Everything in its Time

Let’s start with the seemingly banal: the book pictured above weighs six pounds. I know this because it traveled with me from my parent’s house to my own home, and I felt every bit of that weight.

But in fact, the fact of the weight of the third volume of The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization: Encountering Christianity and Islam, 600-1200, is not at all banal. It is a testimony to the sheer volume of historical documentation that this book contains.

The goal of The Posen Library is “to ensure that thought leaders and scholars of Jewish history can represent Jewish life holistically and include in their work a multiplicity of voices, from a variety of religious perspectives, political persuasions, and genders using a plethora of media both written and visual.”

That is to say, it strives to make accessible the myriad of Jewish history and culture’s primary sources, both online and in print. And I was lucky enough to be a part of this massive project as one of the many, many translators for Volume 3.

The funny thing is, that I had almost forgotten about the work I did for Posen. The translations of the various fascinating rabbinic and other Hebrew texts I worked on were done nearly a decade ago, and since that time, I had heard nothing from Posen about the publication of the book, or even whether publication would even happen. I figured that after 10 years, the project was simply stuck.

But, the work I did was still listed on my resume, and so, eventually, I reached out to the editor I was in contact with at Posen and inquired - what’s going on with Volume 3? And this was how I found out that yes, my work was being used in the book, and indeed, it was coming out very soon.

It has been truly a joy to hold the (heavy) book in my arms, and flip through the pages to find my own name attributed under a text as translator. I cannot stress enough how important this volume, and all the Posen Library volumes, are to broadening our understanding of Jewish life and Judaism throughout history. It is truly a treasure-trove of primary sources (my favorite type of source!).

So, check out The Posen Library’s website, and have some fun exploring the resources they have made accessible to the wider Jewish and academic community.

Plant native wildflowers. Go, Cubbies!