General Grant and the Jews: The Election of 1868 and the Origins of Jewish Politics in the United States

Please join us for the very first Norman E. Alexander Lecture in Jewish Studies on October 3.  Jonathan Sarna was named the "Official Historian" of the 350th Anniversary of Jews in America, and we are very excited to be hosting him at Columbia.  We are very grateful for the generous gift of the Norman E. […]

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Hebrew Mss @ CUL: New Acquisitions in History and Literature

CUL is proud to announce the recent acquisition of two new manuscripts, both dealing with Sephardic Jewry, which were sold at a recent Kestenbaum and Company sale as part of the Alfonso Cassuto collection. The first manuscript, from 1506 (left), is critical for the history of the Jews in Portugal.  The manuscript contains a register of […]

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Hebrew Mss @ CUL: Travels to India

The manuscripts relating to Jewish Studies in the Columbia University Libraries are not limited to those in Hebrew.  This manuscript, written in Spanish in the 17th century, describes one of the far-flung communities of the Jewish diaspora: that of Cochin, India.  The author of the manuscript, Moses Pereyra de Paiva, traveled to Cochin with his […]

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New Resource: Confidential Print, Middle East (1839-1969)

We are proud to announce a new database containing primary sources relating to the history of Israel and the Middle East: The Confidential Print collection includes documents relating to Middle Eastern history from the years 1839-1969.  The series originated out of a need for the British Government to preserve all of the most important papers […]

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Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: The West’s Response to Jewish Emigration

As part of a purchase of a major database collection, Columbia now has access to "Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees: The West’s Response to Jewish Emigration." According to the site’s description: The Intergovernmental Committee on Refugees (IGCR) was organized in London in August 1938 as a result of the Evian Conference of July 1938. The Evian […]

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“New” old books at CUL

While Columbia’s collection of Jewish Studies materials in its Rare Book and Manuscript Library is already extensive, we are still actively collecting "new" materials for our collection. Two recent purchases were made with the help of the Rabbi Nathan Stern fund for Semitic Studies: 1) A manuscript "Commonplace book" from America, c.1825, which includes  "the […]

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Hebrew mss @ CUL: Pardes Rimonim

Kabbalah, the subject of Jewish mysticism, is one discussed by many but understood by few.  One of the important Kabbalists of the 16th century was Moses Cordovero.  Moses Cordovero was a student of Joseph Caro, and one of the teachers of the famed Isaac Luria in Safed.  His first work, written at the age of […]

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Free resource: Jewish Telegraph Agency Archives (1917-2008)

Thanks to many and various funders, the Jewish Telegraph Agency has been able to post its archives online in a fully searchable (by keyword, date, and topic) website.  A premier resource for "news about the Jews," the JTA reported news worldwide, and was (and is) cited by many other newspapers throughout its time.  Major topics […]

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New Resource: Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book

I am pleased to announce that Columbia University Libraries has recently purchased the Vinograd Thesaurus of the Hebrew Book.  This database, available only on DVD, is a very-much updated version of the print edition (located in Butler Reference: R016.4924 V56).  This searchable database lists of all books printed in Hebrew characters from 1468-1948 (including Hebrew, […]

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Conference on German-Jewish immigration and presence in New York City, May 5 2011

The Jewish Studies Center at Baruch College, together with the Leo Baeck Institute, is sponsoring a day-long conference on German-Jewish immigration and presence in New York City on May 5, 2011. Three panels and roundtables will be held at the Leo Baeck Institute: "The German-Speaking Jewish Presence in New York" (10-11:45); "German-Jewish Troubles with Immigration […]

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