A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz A survey history of the Jewish communities of Ashkenaz, from the original settlements in western Europe through the great migration to east-central and eastern Europe. Topics to be covered include the social, economic and religious foundations of the communities, the impact of antisemitism, the rise of Hasidism and the Jewish enlightenment, modern Jewish political movements, the Holocaust, concluding with an assessment of Ashkenazi Jewry in the early 21st century. This course was designed to support preparation for AH 101: A Thousand Years of Ashkenaz, Jews and Non-Jews in East Central Europe. Register for this Course! Returning Students Log in HERE 1. Earliest Jewish Communities in Ashkenaz Toggle module content A discussion of the social foundations of the medieval Askhenazi communities. Lessons Migration of Jews to Ashkenaz (Video) Social Structure of Ashkenazi Communities: The Kehilla (Video) No, Ashkenazi Jews are not Khazars. (Video) Self-Test Quiz Module 1 Class Discussion Module 1 Optional Experiment: Meet your classmates! 2. Judaism in Medieval Ashkenaz Toggle module content The religious-intellectual world of Ashkenazi Jews. Lessons Intellectual Life: The Rishonim (Video) Self-Test Quiz Module 2 Class Discussion Module 2 Optional: The Mishnah and the Talmud (Two Videos) Optional: Yocheved bat Rashi: Exceptional Jewish Women (Video) 3. The Crusades Toggle module content The impact of the Crusades on Jewish communities and Ashkenazic collective memory. Lessons The First Crusade (Video) The Impact of the First Crusade on Ashkenazi Culture (Video) Self-Test Quiz Module 3 Class Discussion Module 3 4. Jews and the Medieval Economy Toggle module content The complexities of moneylending, commerce, and the trades. Lessons Jews in the Medieval Economy (Video) Jews and Trade in the Medieval Period (Video) Jews and Finance in the Medieval Period (Video) Self-Test Quiz Module 4 Class Discussion Module 4 5. The Development of Medieval Jew-Hatred Toggle module content The Blood Libel, charges of Host Desecration, and the massacres associated with the Black Death. Lessons Medieval Jew-Hatred in Historical Context (Video) Ritual Murder and Blood Libel (Video) Host Desecration (Video) Self-Test Quiz Module 5 Class Discussion Module 5 Optional: The Insults of Exile 6. The Great Upheaval in Eastern Europe Toggle module content Migration of Ashkenazi Jews to Eastern Europe, the foundations of the Arenda economy, and the Khmel’nyts’kyi Rebellion. Lessons The Khmel'nyts'kyi Rebellion (Video) Self-Test Quiz Module 6 Class Discussion Module 6 Optional: Who was Gluckel of Hameln? (Video) 7. The Sabbatean Movement Toggle module content The messianic movement of Shabbetai Tsvi and its impact on Ashkenazic Jewry. Lessons Who Was Shabbetai Tsvi? Self-Test Quiz Module 7 Class Discussion Module 7 Optional: Who was Sarah, Wife of Shabbetai Tsvi? (Video) Optional: Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto: Persecuted Genius (Video) 8. Origins of The Modern Religious Upheaval Toggle module content The intellectual and religious life of Ashkenazic Jewry in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Lessons Hasidim, Mitnagdim, Maskilim: Prolegomenon Self-Test Quiz Module 8 Class Discussion Module 8 Optional: Who was Sarah bas Tovim? (Video) 9. Hasidism Toggle module content The birth of the Hasidic movement and the Mitnagdic backlash. Lessons The Challenge of Hasidism (Video) Optional: The Alter Rebbe (Video) Optional: The Maiden of Ludmir (Video) 10. Maskilim Toggle module content The rise of the Haskalah. Lessons The Threat of Haskalah (Video) Optional: Who was David Sinzheim? (Video) 11. The National Awakening Toggle module content The birth of modern Jewish political movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lessons Mass Jewish Politics (Video) Optional: Who Was Vladimir Jabotinsky? (Video) 12. World War I and its Aftermath Toggle module content The grand reshuffling of peoples in East-Central Europe and the tentative pragmatic expression of Jewish political ideologies. Lessons Hitler's Rise to Power Soviet Jewish History (Video) Optional: Who was Sarah Schenirer? (Video) Optional: Evgenia Ginzburg and Life under Stalin (Video) 13. The Holocaust Toggle module content The near-destruction of Ashkenazi Jewry. Lessons The Holocaust (Video) Optional: Rabbi Kalonymus Kalmish Shapira (Video) 14. Ashkenaz and Ashkenazim Today Toggle module content The post-war revival of Ashkenazic Culture in Europe and around the world. Lessons Ashkenaz and Ashkenazim Today (Video)