Peter Schäfer, Ronald O. Perelman
Professor of Judaic Studies
and Professor of Religion at Princeton University. Widely considered
among the foremost scholars of Judaism in late Antiquity and the early
Middle Ages, Schäfer has had a major impact, not only on
specialists in
Judaic studies, but also on a much broader range of scholars in
humanistic and religious fields, including early Christianity,
mysticism, Renaissance literature, and numerous other subjects. A
meticulous scholar, he exemplifies traditional erudition of the highest
order in tandem with openness to new questions and approaches. His
works have covered both the central corpus of rabbinic literature, and
significant but less-well-known works of Jewish mystical literature and
related subjects produced in the same period. In addition to the great
influence of his analytical and historical studies, Schäfer has
brought
his scholarly energy and vision to the creation of key resources for
the field in scholarly editions of major primary source texts and
related tools for critical study. Hailed as an exceptional teacher and
colleague, Schäfer is credited with, among other things, fostering
a
revival of Jewish studies in Germany and, through his students who now
occupy important academic posts in many countries, throughout Europe.