Jewish Intellectual Tradition

Alan Kadish, MD, is President of Touro College and University System, the largest Jewish-sponsored educational institution in the United States. Before succeeding Dr. Bernard Lander as Touro’s second president in March 2010, Dr. Kadish distinguished himself as a prominent cardiologist, dedicated teacher and researcher, and experienced administrator. A graduate of Columbia College, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University, Dr. Kadish received postdoctoral training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He has published over 280 peer-reviewed papers, received numerous grants, including from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and contributed to several textbooks. Dr. Kadish has published articles on the nexus between science and religion.Rabbi Dr. Michael A. Shmidman is Dean and Victor J. Selmanowitz Professor of Jewish History at Touro Graduate School of Jewish Studies and Editor of Touro University Press. He received his PhD from Harvard University and his MA from Hebrew University, and has published and lectured extensively in the areas of medieval Jewish history and Maimonidean studies. Dr. Shmidman also served as Rabbi of Congregation Keter Torah in Teaneck, New Jersey and as Editor of Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought.Dr. Simcha Fishbane is a Professor of Jewish Studies in the Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Touro College, New York. He has published extensively on Jewish subjects and texts. Dr. Fishbane’s publications include Deviancy in Early Rabbinic Literature (2007), The Boldness of an Halakhist (2008), The Shtiebelization of Modern Jewry (2011), The Impact of Culture and Cultures Upon Jewish Customs and Rituals (2016), and The Rabbinic Discussion about Bat Mitzvah Celebrations (2017).

• PrefaceIntroductionPart One. Libraries of the Jewish PeopleChapter 1. Golden Libraries in the "Golden Age," Tenth–Twelfth Centuries: The Library of R. Samuel Ha-NagidChapter 2. Nahmanides and His LibraryChapter 3. From Manuscript to Printing Press: The Library of Leone ModenaChapter 4. The Modern Period: The Library of Rabbi Samson R. HirschChapter 5. The Library of Professor Harry Austryn WolfsonChapter 6. The Contemporary University LibraryPart Two. From Text to Success: Salient Ideas and Values and Their InfluenceIntroductionChapter 7. Respect for Precedent and Critical IndependenceChapter 8. Logical Reasoning and Intellectual Honesty in Pursuit of TruthChapter 9. The Primacy of EducationChapter 10. A Purposeful LifeChapter 11. Summary and ConclusionsNote on TranslationsAppendix: MapsIllustration CreditsAuthors' BiographiesEndnotes

“The book, situated between academic and creative writing, presents an innovative view of the history and impact of Jewish intellectualism. It does this by allowing readers to immerse themselves in the book and manuscript collections of five influential thinkers, rabbis, and scholars… Discussions of their collections are supplemented by immersive, fictionalized descriptions of their intellectual endeavors and those of other Jewish thinkers, offering insights into what they might have thought, dreamed, and pondered. This novel way of approaching intellectual history adds greatly to the reading experience. The combination of fictionalized prose and historical description provides a well-rounded overview of the individuals’ work and the surrounding cultures and literatures from which they drew inspiration and knowledge. …With The Jewish Intellectual Tradition, Kadish, Shmidman, and Fishbane have published an insightful and impressive book, approaching Jewish intellectual history from exciting new vantage points. By looking at book history and the history of select Jewish libraries across time and cultures, they provide readers with new perspectives on the Jewish history of knowledge.” — Katharina Hadassah Wendl, Reading Religion