Ottoman Jewry

In Ottoman Jewry (Brill), Ayalon offers a new perspective on the history of Ottoman Jewish life, challenging long-held assumptions over community, authority, and interreligious relations. Rethinking the roles of both rabbis and lay leaders, Ayalon argues that religious authority was much less centralized than previously believed, with Jews increasingly operating across various social and institutional frameworks. By examining evolving practices of charity and education, Ottoman Jewry shows how a gradual shift toward private initiative diminished communal oversight at the same time it fundamentally reshaped Jewish life in the Ottoman Empire.