Dialogues in Judaic Studies

Ari Barbalat
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This podcast features educational, informative and intellectually compelling conversations with authors of newly-published books and recently-released monographs on Jewish history, Jewish religion, Jewish philosophy and Jewish literature. The podcast intends to reach academic specialists, members of the reading public and beginners with entry-level curiosity.

  1. David Graizbord, ed., *Early Modern Jewish Civilization Unity and Diversity in a Diasporic Society: An Introduction*. New York: Routledge, 2024.

    19H AGO

    David Graizbord, ed., *Early Modern Jewish Civilization Unity and Diversity in a Diasporic Society: An Introduction*. New York: Routledge, 2024.

    This compilation serves as a foundational historical overview and a selective cultural examination of the evolution, unification, and eventual decline of a diasporic civilization—the Jewish community during the early modern era (approximately 1391–1789) across Europe, the Ottoman Empire, and significant locations within the Iberian Empires in the Americas. Each chapter delves into the critical elements that influenced both unique early modern Jewish societies and a notably cohesive and expansive community-of-communities. The authors address and respond to the following inquiries: What do historians interpret as 'early modernity,' and how effectively does this concept shed light on the history and culture(s) of Jews from the conclusion of the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment? What were the overarching demographic patterns of the Jewish diaspora during this timeframe, and how did they evolve? In what ways did culture, politics, technology, economics, and gender influence diasporic Jewish communities throughout eastern and western Europe and the New World over a span of approximately 400 years? Ultimately, this work presents a depiction of coherence and diversity, continuity and discontinuity, in early modern Jewish existence within and across temporal and geographical boundaries.

    1h 9m
  2. Laura Lieber, *Staging the Sacred: Theatricality and Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry*. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023

    1D AGO

    Laura Lieber, *Staging the Sacred: Theatricality and Performance in Late Ancient Liturgical Poetry*. New York: Oxford University Press, 2023

    This book investigates the liturgical poetry of Christian, Jewish, and Samaritan traditions from late antiquity, approximately during the third to fourth century CE. It examines this poetry in the context of biblical interpretation and prayer conventions, as well as through the lenses of performance, entertainment, and spectacle. Since liturgical poets were profoundly invested in captivating their audiences, similar to orators and actors, this study regards hymnody as a performative genre akin to oratory and theater, which represent the two primary forms of public performance. The ‘theatricality’ of liturgical poetry underscores various themes, from the adaptation of biblical narratives for the liturgical stage—reflecting the popularization of Greco-Roman works during this time—to the integration of physical techniques and material elements that enhance performers’ abilities to engage their audiences. The specific techniques of oratory and acting from antiquity provide clear avenues to clarify the relationships between liturgical presentations and other performance forms. These include direct address and apostrophe; character creation through speech (ethopoeia); and sensory appeals to the audience, such as vivid descriptions (ekphrasis), which was a preferred technique. A serious exploration of performance demands a challenging transition towards envisioning the world beyond the written text. Although late antique hymnody has mainly survived in written form, the written word is quite far removed from the actual experiences that these scripts represent.

    1h 36m
  3. Matthew Goff, Greg Schmidt Goering and Samuel Adams, *Sirach and Its Contexts: The Pursuit of Wisdom and Human Flourishing*. Leiden: Brill, 2021.

    2D AGO

    Matthew Goff, Greg Schmidt Goering and Samuel Adams, *Sirach and Its Contexts: The Pursuit of Wisdom and Human Flourishing*. Leiden: Brill, 2021.

    In *Sirach and Its Contexts*, a varied group of scholars who focus on the book of Sirach place this second-century BCE Jewish wisdom text within its numerous contexts: literary, historical, philosophical, textual, cultural, and political. Compiled originally by a Jewish sage around 185 BCE, this work has undergone a rich and dynamic history of reception from the Middle Ages to the present day, resulting in a diverse textual tradition as it has been written, rewritten, transmitted, and analyzed. Sirach was not conceived as a book in the modern sense but rather as a continuous stream of tradition. Previously studied primarily in confessional contexts as part of the Deuterocanonical literature, this collection of essays takes a broadly humanistic approach, seeking to reveal what an ancient wisdom text can disclose about the pursuit of wisdom and the promotion of human flourishing.

    1h 13m
  4. Gustavo Guzman, *Allende, Pinochet, and the Jews*. New York: Routledge, 2026.

    2D AGO

    Gustavo Guzman, *Allende, Pinochet, and the Jews*. New York: Routledge, 2026.

    This book investigates the perspectives of Chilean President Salvador Allende and General Augusto Pinochet regarding Jews and the State of Israel. Throughout his political journey, Allende demonstrated solidarity with European Jews during the 1930s, advocated for the creation of a Jewish state in the 1940s, and resisted leftist critiques of Israel in the 1950s and 1960s. As president, he intervened on behalf of Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union, denounced Arab terrorism, and upheld robust diplomatic relations with Israel. Pinochet, who overthrew him and assumed dictatorial power in 1973, extended even more gestures of goodwill despite his regime's notorious human rights violations, viewing Jewish Chileans as affluent White individuals whose economic expertise and strong connections to the United States were vital for his regime's success. Furthermore, Jerusalem emerged as a crucial strategic ally for Santiago, providing arms that Washington had withheld, and Pinochet, in return, fervently supported Israel at the United Nations. Utilizing a wide array of sources, including recently declassified documents, Guzmán delves into the broader narrative of these two figures and the repercussions of the coup on both Chilean Jews and Israel. This work serves as a significant resource for scholars and students engaged in Jewish history, Latin American history, Cold War studies, and the study of antisemitism.

    1h 39m
  5. Juan Carlos Ossandón Widow, *The Origins of the Canon of the Hebrew Bible: An Analysis of Josephus and 4 Ezra*. Leiden: Brill, 2018.

    2D AGO

    Juan Carlos Ossandón Widow, *The Origins of the Canon of the Hebrew Bible: An Analysis of Josephus and 4 Ezra*. Leiden: Brill, 2018.

    In this monograph, Juan Carlos Ossandón Widow explores the challenging question of when, how, and why the set of twenty-four books known today as the Hebrew Bible was compiled. He thoroughly investigates the two earliest sources on this topic—Josephus’ Against Apion and 4 Ezra—and argues that, alongside the tendency to glorify the past, which results in the perception that divine revelation to Israel has ceased, a crucial reason for establishing a collection of Scriptures at the close of the first century CE was the need to protect the accepted tradition from those who embraced more texts.

    1h 9m
  6. Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, *Cultic Spiritualization: Religious Sacrifice in the Dead Sea Scrolls*. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2022.

    MAR 11

    Jamal-Dominique Hopkins, *Cultic Spiritualization: Religious Sacrifice in the Dead Sea Scrolls*. Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias Press, 2022.

    Since the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947, their material evidence and compelling content have fascinated both scholars and the general public. Regarded as one of the most significant archaeological finds of the 20th century, the unearthed materials have shed light on and rejuvenated extensive areas of biblical scholarship. However, research into the material findings concerning religious sacrifice has been somewhat overlooked. In this analysis, Jamal-Dominique Hopkins delves into the life and archaeology of Qumran, as well as the valued perspectives on sacrifice found in the non-biblical sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls. Hopkins investigates the historical and ideological evolution of the Jewish priestly movement associated with the scrolls, primarily from the viewpoint of its later offshoot, the Qumran community. This comprehensive study of sacrifice within the Dead Sea Scrolls provides a historical reconstruction of this key community and its captivating narrative. Hopkins uncovers the evolution of a community from its pre-Qumranic to Qumranic phases, which opted to spiritualize the Jerusalem temple and its sacrificial rites. As a result of their displacement to the Qumran desert, due to the absence of the physical temple in Jerusalem, this wandering priestly group perceived itself as a 'temple.' Instead of performing actual animal sacrifices, they offered the fruits of their lips through prayer and praise as an alternative form of sacrifice. By separating from the larger community, this Qumran group transformed into an eschatological community engaged in the practice of cultic spiritualization.

    1h 20m
  7. Joseph Scales, *Galilean Spaces of Identity: Judaism and Spatiality in Hasmonean and Herodian Galilee*. Leiden: Brill, 2024.

    MAR 11

    Joseph Scales, *Galilean Spaces of Identity: Judaism and Spatiality in Hasmonean and Herodian Galilee*. Leiden: Brill, 2024.

    We interpret the world surrounding us through the constructed spaces we inhabit. These spaces are formed by human activities and, in turn, shape the way people live. This book delves into an analysis of archaeological and textual evidence from the inception of Hasmonean influence in Galilee to the outbreak of the First Jewish War against Rome, exploring how Judaism was socially articulated: in bodily, communal, and regional dimensions. Within each articulation, certain elements of Jewish identity are present, including ideas of purity, communal gatherings, and Galilee's ties with the Hasmoneans, Jerusalem, and the Temple during its last days.

    1h 21m
  8. Kristine Henriksen Garroway, *The Dying Child: The Death and Personhood of Children in Ancient Israel*. New York: Oxford University Press, 2025.

    FEB 27

    Kristine Henriksen Garroway, *The Dying Child: The Death and Personhood of Children in Ancient Israel*. New York: Oxford University Press, 2025.

    The loss of a child is one of the most painful, sorrowful, and seemingly unnatural experiences that anyone can endure. Nevertheless, it is still unclear if this sentiment was also felt by the people of ancient Israel. Many studies have explored death in ancient societies by examining burial customs, rituals, biblical views on death and the afterlife, care for the deceased, and even death cults; however, no extensive research has specifically targeted children and death in ancient Israel. The study of child mortality is closely tied to the challenges within a relatively new area of research concerning ancient Israel: personhood. A comprehensive exploration of the concept of personhood is crucial when reflecting on childhood death. In her monograph, *The Dying Child*, Kristine Henriksen Garroway calls for a greater acknowledgment of children in modern archaeological debates. Numerous archaeologists hesitate to link various household artifacts to children, even though their presence is evident in ancient domestic environments. This neglect effectively overlooks an entire segment of the population in the study of death. By acknowledging the personhood of children in burial customs and other death-related practices, Garroway highlights the emotional and personal aspects of ancient Israeli culture, thus filling a significant void in our understanding of this society.

    1h 23m
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About

This podcast features educational, informative and intellectually compelling conversations with authors of newly-published books and recently-released monographs on Jewish history, Jewish religion, Jewish philosophy and Jewish literature. The podcast intends to reach academic specialists, members of the reading public and beginners with entry-level curiosity.

Information

  • Creator
    Ari Barbalat
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Clean
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    © 2026 Dialogues in Judaic Studies
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    Dialogues in Judaic Studies