Contribute by prof. Silvia Berti, Associate Professor of Modern History, Department of Philosophy, Sapienza University of Rome.
A world Apart? Gershom Scholem and Contemporary Readings of 17th Century Jewish-Christians Relations
Historians often seem ill at ease and reluctant to reconsider in theoretical terms the meaning of their work and the sense of the historiographical inheritance that looms over them. or should I say, behind them and before them, demanding fulfillment. There are obvious good reasons for this unease: mainly because history stands in its own right and has no desire to be reduced to merely a pale, blurred image of philosophy. The lack of awareness, however, has never benefited anyone, least of all historians. Jewish Studies as a discipline – leaving aside for the time being any question related lo its relationship with other fields of research – seems to be in need or theoretical clarification more than other disciplines, mainly due lo the impressive wealth of recent publications devoted to differing aspects of Judaism. from the study or Kabbalah to the interpretation of the Talmud. from magic to the Bible analyzed as a literary form and expression, from Hasidism to Zionism, from Marranism to emancipation.
European Jewish History Project 