In the early 20th century, Jewish writers and artists were often discriminated against, making it hard to find work. Many of them turned to a “low-brow” yet popular form of art: comic books. Jewish creators were able to influence American politics through these cheap, fun stories.

“Rarely Kosher: Studying Jews of Color in North America” is about what it says on the tin. Gordon states that Jews of color have consistently been erased throughout Jewish studies, in part due to the complex history that the whole Jewish community has with race. Many academics only consider European Jews when doing scholarly research, which both leads and contributes to the misconception that all Jews are white. Despite this, there are large populations of Jews of color across the world. Gordon argues that the Eurocentricity of most research on Judaism causes Jews of color to feel isolated, excluded, and invalidated in their Jewish identity. Gordon encourages a more diverse (and more accurate) conception of Judaism, and speaks at length about institutions that he has helped found in order to tackle this problem. He sees these institutions as gateways to questions that attack the misconception of the homogeneously white Jewish community. Gordon also believes that the way in which the field of Jewish studies is approached needs to change from a homogenous framework to a more heterogeneous approach.

This article was a great read. Gordon speaks with passion and authority on a subject he is clearly familiar with, including personal anecdotes about his experiences as a Jew of color. He cites historical precedence, tracing the relationship between Jews and race from Judea onwards and pointing out that many historically famous Jews were people of color. The article is engaging and well thought out. However, I wish that Gordon’s thesis was stated more clearly. It’s easy to get a sense of his argument, but he does not declare his central argument in a way that is accessible to readers.

Sarah Brownlee

March 22, 2021

In his article, “Heroes and Victims Without Villains: Plague in Early Modern Prague,” Joshua Teplitsky discusses the impact both plague and Prague had on Prague’s Jewish community in the early eighteenth century. The plague hit the Jewish neighborhood much harder than it hit other areas of the city. Noting this, the Habsburg government placed various restrictions on the Jewish community, including forbidding them to make contact with Christians. Teplitsky goes into great detail about how these restrictions affected the Jewish community in Prague, and gives insight into why the neighborhood may have fared worse than others. He explains that Jewish life in Prague was normally very integrated with the Christian world, and that, despite their higher rates of disease, the general public did not blame the Jewish community for the plague. However, there is no central argument to this paper. It simply recites the facts, and remarks on a need for empathy at the end.

The best thing about this paper is its thoroughness. Teplitsky takes us through the impact of this epidemic and the resulting discrimination on various parts of Jewish life, from burial rules to their roles in government. He spends a lot of time discussing Jewish life in Prague before the epidemic, including what factors caused the Jewish neighborhood to be the center of the epidemic. This epidemic was small, and contained to one city, so it is less well-known, but Teplitsky gives the reader all the information they could possibly need. Teplitsky also sets the paper up with a strong framing device, referring to plague stories as stories of heroes and victims, both of whom lack villains. This engages a pandemic-era reader by summing up a feeling that can be hard to express. However, after setting up the expectation of heroes without villains, he abandons this framework, villainizing local rulers who discriminated against Jews. The paper also had very few heroes, save a nameless group of Jews who complained to the ruling empire about said discrimination until the empire intervened on their behalf. This paper also lacks a thesis. There is no central argument, there is only a recitation of facts. Teplitsky engages the reader, but does not go anywhere with their attention.

This is a daguerrotype of Judah P. Benjamin, a politician who served in the U.S. Senate and in various cabinet positions in the Confederate government. At the tim, he was the highest-ranking Jew in any North American government.

Daguerrotypes were popular alternatives to silhouettes. They were cheaper, and they took less time to produce. They were popular in the Jewish community because the typical pose the subject took helped deemphasize traditionally Semitic features, as opposed to silhouettes, which emphasized the profile.

In this image, Benjamin appears with a slight smile and sits with a relaxed posture. He is well-dressed, but his shirt is tucked in unevenly. He wears no accessories, and there are no other objects in the image.

Today I pray for a return

A return to the narrow streets

Where we walked close together

Hands almost touching

Today I pray for a return

A return to your bed

Though my husband lays still in mine

Today I pray for a return

For Selomah to return to the Earth

So that I may return to you

Yours, Sarah de Isaac Pardo

Israel de Lieben was born in Bohemia, which is now a part of the Czech Republic. Sometime prior to 1774, he moved to Charleston, South Carolina, where he became a certified kosher butcher. He was also one of the founders of the Supreme Council of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, which is a subset of the Freemasons. He died in 1807.

The Coming Street Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina was established in 1762, making it the oldest Jewish cemetery in the American South. The cemetery is owned by the Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim Synagogue. It contains over 600 grave markers, most of which are from the late 18th century and the early 19th century.

Sources

“Coming Street Cemetery (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 17 May 2019, www.nps.gov/places/coming-street-cemetery.htm.

“Frequently Asked Questions.” Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, S.J., U.S.A., Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, 20 Nov. 2018, scottishrite.org/about/questions/.

Keyser, Samuel Bar Isaac. “Samuel Bar Isaac Keyser Kabbalah.” Collection: Samuel Bar Isaac Keyser Kabbalah | The Center for Jewish History ArchivesSpace, Center for Jewish History, archives.cjh.org/repositories/3/resources/2713.