The Council of Lithuanian Jews 1623-1764

The Council of Lithuanian Jews (Lithuanian Vaad) was the central representative organ of the Jews in the Grand Duchy of Lithua¬nia. It operated for nearly one and a half centuries (1623-1764), touching all spheres of the Jewish community`s life. It undertook important initiatives for the benefit of its constituency at diets and dietines (legislative assemblies of the nobility), at the courts of the King and important magnates, and in non-Jewish courts of law. This book discusses the Council`s activities in the context of processes and phenomena present in Jewish society of the time, illustrating the life of Lithuanian Jewry as a separate estate guided by a common sense of identity transcending local affiliation. Anna Michałowska-Mycielska is a historian working at the Institute of History, Warsaw University. The subject of her studies is the history and culture of Jews in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 16th-18th centuries.he published: Między demokracją a oligarchią. Władze gmin żydowskich w Poznaniu i Swarzędzu (od połowy XVII do końca XVIII wieku), Warszawa 2000 The English translation: The Jewish Community. Authority and Social Control in Poznań and Swarzędz, 1650-1793, Wrocław 2008 (2nd edition: Warszawa 2015) Gminy żydowskie w dawnej Rzeczypospolitej. Wybór tekstów źródłowych, Warszawa 2003 Pinkas kahału swarzędzkiego (1734-1830), Warszawa 2005 Sejmy i sejmiki koronne wobec Żydów. Wybór tekstów źródłowych, Warszawa 2006 Sejm Żydów litewskich (1623-1764), Warszawa 2014 Pinkas kahału boćkowskiego (1714-1817), Warszawa 2015