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Ottoman Jewry
Leadership, Charity, and Literacy
Series: - Christians and Jews in Muslim Societies, Volume: 12
Author:
This book is a history of Ottoman Jews that challenges prevailing assumptions about Jewsâ arrival in the empire, their relations with Muslims, and the role of religious and lay leaders. The book argues that rabbis played a less prominent role as communal and spiritual leaders than we have thought; and that the religious community was one of several frameworks within which Ottoman Jews operated. A focus on charitable and educational communal practices shows that with time Jews preferred to avoid the scrutiny of rabbis and the community, leading to private initiatives that undermined rabbinical and lay authority.
Yaron Ayalon, Ph.D. (2009), Princeton University, is Associate Professor at the College of Charleston. He has written many articles on Jewish and Ottoman history, and a monograph, Natural Disasters in the Ottoman Empire: Plague, Famine, and Other Misfortunes (Cambridge, 2014)
Preface
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
Introduction
â1âWho Were Ottoman Jews?
â2âOttoman Jewish History: the State of the Field
â3âWhat This Book Does Not Do
â4âBook Structure
1 Ottoman Jewry, Origins and Growth
â1âOne Overplayed Letter
â2âThe Sephardim Arrive
â3âThe Textile Industry and the Decline of Safed
â4âOttoman Jews and the Environment
2 Ottoman Jewry, Opportunities and Crises
â1âDemography and Economy
â2âThe Environment, Again: Jewish Settlement Patterns and the Little Ice Age
â3âIzmir and Aleppo
â4âHardships and Prophecy
â5âExpanding Opportunities in the Eighteenth Century
3 Communal Leadership, Rabbis, and Others
â1âRabbis in the Existing Scholarship
â2âJews in Ottoman Society
â3âThe Frankos Affair
â4âToward a Model of Communal Leadership
4 Poor Relief and Communal Authority
â1âFoundations of Jewish Charity
â2âPublic Charity
â3âSemi-public Charity
â4âPrivate Charity
â5âWhy Give?
â6âCharitable Societies and the Weakening of Communal Authority
5 Education, Reading, and Rabbinical Authority
â1âEducation
â2âIntellectual Circles
â3âThe Inner Circle and Its Library
â4âThe Value of Books
â5âThe End of Knowledge Monopoly
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
Introduction
â1âWho Were Ottoman Jews?
â2âOttoman Jewish History: the State of the Field
â3âWhat This Book Does Not Do
â4âBook Structure
1 Ottoman Jewry, Origins and Growth
â1âOne Overplayed Letter
â2âThe Sephardim Arrive
â3âThe Textile Industry and the Decline of Safed
â4âOttoman Jews and the Environment
2 Ottoman Jewry, Opportunities and Crises
â1âDemography and Economy
â2âThe Environment, Again: Jewish Settlement Patterns and the Little Ice Age
â3âIzmir and Aleppo
â4âHardships and Prophecy
â5âExpanding Opportunities in the Eighteenth Century
3 Communal Leadership, Rabbis, and Others
â1âRabbis in the Existing Scholarship
â2âJews in Ottoman Society
â3âThe Frankos Affair
â4âToward a Model of Communal Leadership
4 Poor Relief and Communal Authority
â1âFoundations of Jewish Charity
â2âPublic Charity
â3âSemi-public Charity
â4âPrivate Charity
â5âWhy Give?
â6âCharitable Societies and the Weakening of Communal Authority
5 Education, Reading, and Rabbinical Authority
â1âEducation
â2âIntellectual Circles
â3âThe Inner Circle and Its Library
â4âThe Value of Books
â5âThe End of Knowledge Monopoly
Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
Scholars, students, and some general readers working in the areas of or interested in Jewish, Sephardic, and Ottoman history.