Miscellaneous
This week we’re speaking with Dr. Susan Weissman, who has just published “Final Judgement and the Dead in Medieval Jewish Thought.” Her book delves into Sefer Hasidim, a Hebrew-language moralistic text written in the 13th century in Ashkenaz. The men who wrote it were part of the German Pietists sect, which was known for its extreme forms of penitence, including sitting in vermin or setting themselves on fire. The era was one of change for Jewish liturgy and the Medieval pre-occupation with sin and the afterlife was not lost on the Jewish communities. It’s during this time that the mourner’s Kaddish emerges, as well as the Yizkor service, which commemorates the souls of loved ones. Susan concentrated her study on a collection of ghost stories that appear in Sefer Hasidim. We’ll discuss how these ascetic Jews were influenced by their Christian neighbors while Susan dissects an interesting ghost story. Image: A page from Sefer Hasidim. (Courtesy) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.