Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In offering a comprehensive account of Syria's key Jewish communities at an important juncture in their history, this pioneering study also throws light on the broader effects of modernization in the Ottoman empire. The Ottoman reforms of the mid-nineteenth century accelerated the process of opening up Syria to European travellers and traders and gave Syria's Jews access to European Jewish communities. The resulting influx of Western ideas led to a decline in the traditional economy, with serious consequences for the Jewish occupational structure. It also allowed for the introduction of Western education, through schools run by the Alliance Israelite Universelle, influenced the structure and the administration of Jewish society in Syria, and changed the balance of the relationship between Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Initially, Syria's Jewish communities flourished economically and politically in these new circumstances, but there was increasing recognition that a better future lay o
Synopsis
This volume provides texts and English translations, with commentary, of Hebrew liturgical poems from the 6th to the 14th century. The poems, emanating from different Jewish communities, often express personal as well as traditional theological views.