Publications

2018
This article discusses the ways scholars have outlined the process of Jewish adaptation (or lack of it) from their Christian surroundings in northern Europe during the High Middle Ages. Using the example of penitential fasting, the first two sections of the article describe medieval Jewish practices and some of the approaches that have been used to explain the similarity between medieval Jewish and contemporary Christian customs. The last two sections of the article suggest that in addition to looking for texts that connect between Jewish and Christian thought and beliefs behind these customs, it is useful to examine what medieval Jews and Christians saw of each other’s customs living in close urban quarters. Finally, the article suggests that when shaping medieval Jewish and Christian identity, the differences emphasized in shared everyday actions and visible practice were no less important than theological distinctions. As part of the discussion throughout the article, the terminology used by scholars to describe the process of Jewish appropriation from the local surroundings is described, focusing on terms such as “influence” and “inward acculturation,” as well as “appropriation.”
Elisheva Baumgarten. 2018. The Family. In The Cambridge History Of Judaism, 6:Pp. 440 - 462, 892-893. Cambridge University Press. . Publisher's Version
Elisheva Baumgarten. 2018. Four Mothers In Three Stories From Medieval Northern France (Hebrew). Zmanim: A Historical Quarterly, 139, Pp. 70 - 77. . Publisher's Version
Elisheva Baumgarten. 2018. The Medieval European Jewish Family In Context. In The Cambridge History Of Judaism, Pp. 440 - 462. Cambridge University Press. . Publisher's Version
Elisheva Baumgarten. 2018. Medieval Jewish Life Cycle And Annual Cycle Rituals In Christian Europe. In The Cambridge History Of Judaism, 6:Pp. 416 - 439, 892. Cambridge University Press. . Publisher's Version
Elisheva Baumgarten. 2018. Reflections Of Everyday Jewish Life: Evidence From Medieval Cemeteries. In Les Vivants Et Les Morts Dans Les Sociétés Médiévales: Xlviiie Congrès De La Shmesp (Jérusalem, 4-7 Mai 2017), Pp. 95 - 104. Paris: Éditions de la Sorbonne. . Publisher's Version