Judeo-Arabic and the Transformation of the Jewish Bookshelf with Dr. Miriam Goldstein

[Ma'ayan Director]

On Wednesday, March 15 at 8pm, Ma'ayan will host Dr. Miriam Goldstein (Hebrew University), who will speak on Medieval Judeo-Arabic texts and their role in the transformation of biblical commentary.

The class will take place at Maimonides School, and is open to men and women. The cost is $20. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Zoë Lang (dire...@maayan.org).

For more information and to register, please visit our website.

Judeo-Arabic and the Transformation of the Jewish Bookshelf

What is Judeo-Arabic and why is it so important to understanding Judaism today? What we know now as “the Jewish bookshelf” was strongly shaped by an enormous body of texts written in Judeo-Arabic, approximately between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. The Islamic conquests of the seventh century CE brought with them massive linguistic, literary, and cultural changes to Jewish communities of the Middle East and Mediterranean, paving the way for new approaches to studying the fundamental texts of the Jewish tradition. This class will introduce Judeo-Arabic and key texts written in this language. We will examine commentaries (in translation) by Natronai Gaon, Saadya Gaon, and Saadya's Karaite contemporary al-Qirqisani.

Dr. Miriam Goldstein is a professor in the Department of Arabic Language and Literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. A specialist in medieval Judeo-Arabic texts, she focuses on interreligious relations in the medieval Arabic-speaking world as well as Judeo-Arabic Bible exegesis. Her current major project is a critical edition and translation of the Judeo-Arabic commentaries of the Baghdadi Karaite scholar Ya‘qub al-Qirqisani, focusing on the books of Genesis and Exodus. This year, Dr. Goldstein is the Gerard Weinstock Visiting Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard University.