Trial By Fire

Eibinder states in her lecture that over the thirteenth century, the scattered poetic remains that document persecutions against Jews in royal France often refer to burning books. Young poet Meir ben Baruch of Rothenburg captured the tone of mourning and bereavement following the events of 1242 . . . The polemical and satirical restlessness of DaPiera's poems, the exquisite lyrical imagery of HaLevi's Zionide lament, the longing devotion to the Beloved of vernacular songs, all fuse in a remarkable tribute to Jewish study and students.