It is true that the business of doing history in today’s internet age has become much easier, but there are still a tremendous amount of resources that are only available physically. One example of this is archives, or collections of papers (personal or institutional). Archives can range from the very small (one or two folders) […]
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Hebrew Mss @ CUL: The Pope, the Sun King, and a Hebrew prayerbook in Southern France
Throughout the centuries leading up to the French Revolution, the Jews of France were alternatively expelled and invited back many times (the 14th and 17th centuries were particularly confusing in this regard). Throughout this time, however, there were four cities that remained consistently safe for Jews. Ironically (but perhaps not too surprisingly for those familiar […]
Staying on top of research: Rambi feeds and Google Reader
With so much work being published in so many different forums in today’s world, it is hard to know when relevant research is published. Enter a match made in heaven: RAMBI feeds and Google Reader! RAMBI, discussed earlier here, is a catalog of articles and chapters in the field of Jewish Studies. RAMBI allows scholars […]
Hebrew MSS @CUL: Digitized Manuscripts
As of today, about 50 manuscripts from the Columbia Hebrew manuscript collection are now available digitally, through a project with the new National Library of Israel and the Institute for Microfilmed Hebrew Manuscripts (IMHM). The IMHM started in the 1960s, with the goal of microfilming all Hebrew manuscripts in existence. It has succeeded tremendously, and now […]
CCNMTL And JTS Announce New Partnership
[See original press release here] The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL) announced a three-year pilot project to have CCNMTL support JTS faculty in the purposeful use of technology and new media in teaching and learning. As part of the agreement, CCNMTL will open a satellite […]
Hebrew Mss @ CUL: New Aquisitions in History
In February of 1988, the Library Columns, the publication of the Columbia University Libraries, had a note about a donation from Mr. and Mrs. Schaefler. The donation described, among other items, "…fourteenth-century documents pertaining to commercial transactions of the Jewish community at Apt in Provence, France." Six of these manuscripts have been digitized, and are […]
Two new digital manuscript sites: Dead Sea Scrolls and Maimonides
In 1947, a Bedouin shepherd exploring a cave in the Judean desert came across a fantastic treasure trove of Hebrew documents from the third to the first centuries BCE. The Dead Sea Scrolls, as we now know them, are now the oldest known Biblical manuscripts in existence. While they can be viewed today at the […]
RAMBI: The Index to Articles in Jewish Studies
One of the first things to do before embarking on any research is to check the current work on the topic being studied. In many cases, this can be very daunting: How do I find what has already been done? Sure, I can check CLIO to see if there are books published in my area of […]
General Grant and the Jews: The Election of 1868 and the Origins of Jewish Politics in the United States
Please join us for the very first Norman E. Alexander Lecture in Jewish Studies on October 3. Jonathan Sarna was named the "Official Historian" of the 350th Anniversary of Jews in America, and we are very excited to be hosting him at Columbia. We are very grateful for the generous gift of the Norman E. […]
Hebrew Mss @ CUL: New Acquisitions in History and Literature
CUL is proud to announce the recent acquisition of two new manuscripts, both dealing with Sephardic Jewry, which were sold at a recent Kestenbaum and Company sale as part of the Alfonso Cassuto collection. The first manuscript, from 1506 (left), is critical for the history of the Jews in Portugal. The manuscript contains a register of […]