Jewish history and Jewish memory

Jewish history and Jewish memory

by Elisheva Carlebach, Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, John M. Efron, David N. Myers

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About
Publication of Yosef Yerushalmi's Zakhor in 1982 inspired a generation of scholarly inquiry into historical images and myths, the construction of the Jewish past, and the making and meaning of collective memory. Here, eminent scholars in their respective fields extend the lines of his seminal study into topics that range from medieval rabbinics, homiletics, kabbalah, and Hasidism to antisemitism, Zionism, and the making of modern Jewish identity. Essays are clustered around four central themes: historical consciousness and the construction of memory; the relationship between time and history in Jewish thought; the demise of traditional forms of collective memory; and the writing of Jewish history in modern times.

Discussion questions for Jewish history and Jewish memory

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  1. 1

    How does the concept of collective memory, as explored in the book, differ from the way history is traditionally recorded, and why is this distinction particularly significant for the Jewish experience?

  2. 2

    Considering the transition from traditional forms of collective memory to modern historical writing, how do you think communities decide which stories of their past to preserve and which to let fade?

  3. 3

    In what ways do you see the tension between myth and historical fact playing out not just in Jewish history, but in your own cultural background or family lore?

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