Bar Ilan University
Night in the Middle Ages in Ashkenaz
The project attempts to describe the various historical aspects of the night in the Jewish society in late medieval Ashkenaz (14–16 cent.). These include, but are not limited to, social, halachic-ritual, and artistic-literary aspects. From a methodological point of view, this study will attempt to examine the night in the context of a two-fold axis: The vertical axis is the tradition and the Talmudic legacy that influenced the course of Halacha and out of it on the Jewish life along the generations. The horizontal axis is the surrounding Christian society of the same time and geographical region, which influenced Jewish society, and was influenced by the same nature causes. Similarities between the societies can be seen as the results of the effects of nature on the two societies as well as by mutual influences caused by dialog between two societies sharing the same time and space.
Since the night in the Jewish society has yet to receive attention, scholarly or otherwise, any historical and geographical scope of this study would be in order. However, the choice of the Ashkenazic-Jewish society is not arbitrary: This is a society past its golden age and into period of decline – the Black Death riots and various expulsions being some of the notable events. But out of that decline arose intellectual, halachic and artistic work. This period is characterized by social changes that heavily influenced the Jewish and the surrounding societies, including the Reformation, the inventions of printing, gas lamps and street lighting. The absence of a focused study of nighttime is all the more remarkable when seen in the context of medieval life, and German Jewry is no exception. As we will show, a significant part of this culture is affected by and deals with aspects of night and darkness. Such a study will shed light on the development of medieval Jewish-German culture, such as Halakha, ritual, liturgy, folklore, etc., while providing us with a better understanding of the experience of night in medieval times. The necessity to examine the night emerges from the need to learn more about the Jewish medieval everyday life. The night is the perfect opposite to the day: darkness versus light, rest versus work, fear and violence versus security and even quiet versus noise. As such, it will certainly provide us with insights regarding daytime as well.
Ph.D candidate at the department of Jewish History at Bar Ilan University, and currently concluding the writing of the dissertation, supervised by Prof. Elliot Horowitz and Dr. Elisheva Baumgarten. B.A. and M.A. from Hebrew University. Born in Jerusalem, live and work there, mother of two. Fields of interest are medieval Jewish history, literature, art, and other aspects of Jewish culture.