Over the past two years, the members of the European Research Council funded research group Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe (Hebrew University of Jerusalem) headed by Elisheva Baumgarten met with seven Israeli artists presenting their historical sources and conclusions of their research concerning the lives of medieval Jews who lived among Christians in the urban centers of northern France and Germany. Seeking to communicate the intertwinedness of Jews in medieval life alongside their distinctiveness as a religious minority as well as the constant communication and collaboration between Jews and Christians in myriad ways, the research group created a unique art exhibition that recently opened in a gallery at Hebrew University and that can also be explored virtually. This talk will present some of the premises of the research group and explain the work with artists and the conceptions and artwork that resulted from it. 

Elisheva Baumgarten is the Yitzchak Becker Professor of Jewish Studies in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry and the History Department at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She studies the social and religious history of the Jews of medieval northern Europe (1000-1400). Her research focuses on the social history of the Jewish communities living in the urban centers of medieval Europe and especially on daily contacts between Jews and Christians. It seeks to include those who did not write the sources that have reached us, with a special interest in women and gender hierarchies. Prof. Baumgarten is the recipient of many prizes and grants, among them  the Michael Bruno Memorial Award for Outstanding Israeli Scholars (2016) and a European Research Council Grant for her project “Beyond the Elite: Jewish Daily Life in Medieval Europe (2016-2022) which she is currently running. She also currently serves as the academic head of the Mandel Scholion Center for Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities and Jewish Studies.

There is no fee, but please RSVP for planning purposes. This event is held virtually on Zoom. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event. For more information, contact Program Director Ilene Tatro at itatro@cbisd.org.

CSP Partners: Beth Israel (San Diego, CA), Brotherhood Synagogue (Gramercy Park, NYC), Congregation Beth Shalom (Seattle, WA), Congregation B’nai Tzedek (Fountain Valley, CA), Congregation B’nai Israel (Tustin, CA), Jewish Collaborative of Orange County, CA, Shomrei Torah Synagogue (San Fernando Valley, CA), Temple Bat Yahm (Newport Beach, CA), Temple Beth El of South Orange County (Aliso Viejo, CA), Temple Beth Emet (Anaheim, CA), Temple Beth Ohr (La Mirada, CA), Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton, CA), Temple Beth Shalom (Needham, MA), Temple Beth Sholom (Santa Ana, CA), Temple Emanuel (Newton, MA), Town & Village Synagogue (NYC, NY), University Synagogue (Irvine, CA), Valley Beth Shalom (Encino, CA) & Walnut Street Synagogue (Chelsea, MA)