Maandag 19 mei 2025 om 20.00 uur
Prof. Dr. Maoz Kahana - Tel Aviv University
Lezing in het Engels.
Lezing in lokaal R.013, Rodestraat 14, 2000 Antwerpen.
Deelname is gratis. Aanmelden per e-mail: ijs@uantwerpen.be.
This lecture explores the scholarly work of Rabbi Haim Yosef David Azulai (Ḥida), an 18th century Jewish scholar born in Jerusalem. Over the course of two extensive journeys across Europe, each spanning several years, Ḥida systematically examined hundreds of private, royal, and public libraries, meticulously cataloging rare and significant Hebrew manuscripts and lost editions of printed books. His unprecedented exploration of Jewish book history yielded discoveries and insights that transformed the study of Hebrew literary heritage.
His bibliographic and philological investigations, particularly his monumental work “Shem ha-Gedolim” (The Names of the Eminent), introduced historical-philological study into mainstream rabbinic discourse. This lecture will examine how Ḥida's intellectual project was shaped by three historical developments rooted in Renaissance culture: the European princely collections of Hebrew books and manuscripts, Christian bibliographic scholarship on Hebrew texts, and the philological methods inherited from earlier Hebrew scholarship shaped by Renaissance humanism.
Maoz Kahana, Associate Professor of Jewish History at Tel Aviv University, delves into the rich tapestry of Jewish cultures in early modern Europe (1500–1850). His research explores rabbinic literature, halakhic traditions, book history, Sabbateanism, the scientific revolution, exorcism, and Hasidic law, integrating intellectual and social history. His books include Halakhic Writing in a Changing World (2015), and A Heartless Chicken and Other Wonders (2021). His current work examines the transmission of philological and mythological ideas from Renaissance humanists to early modern Jewish thought.