Jews and Plague in Early Modern Europe with Joshua Teplitsky
Episode 107 - March 24, 2023
Joshua Teplitsky (University of Pennsylvania) comes on the podcast to discuss his work on plague and its effects on Jewish communities in early modern Europe and particularly during the 18th century. Joshua offers an overview of some of the rich sources he uses for his research, including both the sources for mortality at the time and sources that describe how local Jewish communities perceived and reacted to plague – ranging from rabbinic responsa to epic Yiddish poems. He then focuses on a single case study – the plague outbreak in Prague in 1713 to offer a more concrete interpretation. The conversation subsequently moves to a deeper discussion of the myth that Jews were somehow more immune or resistant to plague, based on Joshua’s research who explored both the evidence and the origins of the idea. Joshua further connects this myth to broader myths surrounding diseases.
Further Reading
- Einbinder, Susan L. After the Black Death : Plague and Commemoration among Iberian Jews. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2018.
- Foa, Anna. The Jews of Europe after the Black Death. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
- Ruderman, David B. Early Modern Jewry : A New Cultural History. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.
- Teplitsky, Joshua, “Heroes and Victims without Villains,” Special Issue: Epidemics and Other Disasters: Views from Jewish Studies, Jewish Social Studies 26, 1 (Fall 2020): 67-76.
- Teplitsky, Joshua, “Imagined Immunities: Medieval Myths and Modern Memories Histories of the Jews and the Black Death,” AJS Review 46, 2 (November 2022): 320-346.
Our Guest
Joshua Teplitsky
Joseph Meyerhoff Associate Professor of Modern Jewish History, Department of History, University of Pennsylvania.
