Ottoman Jewry: Leadership, Charity, and Literacy (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9789004711969)

This book is a history of Ottoman Jews that challenges prevailing assumptions about Jews' arrival in the empire, their relations with Muslims, and the role of religious and lay leaders. The book argues that rabbis played a less prominent role as communal and spiritual leaders than we have thought; and that the religious community was one of several frameworks within which Ottoman Jews operated. A focus on charitable and educational communal practices shows that with time Jews preferred to avoid the scrutiny of rabbis and the community, leading to private initiatives that undermined rabbinical and lay authority.

Author: Yaron Ayalon
ISBN-10: 9004711961
ISBN-13: 9789004711969
Publisher: Brill
Language: English
Published: 12/26/2024
Pages: 275
Format: Hardcover