תנועת החסידות, שהחלה כחוג מצומצם של אנשי סגולה, הפכה לתנועה המונית שעיצבה את דמותה של החברה היהודית המזרח אירופאית, והיא ממשיכה להתקיים ולהשפיע עד עצם היום הזה. החסידות מצטיירת כתופעה תרבותית-חברתית בעלת השקפה מקורית על תבל ומלואה. הספר עדה ומדינה דן בחסידות חב"ד-אחד הזרמים החשובים בתנועת החסידות ברוסיה במאה התשע עשרה. זרם זה, שבראשו עמדה שושלת שנאורסון-שנאור זלמן מליאדי וצאצאיו, השפיע על קהילות רבות ומשך תשומת לב רבה מצד הממשלה הרוסית ומצד המשכילים. ניתוח סוציו-היסטורי של התפתחות העדה החב"דית מאפשר לבחון את הדינמיקה המוסדית של החברה החסידית, להתחקות אחר היווצרות מנגנוני הניהול שלה ולעמוד על שורשי המשברים הפנימיים שמאפיינים את החסידות כתנועה כריזמטית. הספר בוחן גם את מעורבותה של הנהגת חב"ד ביזמות רפורמטוריות של הממשלה הצארית באמצע המאה התשע עשרה, ואת המתחים שנוצרו בעקבות יזמות אלה בין החברה היהודית המסורתית לבין השלטון המרכזי. חיוניותה הבלתי רגילה של תנועת החסידות, ובכללה חסידות חב"ד, אריכות ימיה ורבגוניותה, מציבות בפני היסטוריונים שאלות מורכבות של הגדרת מקומה ותפקידה בתהליכים החברתיים הכלל-יהודיים גם כיום.

This book focuses on the formative years of Nahum Sokolow's political thought during the years in which he dedicated his energies to working within the social fabric of the Jewish community of Polish lands. In his political thought, activities and agenda, Sokolow consistently searched for a "middle way" that would create a common space in which the many different sectors of Jewish society could come together. Sokolow also hoped that his political agenda would have an impact upon Polish society at a time when Jews and non-traditional Jewish movements were heavily influenced by the liberal atmosphere of Polish positivism. Until the end of the 1890s Sokolow hoped that the Jewish progressive circle would be his main political and ideological ally. However, as the twentieth century approached Sokolow realized that his attempt to persuade these intellectuals to join him in his new political agenda had failed. This forced him to turn to a new ideological formula, the Zionist movement. Even then, however, he continued to espouse his own moderate brand of Jewish politics for the remainder of his life in Russian Empire, Germany and England. Over the years, this commitment to his unique ideology made Sokolow one of the most prominent representatives of Polish Jewish.

A leading critic of Polish literature, Artur Sandauer (1913-1989) takes a hard, at times painful, look at the critical role that Jews and individuals of "Jewish descent" played as both creators and objects of literature and culture in twentieth-century Poland. Through an engaging series of essays, Sandauer analyzes major figures in Polish literature via the prism of one central, if at times muted, issue: "the Jews." Sandauer begins his analysis by looking at such classics of Polish literature as Mickiewicz, continues by discussing the experiences of writers in the interwar era such as Tuwim and Schulz, challenges reigning myths of the war years with critical examinations of works by Andrzejewski and Miłosz, exposes the problematic relationship between writers and the Communist regime through the career of Ważyk, and concludes with hope for Poland's future with discussions of Szymborska and, in a bold display of intellectual honesty, himself. Written during the period of martial law, Sandauer's work stands as a testimony to the power of the written word as well as the renaissance in Jewish studies taking place in contemporary Poland.

This book is the product of more than a decade of research into the tangled web of interwar Jewish politics in Poland, and the no less complex world of orthodox Jewry in Eastern Europe.

Shmuel Yosef Agnon, born in Poland in 1888, is one of the central figures in Modern Hebrew literature. His concern as an author for the historical past of the Jews of Poland and for all aspects of the relationships between Jews and Poles is inherently woven into his writings. This monograph is a revised and expanded version of an article entitled, "Between Historical Reality and Literary Fantasy – Polish-Jewish Relations in the writings of S.Y. Agnon", which was first published in Hebrew in Gal-Ed XI (1989), pp. 109-160. The text was translated by Ora Wiskind. For ease of reference all titles of Agnon's work quoted in the text appear in transliterated form; the original Hebrew titles and translations are included. The illustrations present in the text are from the "Yad Agnon" collection.

סדרת מחקרים של המרכז לחקר תולדות יהודי פולין ותרבותם, האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים.

הספר עוסק בתולדות הקולנוע היהודי בפולין. הוא מתאר את תקופת 'תור הזהב' של הקולנוע היהודי בפולין ואת קורותיו אחרי מלחמת העולם השנייה ומביא פילמוגרפיה מעודכנת המבוססת על בדיקה יסודית. סדרת מחקרים של המרכז לחקר תולדות יהודי פולין ותרבותם, האוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים.

The ethnography of Jews living in pre-Holocaust Eastern Europe in general, and Poland in particular, has not attracted wide attention among scholars. Few took an interest in this subject when the task of collecting rich documentary materials did not pose special problems. The situation today is not much different, and the lack of interest in the field is matched by the scarcity of sources and of secondary literature, which, in addition, remains difficult to master. Those studies of Polish Jews which do exist are not easily located not only because there are relatively few of them, but also because they are scattered throughout many publications in various languages. This situation prompted the author to write the present work, the purpose of which is to enable future scholars to locate works on the subject published in Polish.