Elisheva Carlebach Yoffen
Encyclopedia
Elisheva Carlebach Jofen is an American scholar of early modern Jewish history.
. Professor Carlebach obtained her bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College
and her PhD
in Jewish History at Columbia University
.
Professor Carlebach is married to Rabbi Mordechai Jofen, the rosh yeshiva
("dean") of the Novardok yeshiva
Beis Yosef in Brooklyn
, New York City. She uses her maiden name professionally and her married name in her personal life.
Dr. Carlebach's family was one of the preeminent rabbinical families in Germany
before the Holocaust
. Her grandfather was Rabbi Joseph Carlebach
, the last chief rabbi
of Hamburg
, and her father is Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach who served as the mashgiach ruchani
at the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
and author of the commentary on the Humash
Maskil Lishlomo.
Career
Carlebach is the Salo Wittmayer Baron Professor of Jewish history, culture and society at Columbia University. She was previously a Professor of Jewish History at Queens College and the Graduate Center, CUNY in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Professor Carlebach obtained her bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
and her PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Jewish History at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
Professor Carlebach is married to Rabbi Mordechai Jofen, the rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
("dean") of the Novardok yeshiva
Novardok yeshiva
The Novardok yeshiva in Navahrudak, then the Russian Empire, was one of the biggest and most important yeshivas in pre-World War II Europe, and a powerful force within the Mussar movement. The yeshiva was established in 1896, together with a Kollel for married men, under the direction of Rabbi...
Beis Yosef in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York City. She uses her maiden name professionally and her married name in her personal life.
Dr. Carlebach's family was one of the preeminent rabbinical families in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
before the Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
. Her grandfather was Rabbi Joseph Carlebach
Joseph Carlebach
Dr. Joseph Hirsch Carlebach was an Orthodox rabbi and Jewish-German scholar and natural scientist ....
, the last chief rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...
of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, and her father is Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach who served as the mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani
Mashgiach ruchani or mashgiach for short, means a spiritual supervisor or guide. It is a title which usually refers to a rabbi who has an official position within a yeshiva and is responsible for the non-academic areas of yeshiva students' lives.The position of mashgiach ruchani arose with the...
at the Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin
Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin or Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, is a Haredi Lithuanian-type yeshiva located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1904 as Yeshiva Tiferes Bachurim, it is the oldest yeshiva in Kings County...
and author of the commentary on the Humash
Humash
The Hebrew term Chumash is one of the Hebrew names for the Five Books of Moses, also known by the Latinised Greek term Pentateuch or as one of the uses of the Hebrew term Torah, "Law." The word comes from the Hebrew word for five, ḥamesh...
Maskil Lishlomo.
Books
- The Pursuit of Heresy :Rabbi Moses Hagiz and the Sabbatian Controversies, (Columbia University Press, 1990; 1994) ISBN 0-231-07191-4
- Divided Souls: Converts from Judaism in Germany, 1500-1750 Yale University Press, 2001 ISBN 0300084102, Finalist for the 2001-02 National Jewish Book Award
- Review, Deborah Hertz, American Historical Review "Future scholars will stand on the shoulders of Carlebach’s massive research" http://yalepress.yale.edu/yupbooks/reviews.asp?isbn=9780300084108
- Review, Rabbi Dr. Charles H. Middleburgh, The Expository Times "meticulously researched ...compelling and fascinating,"
- Review, Donald Sullivan, History: Reviews of New Books
- Review, Scott Hendrix, Journal of American Studies
- Review, Dean Phillip Bell, Sixteenth Century Journal
- Stephen D. Benin, Religious Studies Review
- Co-editor, History and Memory: Jewish Perspectives, Brandeis/University Press of New England, 1998.
Articles
- "Converts and their Narratives in Early Modern Germany", Leo Baeck Institute Yearbook, 1995
- "Rabbinic Circles on Messianic Pathways in the Post- Expulsion Era", Judaism: A Quarterly Journal, Special Symposium issue on the impact of the Spanish Expulsion, 41 (1992), pp. 208–216.
- "Two Amens that Delayed the Redemption: Jewish Messianism and Popular Spirituality in the Post-Sabbatian Century", Jewish Quarterly Review, 82 (1992): 241-261.
- "Sabbatianism and the Jewish-Christian Polemic", Proceedingsof the Tenth World Congress of Jewish Studies, Division C, Vol. II: Jewish Thought and Literature (Jerusalem, 1990): 1-7.
- "Redemption and Persecution in the Eyes of R. Moses Hayim Luzzatto and his Circle", Proceedings of the American Academy for Jewish Research, 54(1987), 1-29.
- "Introduction to The Letters of Bella Perlhefter" Early Modern Workshop: Jewish History Resources. Wesleyan University Press, Vol. 1, Early Modern Jeweries, 2004