The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Prof. Miriam Frenkel
The Menahem Ben-Sasson Chair in Judaism and Islam through the Ages
Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry
Institute of History
Official University Profile: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem – Miriam Frenkel
Expertise: Medieval Jewish History; Jews in the Islamic World; Cairo Geniza Studies; Judeo-Arabic Culture; Jewish–Islamic Relations; Social and Cultural History; Material Culture; Book Culture; Pilgrimage; Charity and Philanthropy.
Member of Editorial Board of European Hebrew Journal
CURRICULUM VITAE
Academic Profile
Prof. Miriam Frenkel is Professor in the Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry and the Institute of History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She holds the Menahem Ben-Sasson Chair in Judaism and Islam through the Ages and serves as Head of the Institute of History and Vice President of the Society for Judeo-Arabic Studies.
Her research focuses on the history of Jewish communities living under Islamic rule during the medieval period, drawing extensively on the documentary evidence preserved in the Cairo Geniza. Her scholarship explores the social, cultural, religious, and intellectual life of medieval Jewish communities throughout the Islamic world.
Prof. Frenkel has published extensively on charity, pilgrimage, travel, literacy, manuscript culture, material culture, and cultural encounters between Judaism and Islam. She is internationally recognized as one of the leading authorities on Geniza studies and medieval Judeo-Arabic civilization.
QUALIFICATIONS
B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and Islamic Culture, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
M.A. in Islamic Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Ph.D. in Jewish History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
ACADEMIC POSITIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
Professor, Department of Jewish History and Contemporary Jewry, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Professor, Institute of History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Holder of the Menahem Ben-Sasson Chair in Judaism and Islam through the Ages.
Head of the Institute of History.
Vice President, Society for Judeo-Arabic Studies.
Former Head of the Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History.
Former Head of the Multidisciplinary Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
RESEARCH
Prof. Frenkel’s research investigates Jewish life in the medieval Islamic world through documentary sources from the Cairo Geniza. Her work examines everyday life, communal organization, literacy, trade, pilgrimage, philanthropy, manuscript culture, and intercultural relations between Jews and Muslims.
A major aspect of her scholarship concerns the social and cultural history of Jewish communities in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and across the medieval Mediterranean. She has also studied Jewish elites, slavery, women, education, travel, libraries, and the circulation of books within medieval Jewish society.
Her interdisciplinary approach combines Jewish history, Islamic history, Geniza studies, manuscript studies, and material culture.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Medieval Jewish History
Jews in the Islamic World
Cairo Geniza Studies
Judeo-Arabic Culture
Jewish–Islamic Relations
Social History
Cultural History
Material Culture
Book Culture
Literacy
Pilgrimage
Charity and Philanthropy
Jewish Communities of Egypt
Jewish Communities of Syria
Mediterranean History
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP
Head, Institute of History, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Vice President, Society for Judeo-Arabic Studies.
Former Head, Dinur Center for Research in Jewish History.
Former Academic Director, Misgav Yerushalayim.
PUBLICATIONS
Selected Publications
The Compassionate and Benevolent: Jewish Ruling Elites in the Medieval Islamicate World. De Gruyter, 2021.
The Jews in Medieval Egypt. Editor. Academic Studies Press, 2021.
Israel in Egypt. Co-editor with Alison Salvesen and Sarah Pearce. Brill, 2020.
Charity and Giving in Monotheistic Religions. Co-editor with Yaacov Lev. De Gruyter.
The Jewish Community of Alexandria during the Fatimid and Ayyubid Periods.
Medieval Alexandria: Life in a Port City.
Genizah Documents as Literary Products.
Literary Canon and Social Elite in the Geniza Society.
Pilgrimage and Charity in Medieval Jewish Society.
Jewish Material Culture in Medieval Islamic Lands.