Rabbi Judah Moscato and the Jewish Intellectual World of Mantua in the 16th-17th Centuries

Giuseppe Veltri, is Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Halle-Wittenberg and Director of the Zunz Centre (Halle). He has published widely in the subjects of hermeneutics and philosophy including Gegenwart der Tradition (2002), Cultural Intermediaries (2004 with D. Ruderman); Libraries, Translation and 'Canonic texts' (2006); The Jewish Body (2008, with M. Diemling); Renaissance Philosophy in Jewish Garb (2009); Judah Moscato’s Sermons (2011). Gianfranco Miletto is university private lecturer (“Privatdozent”) at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. He has published on Biblical Philology and on the Jewish culture in Italy at the time of the Renaissance and Counter-Reformation: L’ Antico Testamento Ebraico nella tradizione babilonese (1992); Die Heldenschilde des Abraham ben David Portaleone, 2 vols. (2003); Glauben und Wissen im Zeitalter der Reformation (2004); Judah Moscato’s Sermons (2011).

• Editor’s Preface Part I: Judah Moscato. His Life and His WorkJudah Moscato: Biographical Data and WritingsGianfranco MilettoPrinciples of Jewish Skeptical Thought. The Case of Judah Moscato and Simone LuzzattoGiuseppe VeltriMoscato as EulogistMarc SapersteinOn Kabbalah in R. Judah Moscato’s Qol YehudahMoshe IdelAmitica and Hermeticism. Paratext as Key to Judah Moscato’s Nefuṣot YehudahBernard Dov CoopermanJudah Moscato, Abraham Portaleone, and Biblical Incense in Late Renaissance MantuaAndrew BernsJudah Moscato’s Sources and Hebrew Printing in the Sixteenth Century: A Preliminary SurveyAdam ShearPart II: The Jewish intellectual World of Mantua in 16th-17th centuryThe Gonzaga Archives of Mantua and Their Rearrangements Over the Centuries, along with and Overview of Archival Materials on Mantuan JewryDaniela FerrariThe Levi Dynasty: Three Generations of Jewish Musicians in Sixteenth-Century MantuaDon HarránSpatial Stories: Mantua and the Painted JewDana KatzSaladin the Crusader, the Christian Haman and the Off-key Priest: Some Reflections on Christians and Christianity in Yiddish Literary Texts from the Italian RenaissanceClaudia RosenzweigSome Unknown 16th-Century Documents about Abraham Yagel and a Possible Link to the Controversy about the “Holy Diana” in the Mantuan SynagogueDaniel JütteOn Abraham’s Neck. The Editio Princeps of the Sefer Yeṣirah (Mantua 1562) and Its ContextSaverio CampaniniThe Italian Translation of the Psalms by Judah SommoAlessandro GuettaSavants and Scholars in Jewish Mantua: a ReassessmentShlomo Simonsohn

"This fascinating conference volume is the latest publication of the remarkable Italian-German scholars Veltri and Miletto. It reflects the strong trend in Renaissance interests among European Jewish studies scholars, of whom this pair are leading lights. [...] The book overall is a fine example of what a conference volume should be. [...] [T]he essays [...] are all good; [...] rise to the level of excellence." – Matt Goldish, The Ohio State University, in: Renaissance Quarterly 65.4 (Winter 2012), pp. 1271-1273, DOI: 10.1086/669413"Brill's new scholarly edition and translation of Moscato's sermons is a major contribution to Jewish Renaissance studies. [...] The editors identify the many references to both Jewish and Classical literature, and give brief but clear explanations when needed. The translation is also clear, and seems to accruately reflect the Hebrew text." – Jim Rosenbloom, in: Association of Jewish Libraries Reviews, November/December 2012