Background
Kanarfogel, Ephraim was born on November 19, 1955 in New York City.
( During the high Middle Ages, the tosafists flourished i...)
During the high Middle Ages, the tosafists flourished in northern Europe and revolutionized the study of the Talmud. These Jewish scholars did not participate in the philosophical and religious thought that concerned Christendom, and today they are seen as having played a limited role in mystical or esoteric studies. Ephraim Kanarfogel now challenges this conventional view of the tosafists, showing that many individuals were influenced by ascetic and pietistic practices and were involved with mystical and magical doctrines. He traces the presence of these disciplines in the pre-Crusade period, shows how they are intertwined, and suggests that the widely available Hekhalot literature was an important conduit for this material. He also demonstrates that the asceticism and esotericism of the German Pietists were an integral part of Ashkenazic rabbinic culture after the failure of Rashbam and other early tosafists to suppress these aspects of pre-Crusade thinking. The identification of these various forms of spirituality places the tosafists among those medieval rabbinic thinkers who sought to supplement their Talmudism with other areas of knowledge such as philosophy and kabbalah, demonstrating the compatibility of rabbinic culture and mysticism. These interests, argues Kanarfogel, explain both references to medieval Ashkenazic rabbinic figures in kabbalistic literature and the acceptance of certain ascetic and mystical practices by later Ashkenazic scholars. Drawing on original manuscript research, Kanarfogel makes available for the first time many passages produced by lesser known tosafists and rabbinic figures and integrates the findings of earlier and contemporary scholarship, much of it published only in Hebrew. "Peering through the Lattices" provides a greater appreciation for these texts and opens up new opportunities for scholarhship in Jewish history and thought.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0814325319/?tag=2022091-20
( The Jews of northern France, Germany, and England, know...)
The Jews of northern France, Germany, and England, known collectively as Ashkenazic Jewry, have commanded the attention of scholars since the beginnings of modern Jewish historiography. Over the past century, historians have produced significant studies about Jewish society in medieval Ashkenaz that have revealed them as a well-organized, creative, and steadfast community. Indeed, the Franco-Russian Jewry withstood a variety of physical, political, and religious attacks in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to produce an impressive corpus of Talmudic and halakhic compositions, known collectively as Tosafot, that revolutionized the study of rabbinic literature. Although the literary creativity of the Tosafists has been documented and analyzed, and the scope and policies of communal government in Ashkenaz have been fixed and compared, no sustained attempt has been made to integrate these crucial dimensions. Jewish Education and Society in the High Middle Ages considers these relationships by examining the degree of communal involvement in the educational process, as well as the economic theories and communal structures that affected the process from the most elementary level to the production of the Tosafist corpus. By drawing parallels and highlighting differences to pre-Crusade Ashkenaz, the period following the Black Death, Spanish and Provençal Jewish society, and general medieval society, Ephraim Kanarfogel creates an insightful and compelling portrait of Ashkenazic society. Available in paperback for the first time with a new preface included, Jewish Education and Society in the High Middle Ages will be a welcome addition to the libraries of Jewish studies scholars and students of medieval religious literature.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0814333680/?tag=2022091-20
Kanarfogel, Ephraim was born on November 19, 1955 in New York City.
Nearly all of Kanarfogel’s formal education took place at Yeshiva University: He attended Yeshiva University"s Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy for high school, and earned his Bachelor from Yeshiva College and both an Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies. Kanarfogel also received rabbinical ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (an affiliate of the university), in one of the last classes taught directly by Rabbi Doctor Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
A native of White Plains, New York, Kanarfogel practiced as a pulpit rabbi for Congregation Beth Aaron, then a growing, youthful synagogue in Teaneck, New Jersey, from 1984 to 2003. In 1979, Kanarfogel began teaching at the university, and was soon recognized as the East. Billi Ivry Professor of Jewish History at Yeshiva"s Stern College for Women. In 1984, he became the head of the Jewish Studies program at Stern and was later appointed chairman of the Rebecca Ivry Department of Jewish Studies and director of the Graduate Program for Women in Advanced Talmudic Studies (GPATS) at Yeshiva University.
Today, he also teaches classes at the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies.
Kanarfogel has authored or edited five books and published more than 50 articles and reviews. Some of his works have been translated to Hebrew.
Kanarfogel currently resides in Teaneck, New Jersey. Kanarfogel plays the piano/keyboard, is an avid rail fan, and in his youth was a star lefty softball pitcher at Camp Massad.
( The Jews of northern France, Germany, and England, know...)
( During the high Middle Ages, the tosafists flourished i...)
Fellow: American Academy Jewish Research.
Married Devorah Kanarfogel, June 26, 1977.