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A Guide & Index to Stories from Jewish History
May 28, 2025
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
5
Coffee with Rema
☕️ The "Rambam of Poland" made the Shulḥan Arukh acceptable to Ashkenazi Jewry with his glosses, also creating original works of Halakhah and…
Jan 11
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
14
4
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Coffee with Terumat ha-Deshen
☕ Before Coffee with the Achronim kicks off, a virtual cup with a transitional figure that some call the first Acharon: Yisrael Isserlein, the pious…
Jun 25, 2025
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
9
The Curious Case of Eldad ha-Dani
🗺️ Eldad ha-Dani turned up in Qayrawan, Tunisia, one day in the late ninth century, claiming to be of the lost tribe of Dan and possessed of halachot…
May 8, 2025
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
21
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The Last Maimonidean Controversy? The Controversy of 1304-1307
🎓 We have a rich trove of sources documenting the Maimonidean controversy of 1304-1307, which drew in the Rashba, allowing us to see how the nature of…
Feb 3, 2025
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Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
15
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Most Popular
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Coffee with Rabbenu Yonah
Jan 24, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
4
The First Families of Ashkenaz
Feb 7, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
16
8
The Curious Case of Eldad ha-Dani
May 8, 2025
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
21
2
1
Nisan 5784: The Mysterious Fifth Cup
Apr 10, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
Recent posts
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Every New Beginning*
👩🏻💻 An important newsletter announcement. (Yes, I'm going to keep writing! Just in a new format.)
Nov 18, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
7
6
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Resurgence of Controversy: R. Shlomo Petit vs. R. Hillel of Verona & R. Shem Tov Ibn Falaquera
🎓 In the late 1280s, the attempt to ban Sefer ha-Madda and Moreh ha-Nevuchim resurfaced—but was firmly stamped out by Maimonideans, east and west.
Oct 28, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
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Audio | Resurgence of Controversy: R. Shlomo Petit vs. R. Hillel of Verona & R. Shem Tov Ibn Falaquera
🎓 In the late 1280s, the attempt to ban Sefer ha-Madda and Moreh ha-Nevuchim resurfaced—but was firmly stamped out by Maimonideans, east and west.
Oct 27, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
16:26
Where Books Burn: The Maimonidean Controversy of the 1230s
🎓 The controversy about Rambam's theological stances, halachic method, and legal rulings, which simmered from the time of Raavad and Ramah, exploded in…
Oct 16, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
8
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Audio | Where Books Burn: The Maimonidean Controversy of the 1230s
🎓 The controversy about Rambam's theological stances, halachic method, and legal rulings, which simmered from the time of Raavad and Ramah, exploded in…
Oct 16, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
11:44
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Stories from Jewish History
Bringing premodern Jewish thinkers, events, and artifacts to life, from the famous to the obscure.
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trmarvin.org
Resources & Guides
Book recommendations and how-to guides to online research and learning resources
Parsha Guides
Comprehensive Guides through the weekly Torah readings
Twitter Thread Index
Browse every Twitter thread I've posted by theme
Origins of Ashkenaz
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Chasidei Ashkenaz: The Rhineland Pietistic Movement
🏰 Following the harrowing events of the Crusades, rebounding Rhineland Jewish communities nurtured a small but influential pietistic movement that…
Mar 6, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
8
3
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The Jewish Experience of the Crusades and the Crusade Chronicles
🏰 The First Crusade in particular, but also the Second and Third Crusades, shattered the Jewish communities of the Rhineland Valley, profoundly…
Feb 28, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
2
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The Rhineland Valley (Shu"m) Communities
🏰 The cradle of Ashkenazi Jewish culture was the Rhineland Valley, and particularly the communities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. Today, we explore the…
Feb 13, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
13
2
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The First Families of Ashkenaz
🏰 The four famed families of Rome and the multi-branched Kalonymos family were renowned as founders of Ashkenazi culture. Today, we further untangle…
Feb 7, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
16
8
Origins of Sefarad
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Before History: Avraham Ibn Daud and his Sefer ha-Kabbalah
🌅 Centuries before the practices of modern history emerged, R. Avraham Ibn Daud, a devout Aristotelian rabbinic Jew, wrote us one of the most important…
Oct 24, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
3
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The Journey of Yehuda ha-Levi
🌅 Sefarad's golden boy turns his back on courtly pleasures and sets his sights on his once and future country.
Oct 18, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
10
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Outsider/Insider: Shlomo Ibn Gabirol and Moshe Ibn Ezra
🌅 Today we explore the lives of two poet-philosophers, one the ultimate well-heeled Andalusi insider and the other an idiosyncratic, semi-tragic…
Oct 3, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
4
3
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Three Sefardi Halachists: Yitzchak Ibn Ghiyat, Ri Migash, Yehuda bar Barzillai
🌅 The these three early figures represent the flowering of Talmud learning in al-Andalus, proving influential both in the Islamicate world and in the…
Sep 27, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
5
2
2
The Geonim
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The Late Geonic Period: Four Major Figures
🕍 The end of the Geonic period, about which we have the most information, includes four extraordinary figures who profoundly shaped the worlds of the…
Aug 29, 2023
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Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
4
New Genres of Geonic Creativity
🕍 The Geonim of Babylonia created important new genres of writing which profoundly influenced, the Rishonim, including the Sheiltot, the early halachic…
Aug 22, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
4
3
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The Geonic Yeshivot and the Exilarchate
🕍 Today we explore the functioning of the great academies of Bavel and of the office of the Reish Galuta (Exilarch), principally based on the account…
Aug 15, 2023
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Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
10
1
From Nasi to Gaon: Leadership in Byzantine Eretz Yisrael
🕍 We continue in our Geonim series with a closer look at the leadership situation in the Land of Israel, which had its own geonim, as well as…
Jul 25, 2023
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Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
4
1
Famous Hebrew Manuscripts
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Rishonim, Autographed and Illuminated
📜 For the conclusion of the Famous Hebrew Manuscript series, a look at important or beautiful manuscripts of Rashi, Rambam, and Tur.
Jul 11, 2023
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Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
1
Illuminated Hebrew Bibles
📜 From Spain to Germany to Yemen, Jews of the mid- to late Middle Ages began producing decorated Bibles, some with smaller ornamentation and others…
Jul 5, 2023
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Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
2
Illuminated Medieval Haggadot
📜 We continue exploring illuminated Passover haggadot with blockbuster manuscripts from Ashkenaz and Sefarad.
Jun 27, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
2
The Mysteries of the Birds' Head Haggada
📜 In the first of two newsletters focused on illuminated Passover haggadot, we take a look at medieval Ashkenazi aniconism and the perplexing…
Jun 20, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
5
Maimonidean Controversies
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The Last Maimonidean Controversy? The Controversy of 1304-1307
🎓 We have a rich trove of sources documenting the Maimonidean controversy of 1304-1307, which drew in the Rashba, allowing us to see how the nature of…
Feb 3, 2025
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
15
3
2
Resurgence of Controversy: R. Shlomo Petit vs. R. Hillel of Verona & R. Shem Tov Ibn Falaquera
🎓 In the late 1280s, the attempt to ban Sefer ha-Madda and Moreh ha-Nevuchim resurfaced—but was firmly stamped out by Maimonideans, east and west.
Oct 28, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
1
Where Books Burn: The Maimonidean Controversy of the 1230s
🎓 The controversy about Rambam's theological stances, halachic method, and legal rulings, which simmered from the time of Raavad and Ramah, exploded in…
Oct 16, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
8
1
1
The Ramah's Complex Campaign Against Rambam
🎓 The highly-regarded Toledo authority waged an uphill battle against what he viewed as problematic ideas and positions in Rambam's works—until he…
Oct 8, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
1
Premodern Aliyah
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Ramban's Aliyah in 1267
🗺️ Aged around 70, Ramban made his way to Eretz Yisrael, fleeing persecution but also chasing a dream of coming to the Land. The journey left its mark…
Jan 23, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
5
When Yehuda ha-Levi Brought his Heart to the East
🗺️ In today's newsletter, we explore a few texts that give us a closer look at R. Yehuda ha-Levi's journey, both physical and spiritual, to the Land of…
Jan 9, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
9
Meshullam da Volterra's Vow to Visit the Land of Israel
🗺️ A banker and gem trader, Meshullam made a vow during a time of trouble to visit Eretz Yisrael. He recorded his journey there and back to Italy in…
Dec 20, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
12
R. Eliyahu of Ferrara's Journey to Jerusalem
🗺️ An Italian rabbi who became a pillar of the premodern Jewish community in Jerusalem penned a succinct and fascinating letter about the reality of…
Dec 12, 2023
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
8
The History of Kabbala
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R. Chaim Vital: The Ari's Chief Disciple and Transmitter
🧿 The legacy of the Ari was closely guarded, and thus tied up in, the life and works of his self-proclaimed chief disciple, the prolific R. Chaim Vital…
Jul 3, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
4
1
The Ari - R. Itzchak Luria Ashkenazi
🧿 The enigmatic R. Yitzchak ben Shlomo Luria Ashkenazi, better known as the Ari, was a creative master of Kabbala who effected profound changes on the…
Jun 26, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
9
1
1
The Safed Circle II: R. Moshe Cordovero (Remak)
🧿 Another important figure of Pre-Lurianic Tzfat was the Kabbalist R. Moshe Cordovero, who popularized Kabbala and created a new genre of Kabblistic…
Jun 19, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
6
The Safed Circle I: R. Yosef Karo and R. Yaakov Beirav
🧿 In the hillside town of Tzfat (Safed) in the Ottoman-ruled Land of Israel, victims of expulsions from Europe found space for Kabbalistic creativity…
Jun 5, 2024
•
Dr. Tamar Ron Marvin
9
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