Iris Idelson-Shein is Associate Professor of Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

"[A] groundbreaking study of how Jews found (or failed to find) knowledge through translation. Iris Idelson-Shein argues that 'translation functions as a means not (or not only) of eliminating difference, but of coming to terms with it.' So as Jews emerged from the ghettos of Europe into modernity, their efforts to translate non-Jewish works into languages like Yiddish 'was vital for Jewish literary, linguistic, religious, and cultural survival.' Idelson-Shein writes that Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, rabbis and proponents of the Enlightenment, converts from and into Judaism, and physicians and printers all drew on European-language texts — including German, Dutch, Italian, and even Latin — to expose their colleagues and communities to new knowledge." (Jewish Book Council)

Iris Idelson-Shein is Associate Professor of Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

"[A] groundbreaking study of how Jews found (or failed to find) knowledge through translation. Iris Idelson-Shein argues that 'translation functions as a means not (or not only) of eliminating difference, but of coming to terms with it.' So as Jews emerged from the ghettos of Europe into modernity, their efforts to translate non-Jewish works into languages like Yiddish 'was vital for Jewish literary, linguistic, religious, and cultural survival.' Idelson-Shein writes that Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, rabbis and proponents of the Enlightenment, converts from and into Judaism, and physicians and printers all drew on European-language texts — including German, Dutch, Italian, and even Latin — to expose their colleagues and communities to new knowledge." (Jewish Book Council)

Iris Idelson-Shein is Associate Professor of Jewish History at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

"[A] groundbreaking study of how Jews found (or failed to find) knowledge through translation. Iris Idelson-Shein argues that 'translation functions as a means not (or not only) of eliminating difference, but of coming to terms with it.' So as Jews emerged from the ghettos of Europe into modernity, their efforts to translate non-Jewish works into languages like Yiddish 'was vital for Jewish literary, linguistic, religious, and cultural survival.' Idelson-Shein writes that Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, rabbis and proponents of the Enlightenment, converts from and into Judaism, and physicians and printers all drew on European-language texts — including German, Dutch, Italian, and even Latin — to expose their colleagues and communities to new knowledge." (Jewish Book Council)