23 October: Brown Bag with Dr. Nina Caputo, “Disputing Normative Judaism: A Contest for Authority between Traditionalists and Rationalists in Thirteenth Century Europe”

Join the Religious Studies Program on Friday, 23 October at 12:00pm for our October Brown Bag. Dr Nina Caputo, the CJS Director & Lipton Professor of Jewish Studies, will present “Disputing Normative Judaism: A Contest for Authority between Traditionalists and Rationalists in Thirteenth Century Europe.”

In 1230, Rabbi Solomon ben Abraham of Montpellier sent a series of letters to Jewish leaders raising alarm that students of Maimonidean philosophy were “publicizing matters [that were] brand new and beyond the conception of their ancestors” by using allegorical methods to interpret the bible. To combat this danger, he and his circle called for action. Though the response from most was tepid, a group of rabbis from France issued a ban of herem, or excommunication, for anyone who taught or studied two of Maimonides’s philosophical works – the Guide for the Perplexed and the Book of Knowledge, the introduction to his Mishneh Torah. Contrary to standard procedure, they formulated this as a universal ban that would apply to everyone throughout the Jewish world. In this paper, I examine how both sides in this dispute understood and argued in defense of their very different constructions of normative Judaism. I will embed this discussion in a broader consideration of Jewish community governance.

Nina Caputo is the Lipton Professor of Jewish Studies and Director of the CJS. Her publications include Nahmanides in Medieval Catalonia: Community, History, and Messianism, and Debating Truth: The Barcelona Disputation of 1263, a Graphic History. In addition, she co-edited Faithful Narratives: Historians, Religion, and the Challenge of Objectivity and On the Word of a Jew: Religion, Reliability, and the Dynamics of Trust. Her work has appeared in Jewish Social Studies, Jewish History, Perichoresis, and the Journal of Law and Religion, as well as various anthologies. Caputo teaches courses on “Medieval Jewish History,” “Early Modern Jewish History,” and “Jewish in Christian Spain.” She has trained graduate students in medieval Jewish history, medieval history, and early modern Sephardic culture.

The event will take place in Religious Studies room 3138 of the Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall. Bring your lunch, bring a friend or come alone, and join us!