Objective

The objective of the Emmy Noether project “Jewish Moralistic Writings of the Early Modern Period” is threefold:

Firstly, we will create a comprehensive inventory of musar writings that were produced between the beginning of Hebrew book printing and the 1830s. These include works that were composed prior to the period under investigation but developed into best-sellers in the age of print and also titles that were composed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries but were only published much later. The inventory will contain works in Hebrew, bilingual editions, and translations and original works in the vernacular, such as Yiddish, Judeo-Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. The data will be made available in an open access database.

Secondly, each member of the group is pursuing an individual research project. For further information, please visit the “Individual Research” section.

Thirdly, we will edit a handbook that will bring together several case studies of a selection of different types or manifestations of musar. This spectrum, although limited, will serve to highlight some of the idiosyncrasies and the many faces of moral edification in an early modern context. It will also include a bibliographical section that will make the information in the database accessible in print.