Jewish Education

Hannah’s Dragons: Gender and Conversion in a Fourteenth-Century Jewish Woman's Manuscript

This chapter examines a unique fourteenth-century Hebrew manuscript copied by a woman, Hannah bat Menaḥem Ẓion of Cologne. I claim that the manuscript, and in particular its illustrations, reflect Hannah’s attempt to reclaim her female Jewish identity after a forced conversion.

Avigdor Kara’s Appeal Reconsidered: A Transcription and English Translation of a Begging Letter Written by a Late Medieval Scholar from Prague

This paper presents a commented edition and English translation of a begging letter written by Prague scholar Avigdor Kara (d. 1432). I analyze the letter’s context, as well as Kara’s occupation and intellectual profile.