Description: Boundaries--physical, political, social, religious, and cultural--were a key feature of life in medieval and early modern Poland. By focusing on the ways in which these boundaries were respected, crossed, or otherwise negotiated, this volume throws new light on the contacts between Jews and Christians in Poland (including the vexed question of conversion), between the various Jewish elements, and between Jews in Poland and elsewhere.
Brief description:
Author of The Jews in Poland and Russia, 3 vols. (Littman Library, 2010-12), also published in an abridged version: The Jews in Poland and Russia: A Short History (2014). In 2012 The Jews in Poland and Russia was awarded the Pro Historia Polonorum prize of the Polish Senate for the best book on the history of Poland in a non-Polish language written in the previous five years. Holds honorary doctorates from the University of Warsaw (2010) and the Jagiellonian University (2014). In 2011 he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of Polonia Restituta and the Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of Independent Lithuania.
Review Quotes:
'This is a notable contribution to the leading English-language series on Polish Jewry. It can serve as an ideal starting point for students interested in the development of Judaism in Eastern Europe in pre-modern Poland. The introduction by Teller and Teter offers an incisive picture of much of the historiography of of the period, while many of the articles offer both background and detailed pictures of specific institutions and events that are important for religious studies . . . Libraries with a serious collection dealing with Eastern European Jewish life and culture might want to consider the series in its entirety.'
Shaul Stampfer, Religious Studies Review