Jewish Studies Databases at Emory Libraries
The Emory library catalog lists 54 databases classified under Jewish Studies. The list reflects the breadth of the field and illustrates the variety of resources available to the Emory community in digital format. In what follows, the description of three databases highlights that Talmudic studies are not only central to traditional Jewish learning but also form an important part of the modern academic field. Please let Jewish Studies Librarian Katalin Rac know if you are using any of the Talmudic studies or other databases and if you would like to request access to a database not listed in the catalog. Please also share your experience using the databases. Any feedback regarding the databases or other library resources is appreciated.
Rabbinical Literature and More in Three Databases
Once the focus of Jewish learning, today the study of rabbinical literature is one of the important subfields of Jewish Studies. Students of the Babylonian and the Jerusalem/Palestinian Talmuds and other rabbinical literature can rely on a sizeable research collection at Emory University that ranges from historical works to modern commentary. Among the available resources, three databases--the Online Responsa Project, the Talmud Text Online Databank, and The Bar Ilan Responsa Project aka Otzar Hahochma--illustrate how 21st-century technology supports the study of Judaism’s central texts and, in doing so, enriches the field.
Although focusing on similar sources, the three databases complement each other in functionality and the tools they offer. The Responsa Project makes it possible to search words and concepts in the corpus. A controlled vocabulary helps users find related terms in the corpus. Additionally, the database supports the exploration of the various contexts in which these terms appear and provides access to dictionaries, commentaries, and additional resources. Otzar Hahochma makes it possible for the user to both study and annotate the text, thus fusing one’s own notes with search finds in the studied text. Finally, the Talmud Text Databank displays the Talmudic text (as well as other parts of rabbinical literature) both in text form and—drawing on various digitized manuscripts—as images, according to the order of the tractates and pages. In doing so, it also helps the user learn about the materiality of the books that, produced throughout centuries, have preserved and disseminated the central texts of Jewish learning. The user can also observe how the presentation of the text transformed over the centuries. For example, the text of tractate Rosh Hashana 2a of the Babylonian Talmud is available from eleven manuscripts produced during the late Middle Ages and early modern period. Additionally, The Talmud Text Databank provides the user with a bibliography of modern scholarly works focusing on the traditional scholarship. In addition to expanding the scope of Jewish learning, these databases also create new contexts for exploration and knowledge production. They demonstrate the evolution of the content, methodology, and technical apparatus of Jewish learning and its continued reliance on Judaism’s foundational texts.
Published 12/3/24