Gabriel Abensour
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Department of Jewish History, Graduate Student
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Shalom Hartman Institute, Kogod Research Center for Contemporary Jewish Thought, Department Member add
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PhD student, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Fellow at the Kogo... morePhD student, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Fellow at the Kogod Research Center for Contemporary Jewish Thought, Shalom Hartman Institute, Israel.
My primary area of research is the history of North African Jews in the 19th century. My research lies at the intersection of postcolonialism studies, Jewish Law and History.
My Phd research examines the "history from below" of Algerian Jews during the colonial period.
מאמרים פובליציסטים באתר של מכון הרטמן: https://heb.hartman.org.il/person/gabriel-abensour/
Chroniqueur régulier pour Tenoua: https://www.tenoua.org/author/gabriel-abensour/ edit
Gabriel Abensour, "An Algerian Rabbi Advocating for the Use of the Organ in Synagogue Services," Zutot 20 (2023), 1-18. In 1934, David Askénazi, the chief rabbi of Oran, Algeria, responded to a decision by Abraham Kook, at the time... more
Gabriel Abensour, "An Algerian Rabbi Advocating for the Use of the Organ in Synagogue Services," Zutot 20 (2023), 1-18.
In 1934, David Askénazi, the chief rabbi of Oran, Algeria, responded to a decision by Abraham Kook, at the time chief rabbi of Mandatory Palestine, condemning the use of the organ in synagogue services in Oran. Transcending the typical European dichotomies between Orthodox and Reform, Askénazi's letter is above all a testimony to the religious and cultural hybridity of Algerian Jews during the colonial era. In a mere few pages, the rabbi developed a religious argument mixing elements of language and arguments typical of Maghrebian rabbis with positions common to liberal European Jews. Aware of the structure of power between the East and the West, Askénazi also criticized Kook's interventionism in the affairs of his community. In light of what he denounced as a form of Jewish imperialism, Askénazi emphasized the agency of Sephardic rabbis and called for full recognition of their religious tradition.
full article: https://brill.com/view/journals/zuto/aop/article-10.1163-18750214-bja10035/article-10.1163-18750214-bja10035.xml?rskey=Gexogk&result=1
In 1934, David Askénazi, the chief rabbi of Oran, Algeria, responded to a decision by Abraham Kook, at the time chief rabbi of Mandatory Palestine, condemning the use of the organ in synagogue services in Oran. Transcending the typical European dichotomies between Orthodox and Reform, Askénazi's letter is above all a testimony to the religious and cultural hybridity of Algerian Jews during the colonial era. In a mere few pages, the rabbi developed a religious argument mixing elements of language and arguments typical of Maghrebian rabbis with positions common to liberal European Jews. Aware of the structure of power between the East and the West, Askénazi also criticized Kook's interventionism in the affairs of his community. In light of what he denounced as a form of Jewish imperialism, Askénazi emphasized the agency of Sephardic rabbis and called for full recognition of their religious tradition.
full article: https://brill.com/view/journals/zuto/aop/article-10.1163-18750214-bja10035/article-10.1163-18750214-bja10035.xml?rskey=Gexogk&result=1
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Cet article se base sur deux sagas judiciaires témoignant de l'impact des mutations socio-légales des juifs du Maroc sur l'autorité rabbinique. S'étendant sur une période allant de 1897 à 1902, elles concernent des litiges sur des... more
Cet article se base sur deux sagas judiciaires témoignant de l'impact des mutations socio-légales des juifs du Maroc sur l'autorité rabbinique. S'étendant sur une période allant de 1897 à 1902, elles concernent des litiges sur des affaires d'héritages présentées au tribunal rabbinique de Mogador-Essaouira, ville portuaire du Maroc où l'impérialisme européen était fortement implanté au sein de la communauté juive. Bien que purement locales, ces deux affaires dégénérèrent en polémique transnationale, impliquant des rabbins du reste du Maroc, mais aussi des émissaires rabbiniques de Palestine (šadarim) et des rabbins de Gibraltar, de Jérusalem, de Tibériade et d'ailleurs. Cet article analyse les stratégies juridiques et discursives mises en place par l'ensemble des acteurs, parties et rabbins, comme intrinsèquement liées à l'impérialisme européen, aux nouveaux rapports de force en découlant et au développement d'un pluralisme juridique endogène parmi les communautés juives d'Afrique du Nord.
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This article examines the work of Rabbi Yosef Knafo (1823–1900), a prolific author writing for the Jewish masses of Essaouira in Morocco. In this article, I suggest that Knafo’s work should be read in the light of the local Jewish... more
This article examines the work of Rabbi Yosef Knafo (1823–1900), a prolific author writing for the Jewish masses of Essaouira in Morocco. In this article, I suggest that Knafo’s work should be read in the light of the local Jewish community’s turbulent social context. Through his books, Knafo joined the ranks of the local advocates of modernity, dedicating himself to forging a more egalitarian Jewish society and providing spiritual backing to those struggling for societal democratization. Rather than representing a break with religious tradition or a form of westernization, Knafo’s vision of modernity was a rearticulation of Jewish tradition in order to mobilize it toward social change. Using the printing press to subvert the local authority and reach new audiences, Knafo was also the first person in Morocco to quote and translate Hasidic works and he pioneered the diffusion of Judeo-Arabic literature.
full article: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/847087/pdf
full article: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/847087/pdf
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The focus of this article is a mysterious Jewish society, Lishkat Yessod Hamaaravi (the Western Pillar Lodge), founded in Mogador (today Essaouira), Morocco, in the late nineteenth century. The nature of this unusual North African society... more
The focus of this article is a mysterious Jewish society, Lishkat Yessod Hamaaravi (the Western Pillar Lodge), founded in Mogador (today Essaouira), Morocco, in the late nineteenth century. The nature of this unusual North African society is described on the basis of an examination of unpublished documents written by David Elkaïm, the association’s last secretary. The account deals with the activities of the lodge, its connection with a protonationalist Jewish group that was active in Jerusalem, and its embroilment in the social and ideological struggles that shook the community of Mogador during the last decades of the nineteenth century.
Despite the presence of several prominent maskilim from Mogador among the membership, I argue that the society was founded to offer an alternative to the reformist and modern spirit in the town, promoted by Jews who were disappointed with both the Jewish-French modernization and the Hebrew Enlightenment models. To conclude, I discuss the high level of self-agency that characterized this totally native society and its impact on the foundation of the first Moroccan Zionist association in 1900.
Despite the presence of several prominent maskilim from Mogador among the membership, I argue that the society was founded to offer an alternative to the reformist and modern spirit in the town, promoted by Jews who were disappointed with both the Jewish-French modernization and the Hebrew Enlightenment models. To conclude, I discuss the high level of self-agency that characterized this totally native society and its impact on the foundation of the first Moroccan Zionist association in 1900.
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This article gives a panoramic picture of Rabbi Yossef Messas' (1892-1974) approach of Kabbalah as a source of law. The article illustrates his doctrine of separation between Halakha and Kabbalah and proves that despite the central place... more
This article gives a panoramic picture of Rabbi Yossef Messas' (1892-1974) approach of Kabbalah as a source of law. The article illustrates his doctrine of separation between Halakha and Kabbalah and proves that despite the central place of Kabbala in Morocco, some halakhic authorities attempted to limit its influence on the halakhic discourse, even in the first half of the 20th century.
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Elijah Benamozegh (Livorno, 1823-1900) was a highly-respected Italian rabbi of Moroccan heritage. He was well-versed in Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism and, in his works, connected Kabbalistic and philosophic sources to delineate... more
Elijah Benamozegh (Livorno, 1823-1900) was a highly-respected Italian rabbi of Moroccan heritage. He was well-versed in Kabbalah, the study of Jewish mysticism and, in his works, connected Kabbalistic and philosophic sources to delineate his conception of God. He argued, inter alia, that Torah and science are in complete harmony, and his religiously tolerant model called for the legitimacy of diversity of faiths and worships. In this paper, I aim to show that Benamozegh's conception of the Divine – and thus his philosophy and theology – was based on a reading of Kabbalistic sources about God that was heavily influenced by Baruch Spinoza's philosophy on the nature of the Divine, and in particular, by the Spinozist-inspired concept of " God's attributes. " This comparison between Benamozegh and Spinoza will enable us to better understand Benamozegh's bold argument in favor of religious tolerance, but also how and why he succeeded in challenging the traditional concept of heresy, all while using terminology provided by traditional Jewish sources and from within the rabbinic paradigm.
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Version française: https://k-larevue.com/un-desarroi-dans-lair-reflexion-sur-le-judaisme-francais-contemporain/ The author believes that Franco-Judaism has forgotten its spiritual heritage. Deploring the adoption of an... more
Version française: https://k-larevue.com/un-desarroi-dans-lair-reflexion-sur-le-judaisme-francais-contemporain/
The author believes that Franco-Judaism has forgotten its spiritual heritage. Deploring the adoption of an ultra-Orthodoxy that rigidifies practices and minds, and criticizing the lack of audacity of the institutions representing the Jewish community, he calls for a revival of a Judaism that knows both the value of revolutionary universalism and the intellectual richness of Sephardic civilization.
https://k-larevue.com/en/a-sense-of-disarray-hangs-in-the-air-reflections-on-contemporary-french-judaism/
The author believes that Franco-Judaism has forgotten its spiritual heritage. Deploring the adoption of an ultra-Orthodoxy that rigidifies practices and minds, and criticizing the lack of audacity of the institutions representing the Jewish community, he calls for a revival of a Judaism that knows both the value of revolutionary universalism and the intellectual richness of Sephardic civilization.
https://k-larevue.com/en/a-sense-of-disarray-hangs-in-the-air-reflections-on-contemporary-french-judaism/
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מאמר קצר אודות הוויכוח שהתפתח בין הראי"ה קוק לבין הרב דוד אשכנזי, רבה של אוראן (אלג'יריה) אודות הנגינה בעוגב בבית הכנסת. המאמר מתייחס לטענות של הרב אשכנזי נגד הרב קוק.
גרסה מקוונת: https://heb.hartman.org.il/pipe-organ-in-synagogue/
גרסה מקוונת: https://heb.hartman.org.il/pipe-organ-in-synagogue/
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גרסה בעברית: https://www.regthink.org/adin-steinsaltz/ In 1978 the French philosopher John Paul Sartre organized an Israeli-Palestinian conference titled “Peace Now?. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who passed away on August 7th, participated in... more
גרסה בעברית: https://www.regthink.org/adin-steinsaltz/
In 1978 the French philosopher John Paul Sartre organized an Israeli-Palestinian conference titled “Peace Now?. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who passed away on August 7th, participated in the conference. From his statements at that conference we get a rare look at his attitude towards Jewish nationalism and Israel’s place in the Middle East.
In 1978 the French philosopher John Paul Sartre organized an Israeli-Palestinian conference titled “Peace Now?. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, who passed away on August 7th, participated in the conference. From his statements at that conference we get a rare look at his attitude towards Jewish nationalism and Israel’s place in the Middle East.
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זמן קצר לאחר שהגיעו מגורשי ספרד למרוקו התחילו הקהילות לגבש לעצמן תקנות כדי
לשמר את מורשת ספרד. התקנות והדיונים ההלכתיים חושפים בפנינו סיפורים מחיי
היומיום ומחיים לנגד עינינו את התהליכים שעברו על הקהילה.
לשמר את מורשת ספרד. התקנות והדיונים ההלכתיים חושפים בפנינו סיפורים מחיי
היומיום ומחיים לנגד עינינו את התהליכים שעברו על הקהילה.
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A book of rabbinic ordinances composed by exiled Castilians in Fez highlights the resilience of a community in flux, carefully adapting to new needs in a new land.
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Traduction et commentaire d'une sélection de poèmes séfarades
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Traduction et commentaire d'une sélection de poèmes séfarades
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המאמר התפרסם ב"סדנה להיסטוריה מחקרית" מבית הארץ: https://www.haaretz.co.il/blogs/sadna/BLOG-1.9236682
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המאמר עוסק בהשפעות ההדדיות בין היהדות והאסלאם ומביא דוגמאות להשפעות כאלה מן המדרש ומן ההלכה. על בסיס הבחנה מושגית בין שני סוגי ניכוס - ניכוס מצמצם וניכוס מרחיב, הוא מראה כי הניכוס המרחיב מאפיין את יחסי היהדות והאסלאם - מודל התואם שותפות... more
המאמר עוסק בהשפעות ההדדיות בין היהדות והאסלאם ומביא דוגמאות להשפעות כאלה מן המדרש ומן ההלכה. על בסיס הבחנה מושגית בין שני סוגי ניכוס - ניכוס מצמצם וניכוס מרחיב, הוא מראה כי הניכוס המרחיב מאפיין את יחסי היהדות והאסלאם - מודל התואם שותפות תרבותית ודתית פורייה ויצירתית, ועשוי לשמש השראה לזהות יהודית המכירה במקורות ההשפעה המוסלמיים שלה, לצד מקורות ההשפעה האירופיים-נוצריים.
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Intervention dans le cadre du cercle d'étude Ayeka
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כנס הרב יוסף משאש: הלכה הגות היסטוריה
מכון בן צבי והקריה האקדמית אונו
מכון בן צבי והקריה האקדמית אונו
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מחקר זה עוסק בזהות המסורתית בישראל העכשווית. הוא מבחין בין המסורתיות כשיח יהודי-תרבותי חדש שהחל להתפתח רק בשלהי המאה העשרים, לבין מסורתים, אנשים שאורח חייהם מסורתי ואינם מודעים בהכרח לשיח האינטלקטואלי על אודות המסורתיות.