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The Responsa literature (Heb. she’elot u-teshuvot, „questions and answers“) has been an important Jewish literary genre since the eighth century. As the name indicates, Responsa are queries sent by individuals and communities to a Jewish authority, and the responses the latter sent back. The Islamic conquest brought most of the world’s Jews under the aegis of one political regime, thereby enabling rabbinic Jews to establish and maintain a central authority in the form of two Jewish academies (Heb. yeshivot) in Baghdad. The head of each rabbinic academy in Baghdad was called Gaon (pl. geonim). Hence, Geonic Responsa stand for the correspondence of individuals and communities with the central yeshivot in Baghdad during the 8th-11th centuries.
Over the course of the Middle Ages, many thousands of questions and answers in the lands of Islam were compiled into collections and in this form constituted a source for study. The topics discussed cover all aspects of Jewish life, including law, theology, language, biblical and Talmudic interpretation. Hence, the Responsa literature represents an extraordinary resource for knowledge about the history and culture of Jews in the Medieval Islamic countries.
In this workshop, we will examine various aspects of the Geonic Responsa, including their physical features, their cultural contexts, and their contribution to the study of medieval Jewish scholarship and of Jewish history. During each session, different sources will be used. Participants will work with reference material and samples of both published and unpublished responsa.
On Wednesday, 10 May 2023, the workshop will take place at Edmund-Rumpler-Straße 9, Room A 119, and on Thursday, 11 May 2023, it will take place at Edmund-Rumpler-Straße 13, Room B 109.
Wednesday, 10 May 2023
10:00-12:30 First Session
The Characteristics of Geonic Responsa
12:30-14:00 Break
14:00-15:30 Second Session
Responsa as a Source for Medieval History
Thursday, 11 May 2023
10:00-12:30 Third Session
Dossier Reconstruction: The Circulation of Geonic Responsa in the Middle Ages
12:30-14:00 Break
14:00-15:30 Fourth Session
Responsa on Theology and Biblical Interpretation
