Final Report Summary - RLMFNC (Rabbinic Literature in Moravia from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century)
Rabbinic literature is an important genre of primary sources of Jewish cultural, religious, social, and intellectual history. Rabbinic texts were written by the rabbis who formed the intellectual elite of traditional Judaism. They are often difficult to understand; nonetheless, researching them is quite rewarding. Besides providing many facts about the life of Jewish communities rabbinic texts also inform modern researchers about how reality was apprehended by the intellectual elite of the Jewish minorities and they reveal the possibilities and limits of religious authority that functioned for the most part of its long and complex history under the dire conditions of discriminated minority.
The Jewish community of Moravia (a region in the Czech Republic) played a very important role in the Jewish life of the pre-modern period from the sixteenth until the twentieth century. It was close to such important centers as Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, and Budapest. The Moravian chief-rabbi (Landesrabbiner) was one of the most prestigious rabbinic posts in Europe. The rabbinic literature produced in the region is an eminent source-material about the social and intellectual history of Moravian Jews and extremely important from a comparative perspective as well.
In spite of their importance, rabbinic sources about the history of the Jewish communities in Moravia have received little attention since the Holocaust period. As the Kurt and Ursula Schubert Centre for Jewish Studies at the Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic has been established to encourage research of Moravian Jewish heritage it welcomed a Hungarian scholar, Dr. Tamás Visi to conduct research about this topic at the Centre. Dr. Visi successfully accomplished a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship at the Centre from 2007 to 2009. This project was followed by the Reintegration Grant “Rabbinic Literature in Moravia from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century” (from February 2010 until June 2013).
The project had the following main objectives: (1) surveying the rabbinic sources that were produced in Moravia or about Jews life in Moravia from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century; (2) preparing an annotated bibliography of these sources; (3) preparing a sourcebook with Czech translations and comments; (4) analyzing these sources in original studies published in English, Czech, and Hungarian; (5) career development of Tamás Visi (habilitation, appointment as associated professor).
Dr. Visi proceeded on two parallel tracks. He submitted a monograph summarizing the results of his Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship project as a Habilitationsschrift together with other required materials and began the process of habilitation in June 2011. The process was successfully accomplished in October 2012 and Dr. Visi was promoted to associate professor (“docent”) in November 2012. On the other hand he accomplished a survey of Moravian rabbinic literature and prepared an annotated bibliography by July 2011, prepared a selection of sources, which were subsequently translated into Czech and submitted the manuscript to Palacky University Press in May 2013. He also worked on a number of publications on relevant topics throughout the entire period. These efforts culminated in a monograph which is scheduled for publication in December 2013.
Dr. Visi’s activities at our university and outside of it had a significant impact on Czech as well as international academic life and greatly contributed to the revitalization of Jewish Studies in the Czech Republic during the last three years. Dr. Visi’s students have begun to publish papers in Czech and English utilizing competences they learned from him. Two research groups consisting of doctoral and graduate students were coordinated by Dr. Visi. These projects lead not only to important scientific results but also contributed to the formation of a new generation of young scholars of Jewish Studies in the Czech Republic who possess competencies which their predecessors lacked. It is expected that their continuing work will have a beneficial influence on the understanding of Jewish heritage in Europe and in the Czech Republic and will promote a spirit of understanding between religious and ethnic groups.
The Jewish community of Moravia (a region in the Czech Republic) played a very important role in the Jewish life of the pre-modern period from the sixteenth until the twentieth century. It was close to such important centers as Vienna, Prague, Bratislava, and Budapest. The Moravian chief-rabbi (Landesrabbiner) was one of the most prestigious rabbinic posts in Europe. The rabbinic literature produced in the region is an eminent source-material about the social and intellectual history of Moravian Jews and extremely important from a comparative perspective as well.
In spite of their importance, rabbinic sources about the history of the Jewish communities in Moravia have received little attention since the Holocaust period. As the Kurt and Ursula Schubert Centre for Jewish Studies at the Palacky University in Olomouc, Czech Republic has been established to encourage research of Moravian Jewish heritage it welcomed a Hungarian scholar, Dr. Tamás Visi to conduct research about this topic at the Centre. Dr. Visi successfully accomplished a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship at the Centre from 2007 to 2009. This project was followed by the Reintegration Grant “Rabbinic Literature in Moravia from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century” (from February 2010 until June 2013).
The project had the following main objectives: (1) surveying the rabbinic sources that were produced in Moravia or about Jews life in Moravia from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century; (2) preparing an annotated bibliography of these sources; (3) preparing a sourcebook with Czech translations and comments; (4) analyzing these sources in original studies published in English, Czech, and Hungarian; (5) career development of Tamás Visi (habilitation, appointment as associated professor).
Dr. Visi proceeded on two parallel tracks. He submitted a monograph summarizing the results of his Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship project as a Habilitationsschrift together with other required materials and began the process of habilitation in June 2011. The process was successfully accomplished in October 2012 and Dr. Visi was promoted to associate professor (“docent”) in November 2012. On the other hand he accomplished a survey of Moravian rabbinic literature and prepared an annotated bibliography by July 2011, prepared a selection of sources, which were subsequently translated into Czech and submitted the manuscript to Palacky University Press in May 2013. He also worked on a number of publications on relevant topics throughout the entire period. These efforts culminated in a monograph which is scheduled for publication in December 2013.
Dr. Visi’s activities at our university and outside of it had a significant impact on Czech as well as international academic life and greatly contributed to the revitalization of Jewish Studies in the Czech Republic during the last three years. Dr. Visi’s students have begun to publish papers in Czech and English utilizing competences they learned from him. Two research groups consisting of doctoral and graduate students were coordinated by Dr. Visi. These projects lead not only to important scientific results but also contributed to the formation of a new generation of young scholars of Jewish Studies in the Czech Republic who possess competencies which their predecessors lacked. It is expected that their continuing work will have a beneficial influence on the understanding of Jewish heritage in Europe and in the Czech Republic and will promote a spirit of understanding between religious and ethnic groups.