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TRANSNATIONAL JUDAISM
The diverse histories of Jewish communities
scattered across far-flung regions of the world
have given rise to wide variety of Jewish forms.
Yet, overlapping networks of communication,
kinship, travel, trade, and cultural exchange have
all served to cultivate and maintain Judaism as a
world religion. But how to study "Global Judaism,"
an unwieldy and ever-changing form?
Below I offer a few windows in:
Jewish World Travelers
Several individuals--who lived at various points in history--traveled across vast territories, searching for Jewish communities along the way. The travelogues these colorful personalities left behind do more than provide a bird's eye perspective on Global Judaism. They also give readers a map-like representation of the common world they inhabited with other Jews across the globe. Some of my favorite examples of such travelogues are those of:
To read more about these works, see my publications on the topic:
A View from the Margins
Through their vantage point as outsiders, anthropologists are able to offer fresh and interesting insight into the societies they study. I have applied this lesson to the study of Global Judaism in its broadest sense. Bukharan Jews (a Jewish diaspora group that lived in Central Asia for well over a millennia) have long been on the margins of what are popularly considered to be the centers of the Jewish world. Situated on the edge, Bukharan Jews provide a compelling starting point for un-packing what, exactly, normative Judaism is. They are, in other word, outsiders who allow for a very interesting view in. For more, please see information about my book, Bukharan Jews and the Dynamics of Global Judaism.
Several individuals--who lived at various points in history--traveled across vast territories, searching for Jewish communities along the way. The travelogues these colorful personalities left behind do more than provide a bird's eye perspective on Global Judaism. They also give readers a map-like representation of the common world they inhabited with other Jews across the globe. Some of my favorite examples of such travelogues are those of:
- Benjamin of Tudela (12th century). For a free on-line version of the travelogue click here.
- Ephraim Neumark (19th century)
- David D'Beth Hillel (19th century)
To read more about these works, see my publications on the topic:
- Alanna E. Cooper, “Conceptualizing Diaspora: Tales of Jewish Travelers in Search of the Ten Lost Tribes” AJS Review, 30.1, 2006
- Alanna E. Cooper, “India’s Jewish Geography as Described by Nineteenth-Century Traveler David D’Beth Hillel” Journal of Indo-Judaic Studies, 2004.
A View from the Margins
Through their vantage point as outsiders, anthropologists are able to offer fresh and interesting insight into the societies they study. I have applied this lesson to the study of Global Judaism in its broadest sense. Bukharan Jews (a Jewish diaspora group that lived in Central Asia for well over a millennia) have long been on the margins of what are popularly considered to be the centers of the Jewish world. Situated on the edge, Bukharan Jews provide a compelling starting point for un-packing what, exactly, normative Judaism is. They are, in other word, outsiders who allow for a very interesting view in. For more, please see information about my book, Bukharan Jews and the Dynamics of Global Judaism.
