Letters and Literacy, Records and Responsibility: The Untold Lives of Jewish Women in Early Modern Europe
Public lecture by prof. dr. Debra Kaplan
- Date
- 3 December 2025
- Time
- 19:00 -20:30
- Location
- University Library
- Room
- Chirurgisch Theater
About the programme
A wealth of written, visual and material sources preserves the vibrant lives of Jewish women in early modern Europe, from bustling cities to rural villages. Drawing on untapped sources, this lecture, given by prof. dr. Debra Kaplan (BIU), reveals women as economic agents, skilled creators, readers and authors, and leaders within their communities. Following the lecture, there will be a Q&A session moderated by Bart Wallet (Professor of Early Modern and Modern Jewish History, UvA).
18:30: Open to public
19:00: Welcome/Opening words
19:05 Lecture by prof. dr. Debra Kaplan (BIU)
20:00 Q&A Session, moderated by prof. dr. Bart Wallet
21:00 Drinks (External location, more information will follow)
About the book
In A Woman Is Responsible for Everything, Debra Kaplan and Elisheva Carlebach bring to light the hidden histories of Jewish women in early modern Europe. From small villages and crowded ghettos to bustling cities, Jewish women were deeply engaged in the daily life of their communities: managing homes and professions, leading institutions and sororities, and crafting objects and texts of exquisite beauty.
Focusing on the kehillah, a vibrant form of communal life that sustained European Jews for three centuries, the authors paint vivid portraits of women across the social spectrum—from powerful figures who shaped their communities to the poorest maidservants and vagrants. Through their possessions, writings, and voices, these women emerge as agents of economic initiative and spiritual depth. Beautifully illustrated, A Woman Is Responsible for Everything lifts the veil of silence that has long obscured the lives of these women, offering a new perspective on the history of Jewish women and the Jewish past.
About the speaker
Debra Kaplan is the Samuel Braun Chair for the History of the Jews in Germany at Bar-Ilan University. She specializes on different areas of Jewish life in early modern Jewry, including Jewish-Christian relations, early modern social history, the Jewish community and its spaces, and women’s history. Her books include Beyond Expulsion: Jews, Christians and reformation Strasbourg (Stanford University Press, 2011) The Patrons and their Poor: Jewish Community and Public Charity in Early Modern Germany (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020), and together with Elisheva Carlebach, A Woman is Responsible for Everything: Jewish Women in Early Modern Europe (Princeton University Press, 2025).
