art of podcasting. For more information on her go to https://www.linkedin.com/in/semira-jassim/
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