Sefer Hasidim and the Ashkenazic Book in Medieval Europe by Ivan G. Marcus (review)

Dr. Ivan Marcus’ Sefer Hasidim and the Ashkenazic Book in Medieval Europe is a monographic study of one of the fundamental works of Ashkenazic Judaism. Sefer Hasidim, or “Book of the Pietists,” is a collection of stories that portray the everyday life of Jews who lived in towns in Central Europe (Speyer, Worms, Mainz, and Regensburg), and therefore had to interact regularly with their towns’ Christian communities. Apparently written in the thirteenth century by Judah ben Samuel he-hasid, this book idealizes a humble lifestyle and can be considered one of the first moral guides for Ashkenazic Judaism.

The study is organized into four chapters along with a descriptive catalog of the manuscripts and editions of the Sefer Hasidim. Chapter 1, “Sefer Hasidim as an Open Book,” deals with philological observations and presents a new way to examine the work. Marcus posits that the Sefer Hasidim is not a unified composition, but rather functions as an open text. The book was not written with a linear plot but as isolated episodes, which were only later combined and organized. It is impossible to find a single authoritative version of the text because all of its variations are equally authoritative. It is also impossible to establish if there was only one author, or if multiple individuals revised these texts over time.

Chapter 2, “Rewriting Jewish Pietist Traditions,” focuses on German Pietist (hasidei ashkenaz) writing culture and its principal authors. Marcus offers an important contextualization of the relationship of the Sefer Hasidim to other works that R. Judah b. Samuel he-hasid (d. 1217) and his student R. Eleazar b. Judah of Worms (d. ca 1230) produced. All these works follow the same pattern; they are “overlapping” and “fluid” compositions.

Chapter 3, “Judah he-Hasid’s Life and Legends,” provides historical context for Sefer Hasidim, analyzing its possible author, Judah he-hadid. Marcus studies biographical and hagiographical sources. He analyzes contemporary students’ responses and the reception in general of Judah he-hasid’s writings and sermons and their relationship to both Christian Latin and vernacular authors in medieval Europe, as well as their Byzantine Jewish predecessors.

Chapter 4, “Ashkenazic Hebrew Book Writing in Historical Context,” offers an extended study of Ashkenazic Hebrew publication in a comparative framework. Ashkenazic productions are compared to each other and to earlier Jewish book editing, as well as to classical Greco-Roman and contemporary Muslim and Christian texts. Marcus underlines the peculiarity of “open book” organization for the Ashkenazic works and labels it an Ashkenazic “cultural phenomenon.” These books differ from the Sepharic Jewish writings and seem more closely connected to ancient Byzantine rabbinic tradition.

The book includes two new research tools for Jewish scholars: an updated catalog of the manuscripts and printed editions of Sefer Hasidim, and an organized selected bibliography.

Sefer Hasidim and the Ashkenazic Book in Medieval Europe is a specialized text. Marcus’ primary goal is a philological study of the Sefer Hasidim, and his target audience is Jewish scholars who are already familiar with the book and want to acquire more tools to better understand its value. It is rich with historical, textual, and bibliographic references. The volume offers useful contextualization, particularly with regard to Ashkenazic medieval productions, and presents extensive descriptions of unpublished material.