Readers of Christoph Hopp's recent essay might also try Caroline Kahlenberg's 2024 JQR essay on Ribhi Kamal (1912–79), a Palestinian scholar of Semitic languages who grew up in Jerusalem and went on to host Radio Damascus’s Hebrew-language broadcast. dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr....

The Jewish Quarterly Review@thejqr.bsky.social · last mo.

In JQR 116.2, Christoph Hopp examines how the political ideals of Israel Ben-Ze’ev’s contemporary Cairo informed his History of the Semitic Languages (1929), which postulates, against the scholarly norm, that Hebrew originated from early Arabic dialects. dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr....

In JQR 116.2, Jeremiah Lockwood highlights early 20th-cent American women performers of popular cantorial music (khazntes) and explores what their reception says about gender, religion, and power in that historical moment—and he includes some amazing photos! dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr....

Interested to learn more about Albo? Some open access classics from JQR's archives: Shira Weiss, "Free Choice in the Responsum of Joseph Albo: The Case of the Katlanit" (2015) dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr.... Warren Zev Harvey, "Albo's Discussion of Time" (1980) www.jstor.org/stable/1454498

The Jewish Quarterly Review@thejqr.bsky.social · last mo.

Check out Yosi Yisraeli's essay in JQR 116.2, which contextualizes Joseph Albo’s Book of Principles (ca. 1420) with Christian conversionist sources. Yisraeli shows how it responds to specific contemporary critiques of Judaism: dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr.... Like all our content, it is open access!

Esra Almas's new essay analyzes language, music, and sound in Who Are You, Jak Samanon? (1997), a novel by Liz Behmoaras about a Jewish family in 19-20th c Turkey, to illuminate how Jews shaped and were shaped by Turkish modernity. dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr.... (And don't miss her blog post!)

The Jewish Quarterly Review@thejqr.bsky.social · 2mo ago

On the blog, Esra Almas reflects on the life, work, and inspirational friendship of Turkish author Liz Behmoaras—whose 1997 book Kimsin Jak Samanon? (Who are you Jak Samanon?) is the subject of Almas's latest JQR essay. katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

Have you read Tanja Werthmann's new book The Transcendent Beloved: Platonic Eros and Its Graeco-Arabic Paths to Kabbalah (OUP, 2026)? If so, try her latest JQR essay, which exposes the Neoplatonist, Christian, and Islamic underpinnings of Maimonides' via negativa! dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr....

In JQR 116.2, Christoph Hopp examines how the political ideals of Israel Ben-Ze’ev’s contemporary Cairo informed his History of the Semitic Languages (1929), which postulates, against the scholarly norm, that Hebrew originated from early Arabic dialects. dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr....

If Jeremiah Lockwood's latest JQR essay on early 20th c. American women cantors left you wishing you could hear their music yourself, you're in luck! On the JQR blog, Lockwood describes how contemporary musicians are continuing the legacy of the early khazntes. katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

Cantorial Music in Ever New Guises

Jeremiah Lockwood is not only a scholar of the female cantorial geniuses of the 20th century—he is a virtuoso performer of this repertoire himself

katz.sas.upenn.edu

Check out Yosi Yisraeli's essay in JQR 116.2, which contextualizes Joseph Albo’s Book of Principles (ca. 1420) with Christian conversionist sources. Yisraeli shows how it responds to specific contemporary critiques of Judaism: dx.doi.org/10.1353/jqr.... Like all our content, it is open access!

On the blog, Esra Almas reflects on the life, work, and inspirational friendship of Turkish author Liz Behmoaras—whose 1997 book Kimsin Jak Samanon? (Who are you Jak Samanon?) is the subject of Almas's latest JQR essay. katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

Remembering Liz Behmoaras (1950–2025)

Esra Almas reflects on the life, work, and inspirational friendship of Turkish author Liz Behmoaras

katz.sas.upenn.edu

JQR 116.2 is out with 5 new open access essays! Have you perused the table of contents yet? muse.jhu.edu/issue/56911

In our latest issue, Tanja Werthmann marshals late antique Eastern Syriac philosophy and theology and their reception in the Islamicate world to shed light on Maimonides’s via negativa. Find out how and why Maimonides elevates silence to a form of spiritual practice: muse.jhu.edu/article/991939

JQR 116.2 is here! Learn about: -Maimonides's via negativa -Joseph Albo (15th c.) on Christian conversionist arguments -early 20th c. popular women cantors -Semitic linguistics historiography -modern Turkish Jewish lit It's open access, so what is there to lose? katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

New Issue of the Jewish Quarterly Review: Spring 2026

JQR 116.2 is now available, online and in print

katz.sas.upenn.edu

This week on the blog, we're reflecting on the origins of Jewish art history scholarship through the eyes of pathbreaking 20th century art historian Rachel Wischnitzer—as told in her own words, in JQR essays from 1922–1949. katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

Pathbreaking Scholar Rachel Wischnitzer on Jewish Art, and How to Study It

Explore the beginnings of Jewish art history scholarship in JQR’s pages.

katz.sas.upenn.edu

We know you're hungry for spring reading, so we dug deep into the JQR archives and harvested several essays on food and drink, all open access. We hope you enjoy this gastronomic tour from the Roman triclinium to the streets of New York, and everywhere in between! katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

A Feast! Food in JQR

JQR gleans some delicious offerings from the archives

katz.sas.upenn.edu

Looking for Earth Day reading? Try Sarah Abrevaya Stein's 2022 essay "The Queen of Herbs: A Plant’s-Eye View of the Sephardic Diaspora," which she describes as an "ethnobotanical, historical study" of the plant known as ruta graveolens, rue, or ruda. muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

Check out Elly Moseson's essay in our current issue, which "sheds new light on the complex role played by literature in the transformation of Hasidism from a small local phenomenon into a mass movement." 👇 muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

In JQR 116.1, Vered Noam investigates why primordial priestly figures in Second Temple Jewish culture who had all but disappeared from early rabbinic literature are celebrated in the High Holiday prayers. Check out her essay! muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

We combed through the winners and finalists of the latest AJS Schnitzer Awards and National Jewish Book Awards for JQR alumni, and we have gathered their essays on our blog. Some open-access research by the honorees for your reading pleasure! katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

We Knew Them When…

Get to know the latest Schnitzer and NJBA honorees through their earlier JQR publications, all available open access

katz.sas.upenn.edu

If you read Benjamin Pollock's essay in our current issue, "Redactor Is Rabbenu: The Editorial Theology of the Buber-Rosenzweig Bible," check out his 2012 JQR essay "On the Road to Marcionism: Franz Rosenzweig’s Early Theology." muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic... muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

Don't miss Elnatan Chen's scholarly note in our winter issue, which assembles evidence for the existence and nature of a previously unknown exegetical text on the Prophets by 11th-cent. Hebrew grammarian Jonah Ibn Janāḥ. muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

On our blog, Joseph Davis traces afterlives of the tale of Ashmedai, the demon who impersonated King Solomon and ruled for a while in his stead. Learn about the history of this fascinating story and read JQR essays on the topic, now in open access! katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

Solomon and Ashmedai Forever

Joseph Davis is back on the hunt—tracing the long, and growing, afterlives of an especially compelling tale

katz.sas.upenn.edu

JQR has long published scholarly "notes" on interesting intellectual nuggets. In 2016 we even devoted a forum--a collection of short essays--to such shortform scholarship! Read our thoughts on the note in this 2016 blog post (and consider submitting one!): katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

In JQR 116.1, Katalin Rac unravels the intertwined stories of a paprika merchant and a food journalist in 18th-19th c. Hungary to reveal how Jews contributed to Hungarian cuisine and identity, and how paprika became part of Jewish integration into Hungarian culture. muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

In our latest issue you’ll find: -Primordial priestly figures in the High Holiday prayers -The role of literature in the origins of Hasidism -Food and Jewish identity in 18-19th c. Hungary -The theology of the Buber-Rosenzweig Bible -Evidence for a previously unknown medieval exegetical text

The Jewish Quarterly Review@thejqr.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Open access has arrived at JQR! You can now read our recent content on Project Muse and our archives on JSTOR for free. Our inaugural OA issue, JQR 116.1, has something for everyone. Check it out! katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

JQR's move to open access represents a new era in the life of the journal. In a letter to readers in our winter issue and on our blog, the editors reflect on the transition. katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

JQR Enters the Open Era

In a letter to readers in the winter issue, the editors usher in open access

katz.sas.upenn.edu

In our fall issue, Edan Dekel and David Gantt Gurley published their 3rd essay tracing the literary roots of the Golem legend. Now on the JQR blog, they reflect on the path their research took. Peruse their conversation and read all 3 essays for free! katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

A Golem Trilogy

Over the past twelve years, two scholars have traced the deep literary roots of the Golem legend in the pages of JQR. Their third essay on the topic, replete with ghost children and adultery, appeared...

katz.sas.upenn.edu

Open access has arrived at JQR! You can now read our recent content on Project Muse and our archives on JSTOR for free. Our inaugural OA issue, JQR 116.1, has something for everyone. Check it out! katz.sas.upenn.edu/resources/bl...

New Issue of the Jewish Quarterly Review: Winter 2026

JQR 116.1 is now available, online and in print.

katz.sas.upenn.edu

In our fall issue Isabelle Levy & David Torollo offer the first English translation of a fascinating 13th-cent mixed-form composition by Jacob ben El‘azar: the Sefer ha-meshalim (Book of stories), which stages a debate between a poet and a prosaist. Don't miss it! muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

In his latest JQR essay, Yehuda Halper investigates Frederick II Hohenstaufen's support for the translation of commentaries on Aristotle & Porphyry into Hebrew, arguing that it evidences a broader goal of making the medical curriculum accessible to Jews. muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...

In JQR 115.4, Ossnat Sharon-Pinto untangles the translation method of late 18th- and early 19th-cent Jüdisch-Deutsch novellas of the Frankfurt (Oder) press. Find out how she contextualizes them in maskilic lit and culture: muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/artic...