Editors’ Introduction

This issue of the Jewish Quarterly Review is devoted to exploring the early modern period of Jewish history. Over the course of the last quarter century or so, that temporal marker has entered the lexicon of Jewish studies, attracting an ever-expanding array of inventive scholars. The early modern is not a mere passageway between the medieval and the modern; it was, on its own terms, a laboratory for political, cultural, and religious innovation—a site of constant and enthusiastic boundary-crossing between science, philosophy, and the occult, among many other domains of knowledge.

The first reason why we devote this issue of JQR to the early modern is to acknowledge and expose our readers to some of the excellent work being done in this important field. The second is to recognize the achievement of David Ruderman, Ella Darivoff Director of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies. Not only has David administrated the Center with remarkable ingenuity and energy for twenty years, during which time he presided over the revival of this journal, he also has been at the forefront of historical scholarship devoted to early modern Jewish history. Indeed, his book Early Modern Jewry: A Cultural History, which offers a panoramic view of the period, is the subject of our forum in this issue. Preceding the forum are three articles on various themes in early modern Jewish history; following it are a series of review essays on books in early modern Jewish history. As a whole, they attest to the growing importance of the field to a proper understanding of Jewish studies, as well as of Jewish modernity.