Beyond the Dark Ages : modern Jewish historians and medieval Judaism

ArticleIt has been more than 30 years since the publication of Professor Y.H. Yerushalmi\u27s Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory. Yerushalmi\u27s work has impacted a new generation of Jewish historians, despite its pessimism regarding the role of history as a substitute for tradition, as well as its doubt that the historian\u27s craft will resonate within Jewish memory. My focus in this essay is on the four greatest modern historians of Judaism: Heinrich Graetz, Simon Dubnow, Yitzhak Fritz Baer, and Salo Baron. I investigate each historian\u27s analysis of medieval Jewish rationalism—as represented by the towering figure of Moses Maimonides—and each historian\u27s assessment of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. My goal in this effort is to challenge Professor Yerushalmi\u27s pessimism and to highlight how historians of Jewish faith and life can enrich our understanding of tradition, memory and the past. I do not make the claim that Zakhor is wrong—in fact, Yerushalmi\u27s analysis of History and Memory is brilliant. No doubt, History will likely never replace Memory and tradition. Yet, there is more room for hope. I believe that Yerushalmi is too pessimistic in his assessment of the abiding power of the historian of Judaism and Jewish life to instill faith and hope for the future. Perhaps one day, the yeshiva seminary will be able to engage the historian\u27s classroom in a constructive and inspiring manner. That is my hope in writing this essay